Chapter 14

Cherie gritted her teeth as she pulled herself to the worktable in the room for the umpteenth time. She didn´t even pay any attention to the sounds of music and cheers coming from outside. All she cared about was reaching the table, where she spotted a pair of scissors minutes ago - her save from the situation she was in. However, the cable on the wall to which she was bound by the handcuffs was preventing her to do so for the past half-hour. She felt fatigue slowly taking its toll. Her forehead shined with sweat and the handcuff around her wrist started to leave a visible red mark on her skin as it was keeping her from reaching the table again and again. But even the pain she was starting to feel, failed to shake her resolve.

"NOT giving UP!"she screamed as she yanked herself forward with all the strength she could muster.

Thistime her resolve was rewarded. The holders, that were keeping the cable pinned to the wall could not withstand more and broke off, sending her towards the table. With a small cheer, she grabbed the scissors and used them to cut the cable. At once, she dashed out of the room, looking around to determine which way to go.

"The stage... there I´ll be sure to find Lola, Billy and Wiseman as well. But where is it?"she asked herself aloud.

As if on cue, applause was heared from above. With a grin, she turned right and sped trough the corridor.

The crowd was going wild as Allanna finished her song, accompanied by Pop, Trashbin and Weedpath. Mary Buttons was smiling warmly at her from the Stars table and Adam Brians stood up as he clapped as hard as anyone in the crowd. Near the backstage Billy, Victor and even Phil, who moved himself from his position at the main computer, clapped along with Angie and Lola.

"Not to be bossy or anything, Phil... but shouldn´t you be at the Main?"asked Lola curiously, especially since Phil was in charge to run the system and it was his cue to do so in a matter of minutes.

Phil gave her a small grin.

"Maybe I should... and maybe... I don´t really need to."he said, showing her the tablet he held under his arm.

Billy and Victor gasped, catching on.

"You can control the program trough that too?"asked Victor.

"You betcha. Actually THIS is the main medium running the program. Its connected to the main computer, but the program on the Main is simply an add to the original control. Chichi wanted to be sure, that if a sabotage of power occurs, we will be able to continue without any problem. That´s why I have the main program on my tablet and the TV crew has their own seperate power under Police guard."

Billy, Angie, Lola and Victor were amazed at Phil´s explanation.

"Woah... boy-genius strikes again."muttered Angie.

"Cool."breathed Victor in happy awe at his hero.

Billy smiled at his girlfriend and saw the look of sheer pride on her face, as she returned the smile. The applause was ending, bringing her back to reality again. With a nod to Angie, the two narrators promtly took to the stage. Billy sighed happily as he watched his charming girl approach Allanna and adress the audience.

Just then, Phil´s tablet gave off an electrical tone, that made the three boys quickly look at the screen. Accompanied by low beeping sounds, the screen showed a large, blinking red collumn that read "TOWN HALL MAIN, SYSTEM FAILIURE". As Billy and Victor gasped, Phil quickly ran his fingers on the tablet.

"The diagnostics show, that its a power failiure. Someone must´ve cut the wire leading to the stage."

The boys barely had time to respond to that before...

"And now its time to see just how much points this wonderfull song has scored."announced Angie to general cheer.

Phil quickly ran his finger over the tablet again and with seconds to spare, the main screen on the stage was showing the Contest Diagram Table. With another comand from the tablet Allanna´s table started to blink. On the stage, Miles was the first to press his device, awarding the song with 40 points. Then Rodney awarded 30 and finally Wiseman put up a 20.

"Jeez, what´s your problem Wisey? It was a neat song!"muttered Miles, giving him an annoyed look.

Wiseman only shrugged, but didn´t want to voice his reason. He felt pretty sure, that this girl wasn´t the secret admirer.

"Maybe we´d better alert Wiseman to what´s going on."suggested Billy.

Phil looked skeptical.

"I´m not sure about this, Billy..."

"I´ll do it. As soon as the points are given."said Victor, eager to do something to help.

Now the celebrities dished out their points and the crowd applauded once again. As soon as Allanna and the three occupying the msical instruments left, and the TV crew called out another break, everyone started to chat happily. Billy and Phil called Angie and Lola, who were talking to Pop, Trashbin and Weedpatch to them. At the judge´s table Miles was talking to Rodney excitedly, but Wiseman was not praticipating in the conversation. He was deep in thought.

"This one didn´t seem to be her as well. Hm... the final clue said something about an amazing performance. I doubt it would be just one simple song. Hm... who is this girl that seems to... to love me...?"he thought, trying to puzzle out this mystery.

His name being called pulled him out of his musings. He turned to look at the tiny black-haired boy whom he recodnized as part of Chichi Tofu´s crew.

"What is it, young...um...?"

"Victor, Detective Wiseman. We have a situation. The power cable from the Town Hall has been cut."said Victor quickly.

Wiseman raised his eyebrow.

"And how do you know that?"

"Phil´s tablet has alerted us. Its all right though, we can still run things from here, but that means..."

Wiseman however smiled in anticipation. Before Victor could say anything, Wisey pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"This is Wise One. Repeat, this is Wise One. Brothers... I just recieved intel, that the saboteur-girl has made her move."

"We read you, Wise One. All six of us re-grouped and are awaiting orders."came Nick´s voice trough the walkie-talkie.

"Perfect, brother Nick. She is no doubt somewhere in the building. Arrest her and let me know when you do."he commanded happily.

"Will do, brother Fred."came Archie´s voice before the connection ended.

Wiseman set down his walkie-talkie and sat back with a satisfied expression on his face. Looking at Victor´s uneasy look, he smiled at the boy.

"Don´t worry, little one. The Brotherhood of the Wise is on the job. The boys can easily catch this girl and that will be the end of this sabotage business."he said confidently.

"But Detective... what if they - I mean she - is not in the building, but here in the backstage?"asked Victor.

Wiseman only smiled and folded his arms.

"I think you are forgetting, that I´M here. She would not DARE to try anything in front of the great Detective Wiseman."

...

"All right. First we have to get that... ugh... Confrérie out of our way."said Jaq with a small shudder at the very thought of the three.

He had re-grouped with his cohorts mere moments ago and was slightly amazed at what he saw. Gabriel was sporting a large lump on his head and Gerard was battered and bruised all over. Jaq couldn´t remember the last time he saw them in such a state, perhaps since elementary school.

However, the twins´ state seemed to have triggered in them a need to return the favor, which was perfect for the situation. However, they needed someone coordinating their actions right now, just so they don´t do something stupid.

"Oui, patron."

"With pleasure, patron."

"Pull on your ski-masks. I don´t want them to remember your faces."he commanded and the twins quickly obeyed, pulling their ski-masks from their pockets and putting them on their faces.

Before they could say or do anything else, there were footsteps coming from the nearby stairs and Cherie came running up from them, the handcuffs still attached to her hand. With a gasp she stopped as she saw the the masculine figures she had no trouble to recodnize. With a gasp, she also recodnized their Patron. Without another word, she turned around and dashed back down the stairs.

"GET HER!"commanded Jaq angrily and the two twins instantly sped after her.

Cherie ran trough the down corridor like crazy, looking for a place to hide somewhere. She knew and heared, that the two twins were not far away from her and sped up even more. She looked at the staircase at the end of the hall and knew she´d have to make a choice - up the stairs to the offices, or down the stairs to the cellar. Making up her mind in a split-second, she dashed up the stairs, hoping that her persuers haven´t seen which way she went.

Upstairs, the three Wise brothers and their trusty allies just put down the walkie-talkie as their communication with Brother Fred ended.

"All right. We split into teams and search. Archie, Emily - you two stay here and be on guard, and I MEAN ON GUARD!"Nick stressed his point, but his growl lacked the ussual anger as he pointed his finger on Emily and Archie, who gave him sheepish smiles.

Mia couldn´t help but giggle, Abbygail smiled warmly while Tex sniggered slightly.

"Of course, brother Nick."said Archie and Emily even did a mock sallute saying "You can count on us.".

Nick rolled his eyes, but cracked a small smile.

"Ok... Tex, Abbygail - take the enterance hall."

Tex nodded while Abbygail gave him a thumbs-up.

"We´re on it, commander."she said in good humor.

Tex gave a small "huh" as he felt his hand being taken by a smaller, much gentler one. He looked to his side and was met with Abbygail´s shy smile. His cheeks burning red, he allowed the girl to lead the way trough the corridor without any word.

Emily giggled at the sight, Archie grinned while Nick and Mia shared a look.

"Oh brother."said Mia laughing slightly.

"You can say that again, blondie."said Nick, chuckling a bit too.

"Well... Commander Big-Nose? What´s in store for us?"asked Mia playfully.

Nick rolled his eyes, feeling the need to chuckle again.

"We´ll take the lower room, starting from the main hall just in case. Hope you´re not afraid of the dark, Mia."he said, poking her with the same playfullness.

Mia snorted.

"As IF. I´d better not find YOU shaking, Mr Brave."she said as the pair of them followed the previous one, moving towards the hall.

Emily and Archie smiled brightly at their retreating forms.

"Its love, right Emmy?"asked Archie happily.

Emily nodded smilingly.

"Sure is, teddy-bear. Even if they don´t want to admit it yet."

Suddenly they heared hurried footsteps on the stairs. Quickly they moved towards the staircase, Archie stubbornly stepping infront of it.

"No, Archie."whispered Emily, quickly grabbing her boyfriend and dragging him to the side, hiding the pair of them from view.

Archie barely had time to protest before they saw Cherie hurriedly rushing from the staircase and along the corridor.

"I knew it!"exclaimed Archie as she dissapeared from view.

At once, he sprang into a run after her.

"ARCHIE! Wait for me!"exclaimed Emily, sprinting right ater him.

Sprinting after her boyfriend, she failed to see a large masked person, making his way up the stairs. Blinking at what he saw, he slowed down, moving after them carrefuly.

...

The audience positively roared in laughter. Tammy Hoodwood, dressed in simple jeans, white shirt, a black tie, black suit-top and a black hat, was just performing her stand-up comedy act and even the situation that arose couldn´t keep Lola, Billy and Phil from exploding in laughter at her jokes.

"Ha ha ha... THAT´S a good one!"roared Miles as he was litterally crying in laughter.

Rodney also agreed, unable to keep a straight face.

"What...? I don´t get it."said a dumbfounded Wiseman, being about the only one not laughing.

"No surprise there, Wisey-guysey."smirked Miles.

"What´s THAT supposed to mean?!"

The celebrities were also rolling in laughter. Even the great comedians Jake Izzy and Milton Weasel had tears in their eyes.

"This gal sure is something..."said Jake, his head falling to the table and his fist pounded on it in the wake of the hilarity.

"Now THAT´S talent."said Billy aproovingly.

"I didn´t know she was so funny."noted Phil happily.

"Oh, she always was."said Angie airly, knowing her for years.

"Well... she´s got MY vote alright."came an amused voice after them - a voice they all recodnized with ease.

They turned around to see Lily and April there, smiling happily. The smiles at once told them, that they were successful in their mission.

"Where are those two?"asked Lola at once.

Lily smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Where do you think? Lover-boy went to save his girl and Genius-boy has a score to settle."

Her best friend at once goaned.

"Not again... April... didn´t you try to talk him out of it?"asked Lola in exaspiration, knowing that there was a chance that Chichi would listen to her, especially under April´s puppy-eyed look.

April however had a sunny smile on her face as she shook her head.

"He trusted me with healing Steve, I trust him with dealing with the Two Ton Twins."she said proudly.

Lola smacked her forehead, while Lily giggled. Phil and Billy however gasped.

"The Two Ton Twins?!"they exclaimed together, also very familiar with wrestling matches.

Lola could easily tell from their shocked faces, that this was very, VERY bad news. She quickly looked around as the crowd roared with laughter again, but quickly realized, that she couldn´t do anything to warn Wiseman or even Miles for that matter. Not without disrupting the show.

"As soon as Tammy gets her points and the crew calls for another pause, I´m going straight to the pair of them."she said with an exaspirated sigh, pointing at Miles and Wiseman.

She cast a small, worried look over her shoulder, looking all the way from the backstage to the enterance door of the Town Hall.

...

"Looks like Tammy is having real success."noted Mary, as another roar of laughter rang from outside.

"I hope our performance will score well in that case."nodded Zoe, feeling slightly nervous.

Afterall, in mere minutes she will have to take to the stage alongside Paul and Norman - the other two members of the Drama Club - and of course Candy herself.

"I can´t believe, that Candy wanted to use THAT play for it though..."said Mary - shaking her head, her best friend sure had interesting ideas from time to time.

"I can. Afterall it was her pet-project last year. Makes sence that she´d want to show it on TV. Remember, she spend all year writing it."reminisced Zoe thoughtfully.

Mary suddenly shuddered.

"Oooh... don´t even remind me that. She pestered Mia with it so much, that... ooooh..."she said, shuddering again at the memory of Candy´s younger sister and the allmighty rage she went into upon being pestered with the complete play for the hundredth time.

"Excuse me, ladies."came a voice they didn´t recodnize.

Turning around they saw a handsome young boy, red-haired, bispectalled, dressed in blue overalls that reminded them of the TV crew.

"Ah yes... we´re already preparing to leave for the dressing room."said Mary quickly.

The boy shook his head, surpressing a smirk - he now knew what to do.

"No need just yet, girls. Mr Skylark has instructed me to make sure you are prepared for the stage. He said, that you should have some of the food in the Staff room before going off to the stage."

Mary frowned, but Zoe positively whooped.

"Cool... I haven´t eaten a while."

"Zoe... that´s not a good idea. Afterall we´re supposed to hit the stage soon and Candy..."began Mary, but the boy held up his hand, smiling at them charmingly.

"Not to worry girls. That´s what us, crew members are here for."he said as he guided them towards the Staff Room.

As he expected, Zoe quite easily told him everything about their intended performance he wanted and needed to know. Once more he had to refrain from smirking - he now knew EXACTLY what to do to disrupt the performance, cover his trails and allow the twins to have some fun all at the same time.

He noticed the key in the lock as he opened the Staff Room´s door for the girls. Zoe at once took to the food table. Mary cast an uncertain look at him and he smiled at her.

"Do not worry. I will come and inform you, when the time comes for you to get ready."he said in a soothing voice.

Jaq La Jolie couldn´t hold his smirk at bay any longer as he closed the door and carefully locked it.

"Gerard, Gabriel... let us regroup in the closet. And bring that Cherie girl too..."he asked, contacting them.

"Nous ne pouvons pas, Patron..."came the reply and Jaq´s blood pressure rose in one second.

"What do you mean, you can´t?! Where is that girl?!"

"The tall one of the Brotherhood, Patron... they chaught her. The girl didn´t even put up a fight."

Jaq growled. He didn´t count on Cherie to get chaught... not so soon anyway.

"Do we attack, Patron?"asked Gabriel, clearly eager to do so.

"Non... let us regroup... I will explain you the plan."

As he said it, there was a massive applause from somewhere outside. Jaq scrowled, knowing that there was little time.

"Et hâte!"he added urgently.

Little did he know, that he was spied on. By a certain blonde-haired boy, who narrowed his eyes at the sight of him.

"Gotcha..."he thought savagely as he moved after him, as quiet as a mouse.

Outside there was a standing ovation for Tammy, whose stand-up comedy act was crowned by a side-splitting joke. Lola and Angie took their positions on the stage, while Phil quickly fiddled with his tablet.

"Wow Phil... you sure did an outstanding job on the program."said Lily as she took a peek at his tablet, which was sending commands to the main screen on the stage.

Phil blushed and uttered a sheepish thanks as the judges issued their points. The celebrities did the same and moments later the crew called for a pause. As the curtain fell, Jake Izzy and Milton Weasel at once made their way to a startled Tammy. The gang grouped again as well, with Miles joining them.

"So Chich is back?"he asked brightly, seeing Lily and April there.

"Yes... Miles we have a..."started Lola but didn´t get to finish.

"Brother Fred, brother Fred!"came a boy´s voice they knew very well and Wiseman stood up from the table.

Archie sped up front, holding his girlfriend by the hand, apparently excited. Behind him, in a cassual pace were Nick and Mia, followed by Abbygail, then Tex who had a set of handcuffs - one end around his hand, the other around...

"Cherie..."breathed everyone, extremly surprised.

Cherie Peters was approaching slowly, her one hand bound to Tex, the other - still with another set of handcuffs around it - had been holding the hand of her boyfriend, Steve Rowan. She cracked a tiny smile at Billy, Lola and Lily as Wiseman made his way to them, a look of triumph on his face.

"Good job, my brothers. So... Ms Peters... do you have anything to say for yourself?"he said, folding his arms.

"She didn´t do anything, Detective Wiseman. She was kidnapped from the Police Station. Just like me and Chichi - we were taken captive."said Steve, staunchly defending her.

Wiseman raised an eyebrow.

"Is that right? Captive you say? And how does that explain that you are HERE right now?"

Cherie quickly raised the hand with the other set of handcuffs about it.

"I escaped. I can also identify the two giant oafs along with their leader."

This however did little to sway Wiseman. He started to pace around, thinking.

"And where are these... giant oafs?"

"We saw one of them, didn´t we Archie?"said Emily suddenly.

Wiseman swiftly turned his head on Archie, who scratched his head in embaressment.

"He said, that he was a member of the contestant´s crew. Maybe Candy´s."

Lola, Billy, Phil and Lily smacked their heads as one. Cherie rolled her eyes in annoyance, while Steve only shook his head in disbelief.

"And where is young Chichi? I don´t see him anywhere... maybe he is..."started Wiseman in deep thought and the gang at once knew what was going trough his mind.

"Chichi is inside, trying to find and catch the twins."said April staunchly.

Wiseman snorted, shaking his head.

"Meddling into police business again... "he said, not seeing the glares he was recieving.

"We can go back there and catch these twins before HE can, brother Fred."piped up Archie in a bright voice.

Once more, the entire gang smacked their foreheads, even Miles.

"Great idea, brother Archie. You and brother Nick get to it. I can´t leave the stage, but I have complete confidence that you can do it."he said proudly.

The three sprang into sallute, Tex drawing Cherie´s hand up in the process.

"Hey... I don´t want to go back there."protested Cherie, for good reasons.

"She is right. Brother Tex, you stay here and guard the saboteur."said Wiseman, nodding.

"She´s no saboteur! I thought we explained that."exclaimed Steve, now a bit annoyed.

Wiseman raised his hand.

"If these two... oafs or whatever they are... are chaught, I will drop all charges against Ms Peters."he said, as though making the most gallant gesture in history.

The gang rolled their eyes.

"Well... at least its something."said Lily quietly.

"Yup. You´re aaaaaall heart, Wisey."said Miles grinning at him.

"Right. Brother Archie, brother Nick... get to it. I am depending on you."said Wiseman.

"I´m coming too."said Mia unexpectedly.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, but no one´s look of surprise was bigger than Nick´s.

"You´re a man down in here, dummy. You´ll need some help."she said in a rational voice, though her cheeks were slightly pink.

Without another word, she took Nick´s arm and turned to the stairs from the backstage. Everyone else was staring at their retreating forms, completly stunned at what they were seeing. Except Archie and Wiseman, who shared a smile, and April and Emily who shared a smirk.

"Hey, Archie... get your ass in gear. We´re waiting for you."she called over her shoulder, halfway to the Town Hall´s enterance.

Archie quickly ran after them, eager to keep up.

...

"Ah... you´re back at last."said Mayor Haveitall cheerfully as Jaq La Jolie re-seated himself at his seat beside his father.

"I am sorry for the delay, Mayor Haveitall. As it turned out, the bathroom emergency took more time I imagined."he replied pleasantly.

Mayor Haveitall chuckled.

"Oh, I can only imagine, since there is so much delicious food here to choose from."

Jean La Jolie however wasn´t smiling in humor. His son´s carefree attitude told him, that he had succeeded in his mission.

"What did I miss?"he asked, feighning bright interest.

"Oh you have missed quite a few, dear boy. Personally my favourite to win is Tammy Hoodwood... the sweet girl is really funny..."said Johnatan, chuckling humorously, liking Tammy´s stand-up very much - even the little impersionation of him, done so humorously that he couldn´t possibly have any hard feelings.

His Cygnuvillian collage snrted - apparently HE didn´t very much appretiate the impersionation of HIM, dispite the fact that it completly cracked the celebrity table, even making the always-proper Chirstopher Gee bang the table with his fist in hilarity.

What was making him most angry was, that he was clearly losing the bet. If he didn´t have his brilliant son and his cohorts on his side, he would´ve been seriously worried - he simply can NOT suffer such a shame, losing an infantile bet with his lesser collague.

"I am very interested to see, what our last girl has cooked up."carried on Mayor Haveitall, clearly in a spirited mood.

Jaq had to surpress an urge to smirk.

"I am confident, that it will be a spectacular show to see."

Jaq litterally had to grab the chair to refrain from showing any emotion.

"That´s what you think, mon ami. Unless I´m mistaken, the final contestant is now facing a very serious problem."he thought maliciously.

And indeed she was...

"Oh nooooooo... this can t be reaaaaaal..."exclaimed Candy inside her dressing room, positively dissolving into tears.

Archie and Nick shared a small look, as Candy bawled quite loudly. They were determined to guard her and her crew and escort them to the stage before returning to their hunt for the oafs, but as they arrived to the changing room for Candy and her crew, they found no one inside except one very distressed blonde girl.

"And I wanted to... my detective... the performance... OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"she exclaimed, and the two boys had to cover their ears as the girl gave out a high-pitched wail of pure misery.

"WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?! STOP YOUR USELESS BAWLING ALREADY!"roared Mia, working herself into a rage, but quite used to the scene.

It was a common occurance in their household - the elder blonde would start bawling, throwing tantrums, crying her eyes out for no good reason and her parents would gradually give her anything she desired. However, Mia was intelligent enough to know, that this does not work in real life - something, that judging by another high-level sonic-wail coming from her, Candy had much trouble in realizing.

"And I´M the younger of the two?! This cow is a complete spoiled-BRAT!"she roared, stomping the ground in pure rage.

"B...but sis... my performance... its all ruined... AAAAAAHHHH... someone else will get my sweet detective for sure... my whole romantic life is OOOOOVEEEEEER!"she wailed like crazy, before once more hiding her eyes in her palms, dissolving into tears again.

Archie gave a small sniff, feeling sorry for the girl. Nick however was more concerned for Mia, or rather what she might do in the wake of her rage, which was visibly building up to boiling temperatures.

"Mia..."he started uncertainly, hoping to cool down her rage.

Mia turned her back to her crying sister and huffed in annoyance. She almost wanted to say "Serves you right", given that she actually wanted to perform that idiotic play. Nick approached her warily, his hands moving to her shoulders, unsure of what danger might befall him if he actually touches her, but willing to try nonetheless. As he placed his palms gently on her shoulders, he felt her stiff. He gulped, positive that it would be the end of him. He closed his eyes in fear and turned his face to the side, feeling that he would rather recieve a slap to his cheek than a punch to the eye.

"THAT´S IT!"she exclaimed, making both Archie and Nick jump.

Nick gritted his teeth and braced himself, positive he was in for the slap of his life, but... none came. He opened his eye shakily and was astounded to see her beaming at him, her green eyes positively sparkling.

"All right, Candy. Calm down. You don´t need the rest of your performers. You have ME."she said, in - "Is this excitement?" thought Nick.

Candy at once stopped bawling and looked at her sister in small wonder.

"You mean... you´ll take over...?"she asked, almost not daring to believe it.

Mia sighed slightly to herself, but shrugged.

"Sure... why not. Afterall... I know the play inside out thanks to you."

The boys had to cover their ears once more as Candy gave out another high-pitched squeal, but thistime it was one of happiness.

In swift motion, she jumped from her seat and embraced her sister in a vice-like grip.

"Mia... my sweet sister... you´re my little saviour..."she squealed happily, squeezing her tighter.

Nick and Archie exchanged a puzzled look as Mia distangled herself from her sister´s graps.

"Allright... allright. Now come on and get ready. Or we won´t make it on time."she said airly.

Candy at once moved to the dressing board, pulling off her shirt in the process. The two boys gave out small shrieks and promtly turned their backs to the sight, Archie even slapped his palms on his eyes as he did it. The sight made Mia dissolve into a fit of giggles.

"Some alpha-males YOU two are."she giggled as she stepped infront a blushing Nick.

"Why are you doing this...? A second ago, you didn´t want anything to do with your sister´s performance and now you´re willing to stand in?"he asked in a low whisper.

Before she could answer however, Candy peeked from behind the dressing board.

"But even if I have you there, sis... we still need more people. Three boys at least."

Nick was astounded to see a cunning smile, playing on the girl´s lips.

"Oh that´s no problem, sis. If I´m not mistaken, we´ll have two voulenteers at the ready in no time. As for the third... he´s right here."said Mia, tugging on Nick´s shirt.

"ME?!"exclaimed Nick in disbelief as Candy looked on with a bright expression on her face.

"Yup. I can´t picture anyone better suited to play the heroic knight, than this macho-Wise-one."

Nick blushed at the odd wink she flashed at him. She took him by the hand and pulled him towards one of the dressing booths.

"What the hell...?! MIA?!"he exclaimed as she forced him to the booth.

He blushed deep-red as he felt her smaller hands on the bottom part of his shirt.

"What are you doing?"he stammered embaressedly as she litterally pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him shirtless and growing redder in the face by the second.

"You need to get dressed into your costume, dummy. And its no use fidgeting, I´ve seen it all already, remember?"she said boldly, though her cheeks mimicked that of Nick´s, who was so stunned he could barely speak.

"And... and hurry up, long-nose. We have only minutes to spare to get into our costumes."she said, quickly tossing his shirt over the dressing booth´s top.

"But... I don´t know any lines."he stammered in embaressment.

"You don´t need to, monkey-boy. The princess over there made it so damn simple a five-year old could play it out. And furthermore, you don´t have any lines at all. Just follow my lead."she said, winking at him.

Nick couldn´t really grasp why, but he felt the tension dissapear and thought that following her lead for a change might not be a bad idea. He was also starting to grasp, that this wacky blondie thought up of a plan.

"What are you up to?"he asked in small wonder.

Mia actually giggled.

"Hoo boy... you really have a long way to go, detective-head. Don´t you see, who these two other voulenteers will be?"

Nick gasped, grasping on Mia´s plan in an instant.

"That is absolutely brilliant..."he breathed in wonder - to think, that this stuck-up blondie was such a cunning schemer.

"You know it. Just be sure to aim well, when the master scene comes along, Sir Nicolas. That way, we won´t even need a Frog Prince."she said winking at him.

Nick grinned and made a mock-sallute.

"You got it, Commander Mia."

Mia smiled and turned.

"You know... I didn´t know you´d be willing to do so much for the Brotherhood."

Mia turned and Nick was rewarded by her brilliant blush and a smile, that reached her eyes for what must be the first time in their life.

"Oh... I´m not doing this for the Brotherhood, Nicolas."

Nick´s eyes went wide as he heard her say - "I´m doing this for you."

They were observed by a pair of shocked eyes, that carefully peeked trough the door, lucky that Archie was looking the opposite way, grinning like a idiot.

...

Phil, Lily, Billy, Lola, Steve, Cherie and April were stunned beyond belief. So was Miles as he saw WHO they brought to the backstage.

"We´re heeeeere!"exclaimed Candy happily, obviously unaware of anything being wrong.

"Are you insane?!"exclaimed Phil, coming closer to Mia, who was dressed in a brilliant pink dress that mimicked that of a princess.

"Shut up, Conners. Leave this to... US."she said brightly, as she placed her palm on his forehead and pushed him roughly backwards.

Lily at once reacted, catching Phil by the arms from the back to break what would´ve been an unmistakably painfull fall on his backside.

"Are you stupid, Mia?! You don´t go pushing people around like that!"she yelled at her, almost surprised at the rage she was feeling, though knowing that the last thing she wanted was to see the little guy get hurt... or pushed around for that matter.

Mia waved her hand neglectadadly.

"Sheesh, cool down Robins. We have the situation well in hand."

The others quickly looked at the two other people in costumes - two large, muscular, dangerous-looking people, that Lily, Billy and Phil had no trouble to recodnize - The Two Ton Twins. Archie quickly ran to Wiseman, eager to explain Mia´s plan.

"What the hell are you up to?!"growled April, coming face-to-face with Mia.

Mia was once more completly oblivious to her one-time friend´s anger.

"That goes double for you, April. You should know what I´m doing. Afterall... don´t you go out of your way to make sure your Chichi honey-bun succeeds?"

April saw red in one second.

"DON´T CALL HIM THAT! ONLY I..."she exclaimed, before catching herself just in time.

But too late for Mia, who gave her a smug smirk.

"Only YOU can call him that, huh? Have it your way, April. You can keep your little bio-hazard..."

"DON´T CALL HIM THAT EITHER!"roared April, longing very much to slap the grin of the blonde´s smirking face.

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Spocky-girl... just know this - thistime WE will be the ones on the top. My plan will make sure of that."she said quietly before she walked away, a noticable swagger in her step.

"OOOOH... why that stuck-up..."growled April, completly prepared to launch at her.

Just in time, April was stopped by Lola who wasted no time in grabbing her by the arms, knowing already what was going to go down.

"Drop it, April. This is not the time for a fight."she said urgently, the girl in her arms barely containing her rage.

"Oh my God... oh... was this how we ussually acted in the past?"asked Cherie, coming closer to Lola and completly disgusted at what she had seen.

Lola fixed her a small glare.

"You bet. Every... single... time."

Cherie slapped her free palm on her forehead, luckily free of one pair of handcuffs, curteousy of Lily who seemed to have a few hidden talents of her own. After years of doing exactly what she had just witnessed, she suddenly felt disgusted with herself - she never once thought about it, but the image was really repulsive. She felt a warm hand on her shouldrer and turned to face her boyfriend´s mild stare. She almost gasped - how many times had he told her about this...

"Perhaps... perhaps it´s really time to turn over a new leaf."she thought, but even SHE knew, that miracles won´t happen overnight.

"Okay boys. You won´t have any lines. All you have to do is wait for the proper moment - just dance until then."Mia instructed, the two large people infront of her, dressed in black robes that resembled that of a friar, nodding stupidly.

"Oui, oui..."said one of them, nodding vigorously.

"You can count on us, éstrange fille..."said the other one, but he had a small flash in his eye.

Mia flashed them a radiant smile.

"Good. Be sure to remember the moment you come to the stage."

As the two nodded, she turned to Nick, who was clad in his knight costume, a long spear in his arm, a club around his belt.

"Dance...? These two?"he whispered to her, chortling.

"Baboon-walk will do."she answered, winking at him, the pair of them dissolving into laughs.

"I´m counting on you, Sir Nicolas."she said in a pleasant voice.

Nick flashed her a grin from his open helmet.

"I´ll protect you to the end, Princess Blondie."

Mia giggled.

"You´d better concetrate on knocking out the twins."

Nick smiled at her, but suddenly she did something unexpected - but the look on his face and her happy emotions just called for it - she kissed him on the tip of his long nose. She giggled again at the startled look on his face as she closed down the hatch of the helmet.

"At ease, soldier. Now... to work."she said with a smirk, though feeling absolutely giddy on the inside.

The knight gave her a sallute and walked the opposite way. However he tripped over the curtain, sprawling himself on the floor of the backstage, the light-metal armor costume he was wearing on the upper part of his body giving out loud sound, and making many - Miles in lead - howl in laughter. Mia, instead of rolling her eyes like she ussually did, only giggled to herself as her sister came up from the back.

"Oh... what am I going to do with him?"she said aloud, more to herself than anyone else - really, even his clumsiness was growing on her like fungus.

"Kiss him half-to-death, sis... what else?"

Mia jumped, her face blood-red in an instant as she turned to her elder sister, who once more had tears of happiness in her eyes.

"M...mind your own business, you brain-dead big-eye! I´m doing you a favor, so do ME one and shut UP!"

Still watching her, April calmed down just enough to be released. But suddenly, she began to look around franticly.

"Guys... where´s Chichi?! The Two Tons are here, but he isn´t...! Oh... what if...?!"she began, worrying like crazy again.

Suddenly Phil´s cell-phone started to ring. Quickly he looked at the dialing number.

"Woah... I don´t have this number... yes?"he asked, answering the call.

The gang grouped together, eager to what was going on. Phil´s face turned from astoundment, to hilarity, to admiration as he was talking with the caller.

"You got it, man... I can´t believe you completed it already."he said brightly before finishing the call.

The radiant smile on his face told them at once, who was calling. April and Lola came in closer, eager for news.

"He´s all right."breathed April in relief, her smile sunny again.

"Yup. He´s in the dressing room and called from NICK´s phone."he said and the gang shared a laugh.

"What´s his plan?"asked Lola, now very eager to see how the situation could be solved, flashing a distrustfull look on the Two Tons.

Phil grinned mischievously.

"Let´s leave this to him, Lola. The Frog Prince is about show everyone, who the REAL hero is."

...

Jaq was doing all he could to contain the amazing rage he was feeling as he watched the twins dance around like baboons, both looking at eachother, unable to find a proper position to strike, since they were always blocked by Nick. Their dancing along with the comical way the knight was trying to block them drove the crowd into fits of laughter, not unlike the ones they had during Tammy Hoodwood´s performance.

"Those two idiots! What are they waiting for?!"he thought furiously, as another song of the play started to play.

The play itself was indeed a simple one. The dialogues and lines were only limited to Candy and Mia, who also sang to the music, played trough speakers. Nick, along with everyone else, was surprised that the two of them actually had decent singing voices. He could also tell, that the lines for the play were invented by BOTH of them, or rather Candy must have written down Mia´s angry comments as she pestered her over the course of writing it. They provided much of the comedy the play was offering and the crowd was sporting tears of laughter. Even the gang couldn´t help but laugh at it, along with the judges and the respective celebrities.

"It seems that dispite the infantile nature of the play, these simple people find it amusing."thought Jean La Jolie with narrowed eyes, he and his son being the only ones not laughing.

The setting was easily made by what remained of the crew, and many objects like helmets and toy-weapons of the middle ages were present on the stage. In the very middle of the stage was a throne-like chair, toward which "The Lonely Princess" was walking, dramaticly agonizing.

"Oh... where could my prince ever be...?"she sang as her sister shrugged, standing next to her.

"Who cares - its fine by me..."added Mia, singing along - the crowd sniggered.

"Why doesn´t he hear my cries...?"

"He´s too busy catching flies."

Candy moved in another dramatic swing, just as Gabriel tried to lunge at her, missing him by inches and completly unaware of the heavy weight that collided with the floor of the stage. The crowd laughed, thinking it was a part of the play, but the gang shared a worried look.

"Shouldn´t we try to do something?"asked Billy, clearly uncomfortable with this.

"Why bother. Let little miss perfect handle her amazing plan."huffed April, folding her arms and glaring Mia, who sang another of her comments.

"I´m worried though. I mean its only Mia and Nick out there."said Emily, very worried.

"Don´t worry. Backup´s on its way."came a voice behind her.

As once they turned and saw Archie dressed in a medevil costume, a helmet with horns substituting for his favourite cap, a shield and sword in his hands.

"Archie... what are you doing?"asked Emily, being the only one capable of speech right now.

"Backing up my brother and his ally, Emmy. He might need my help."he said as he slowly made his way to the stage, but turning back to face her even as he went.

"Archie, stop! Let Nick and Mia..."exclaimed Emily, but Archie´s foot got chaught in a loose cable on the floor and he took a back-dive right at the stage.

The crowd gave a shout of happy surprise as the new, smaller figure fell on the stage. Mia and Nick exchanged a look and both glared him as one. Candy however, like the crowd thought that it was part of the play, a part designed to improvise. Quickly she approached him and embraced him, even as he sat on the floor, looking around in confusion.

"A new hero has come to help."she sang happily.

"Just who is this little whelp?!"sang Mia as she approached the pair of them, a death-glare in her eyes.

The crowd laughed again, but for the gang in the backstage this was no laughing matter. And judging by the looks on the twins´ faces, the breaking point would come at any moment now.

And the moment came in an instant.

"ENOUGH"roared Gabriel, putting a halt to Candy´s and Archie´s little dialogue.

Nick and Mia turned as one, prepared for a fight. Nick quickly drew his club.

Archie quickly pulled Candy out of the way just as Gerard tried to grab her. The four of them grouped in the middle of the stage, with Gerard on the left side and Gabriel on the right. Phil quickly changed the music playing to a more dramatic one, intent on making it appear as though its part of the play.

"Betrayed... fooled... "Candy sang dramaticly, still thinking it was improvisation.

Archie poked out with his sword, but Gabriel quickly yanked it out of his hand and tossed it backward. Gerard tried to punch Nick, but he reacted at once. Grabbing Archie´s shield, he aimed it right towards the fist and made it take the blow. With a tiny clashing noise, the shield repeled the fist, surprising the attacker, just as everyone who knew that this was no play. Mia smirked, knowing that in her haste to have the imitations as perfect as posible, Candy insisted on using a trashcan top to serve as the base of it - for once the airhead actualy did something right for a change.

"SCATTER!"exclaimed Nick, feeling that they are too good a target when huddled together.

Quickly grabbing Mia´s hand, he puled her to one side just in time before Gerard was able to grab them both, his large arms catching thin air.

Archie was similary ready for action and pulled Candy to the other, evading Gabriel´s lunge at them, the large man spraying himself on the floor again. The dramatic music grew a bit louder thanks to Phil, who at once wanted to leap to the stage and help, but was held back by both Lily and April.

"No, Phil. Let the princess handle this."said April, a bit too fiercely.

Phil looked at Lily´s face, but while hers bore none of the fierceness, there was a gentle look in her eyes as she slowly shook her head. Lola at once fixed her boyfriend with a stern look - one that said quite plainly "Don´t get any ideas, buster!"

The judges were clearly torn as they watched - well at least two of them were.

"Shouldn´t we stop this? Before they get hurt?"asked Rodney uneasily, while Miles fidgeted clearly eager to get in there and help.

Both however felt Wiseman´s hand on their shoulders.

"Don´t worry. My brothers are more than experienced enough to handle this."he said with certainity.

In a few moments however even HE couldn´t help but doubt this. Though Nick and Mia seemed quite formidable to hold Gerard off, they clearly weren´t able to do so completly, even with their teamwork. Archie however was completly outmatched. Candy, who was moving around dramaticly and singing along with the dramatic music failed to see, what was going on. Archie gasped as he made another step backward, only to come into contact with the wall - he was cornered with no place to run or evade. The music reached a dramatic point and several people gasped as Gabriel, with a smirk set off another of his punches. Archie quickly lowered his head and Gabriel´s fist came in contact with the helmet. There was a dull sound and Gabriel jumped away, sporting his smarting fist, jumping around and cursing in French, while Archie slowly slid to the floor apparently knocked-out, the helmet falling from his head. The crowd applauded, obviously taking this as very good acting, however the backstage didn´t. Abbygail quickly grabbed Emily by the hand, stopping before she could rush to the stage. Phil turned to the side, where a metal box, that held several switches was placed.

"NOW!"he said to Billy and Steve, who nodded.

Before anyone could ask what they were up to, Phil flipped one of the switches and the lights on the stage instantly began to blink, making it impossible for anyone to see. In that instant Billy and Steve quickly made their way to Archie´s unconcious form, swiftly taking the smaller boy and bringing him back to the others. Phil flipped the switch again and the lights came up normally.

"Archie... speak to me."said Emily, who was at their side in an instant.

Before anyone could say or do anything, they heared the crowd give out a mighty cheer. All of them turned their heads to the stage and gasped. On the stage, to great surprise of both the twins as well as Nick and Mia stood...

"The Frog Prince!"exclaimed the crowd happily, several fingers pointing onto the newcomer.

Chichi arrived. Dressed in a green frog suit, that revealed only that of his grinning face, Chichi was crouched down in a frog-like fashion as though prepared for a leap.

"That´s Chichi."exclaimed Cherie unneccessarily.

The gang exchanged half-admiring and half-worried looks. Lola had to catch April who positively swooned on the spot as she gave out a lovesick sigh.

"He looks soooo adorable..."she whispered to his sister, who flashed her a small look of understanding.

In fact, Lola was suddenly reminded of the time when her brother was 5 years old and Buba made him a similary styled pyjama suit. Both were so chaught up, that they almost forgot the situation.

Gabriel growled and made a lunge at Chichi with all his weight. Chichi at once reacted. There was an odd bouncing sound as he jumped out of the way before the large man could strike him. The girls gasped as they saw him practicly soar, even making a summersault in midair before landing neatly out of harm´s way using his hands in a very frog-like fashion, while the twin landed painfully on the floor. The crowd gasped and gave out a cheer. Gerard immediately let go of Nick, whom he managed to grab by the throat and attacked as well. Using small hops Chichi easily evaded the punches and a moment later jumped out of the way of his lunge in the same manner with the same sound. The crowd was cheering happily at each and every escape as the twins attacked more furiously, but still in vain.

"Wow... since when could Chichi jump like that?"breathed Billy in awe.

Lola, Steve, Cherie, April, Angie and Emily couldn´t hide their astonishment, but Lily only giggled while Phil looked triumphant.

"Since he completed his new little project."said Lily happily.

Phil nodded with a grin.

"He got the idea from Lis´ rubber statue. Since then he´s been playing around a bit, making a suit. We wanted to test it as soon as the contest is over, but by the looks of it, it works perfectly... too much!"he explained, exclaiming the last bit happily, punching the air in his excitement.

Chichi apparently shared that excitement and it was growing with each passing second in the wake of his success. With his infamous grin in place, he began putting more strength into his jumps, the thick inflated rubber beneath his feet propelling him with even more speed and into greater hight as he evaded a yet another attack, landing safely by using the thin rubber on his hands. Candy wasted no time in singing priases for the Frog Prince quite litterally, but Nick and Mia were getting seriously annoyed.

"No way... not again!"growled Nick, his anger building.

"C´mon. Let´s take them out before HE can. They´re not paying any attention to us."said Mia, elbowing him as she grabbed Archie´s fallen shield.

Nick grabbed his club and the pair of them at once making to the twins, Mia moving for Gabriel and Nick for Gerard. At that moment Gerarg tried to hit Chichi who was crouched on the ground again. Getting an idea, thistime Chichi didn´t jump, but turned on the ground and used his hands to push himself towards the twin, who was in mid-lunge. His feet came into contact with Gerard´s stomach, positively blasting him away with incredible speed. Nick didn´t have time to move away before the flying twin hit him, both of them flying backwards and smashing into the back wall, making the large screen shake. The crowd as well as Candy cheered happily. The impact however made Chichi lose his balance with his hands, sending him sliding along the floor and right towards Gabriel.

"Oops."breathed Chichi as he saw the other twin above him.

The crowd gasped along with those in the backstage, Gabriel cracking his knuckles menacingly, preparing to deliver a punch straight to Chichi´s face. April quickly hid her eyes behind her palms before a loud metally sound rang across the stage. Gabriel staggered a few steps, his hand going to the trobbing spot on his head, where Mia struck him with the shield. Mia dropped the shield to the floor and held her smarting hand in the other - the hand also suffering some of the impact as she hit him with every ounce of strength she had.

But not nearly enough. Gabriel turned around, a murderous look on his face as he advanced on her.

"Mia! Get out of the way!"exclaimed Chichi, rolling away to the other side in order to get a better position.

Gabriel was quicker. Using his large hand, he grabbed her roughly around the neck before she could even move and pulled her to himself.

Nick goaned under the weight of the other twin, shaking his head. Lucky he had the knight´s helmet on, otherwise he really might´ve hurt himself during the crash. He felt the heavy weight move away as Gerard was also goaning, gathering his strength back. With a gasp he saw the other twin holding Mia by the throat, his glare set on the frog-suited boy on the ground. Narrowing his eyes angrily, he took the club from the ground and started to get up.

Chichi, though in a perfect position to jump was reluctant to do anything.

"The game is up, you little pest. Surrender!"growled Gabriel, tightening his grip on Mia´s throat dispite how much she tried to struggle.

As if on sync with the dramatic and sombre tone of the music playing, Chichi blew out a long sigh of defeat - he knew he shouldn´t risk it, even if it was Mia.

"All right... okay. I gi..."he started to say, as he was slowly getting up from his crouching frog-like position.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise and the crowd litterally exploded in cheer. Mia felt the pressure around her throat loosen as the large hand was falling from her neck. A second later Gabriel Robuste fell forward to the floor, finally unconcious. Mia gasped not just for air, but also in mild-shock as she saw Nick there in a double-handed position with what was left of the club - it clearly broke as he swung it on Gabriel´s thick skull.

"Deja vu..."she thought in happy astonishment, remembering the Outdoor Sales Day.

Nick threw aside the club handle that remained and at once closed the distance between them, grabbing her by the shoulders gently and looking into her eyes.

"Are you all right? That was stupid... you should´ve left both of them to me... you shouldn´t have..."he ranted quickly and Mia felt her cheeks blush as she allowed a sunny smile to grace her lips.

She couldn´t help herself anymore - it was time to do, what she perhaps should´ve done on that day. She placed her index finger on his lips gently, silencing him as he gave her a surprised look - one that looked positively adorable to her.

"Nick..."she started with a grin on her face.

"...shut up."

Before he could do anything to respond to that, she replaced her finger with her lips, bringing her arms tightly around him, holding him closer as she kissed him.

The crowd exploded with cheers, applauses and even cat-calls, positively loving this installment. Their classmates were looking at them in astonishment even as some of them - mainly girls - were applauding happily. Candy was also applauding like crazy, jumping around in pure joy at what she was seeing. Emily was also applauding with a smile with her arms around her boyfriend who regained conciousness a moment ago and dispite the headache he had right now, was grinning happily at them. Lola, Lily, Angie and Cherie shared a grin, while the boys exchanged shruggs. The celebrities were also applauding happily, just like Miles and Rodney. Wiseman however was standing as he applauded a look of joy written all over his face.

"You see? THIS is how the Brotherhood of the Wise wins their girls."he exclaimed proudly, looking at Miles as though proving a point.

Miles grinned at him and gave him a thumbs-up.

"RESPECT."

Smiling slightly, Wiseman moved a bit behind the table, rummaging his pocket for something.

"Well... better get those two in handcuffs."he said in a matter of fact voice as he got away from the judge´s table, intent on entering the stage.

"Wait, Wisey."exclaimed Miles, making him turn back.

"What?"

"You can´t go there. The show´s not over yet."

Wiseman rolled his eyes and was about to respond when a loud roar of rage rang on the stage. Nick and Mia separated and gasped as they saw Gerard on his feet, a livid look on his face. Chichi also gasped as the anrgy muscular man litterally ran at them. Forgetting to get down into a crouching position, he jumped with all the strength he had - which was a mistake. The thick rubber on his feet propelled him from the ground with extreme force, too much - waaay much more than he expected. With a yelp he flew good four meters into the air, unable to control the jump. Gerard didn´t even notice him dissapearing in the wake of his rage, all he cared was getting his hands on the pair responsible for knocking out his brother. Knowing there was no escape, Mia clutched Nick closer to herself and closed her eyes, as Gerard reached his fallen brother and reached for the pair of them.

CRAAASH!

Chichi fell down from the air, straight on him as he was trying to break his fall with his entire body. Gerard was instantly pressed onto his fallen brother´s back, the combined weight along with the fall being too much for the wooden floor, which promtly gave out beneath it all - breaking and sending both of them downward as Chichi bounced off them.

"CHICHI!"exclaimed the gang as he flew trough the air, the crash breaking his fall, but still bouncing him away, making him fall on the throne, that also broke upon impact, but thistime making him stop in place in a strange position on what remained of it.

"Oooouch..."he goaned in semi-unconcionsness.

The rubber suit under his frog costume took most of the damage from the falls, but still wasn´t able shield him from everything.

The crows gasped in anticipation as they saw Candy taking him into her arms.

"My prince had come and saved us all."she started to sing happily.

April gasped in horror, already seeing where this was going.

"Phil! Get ready to flip that light switch again! I have to get Chichi out of there!"she commanded at once, a fierce note to her voice.

Phil looked taken aback.

"Fred, wait. They´re finishing now, you can arrest those two down a few moments later."pleaded Rodney as Wiseman once more turned to the stage, intent on entering.

"But it became his tragic fall."sang Candy, unaware of anything that was going on around.

"Phil, I´m not repeating myself again - Flip the damn switch so I can get Chichi away from that... that... that COW!"growled April, determined not to let her do what she thought she will do in mere moments.

"How to save you... I know... THIS!"

"No, you two! I´m arresting them right now, before they can wake up!"exclaimed Wiseman, already stepping on the stage.

"I will free you... with my kiss."sang Candy, bringing him to her, their faces growing closer and closer.

"PHIL! NOW!"roared April, already running for the stage to separate them.

At the same time Wiseman also ran to the stage. Phil quickly flipped the switch, making the lights blink again, blinding everyone. As if on instinct, April reached, grabbing the rubber suit and pulling with all her might. Wiseman gasped at the lights, not seeing where he was going. He tripped over the fallen helmet and lost his balance, falling forward with his arms outstretched to break the fall. With an allmighty yank, April pulled Chichi to her but he fell on her, making both of them bounce once, twice, three times and right off the stage to the other side. The pull made Candy spin on the spot with her arms also outstretched just as Wiseman was falling towards her.

As Chichi fell on the ground in the back with April on him, he goaned again and opened his eyes, just as the lights came up. The first thing he saw, was a familiar face.

"Huh...? April?"he goaned groggilly as he blinked several times.

The relieved look on her face, followed by the sunniest smiles he ever saw made him blush a bloody-red.

"What happened?"he whispered nervously, his heart beating so hard he was afraid he might bounce off again.

Before she could say or do anything there was a powerfull cheer coming from both the crowd AND the stage. Moving a bit, in order to get a better look both of them gasped in surprise at what they were seeing.

Candy and Wiseman were standing on the stage, lip-locked. Wiseman´s eyes were wide-open as he felt the girl´s lips kissing him passionately, her arms holding him in a vice-like grip.

"WAHOOO! Look at that!"boomed Miles as he clapped like crazy, even whistling into it.

Encouraged by the cheers and applause, Wiseman slowly gave in and brought his arms around the girl, closing his eyes and responding with a kiss of his own - his very first kiss...

...

The Moonshade Café was crammed full with people. Young AND old were going in and out and not many seats inside were taken. Instead the people were easily enjoying a small gathering on Town Hall Square organized by the mayor almost on a whim. The mayor simply stated that "The people of Beauvillage should enjoy the beautifull last days before the weather turns colder" - something, that everyone pretended to believe. In fact, the entire population of Beauvillage knew very well, why the mayor organized this celebration.

Another reason why people didn´t exactly hang around inside was, that most of the tables were reserved. One such table - a large one at that was reserved and taken by the most known group of Beauvillage these days.

",,, we also wish to congratulate the charming Ms Liferich on her victory. Among others gret congratulations should also go to Mayor Johnatan Haveitall, who undertook such a daring, yet very creative idea. We can only hope, that other cities in the country will also try to show their creativity and create a show equal or even better than Miss Beauvillage. Many also eagerly await what new outstanding feat will come from Beauvillage. One thing is certain - until such time, people all around the country will not forget this amazing show."Lily grinned as she finished reading the front page article.

The rest of the group - Lola, Billy, April, Chichi, Rodney, Angie, Chloe and Miles grinned happily while they continued to dig into their sweet desserts - all on the Mayor´s tab.

A week passed from the final round, and Beauvillage was still on the covers of newspapers, magazines and even featured on the social webs - according to Phil´s report. Many people were once more interviewed and many relationships that formed over the course of the contest were also viewed. But none was viewed more than...

"Come on, my sweet prince. Our table is waiting and Mrs Sweetlong already made your favourite chocolate pudding."came a giddy voice from the doorway.

The gang turned their sights to the door just in time to see the people separate to make room for the incoming couple. Sure enough, Candy Liferich - Miss Beauvillage - was coming, both of her hands clutching the hand of Frederick Wiseman, who was dressed in simple jeans and a green vest. Though he was blushing a briliant shade of red, his face at once flashed with excitement.

"Chocolate pudding?! I love chocolate pudding."he exclaimed like an overjoyed child as they sat down, not far from the gang.

Candy giggled happily and pecked him on the lips.

"I know you do, my great detective. Now... I´ll go get our order and you wait here."she said as she moved to the front, people respectively stepping aside, allowing her to pass.

She came back in a matter of seconds, holding two large cups of chocolate pudding. Sitting very closely to him, she at once took the spoon into her hand.

"Open wide."she sing-songed happily.

Wiseman eagerly did as he was instructed and allowed his new girlfriend to place the spoon gently into his mouth.

Miles snickered at the sight, his face lighting up with mischief.

"WISEY´S GOT A GIRLFRIEND! WISEY´S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"he sing-songed at the top of his lungs like a school-boy.

"QUIET!"Wiseman roared back, his face tomato-red as Miles laughed "evilly".

Lily, Chloe, Angie and April giggled while the boys chuckled. Lola however fixed Miles a stern look.

"Can you give it a REST already?! You´ve been doing that ALL WEEK!"she growled, rolling her eyes - sure it was kinda fun the first day, but it was starting to get old and annoying now.

Miles only snickered mischievously.

"Sorry, Lola. But you know... I´ve been waiting for a chance like that for years. I just can´t get enough of teasing him."

Rolling her eyes again, she shook her head and returned to her fruit-sunday.

"But you know, Miles... you really shouldn´t tease him about that... after all..."said Lily, before kissing him passionately on the lips.

The gang grinned happily as the kiss dragged on until finally separating, but not before Chichi flashed a cheeky wink on Chloe, April, Billy, his sister and even Rodney Philips.

"MILESEY´S GOT A GIRLFRIEND! MILESEY´S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"they sing-songed in the same manner, as if the prove the point.

Lily, though red-cheeked giggled, while Miles scratched his head grinning sheepishly.

"Guilty as charged."he said, raising his arms in a gesture of surrender.

As the table shared a laugh a jet-black haired boy dressed in a waiter´s outfit came to them, looking extremly sour.

"Can I get you anything else?"he asked in a carefully controlled voice as his eyes swept over the table.

Chichi got a look of mischief quite similar to Miles´.

"Yes, waiter... another round if we may and keep ´em coming. I´m afraid that the Strawberry Special is dissapearing very fast, so you MAY want to hurry up a bit."he said, flashing a very sly smile on Jaq La Jolie, who was shaking in an effort to stay calm, his left cheek sporting a bandage.

His right eye, one that was sporting a brilliant black-eye was twitching slightly.

"At once... s...sir."he said slowly, the last word coming trough his lips as though with extreme effort as he slowly started to retreat.

"And crack a smile, will you? Its a nice day..."added Chichi in a happy voice, quite enjoying the tremble of the older boy as he moved back towards the front.

"Ouch... that was almost mean, Chich."said Miles mildly.

"No, Miles. It wasn´t."said Lola with narrowed eyes, clearly not forgetting that the idiot used a damn paralyzer on her baby brother - something which is likely to gain one her everlasting loathing.

She was beoynd furious when she heared. Immediately after Candy´s performance, after the points were given and the show ended, Jean La Jolie, Mayor Haveitall, and all those who had been involved ended up in the Mayor´s office where everything was resolved. Jean La Jolie protested to his son´s supposed involvement, questioning the wittnesses and demanding to have proof. That was when an annoyed Chichi ordered Phil to issue a command on his tablet, setting off his Gzorbial Cell-Phone, that resided in Jaq´s pocket, where it was since he and the twins took him and Steve captive. Jaq immediately lost control, but no less than Chichi, who obviously did not take the paralyzer stunt kindly and awarded it with a punch straight to his left cheek. The mayor was also extremly furious at both La Jolies for cheating in such a vile manner and La Jolie immediately had to start bargaining in order to evade a scandal. And Johnatan Haveitall indeed bargained hard - in a way that made even Miles go green in envy. In fact, the entire celebration outside as well as the entire tab for the special guests in the Moonshade Café (and he made sure to invite everyone he thought to have deserved it) was on the exclusive tab of Jean La Jolie.

"Jeez... talk about a turn-up."came another voice from the doorway.

Jaq gulped as he saw who entered - Cherie Peters and her boyfriend Steve Rowan. The younger La Jolie had pretty good reason to be afraid, since she was responsible for the black-eye, upon learning that Steve has been chained to a pole with his brocken hand. They sat down at a table close to the front and she immediately snapped her finger imperiously at him, making him appear directly at her side, taking their order.

"Looks like some things don´t change..."muttered Lola as she watched her sit there like a queen and boss the boy around.

However as Jaq quickly left with the order, Steve waved at them and Cherie, catching sight of them gave a small wave of her own and gave them a mild smile.

This surprised Lola and Lily more than anyone else.

"Some things however do. If you give them a chance to."said Chichi sagely, smiling a bit to himself.

"I still can´t believe that she actually approached a Tofu for help."said Lola, shaking her head.

"She did it for Steve, remember? I mean that HAS to count for something."reminded Lily, understanding a bit now.

"Love works wonders."concluded April with a small sigh, her eyes briefly flashing to her left side, on Chichi.

Billy couldn´t help but smile at the pair of them, happy for his best friend as they saw Cherie helping him with his Vanilla DeLuxe, feeding him in much the same way Candy was still doing with Wiseman. April sighed a bit.

"Too bad that his arm isn´t healed up yet, though."she said sadly.

Chichi´s eyes turned gentle and he lay his hand on her shoulder.

"Your first aid helped greatly, April. As for the arm... well I think you´ve helped some on that too, the rest is only a matter of time."he said kindly, careful not to discuss Green Magic in front of Rodney and Angie.

She gave him a look of loving gratitude and started to say something when...

"For cryin´ out loud I said NO!"came an angry girl´s voice.

"Awww... come on, sis. I´ve wanted a double-date with you and our boys for like forever."exclaimed Candy, giving her glaring sister a puppy-eyed look.

"Well, you can forget about it! I don´t wanna mess up MY date by hanging around with YOU!"growled Mia angrily.

Nick and Wiseman shared a small look and both of them only shrugged and remained silent.

"We´ll join you on the double date, brother Fred."came Archie´s voice as he came in with Emily.

"Ooooh, goody! We can have a TRIPLE date!"squealed Candy happily.

"I´ll give you a HOSPITAL date if you don´t shut up!"growled Mia, showing her fist angrily.

"Come on, sis. It´ll be fun!"she persisted.

Mia at once turned to Nick.

"Come on, let´s get the hell out of here."

Nick rolled his eyes.

"But I thought you wanted something sweet to eat."

"I lost my apetite!"she growled.

"Jeez... but I wanted something sweet too."he whined.

"So get a lump of sugar and shut up!"

"Damn it, can´t you just wait here for one damn minute?!"

"NO! We´re leaving NOW!"

"Unless you remember, we can have our order for FREE!"

"FINE, Mr Cheap! You can go ahead and have your sweets! But I´M leaving NOW!"

"What the heck is your problem, you crazy blondie?!"

"Want me to list out a few, monkey-face?!"

The pair of them bickered even as they set out of the Café, their arguing could be heared even as they exited outside. As soon as they dissapeared, Candy gave out a long sigh.

"Those two are made for eachother... don´t you agree, my sweet love?"

Wiseman looked as though he would rather NOT voice his opinion and he merely shrugged.

"I knew it. Just like WE are."she exclaimed before litterally jumping on him, attacking his lips with searing kisses.

"Jeez... talk about bad romance."muttered Billy shaking his head, obviously having an opinion of it himself.

"In a wierd way... she might be right."said Chloe, knowing Mia for years.

Everyone seemed to muse on it for a while, trying to figure out if its right or wrong.

"Hi guys."came a happy voice, one they knew very well.

"Hey... you´ve made it, little guy."said Lily happily.

"Come on. Pull up a chair and join us."said Chichi brightly.

Phil however shook his head.

"Sorry guys... No-can-do. I´m sitting at a smaller table thistime."

Lily grinned in spite of herself.

"Well don´t waste time here, lover-boy. Go to your girl."she said gently.

"Right. We´re still up for tonight, Chichi?"

At Chichi´s nod, Phil left to one of the small tables in the back, where Nicolette was waiting for him.

"Love is in the air, huh?"said Lola to Lily happily as they saw the girl peck Phil on the lips, leaving a goofy smile on his face.

"You bet it is."said Lily with a wink, kissing Miles on the cheek, who dispite eating his favourite strawberries returned her a boyish grin.

Angie cleared her throat.

"Well guys, I should get back to the office. Just to make sure my Dad doesn´t do something wacky again in the wake of his... victory."she said as she got up, her eyes falling on the person, serving at the counter.

Jean La Jolie, dressed in a waiter´s dress was clearly highly uncomfortable, struggling to be polite but in fact seething with rage on the inside at the shame of it all.

"He actually looks younger without his mustache. Although he clearly doesn´t like the idea."said Rodney, who got up as well.

"Serves him right for cheating on that stupid bet."responded Angie crossly.

"Well... I should accompany you. Best leave the youngsters alone."he said nonchalantly, fully aware of the "Yeah, right" looks he was getting from them.

Waving to them all, the pair of them left the table and the café. Hand-in-hand they passed trough Town Hall Square, cassually observing the celebration going on in full swing, waving to the large group of adults that included the Tofu elders, The Hubbubs, The Robins, The Spocks, The Conners siblings with their significant others, as well as numerous other people there.

"I´m really happy how this contest turned out. For more reasons than one."she said in a happy sigh as they entered the Town Hall, her hand tightening on Rodney´s in pure joy.

"I´m happy too. And incidentaly, the two of us are invited to Sydney´s place tommorow."

Angie giggled, remembering the card session he told her about.

"I really owe it to my former principal since he finally talked some sence into you."

Rodney gave out a small sigh, but fixed her with a sheepish grin.

"A...anyway... have you figured out how to spring the news to your dear old Dad?"

His heart almost melted at the cheeky, mischievous look she gave him - she suddenly looked like the teenager he used to teach.

"He´s the smart one in the family. Let him figure it out."

He couldn´t help but laugh at it, though in fact kinda fearing the Mayor´s reaction to the situation. But one single look at his new girl made him think, that it would be extremly well worth it. He was barely paying any attention to his girlfriend, who was leading the way, turned to him with a radiant smile on her face.

"Angie! Watch out for that...!"he exclaimed, coming to his sences - but too late.

Angie came into contact with the large tray filled with food and drinks set in front of her father´s office. The effect was instantanious - Angie tripped over, landing on her backside as the trays fell over her, glass breaking on impact as it fell on her.

"Ouch... Damn it..."she goaned as she tried to rid herself of the pieces of food and whatever else that fell over her. Rodney was at her side in an instant.

"Angie, are you okay?"he exclaimed, immediately checking her over for any kind of injury.

"I´m okay... I just..."she started to say, before Rodney took her into his arms bridal-style, and carried her into the office.

She could barely restrain her grin as she snuggled into him as if on habit. He set her on her father´s worktable and double-checked her again caringly.

"Rodney... I told you, I´m fine. No harm done thistime."she said gently as she placed her palm on his cheek.

He smiled at her as he brought their foreheads together, feeling her arms encircle his neck.

"You´re such a little klutz, Angie... but you know something?"

Angie fixed him a curious look.

"You´re MY little klutz."he said with a grin before kissing her, Angie responding with passion.

A loud, strangled scream made them part. Rodney gasped slightly as he saw the person in the doorway. Mayor Haveitall was standing there, his face frozen in shock at the sight before him and positively gasping for breath.

"A...Angie...wha...how...?"he stammered, not being able to mutter more.

Angie grinned cheekily and brought herself even closer to Rodney.

"What´s wrong Dad? I´m just enjoying myself with my new boyfriend."

Johnatan Haveitall looked as though he was slapped.

"B...boy...friend...?"

"Y...yes, mayor Haveitall. I love your daughter very much. And it was high time to do something about it."said Rodney boldly.

"...l...love...?"

Angie´s grin grew even more.

"Yes, Dad. Afterall... you said yourself - there is NO age-limit in love."she said before kissing her boyfriend hotly.

At that moment a loud thud could be heared in the doorway as Mayor Haveitall fainted.

The End

...

A/N: Aaaaand that´s a wrap. Phew... This one sure took a long time, especially because of the side-project I´ve picked up. Hope that you´ve found the end satisfying. As for the relationships I´ve planned for this episode... well Miles/Lily was in plan, also were Rodney/Angie (hope you really liked that one), but Wisey/Candy still kinda leave me a bit on edge... well I´ll see what I can make out of it. One particural relationship I´ve enjoyed and always very much enjoy writing is Nick/Mia. Though my innitial plans didn´t include them ending up together just yet, I´ve kinda wanted Mia to realize her feelings as she still tried for Oliver, but as always, the plot evolved so much from my original designs that I just couldn´t wait any longer :D

I already have episode 5 planned, and I will get to it as soon as I rest up a bit, plus focus a bit on the HP side-project. But don´t worry, thistime I won´t be waiting so long to continue the next installment of Beauvillage Chronicles.

So stick around for new adventures of our gang, the brotherhood and of course, the Tofu elders. :)

HK07