A/N: Another chapter here, for your reading enjoyment! Hooray for you! As always, I'd LOVE to thank all of my reviewers. ... But I think I'm going to skip that part and just head straight to thanking the ever-incredible Ponytail30527, as she is the only one who reviewed, AND she's letting me kidnap her minis. I think I have to write two more chapters after this, add in the one chapter I already have written, and then there are two finale chapters, and THEN we get another BONUS chapter, which is probably going to be posted in Moondance, on account of it's a songfic. You have all this wonderfulness to look forward to, isn't it great!?

Chapter Eight: Friendship…

"Is it... Cassiopeia?" Cube asked? Athena checked her star charts and a few books.

"No. It's not really visible until No-No-November." She had to fight a yawn to get that last word in. They had been working for hours, and couldn't figure out that constellation yet! Well... okay, maybe they hadn't been WORKING for hours... but it sure FELT like they were working for a super long time! And the study breaks were absolutely necessary too! No doubt!

So... maybe working for hours really equated to working for AN hour, and taking study breaks for the other two or three. And a half. Either way, they were both exhausted, and it had been such a long day, it wasn't hard to figure out why. Though... this whole thing had been more fun than Athena could remember having in a long time. Cube rubbed his head and looked through the telescope again. He was beginning to get sore from this whole thing, and it wasn't getting easier.

Though... talking to Athena was getting SUPER easy, he knew that much! He chuckled at how many jokes they had made, how many things they had in common, and how just how much fun they had! So, maybe he had a TINY crush on her... "What about... Aries?"

He was so wrong, Athena thought, her beak buried in a book. "What are you even LOOKING at?" She laughed when he shrugged at her, his confusion highly evident. "Visible in DECEMBER, Cube. Come on now." She felt his hand on her shoulder as he shoved her over and took her place.

"Fine, you're so smart... you tell ME what it is! I've been looking through that thing this WHOLE time, and too much starlight can give you eye problems." Cube flipped through some more of the pages as Athena tried to compose herself and look through the telescope.

"No, it can't." She could tell he wanted to get into a discussion about this with her, and she wanted him to... though if they wanted to get home at any type of reasonable hour (And not have Cube killed by her dad) it was better if they just finished their homework ASAP. "Okay, let's see... Ummm... Canis Major." She stated simply. There was a sound of rustling through all three books, and each and every star chart was being highly examined. He went back, and forth. And searched for the tiniest possible leak in her story. He sighed.

There wasn't one. "I'm right, huh? Aren't I? Cubert, tell me, I'm right!" The boy didn't look her in the eyes, and for a minute, she honestly thought he might try to tell her she was wrong.

"Yeah." That one simple word was enough to make her day. She jumped up and cheered, dancing around a bit as she did so, much to Cube's amusement.

A few minutes later, they were relaxing on the blanket, heads tilted toward the sky. They still had a while before they had to go home, and they were enjoying it outside as much as they possibly could. Cube glanced down at the penguin female next to him, her eyes reflecting only the brightest stars. "You know, I'm really glad you came out here with me tonight. In all honesty, I thought you wouldn't."

"You did? Why is that?" Cube felt his face grow warm, and that awfully wonderful throwing up feeling coming back to haunt him again.

"Well... I mean... You're not..." What was that word he was looking for!? "Ugly." That wasn't it. Even though Athena was about to take it as a compliment, Cube still felt the need to retract his previous statement. "No, wait, that's not what I meant!" It wasn't? "You are ugly!" When did this date go from awesome to terrible!? And how had it happened without even HIS knowledge? "I mean... Not, ugly, of you... Ugh. This isn't working."

Just then, Athena decided to do what she thought was probably the bravest thing she could ever hope to do. She rested her head on his shoulder, silencing him. "Cube, it's okay. I'm having fun. Thank you." Her voice was ten times calmer that she even felt, which, miraculously, calmed Cube down. He smirked at her and relaxed, finally proud that he had done SOMETHING right. Even if it HAD taken him a few tries. Together, the pair watched the stars.

At the same time Athena was running to meet Cube, Marshal was heading home to get more supplies for the TMB's Trouble Making Comedy Show. That was the title everyone decided on, and that's what they stuck with.

As he entered the headquarters the penguins called home, he noticed the lights were on and a small humming noise was coming from inside. He peaked into the room, staying behind the door. There, on the floor, sat Elli, looking away from her colors every so often to read a set of instructions. Marshal stayed hidden, watching her, not sure why he didn't just… go inside.

After a few minutes of trying to convince his feet to move, he finally made it inside, waving a short hello to her. She went back to work and he looked over her shoulder. A very pretty dress was on the paper, different greens and blues scattered across it.

"That's pretty." Marshal heard himself say. Though, he wasn't exactly sure why.

Elli's eyes found Marshal's, and she smiled at him, making his heard flutter in his stomach. 'I'm in way too deep, aren't I?' He thought, already knowing the answer. "Thank you." Her voice was so soft, holding a hit of sadness. 'Yup, way, way too deep.' "I just wish I could show the others my design." When he asked her why she couldn't, she explained that she wasn't allowed to walk alone at night, and her father was on recon.

Marshal shrugged his shoulders. "I'll take you." Those three little words made Elli look up and see Marshal, a boy she had grown up with (and been pranked by) in a whole new light as well as in a shiny, white suit of armor. She blinked her eyes, then wiped at them furiously. Marshal wasn't the brave knight type, was he? Nooo, definitely not! He was the… Prank you, never regret it, constant annoyance type. She repeated the phrase in her head as he offered her his flipper to help him up.

It was a pretty nice night, the moon was out, there were bunches of stars, and two figures were laughing atop the clock tower. Marshal was explaining to Elli the concept of the boy's comedy show. "Actually… it was Roz's idea. Brilliant, huh?" And then there was Elli, who thought he didn't like Roz. Then again, that fight wasn't anything to laugh at. She had never known Marshal could be so violent. When she asked Marshal why he didn't like Roz, he had gotten really quiet. He even slowed down a bit. It wasn't that he didn't LIKE Roz. He liked her okay, but… He was stuck in his ways. There was no WAY he was going to share his dad with her, and he could never remember really wanted a sister. Sure it sounded mean… which was why he wasn't going to tell Elli. "We… just don't get along, I guess. I mean, not everyone can get along as well as we do, right?" Elli turned away from him, forgetting that she really couldn't blush, even though it felt like she was.

Though… there was still one thing she didn't know. "What did you guys talk about down there? In the headquarters?" Marshal thought back once more. And… thinking back, they were both more alike than even HE would care to admit. And he certainly wasn't going to tell Elli that he was crying about… He didn't even want to think about it.

It took him a while to snap out of it, and when he did, he just shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. I mean, it's pretty… silly. Besides," They had finally arrived at the duck's place, but Elli wanted to hear what he was about to say. "I just think she doesn't like me." Oh. That's all.

"I think that's pretty silly. Why wouldn't she like you?!" And once Elli got going, it was kinda hard for her brain to make her mouth stop. "You're nice, and funny, and sweet, and cute—" Marshal's eyes widened at that last comment, but before he could say anything, she rushed off and into her friends' house, as Marshal stared, completely confused.

"Your highness, we've been 'song picking' for HOURS." Maurisa said, clicking the radio off after a particularly upbeat song she didn't really like. The problem was… when J.J. didn't like a song, that was it. If Roz didn't like a song, THAT was it. And if Maurisa didn't like a song, they would have to have a vote. You can see why this would cause more than a few problems. They couldn't find a song to dance to, much less create a dance yet.

Prince J.J. rolled his eyes at his servant. Sometimes, she could be SO annoying. So they had been song picking for a while, so what? No one had come up with a good song idea. The talent show was a couple of days away and so far they had nothing. Roz had actually agreed to do a dance with them, but only if they could all agree on a song. Which made things harder than you'd think. He held up a CD. "Okay, what about dis one?" He put it in, but the moment Maurisa and Roz heard it, they booed. "What!? I LIKE de Jonas Brothers!" The boy prince couldn't help but pout as he put the CD back in its case carefully and began the whole searching process over again.

A few more minutes passed, and still the group had NOTHING. "I don't understand! Choosing a song should NOT be this stinkin' hard!" Roz said, grabbing her head. "Why can't a song just… walk down the sidewalk and say 'Hey, pick me! I'm good enough to dance to!'?" She moaned, feeling grouchier by the second.

Oh, baby do you know what that's worth?
Oh, heaven is a place on Earth!
They say in heaven, love comes first!
We'll make heaven a place on Earth!

Prince J.J. was the first to hear the lyrics, before he grabbed Roz's paw and pulled her closer so he could cover her mouth. "Do you hear dat?" Even though all he got was an angry mumble, he knew he wasn't delusional.

Not this time.

Maurisa leaned in closer too. "Actually… I think I do hear it. Hang on," She said, before rushing to the CD pile.

When the night falls down
I wait for you, when'd you come around
And the world's alight
With the sound of kids on the street outside…

After a few seconds, it vanished, but it didn't stop the trio from thinking the same thing…

"That beat…"

"The rhythm…"

"Those lyrics…"

"That's our song!" They cheered, as it started playing on the radio. J.J. was the first to hop up and start making up dance moves, Maurisa following his lead and Roz watching and taking notes. This was it! This was their act, and it was gonna be great!

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Next Time, on Geeze Doumani

Great, so the squid gets to dance… ick.
Oh hush, you know you secretly like her.
I DO NOT! Besides, it's my turn to do the narration thing, so shush! Okay, next time on Geeze Doumani… I get to perform the greatest prank in the whole WORLD! And there's nothing anyone can do to stop me!
What about me?
You? And who are… YOU!?
That's right, Marshal! I'm going to stop you, how about that?
But… But that's not fair! How come--
Because pranks aren't nice, Marshal! Now stop it, I'm serious!
But Elli--
Shh! You're not supposed to reveal my secret identity!
Oh yeah, it was totally a secret--
Okay, well, that was a bust. I guess you don't get to know what really happens next chapter. You'll just have to tune in and see.
See what you did, Elli!?
Me!? I fail to see how this is my fault.
You're just lucky you're cute, or I'd be really mad right now.
I'm so sure—wait, you think I'm cute?
Uh… And don't forget to review! 'Kay, thanks, bye!
Wait, Marshal, you think I'm cute!?
*sighs* Why can't life be normal around here?

A/N: So, another chapter come and gone. I do wish I got more reviews before I posted, but no matter. The next chapter is one of my favorites, not saying that this one wasn't. Look, Marshal and Elli interaction… Yeah. Okay, we've done that before. Review please, it helps, and your votes determine the next chapter narrator.

I didn't mean it that way, not cute, but—
I don't believe you, you SAID I was cute!
Yeah, go ahead and review, just let Elli keep chasing me, that's NICE! NOT!