Sportacus unwrapped the candy bar with fidgety fingers. His nose wouldn't stop twitching once he caught the scent of the chocolate. It didn't help to have Ziggy sitting so close to him on the front stoop of his house, watching his every move.
"That's one of my favorites," Ziggy said, "the Choco-Chewy-Cocoa-Crunch Bar! I've got one too, we can eat them together."
"That's nice," Sportacus mumbled, inwardly wincing. It wasn't good to encourage Ziggy to eat so many sweets. His own mouth wasn't exactly watering. If anything it had gone a bit dry. It was only one piece, he told himself, just to see if it worked. He would make it up to both of them later.
Seeing Sportacus' hesitation Ziggy went ahead and took his first bite as though to show him how it was done. He made an indulgent sound through his chews and rubbed his belly. "Mm, is that good. Just what I needed after that scary game..."
Now or never. Sportacus slid the bar in past his teeth and bit down gingerly until it broke apart. He chewed it up fast.
The rich flavor flooded his mouth. His breath caught and his heart skipped a beat. Sportacus swallowed and the melted morsel left an electrifying trail down his throat. Every taste bud sang across his tongue. It pooled in his belly and warmth seeped throughout the rest of his body. A second passed. There were no ill effects. Only good, good… how could it be so good?
He took another bite. A rush of saliva brought a whole new life to the complex flavor profile in the chocolate. His pulse quickened and his fingers tingled, but it was nothing compared to the faint buzzing in his head. It buoyed up his brain, dissolving his headache in a giddy glow.
He'd eaten the entire bar before he realized it. Sportacus licked his lips. "Do you… have any more?"
Ziggy giggled. "Here, you can have the rest of mine." Sportacus didn't mind the bite already taken out of the top. He managed not to yank it out of Ziggy's proffering hand and peeled the wrapper off before slotting the whole thing in his mouth.
"Mm..." Sportacus closed his eyes and breathed out something between a growl and a groan, unaware he'd made a sound. The thick smooth chocolate was interspersed with cocoa nibs that crunched between his molars in bittersweet bursts, only to be soothed and sweetened again with pockets of hearty fudge. The muscles in his face fidgeted madly, cheeks drawing tight in an involuntary smile.
Sportacus could never enjoy a candy to completion thanks to his sugar meltdowns. He never knew it could be like this. No wonder Ziggy had such a hard time giving up the stuff, and Robbie was such a sugar fiend. It was downright addictive. He caught himself licking his fingers and stopped, but oh, it was so hard to stop when he wanted so much more.
"I've got some taffy here too," Ziggy said, holding out the box. "I know you like it as much as I do, Robbie. Have as much as you want."
Sportacus bit his lip. The chocolate still coated the inside of his mouth in a velvety layer. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the colorful saltwater taffy. His stomach rumbled in an insistent way. How would it be, to eat a piece of taffy from start to finish? He clenched his fists only for them to spasm open so he could grab some of the sticky sweets.
Between the two of them they polished off the whole box in a matter of minutes. Sportacus sat with a storm of conflicting feelings churning inside him, satiety being the strongest.
"Ziggy," Sportacus managed to say around his mouthful of taffy, "what game were you talking about?"
"Oh," Ziggy grunted, stretching a bright blue wad between his teeth, "I was playing with Sportacus before."
Sportacus swallowed, the last glob of gooey confection reluctant to travel all the way down his gullet. "Were you, now?"
"Yeah, at least I think so." Ziggy looked down at the empty box on his lap. "At least, he said we were. But it was really scary getting sent up that high without an airplane or a parachute or something. I don't know why he didn't come and catch me..." The boy looked up at Sportacus. "But you did, Robbie! So everything's okay!"
Sportacus sat motionless and mute. Ziggy tilted his head after a few silent seconds.
"What's wrong? Do you have a tummy ache?"
It took another beat for Sportacus to rise to his feet. "Where is he now?" he asked.
"Still at the playground, I think," Ziggy said, getting up with him. He nibbled on a finger. "Pixel was there too. Gee, I wonder if Pixel was— Hey," Ziggy said as Sportacus walked away from him, "where are you going?"
"A walk in the park," Sportacus muttered, and would say no more. He stalked forth with long strides, his shoulders tensing up and his fists swinging at his sides. Ziggy set down the empty taffy box and ran to catch up with him.
Stephanie cupped her hands around her mouth. "Ziggy! Pixel! Where are you?"
Trixie kicked a broken tennis racquet out of the way as she, Stephanie, and Stingy walked down the sidewalk. "They must be hiding after breaking all this stuff. They are gonna be in so much trouble."
Stingy gasped and pointed towards the playground. "Look!" The girls turned their heads in tandem at his shout.
"Do you see them? Where?"
"No," Stingy said, and ran ahead. "It's— it's— the ray gun!"
He dove under the bench, rustling through the tall grass. With a triumphant laugh he came back out holding the device.
"Now I have both," he gloated. He spared a second to adjust the headpiece on his forehead before turning the ray gun over covetously, checking every inch of it.
"But how did it get here?" Stephanie asked. "Ziggy was supposed to be keeping it safe."
A soft moan drew their attention deeper into the playground. Stephanie and Trixie followed the sound while Stingy lagged behind, more absorbed in buffing a scratch off his newest acquisition. The girls let out a shared gasp to find Pixel draped across the merry-go-round.
"Pixel!" Stephanie rushed to his side and touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She helped pull Pixel into an upright position. Pixel let out another groan as his head wove around on his shoulders and he clutched the handrail for support.
"What happened to you?" Trixie asked with a laugh. "You look like your head's come unscrewed."
"It… was Sportacus," Pixel said.
"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked.
"He… he's completely out of his mind!" Pixel threw both arms up into the air and his body leaned over of its own accord until the girls helped push him back up straight. "He shot all the sports equipment off the swingset, and then he had Ziggy sit on the seesaw, and—" He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Boom! Straight out of the park!"
"Woah, really?" Trixie's eyes lit up with interest. Pixel nodded.
"Poor Ziggy, he sounded so scared, and Sportacus didn't even care!"
"That doesn't sound like Sportacus," Stephanie said, wrinkling her brow.
"It's true! All he cared about was that ray gun of Robbie's."
"You mean this one?" Stingy flourished the machine. Pixel's eyes widened and he grabbed the handrails on the merry-go-round again.
"You'd better get rid of that thing fast before Sportacus finds you with it."
"No way," Stingy said, "I found it, so it's mine now. I mean," he amended, darting his eyes at Stephanie's and Trixie's stern looks, "until we give it back to Robbie."
"Wait," Pixel said, leaning forward to squint at Stingy. "What are you wearing? How'd you get that headband?"
"We stopped at your house," Stephanie said. "You were done with it, weren't you? Robbie really wants it back."
"I think Sportacus wants it more," Pixel said.
"But that doesn't make any sense," Stephanie said.
"I know," Pixel said, "I don't know! He's just been acting so crazy today."
"Where is Sportacus?" Trixie asked. Pixel shrugged.
"I got stuck on the merry-go-round and by the time it finally stopped he was gone." At the mention of his ordeal Pixel got up slowly from his seat on the playground equipment. "He can't be far, he'll be looking for that ray gun. We've gotta get out of here!"
"Don't be silly, Pixel," Trixie said. "Why don't we just give him the toy?"
"It's not just a toy," Pixel said. "It's making Sportacus act weird and it's got Robbie Rotten all over it. I don't think either of them should have it."
"Does that mean I can keep it?" Stingy asked. Pixel made a frustrated sound.
"No! No one should touch any of it!"
"Well, it's about time one of you listened."
The kids all turned towards the sound of Sportacus' voice. The blue clad man stood less than a hundred yards away with Stingy's small yellow car lugged under his arm, propped against his hip so that it dragged on its rear tires.
"I told you not to touch that."