This started out as a random piece I was working on just for fun, but then unlike other works I've done with similar intent, this involved into a full-fledged pseudo-one shot, so as custom, I'm sticking it here with my other misfit pieces. Enjoy!

Frankie had to admit, she was all for diversity, and she certainly had a lot more of that now that the local Super-Mart had been upgraded into a Mega Super-Mart, meaning of course hundreds of new selections to help her spice up mealtimes back home at Foster's.

However, nothing is perfect of course, and the young redhead certainly was finding out that the hard way in the gigantic aisles that seemed to stretch on forever in the cavernous shopping complex.

"Mac! Mac! Maaaac!" she cried out over and over as she pushed her cart along, looking about frantically as she roamed upon the store. "Mac, where are you?"

"I'm sorry Frankie, but can you please just calm down a little?" Her unusually tall and crimson companion hushed her gently, giving the frazzled girl a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Immediately she came to a dead halt and whirled about, glaring coldly at the kind-hearted creature.

"Calm down? Calm down? You're telling me to calm down?" she cried, waving her arms wildly. "I have gone up and down this store like a million times, and haven't found a single trace of my little brother, or any of his friends! Jeez, and you actually have the nerve to try and tell me to-"

Quickly noticing the odd looks they were getting from passerby shoppers, an anxious Wilt gestured for the exasperated caretaker to ease up a little.

"Frankie, Frankie please!" he pleaded with her desperately. "Will you just relax a little bit? Look, I really don't see why you're in such a fuss, all you told them was to go and grab a gallon of milk for you, that's it. There's no need to get excited or anything, they're just getting something for you on the list-"

"That I told them to get for me half-an-hour ago, which was the last time I saw them!" Frankie hissed fiercely, pulling up her sleeve to jab furiously at her wristwatch. For a few seconds, all Wilt could do was gawk at the time stupidly, arm dangling limply at his side and jaw dropping like a stone.

"Well?" Frankie barked, stomping her foot. Quickly snapping out of his nasty shock, the lanky creature immediately began to glance about frantically, cupping his hand around his mouth to let loose with a loud cry of,

"Mac! Mac! Maaaaaaac!"

"We're never gonna find them…" Bloo whined piteously as he trudged behind his creator. Mac just rolled his eyes as he took a turn and began to plod down yet another aisle.

"Knock it off Bloo, they have to be somewhere in the grocery store." The irked eight-year-old tried to explain for what he felt like was the seventh time. "It's not like they're going to head to check-out and actually leave without us or anything, we just-"

"But you've already said that!" Bloo whimpered in protest, jabbing accusingly at his friend with a stubby appendage. "And we still haven't found anyone yet!"

"Bloo…"

"We're lost, Mac!" the little creature lamented miserably. "We're lost, and we've never gonna find the others!"

"Bloo, please!" Mac grumbled, clearly at his wits with his friend's constant moaning. "I told you, we've not going to-"

"We'll never find them, never in a million years!" Bloo just continued, going on like some bizarre doomsday prophet. "We're just gonna wander up and down these stupid aisles, again and again and again, until finally-"

"I sweat, Bloo, if you're gonna say what I think you're gonna say," Mac groaned, shooting his creation a stern warning glare.

"-Until finally, we starve to death in the middle of this God-forsaken supermarket!" Bloo wailed. As the little imaginary friend struggled to hold back his tears, Mac shook his head pitying and gave his friend a quick reassuring pat on the back.

"Okay, I'm only going to explain it to you one more time…"

"Mac? Goo? You around here?" Frankie hollered, making a sharp turn down another aisle.

"Bloo? Blooooo! Where are you?" Wilt yelled along with her. As he gazed about, Frankie grunted in annoyance and gestured for him to keep following her.

"C'mon, let's keep movin'. Hopefully Customer Service will be able to call them over the intercom or something." She muttered frantically as she hurriedly pushed her cart along.

"Are you sure they'll be able to find Customer Service even if they hear the message?" he inquired a bit warily.

"Well, why not?" Frankie grumbled as she hurried along, gaze locked forward.

"It's just that you suggest we go to customer service fifteen minutes ago, and we still haven't found it ourselves, so-"

"Just shut up and help me look for it!" The girl whirled about and snapped ferociously. Seeing that she was clearly seething at this point, her lanky companion hastily backed off a few paces.

"Hey, look, all I said was-"

"Wilt? Wilt, is that you?" A familiar voice piped up nearby. Upon instant recognition of the speaker, all the rage was instantly wiped clean from Frankie's face as she began to glance about frantically for its origin.

"Goo?" she shouted hopefully. "Goo, are you nearby?"

"Hiiiiiii Frankie!" they heard the little girl squeal, practically bursting with excitement by the sounds of it. Upon this confirmation, both young woman and imaginary friend heaved deep sighs of relief.

"Goo, thank goodness!" Frankie sighed deeply. "Okay, now where are you? Wherever it is, please, just stay right there. Wilt and I will be there in just a few-"

"I lost Mac and Bloo! I lost them, Frankie!" Goo wailed unhappily.

"It's okay, Goo!" Frankie tried to reassure her. "It's okay, we just need to find-"

"Seriously, I haven't seen them for ever and ever and ever and ever!" the child lamented miserably. Frankie groaned loudly as she struggled to calm the badly frazzled child.

"It's gonna be all right Goo, we'll get them, just-"

"I mean, first I lost them, and I was walking around and around the store, but then I found them for a little bit, that didn't last them very long 'cuz I lost them again!"

"You what?" Wilt gasped incredulously. "Wait, how'd-"

"Don't worry though, because after I lost them, I found them again! Well, that was only for a little bit too, because after I found them again after losing them again, I lost them again!"

"Wait, wait, so you-" Frankie desperately tried to interject through her constant babbling. "How on earth did you-"

"But it wasn't very long before I found them again, but right after I found them again, I lost them….again! And then, and then I thought I found them again, I really dunno, but if I did find them again after that, I'm pretty sure I lost them again, and after that-"

"Goo-"

"Help me before I find an' lose them again!" Goo squealed in distress.

"Calm down, Goo, just calm down!" Frankie yelled. "Please, you have to listen to me! Where are you right now?"

"I'm in an aisle!" Came the earnest reply.

"We know that!" Wilt joined in. "But what's in the aisle?"

"Food!" Goo yelped back. "An' lots of it, too!"

"What else is in there?" Frankie shouted, this time with a hint of impatience in her voice. "Can you be a little specific on what kind of food is there?"

"Yeah! The food's in containers and stuff!"

"But what kind of containers? Packets? Boxes? Cans?" The redhead persisted.

"The ones with labels!" Goo shot back truthfully.

"Can you tell us anything else?" Frankie asked, already at wits end.

"…Did I say whether there's other people shopping in the aisle?" Goo inquired worriedly. "There's a few! You want me to count them, or something?"

"Oh that is it!" Frankie bellowed, throwing her arms in the air in utter exasperation. "I've had it! Wilt, c'mere!"

"Hey, what are you-Whoa! Ackpth! Frankie, what are you-ow! Ow! Quit it! Hey, stop-"

Wilt protested fiercely without warning, the redhead latched onto his legs and began to scale his body like a mountain climber, brow furrowed deep in her stoic determination and ears completely deaf to the imaginary friend's pleas.

"Ouch! Ow! Frankie, quit it! Quit it, we didn't you just ask-OW! Easy, easy there! Hey!" Wilt continued to yelp in displeasure as the girl sat herself upon his shoulders, gripping tightly to his eyestalks and using the creature's unusual frame as a makeshift lookout post.

"Goo?" she hollered, peering out high among the chaos of the massive supermarket. "Goo, can you see me? Goo, I'm on top of-"

"I see you! I see you!" the little girl shrieked joyfully, bursting into gleeful chatter. "You're right there! Oh my gosh, you were right there the entire time, I knew you sounded close, oh jeez I don't-"

"Where are you?" Frankie yelled. "Goo please, just tell me where-"

"I'm coming Frankie, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Came the eager reply, immediately followed by a bizarre ruckus.

"Frankie, what is that?" Wilt inquired confusedly, glancing up towards his passenger. The young woman met his gaze for a moment and shrugged bewilderedly.

"I don't know, I still haven't been able to see her yet-"

"I FOUND YOU!" the jubilant cry abruptly cut of the twenty-two-year-old in mid-sentence. Unfortunately for Frankie, she never saw the little girl clamber over the nearby shelf from the other side – she did however see more than she wanted to as the child made a triumphant leap towards her.

"FRANKIE! I'M HERE! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Goo screamed happily, arms spread wide as she soared through the air.

"G-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The caretaker shrieked as it felt like she had been hit by a miniature battering ram, the force of the tremendous blow knocking her clean off her perch. And unfortunately for her, considering Wilt's height, it was a terribly long way down to the floor.

"Oh wait, lemme try and-" The imaginary friend cried out in horror, trying too late to try and make a saving grab as she plummeted nearby.

THUD!

The lanky creature winced painfully as soon as he heard the sickening sound of the duo make contact with the hard tile floor, or to be more specific, the sound of the young woman breaking the hyperactive child's fall.

"F-Frankie?" he inquired softly, kneeling down by her side.

"You okay?" Goo whispered as soon as she removed herself from the mess, prodding the sprawled young woman warily. "Frankie, are you-"

"Someone please tell me we're nearby the aisle with the medical supplies…." She moaned wearily.

"Oh c'mon, you'll be alright!" Wilt reassured her frantically as he tried to peel the sorry-looking caretaker off the floor. "It's okay, you'll be fine, don't-"

"She might be fine, yeah. But what about us?" a muffled groan suddenly took the imaginary friend by surprise.

"Ewwww." Goo gagged in disgust as Wilt lifted up Frankie partially to reveal a flattened eight-year-old and his imaginary friend.

"We heard all the commotion, and we had just gotten here when-" A dazed Mac struggled to explain before a very squished Bloo silenced him with a weak nudge.

"Could you guys do what Frankie said and just try find out where they keep the Band-Aids here?"

"…and one jar of grape jelly, and there we go!" the lanky redhead trilled triumphantly as she dropped her purchase into the cart. Frankie grinned happily as she skimmed over the list on last time.

"Yes, that's everything!" she whooped, checking the time. "And we did it all in less than an hour, too! Your hear that, guys?"

"Yes." Came the solemn chorus of little ones group huddled about her. Frankie only smiled warmly at the trio as she waved her list jubilantly in the air.

"Oh c'mon, what you guys moping about? We're all done with this week's shopping waaaay earlier than we were last week!"

"Well thank goodness for that, at least." Wilt mumbled nearby.

"Ha, I think I've finally gotten this dumb supermarket figured out." Frankie chirped merrily as she began to make her way to the check out aisle. "C'mon you three, let's go! Remember, follow me and Wilt!"

The two children and their blobbish companion moaned miserably in unison, but nevertheless followed the chipper caretaker. After all, it wasn't as if they had much of a say in their situation – their kiddy harnesses all said otherwise.

"Frankie, this is so humiliating." Mac grumbled, glowering fiercely at his older sister. Frankie just rolled her eyes and gave the little boy a quick pat on the head.

"C'mon, pal, at least you didn't get lost like you did last week." She reminded him optimistically.

"I'd rather get lost in the middle of nowhere and at least keep a shred of my dignity, thank you very much." Bloo whispered bitterly, sticking out his tongue at the young woman as he marched behind her. "I swear, social services is gonna hear about-"

"I like to pretend I'm a dog!" Goo suddenly piped up, trying to make light of their situation. "See, I pretend this is my leash, and I'm being taken for a walk 'cuz-"

As she prattled on aimlessly, Mac and Bloo shot each other twin glances of misery and moaned unhappily in stereo, having no other choice but to listen to their friend's mindless babbling.

"I think they have a point, y'know." Wilt suggested, pointing at the sorry-looking trio. "Honestly, is this really necessary? I mean, just look at them-"

"Well duh, that's the whole point." Frankie responded in a very matter-of-fact tone. "I can actually see them, meaning they're not wandering halfway around the store anymore without a clue."

"Yeah, I guess….but still…" the lanky friend muttered.

"Oh what is it?"

"I just don't see what the point of this is." Wilt stated sourly, pointing to the fourth harness strapped firmly around his torso. Frankie just eyed him a dirty look and gave him a firm tug, forcing him to keep pace with the rest of the group.

"Oh hush, it just makes things easier this way."

The End

This is based off the fact that the local grocery store nearby my house was upgraded into a Super Stop & Shop, thus I get lose in there nearly every time I go shopping.

As usual, any feedback is appreciated!