Sixth Grade Beginnings

by SakiKitty

The transition of a preteen can be a difficult one. Things you once liked, now bore you. People you once hated, suddenly interest you. The body you were once comfortable with, now causes you to struggle with feelings you never knew existed. After their grueling adventure in the jungles of San Lorenzo, the students of P.S118 thought their biggest battle was now over... but was it?

43. Chapter 43

(A/N: Sorry, I've been at deaths door for the last few months. I suck at this. Much like the long passed chapter 24, which awaited everyone for 2 years during my unfortunate hiatus... this chapter was 80% written since, maybe a few weeks after the last one was posted. How dare I try to catch up, right? Hope you enjoy the chapter!)

The stairs inside of the old boarding house creaked, even as the light footed Gertie stepped on them, wandering down and into the main level of the house. She waited a moment with sharp ears, and could identify the noise of a program being played on the living room television, and would no doubt find her sleeping husband in front of it.

As she entered the room, she let herself smile a moment at the scene. They were no longer the kids they once were. They were old and time had not been kind to their constitution, even if they never showed it in their attitude. Gertrude walked over to the old bookcase and pulled out one of her photo albums that she had had Helga alphabetize earlier in the week. Flipping through the pages, she smiled softly as images were assigned to the memories she unearthed to her young companion. I was such a rascal… she chuckled to herself as she gazed on an image of her youth, around Helga's current age, in front of her hold childhood house with her brothers behind her. She could see behind the smile of her younger self, a glimmer of defiance that twinkled in her clearly disapproving eyes about the picture being taken in the first place. She was in a pink and white laced dress, all girl'd up in a way she never wished to be.

"Oh…oh yes! I'd like another…" Phil mumbled in his sleep, clearly dreaming of something happy. He let out a loud snore, then a giggle, before shuffling in his seat to get comfortable.

Gertie closed her old book and placed it back on the shelf. She let herself wonder for a moment, if history would repeat itself in about 60 or 70 more years for the aspiring new couple. Phil had always done his best to teach young Arnold all about being respectful and doing the right thing, but truthfully it was because he knew that he wanted to shape the boy a little bit better than he himself had been as a child, but not quite as closely held as Miles had been at the same age. It amused and intrigued her to think of the paths that lie before every child as they grow up. Do they become like their parents? Or do they become the opposite of them? Do they learn from others mistakes, or feel the need to experience them for themselves to make a better decision later on? Which part of their genetic code would become highlighted as they grew into their inevitable adult self? Gertie, being the only female to have been born in her family, hated being dolled up and forced to be proper, when she was just as rambunctious as her brothers before her. The more she was confined and forced to walk a tight rope, the more she wanted to lash out and stick it to 'The Man'. When given such energy… one has to decide where and how to utilize it, and Gertie had decided to utilize it in a way that would help both herself, and the future generations of women to come. She marched with all the feminists to preach for women's rights, she created petitions and protests to help clean up the darker parts of the town, and helped form things that were still applied to this day. Sure, there had been some selfishness behind her decisions but there was no doubt in her mind that if she had such struggles with how society viewed her sex, others would as well. Sometimes helping yourself would, in turn, help others down the line, and she was steadfast on such a path. Helga was full of similar potential, but just where and how would she use it? This was something that Gertie wished to see as she watched the young girl grow up, for as long as the universe would let her.

Picking up the TV remote, Gertie turned off the screen and caused Phil to abruptly wake up.

"Wh-wha- what did you do that for?" He asked, slurred, and confused as his consciousness was brought forward. "I was watching that!"

"You'll continue watching it in your dreams upstairs." The woman informed him as she bent down and gave him a kiss on his boney forehead. "Let's go, old bones."

Although the kiss was pleasant, Phil hummed in suspicion. "What's gotten into you?" He asked, watching her as she began to lead herself out of the living room and into the hallway. Once his question was posed, she stopped and turned her head with a notifiable smile across her face. "Learn anything while you were out?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She asked curiously, with a hint of mystery as he knew fully well that she'd never divulge all she had learned to him.

Phil scratched his forehead, then heaved himself up and out of his chair. His knees cracked and he moaned in pain as all the nerves in the surrounded area shot like lightning through him. "Mother have mercy…" He whined, but eventually stood straight up to let his lower back crack in relief. Gertie was still waiting for him in the doorway, which made him smile. "So…" He began, now moving to join her. "What do you think?" Phil turned off the lights, then followed his wife up the stairs. "I knew you had something planned, but did tonight help at all?"

Gertie waited until they were inside their own bed room and the door shut, before speaking. "The winds of fate have a funny twist to them…" She replied, her words still elusive. "Strong yet gentle."

"Uh huh…" Phil gave a loud sigh as he sat down and tucked his slippers under his side of the bed. "Whatever you say, Pookie. If I wanted riddles, I would have asked a fortune cookie." He mumbled at the end. "Did you at least get the answers you were looking for? Not that I have any idea what they even were…"

After putting on her nightgown, Gertie sat down silently in thought.

Phil read her expression as undecided, and gave her boney back a rub. "That bad, huh? Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out in time. You always do."

The encouragement made the old woman smile. It was this gentle and understanding aspect of Phil that truly made her remember why she loved him in the beginning, and continued to. Even with her insistent pestering of him, he never once tried to change who she was, even if it bugged him to no end.

"What about the cats? They tell you anything you needed to know?" Phil laughed, getting comfortable in his bed, and motioning for her to do the same. "What sort of crimes did you stop this time? Or was it just stalking all night?"

"Both." She finally answered, leaning into the beds comfort. Placing her arm underneath her head, and facing him, she gleamed with a smile that showed victory. "My young protégé will continue with this investigation and I have no doubts in my mind that the outcome will bear fruits."

Phil pursed his lips at the terms she used, and could fill his insides bubble up with worry. "You better not be having her do anything dangerous, Pookie…" He warned. "We took her under our roof, after all, which means we're somewhat responsible for whatever she does." He laid on his back and frowned at the ceiling. "I don't need big Bob Pataki beating down our door and blaming us for whatever mischief the girl gets into. It's taken a lot of abuse over the years and I don't think it could handle it."

"You worry too much, Phil." Gertie chuckled, closing her eyes as she let a calm breath flow through her. "Nature and Demeanor are two very different things. The wind may howl loudly outside, but it doesn't mean that there is a storm, necessarily. Could be just the trees or buildings in the way, making it sound much harsher than it actually is."

"Uh huh." Rolling his eyes, Phil turned over and shut off the light besides him. "I'll take whatever you said as a good thing, then. Now get some sleep." Just as he was about to close his eyes, he spied a black cat looking in through their window. "And will you call off those blasted cats?! I don't need them watching me sleep!"

Gertie let out a hysterical cackle and instead of obliging, rolled over herself and went to sleep, knowing they were in good hands.

---

Moonlight shown through the sheer curtains of the Horowitz residence, giving Arnold the ability to see everything around him as if the lights were still on. Some of the boys had taken Eugene's room, while the others took the spare bedroom usually used for the elder Horowitz around the holidays. Arnold and Gerald had decided on taking the living room for their sanctuary for the night, but the moon was making it hard for Arnold to get any sleep. It was one thing if he had been in his own room, but coupled with his own racing thoughts and sleeping some place new, it was making it near impossible to relax.

"You awake too, Arnold?" He heard Gerald ask from a few feet away.

"Yup." Arnold replied bluntly, irritation seeping through the small word.

Gerald tossed himself around and let out a sign of annoyance of his own. "I hate sleeping in strange places. Eugene's gotta nice family, and his house is pretty nice too but…"

"Yeah…" Arnold agreed, taking in a deep breath, and letting it pour out slowly threw his nose. He wanted to give his friend some words of encouragement, but nothing really came to mind. The only thing that managed to pop its way in, was the mystery he still couldn't manage to unravel. What exactly did it mean to be in love? At first, when he put two and two together by comparing his actions to that of Helga's, it seemed simple. Jamie-O's advice made him believe he was over thinking things, and his mother's advice not only did the same, but also made him realize that comparing one person's personal expression of the feeling, to that of his own, was wrong. Love or being in love… there was no simply cut version of it. There was no guide to follow because everyone saw it differently. Just what did he feel, though?

"Something eating at you?" Gerald rolled over on his side, and faced his gloomy sleeping buddy. "Was it the food?" He placed his hand over his lower belly and grimaced. "I think that sauce had too much of something because, man, I think I've used the bathroom at least 5 or 6 times tonight."

"No…" Arnold sighed, still deep in thought but acknowledging his friend's words.

"Then… what is it? Is it about tomorrow? Have you just been keeping a straight face about this to not freak out the other guys?" Gerald laughed, amused at the notion. "Man, It's understandable, though. I don't think the rest of them could go through with it, if they saw you panicking. I could, of course, but the rest of them?" He let out another laugh but it quickly died down when he saw Arnold's grim expression still unmoved. "You okay?"

"I just…" The troubled boy started, but soon realized he really didn't know how to continue. It was as if there were no correct words he could use to fully express everything that was plaguing him. He was confused, concerned, impatient and practically hopeless. "I don't know, Gerald."

Hearing the conflictions inside Arnold's voice, Gerald became serious. "It's alright, man. Just talk to me, tell me what's on your mind." He spoke with understanding. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

It certainly felt that way, to Arnold, though. Everything seemed to just topple over him and make him question everything he thought he knew. His ideals, his purpose, his feelings, and everything in between. Would talking to Gerald about it even help? His older brother didn't seem to take the whole thing seriously, and his mom was so lax about it, that he wasn't sure why he should be bothered by any of this at all. The fact was, he WAS bothered by all of it. Everyone always considered Arnold's decisions to be sensible and easy to follow… so why couldn't he come to a sensible answer on his own?

"Arnold?" Gerald's voice came through once more, now definitely worried.

"How do you know when you're in love?" He asked suddenly, his voice sounding distant.

"Here we go…" Gerald let out a long groan. This sort of question just wasn't what he was expecting, especially not the night before such a dangerous adventure awaited. Arnold had become riddled with girl problems, ever since he could remember, and despite not understanding what his best friend saw in some of the girls he liked, Gerald had always thought he'd at least have better luck, once he finally got with someone who returned his feelings.

In the beginning, it felt so unbelievable to see Arnold accept her, especially after everything she'd done to him in the past. The problems just seemed to never end with her around, so why would he welcome her into his life so easily just because she decided to help him that one time? It bothered Gerald to think that maybe she had some ulterior motives behind all this but, no matter what he said, Arnold always defended her, just like Phoebe. Sure, the girl had some good traits to her but was it really worth it? Did Arnold really like-like her, or did he just feel that indebted to her for her help in getting back his parents, that he would put himself through all this inner turmoil? These were the things that Gerald struggled with before, but now? All he could do was shake his head.

This kid is sick… He thought, surprise by the posed question, but at the same time, not surprised at all.

"We're only in sixth grade, Arnold." Stated Gerald, his voice drowning out all of the noises throughout the house as he became the voice of reason, in Arnold's place. He hated seeing this struggle and wanted to help, but it was getting to the point where Gerald was running out of answers to give him. "I think, maybe you're taking things way too fast, or something because…" He stopped for a moment, then reevaluated his thoughts. "You shouldn't have to question yourself about something like that. Somethings… you just know, you know?"

Arnold turned to his instructor and listened, hoping that he could finally get the much needed answers to end all of his never-ending self-doubt.

Gerald moved around uncomfortably, before he continued. "You know… when you just can't help but feel a certain way when they're around." He imagined how happy Phoebe would get when she aced a test, or when she would ramble on and on about a book she read or a movie she saw. His cheeks grabbed the heat from his heart and glowed, even if his companion couldn't tell. "It's just… that feeling you get when everything in the world around you seems to stop when you look at her, and nothing in the world matters anymore." For a moment, he reflected on just how good it could feel to express these personal feelings, knowing he was in good company, when he was usually quite uneasy about it. "When her smile warms you, like the heat from the sun. When her sadness hurts you, like if ice just shattered inside your chest! You feel like… if you could, you'd give her the biggest hug and make all the bad go away. When everything just feels like it should, and you know it should. When you're together and all you can see is her!"

Arnold's despondent face turned into a funny, lopsided grin, as he enjoyed the passion that was oozing out of Gerald, knowing just who he was thinking about as he explained everything so articulately.

"O-oh…" Gerald became embarrassed and laid back down, clearing his throat. "Sorry, I think I over did it." He could see that Arnold no longer looked so uptight, and let himself relax and laugh knowing that he must have helped, even if it was a little. "It's one of those things where you know, when you know… you know?" Placing his hand on Arnold's shoulder, he gave a kind smile. "Try not to think so hard about it, man."

This was the one piece of advice everyone was clearly giving. "That's just the thing, Gerald. Everyone keeps saying that." Arnold confessed, sorely. "Don't you think that this is something important enough to consider seriously, though?"

"Of course, it is!" Gerald cocked his eyebrow and shook his head, now finally getting why Arnold was so unhinged and full of worry. "But if you spend so much time analyzing every little thing you feel and do, then nothing will begin to make sense anymore. Feelings don't work like that, Arnold." Gerald moved on his back and got comfortable once more. "When you're hot, you just jump into that cold water! You don't think about how cold it might be first, if you're head to toe in sweat, right? Somethings, you just know and don't need to question!"

Arnold began to feel silly. "I guess you're right." He laughed, realizing that he had been doing nothing but second guessing himself when there was no need to guess at all. "That actually made a lot of sense. Thanks, Gerald."

"Now, don't make me say those things ever again, got it?" Gerald scolded, still feeling awkward. "It's too weird and… I... I don't like it."

Watching Gerald speak so passionately, made him think otherwise, but Arnold nodded to appease his friend. "Alright."

They both fell silent to consider their feelings, and listened to Harold's loud snores in the distance.

"So… what do you think? Are you, or aren't you?" Gerald asked cautiously, seeing Arnold's questioning gaze from his peripherals. "In love, I mean." He backtracked, keeping his eyes on the dark ceiling above, trying to make sense of just how Arnold kept getting himself into situations like this. "Geez… You've always been such a hopeless romantic, Arnold." He let out a soft chuckle as he considered Arnold's past romantic escapades. "You chased after Ruth's attention for what seemed like years. You were ready to be Ms. Felter's husband just by thinking she like-liked you… and the way you paraded yourself to Lila was a little desperate, but at least you seemed to be knowing what you were doing, or at least what you wanted. I always thought you were a natural at love…"

Hearing these obvious sentiments come from his closest friend, caused Arnold to feel a little more justified in his concerns. "Those were all one sided, Gerald." He pointed out. "I acted way too recklessly with Ms. Felter, and wound up looking ridiculous. Ruth had no idea I existed, and when I finally decided to tell her… I felt terrible, especially compared to how nice that mystery valentine had been on our date. Lila…" Arnold then became quiet, unsure how to explain the difference here. "She did like-like me, but then I made a jerk of myself instead of being considerate of her feelings… and then it was too late when I realized I felt the same!" He couldn't help but feel ashamed of his past actions with these women. "I don't exactly have the best track record…"

"When you put it like that…" Gerald smirked, considering the revelations put in front of him. "I guess you're right! You actually suck at relationships!"

Letting out a growl, Arnold pushed his laughing companion in an attempt to get him to shut up. "It's not funny, Gerald!" but the outcome ended up with Gerald smothering his laughter in a pillow, unable to contain himself. "See! This is exactly what I'm worried about!"

Defeated, Arnold let out a sigh and turned to look at the moon shining through the practically open window. He let the laughter drown out of his ears, and ended up imagining the very first night Helga had slept over. Most of what he had felt that night was concern, after her just losing her home, and what he could do to help out. Still, he remembered how her outline looked with the moonlight casting itself over her frame. Even though a lot of time had passed since then, he could easily recall taking in this image, his heart beating a little harder and how warm it had made him feel. In fact, he had felt this warm familiar, yet foreign sensation for a while after they had started dating, and maybe even before that.

I've become so focused with wanting to be so sure of myself, that I've lost focus on how I've actually been feeling… He realized further, now hating himself for overthinking things, just as everyone had been pointing out. How could I be so stupid? He cursed silently. I've been slowly falling in love with her since the beginning of this year!

At that very moment, a flood of memories crashed down upon him; memories of him glancing at her from a distance, still trying to make heads or tails of her confession, noticing little quarks about her that he had never noticed before, wondering why she did what she did, and what made her tick… all of these things caused a warmth to grow more and more, until the moment they hung at deaths door and he knew that he may never get to show how he really felt about her. Such little things had been building up over time, and until that very moment… it wasn't just death that scared him, it was letting things go unsaid. How she could explode into passion and express how she felt about him with such fervor, and how he may never be able to pay her back in kind. Was it love then? Maybe, but how was he supposed to know that? Their first mutual kiss only made that warmth grow deeper, and after she had finally accepted their relationship as being official… he let it grow so rampant that it just became part of his every day, to the extent of not noticing it anymore. Arnold didn't need to compare his sacrifices to that of hers, to legitimate his claim to this feeling. He didn't need the experiences of others to help him clear this fog in his brain, when he put that fog there himself.

I've been so worried about being wrong and hurting her, that I've made myself blind to something that's been obvious for a while now! I want to protect her, be there for her, and make her life better, because of love. All of these things make sense, because I love her but, its more than just the love for a friend. I want to be the only one who notices the small things she does unconsciously, like chewing on her pencil during class when she concentrates, or how she becomes so deep in thought that she doesn't notice anyone around her, and sometimes drums her fingers on her table… Arnold felt himself shiver, and goosebumps prickled his skin, as he delved even further into his consciousness. I hate the thought of other people possibly knowing things about her that I don't, and the thought of her being close with them in ways she's been with me… because I want to be the only one… I want to always be there for her and I'm so afraid of losing her, because she's special to me, because I'm in love with her, and…

"Arnold?" Gerald's voice penetrated his thoughts and brought him back to the present. "Sorry I laughed, man. I just thought-"

"No. You're right, Gerald." Arnold interrupted, with a content yet giddy smile on his face.

"I…" Gerald fumbled for a moment, halting his prepared apology. "I am?"

Arnold continued to stare out the window, to keep his best friend from noticing his expression. "I really suck at relationships…" He emphasized before placing his hands over his face, in embarrassment. "I finally get everything now!" He wanted to both crawl into a hole to bury himself, as well as keep everyone from hearing his eccentric laughter that he was withholding deep inside his chest, at for what a fool he had been for such a long time. "I've been so worried about doing everything right, that I haven't stopped to actually consider what I've been doing or how I've been feeling." He groaned from beneath his hands. "But now, I finally get it. It's been so obvious."

Gerald became further confused, but let it go. "Y…you're welcome?"

"It's that warm feeling, Gerald! The same one I've been telling you about for a while now!" Arnold explained, chuckling as he was now enlightened to his own folly. "It was such a natural feeling, that I never really thought about it." He smiled pitifully. "I'm so sure of it now, but… how do I tell her?" He asked, turning to his roommate with a devastating look.

"What do you mean?" Gerald was beginning to truly believe that his friend had jumped off the deep end. "You just tell her. Take her by the hand, look into her eyes and tell her how you feel. You know, like all the suave guys do in the movies."

Arnold blinked, fully considering the suggestion. "Is that how you did it?"

Gerald suddenly furrowed his brow and gave the boy a stern look. "Hey, I'm glad you've figured yourself out now, but the similarities between us end there." He could see that his words were causing Arnold to fret once more, so he sighed and revealed his own truth. "I haven't told her, man."

"Why not…?" Arnold frowned, not expecting to hear this.

"It's cool that you both wanna yell your feelings from the roof tops, but I…" Gerald found himself becoming self-conscious and closed his eyes, hoping that Arnold couldn't see through him. "I just don't, man. It's not how I roll."

"Has she ever told you how she felt?" Arnold asked, continuing to pry.

"No." Gerald put harshly, turning himself back to face the eyes of his concerned friend. "That's the thing about us, Arnold. We don't need to say anything like that because our actions speak for themselves. I trust her and she trusts me." He swallowed, in an attempt to compose himself. "We've never said it out loud to each other, but I just don't think it needs to be said in order to make it real. Our relationship is fine the way it is, and I think it's better this way. Sometimes, putting words to feelings mess things up and… I don't wanna mess things up."

It became apparent to Arnold that his assumption had struck a sensitive nerve. "Oh… Sorry, Gerald." He replied, deciding it was best to drop the subject as he watched his friend turn over and get ready for sleep.

"It's alright…" Gerald sighed, knowing how much of a hypocrite he probably sounded but was glad to know that at least Arnold seemed to get the hint. "All this talk about feelings just got me exhausted." This was only partially a lie, which caused Gerald to feel guilty. He was happy to have helped, but really didn't want to open his own can of worms. "Let's just go to sleep."

Arnold nestled himself up with the provided blankets, and took Gerald at his word. "Alright. Thanks for talking me through this, Gerald."

"Yeah yeah…" Gerald said, burying his head in his pillow. "Don't mention it…"

---

The morning sun shone bright and blinded the boys as they stepped outside of Eugene's house. They had told his dad that they were out on some adventure exploring the city, but never exactly told him where, nor intended to. With blind optimism, Mr. Horowitz waved the kids off and wished them luck.

"Your dad's kinda cool." Sid admitted, shrugging his backpack to a more comfortable position.

"Oh yeah?" Eugene looked towards his classmate with a smile.

"Yeah." Sid smiled back. "I like how he trusts you to just do whatever, and doesn't bother to ask a whole lot, but it's obvious that he cares."

All the kids agreed as they made their way towards the abandoned building that they were going to raid that night.

"That's all well and good, but what are we going to do about tonight?" Curly posed his question, giving an irritated stare to the rest of his party. "We got last night covered, but it would be awfully suspicious if we all slept over Eugene's again."

"Oh, right." Eugene agreed, looking nervous between the bunch. "My parent's always want me home by 9 O'clock, so I don't think it would work if we stayed at my place again."

"My place is still off." Gerald mentioned, with a nonchalant shrug. "For the same reasons."

"My mom would kill me if she caught me out at like, midnight…" Harold gulped, thinking of the nasty scolding his mother would give, along with her confiscating all of his toys in the process.

"Why don't we all just tell our parent's that we're sleeping over another kid's house, so none of them will expect us home?" Suggested Sid, looking through the worried faces of his friends. "We're gonna be out all night anyway, so we could probably all sleep in the tree house once we got the stash."

"That plans not half bad!" Stinky agreed. "We got all our pillows anyhow, so all's we gotta do is grab some blankets! My ma likes to weave in her spare time, so we got plenty at my house!"

"Alright then! That settles that!" Harold announced eagerly. "First, we scope out the building so we know how to get in and out without no one seeing us, then, we go back to Stinky's house to grab blankets and head on over to Mighty Pete to set up our stuff, play some cards or something, maybe get a bite to eat, and then once its dark out…" As the boy went to finish his words, they finally came upon the looming building in question. Harold's jaw dropped and he could feel his knees begin to quiver beneath him.

"We enter the factory." Arnold finished, with a gulp as he stared upon the broken down old building. Many of the windows were shattered, and the sides were spray painted with graffiti. Tall weeds formed between cracks in the cement, trash and broken glass were littered all around the grounds.

Each boy found themselves regretting their decision to go through with this, but none of them spoke up.

"L…lets go look for an easy way in…" Arnold said as he approached the chain linked fence cautiously, causing the others to follow.

"I could easily climb over." Curly boasted with esteem. "As could most of us, except fatty over there."

"HEY!" Harold yelled, stopping in his tracks, and lunging at the kid. "Maybe I COULD if I took BALLET LESSIONS, like YOU DO!"

Sid and Stinky began to chuckle, causing Curly's cheeks to turn pink but still stand tall. "It's exactly because of ballet that I could scale that fence with no problem AND land on my feet! Which is a lot more than I can say about YOU clowns!"

"Enough." Gerald scolded them all after finding a place in the fence that some wire had been cut, allowing it to be moved aside. "I found us a way in."

"We'll all have to crawl though, seeing as how there is not a ton of room…" Arnold inspected the flaw, moving it as far out as he could, before allowing it to spring back into place. "But I think we can manage."

The rest of the group looked and murmured skeptically, before giving up to the fact that he was probably right.

"Let's all break for now, get ourselves changed and meet up at Stinky's house for around 4pm." Arnold advised, looking up at the sun, his hand shielding him from its harsh rays. "This should give each of us enough time to pack whatever it is we need to, and give our families notice of another sleep over."

Everyone agreed and began to disperse, save for Gerald who naturally stayed behind with his best friend. "I'll say I'm sleeping over your house, since anyone else's just wouldn't be believable. It was hard enough trying to explain to my parent's that we were bunking with Eugene."

They both looked up at the building again, each with their own varying frown.

"Let's just get in and get out as quick as we can…" Gerald felt is stomach tighten. "That way, we'll all be fine…"

Arnold felt very much the same. "Right."

---

It was a little after 9am, that Helga had finally decided to get up and join the living. Sitting up in her bed, she reached her arms high towards the discolored ceiling, letting all of the muscles in her upper body stretch as she groaned with contentment. Feeling ready, she then stood up and felt the sore muscles in her legs ache, but strangely in a good way.

"Geez, it really has been a while since I've been active like that, huh…" She mentioned to herself, looking down at her bare toes and giving them a wiggle. Even they felt tense from all that climbing the night prior, but as Helga continued to flex them, they too eased up in time.

Sitting back down, she stretched both of her legs in and out, then lowered them up and down. Her calf and thigh muscles tensed then loosened, with each motion, causing her to feel a decent amount of pain, but relief at the same time. "Something tells me, that last night wasn't just a one off, though." Helga found herself smiling at that thought. Everything just felt so strange to her. She was oddly comfortable with everything, despite her being so frustrated just 24 hours ago. Was this what it felt like to be loved and accepted?

As much as she enjoyed parading in her bedroom in Arnold's oversized shirt, she knew she had to eventually remove the warm garment to put on her real clothes, and do something with herself. Still not totally sure what to make of the information she learned last night, she figured that she'd be able to piece together the puzzle one way or another if it was truly as important as Gertie made it seem.

Helga continued to ponder all the events as she got dressed, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. She could hear voices coming from downstairs and knew that if she wanted anything to eat, she needed to get down there fast before it was gone.

"Oh!" Phil called out to her as she made her way into the kitchen. "Look who's up!"

Gertie turned around with a fine stack of pancakes in her hand. "How was your sleep, dear?" The old woman asked, graciously placing the plate on the table in front of the empty seat that Helga was expected to sit in.

"Hope Pookie didn't cause you too much trouble." Phil chuckled, placing down his elbow, and giving the young girl a grin. "Though, come to think of it…" He mused, "Even if she did, I haven't found a way to fight her off yet." He finished with a curt shrug and another laugh.

It was impossible to not feel the warmth that surrounded her, and Helga could only stare down at her pile of pancakes, trying hard not to smile and show how she really felt. "It wasn't that bad." She found herself saying, giving into a little slack.

"Good!" Gertie hooted cheerfully, giving Phil a quick jab to the shoulder as she passed him, causing him to whine in pain, and scowl. She placed the syrup nicely in front of her new friend, with a charming smile. "You better eat up or you won't have any strength for tonight!"

"Tonight?" Phil asked, rubbing his shoulder in annoyance. "What's tonight?"

Helga let out an unconscious groan, as she felt her muscles remind her of how tired they still actually were. "So soon?"

"Pookie! Give the girl a break!" The old man scolded his partner, before standing up and placing his empty plate and coffee mug in the sink. "You've been running her ragged for a week!"

Gertie looked between the two tired souls, but found no reason to agree. "My informants told me that the heist will be going off tonight." She gave the young girl a wink before heading towards the exit, intentionally letting her husband know that those dishes were his responsibility. "You'll be able to put all that scouting to good use and parlay!"

Feeling her head begin to way too heavy for her neck, Helga let it fall to the edge of the table just as Gertie walked out of sight, and let out another groan. With the corner of her eye, she could see Phil look to her with concern, but she waved him off. "Don't bother asking…" She sighed, eventually picking herself back up and beginning to cut her food into small triangles. "I don't even think I know…" She emphasized.

Doors opened and closed from somewhere in the house, and several sets of steps ran down the stairs and Helga was able to discern from their voices, that it was Arnold's parents.

"We're off, Dad!" Miles called out, presumably in front of the door. "We'll be back in about an hour. Do you need us to pick up anything?"

Phil looked at his young companion. "A couple bottles of Aspirin outta do it." He shouted back, winking to the girl before going to his dirty dishes. "Hopefully that'll help for later."

"Got it!" Mile's voice shouted back, before opening the door, and allowing all of the animals to rush out.

Helga had managed to take a few bites of her food, focusing on how wonderful they tasted, before noticing that she hadn't heard the door close. Usually, she wouldn't have cared since it wasn't exactly her house nor her responsibility, but it was a far away and drowned out conversation just outside the door, and lighter footsteps that caused her hearing to become sharp and focused. She began to scarf down the last bits of her food, until realizing that she had nothing to wash it down with.

"Is that you, Shortman?" Phil questioned loudly, as the door was finally heard to shut. "We got breakfast waiting for ya. It's pancakes!"

Now struggling to swallow, Helga shot up and grabbed a freshly washed cup and poured herself a glass of juice. She could feel Phil's eyes on her, but she didn't care as the thick cake was nearly choking her. The refreshing cool liquid felt like heaven in her mouth, as she finally unclogged her throat and was able to breathe freely. From the bottom of her cup, Helga watched as Arnold's distorted image came into view. She could feel prickles of heat come into her cheeks but she placed the glass down on the counter as if it was no big deal.

Since waking up, Helga felt almost rejuvenated as if she was just granted a new lease on life, and besides, she knew she could easily pass this off as her nearly choking to death, if asked.

"How's it hanging, Football head?" She asked, finding her voice cracking unpleasantly as she hadn't fully recovered. "You managed to make it back in one piece…" Moving over to him, Helga began looking the boy up and down. Feeling pleased with the results of her examination, she stood back and placed her hands on her hips. "I have to say… I'm surprised, considering where you've been…"

Arnold gave her a dull look. "Nothing happened, Helga." He informed, moving past her, and sitting down at the table where his grandfather had just lovingly placed down his breakfast. "We just… you know, hung out."

"Hung out?" Helga snorted skeptically, rounding his chair, and leaning against the table next to him. "Did you guys watch showtunes, or whatever that kid's into?" She watched as wrinkles began to appear on his forehead, indicating he was becoming annoyed with her antics, but didn't mind. "Please tell me that his parents are just as fruity as he is, and they all broke out into song and dance around the house, and made you all join in."

Arnold began to pour syrup on his pancakes. "No." He replied, making no attempt to look up at her. "We pretty much just played video games and talked about our plans for today."

Hearing this caused Helga's smile to shrink slightly. "Plans for today?" She asked quietly, hoping this wasn't connected to Gertie's heist.

"Well, aren't you mister popular!" Phil's surprised voice interrupted, throwing aside Helga's question. "What's sorta trouble you kids planning on getting into today?" He asked as he finished drying some of the dishes with an old rag, and placed them back inside their proper cabinet. "Stealing from the rich and giving to the needy? Hacking into government data bases and exposing their secrets?" He chuckled to himself. "Oh, I know! Maybe hijacking a train and hoboing it down south to live on some farm so you never have to go to school again?!"

"Of course not, Grandpa." Arnold smiled, cutting into his food, and preparing to take a bite. "Gerald has been interested in learning some more of the old urban legends around town." He explained, giving some truth to the matter at hand, while still obscuring the real objective of tonight's rendezvous. "Is it okay if I stay over his house tonight? He really needs our help in sorting through all the information for what's real and what's fake."

Phil looked shocked. "What do you mean?!" He cried out in dismay. "Not knowing the whole truth is part of what makes those mysteries fun! Why would you want to pick them apart? You'll be ruining your childhoods, Arnold!"

Helga narrowed her eyes and sat down in front of the boy she loved, remaining quiet as she listened in.

"Uncovering the truth is important, too." Arnold defended after taking another bite. "And sometimes, the truth can be even more surprising than the story!"

Grumbling, Phil poured a cup of juice for his grandson ,and sat it down next to him. "Sounds like you've been listening to your grandma." He sighed with disappointment and shrugged. "But, it's your life, Shortman…" The old man placed his hand on Arnold's head, and gave his hair a tussle, "Just stay away from that new construction area. Don't need you falling into any holes you can't get out of, or trying to dig up mummy's only to hit landmines!" He watched as Arnold smiled and nodded in response, his mouth full of food, and pushed the juice closer to him. "Here, don't choke and die like your little girlfriend did over there."

Now with a fully red face from embarrassment, Helga chose to just grip her fists and look away instead, causing Phil to laugh.

"Oh, you kids… Never a dull moment!" He said with a cackle, before leaving the two alone in the kitchen.

Neither one of them said anything and simply remained silent, as Arnold finished his breakfast.

I know where he's going, but I don't know when! Helga thought to herself, as she stared off into space, slowly tapping her fingers on the table. And I suppose I'll find out the why when I get there… but what excuse could I make?! It's not like it's some public park where everyone is welcome. I can't just stroll down the street all casually and it seem normal… She grit her teeth, I'm sure I'll think of something… It's not like my excuse needs to be THAT good to get those bozos to believe me, anyway.

With the sunlight's soft glow from the windows, to being surrounded by smell of hot food, and Helga's company, Arnold found himself enjoying his breakfast even more than usual. He watched curiously as the girl in front of him continued to tap away, without a care. He took in the moment and engraved yet another quark of hers into his mind. He wasn't sure if she had noticed his lingering eyes, but he smiled nonetheless, as he couldn't help himself. Despite her having just poked fun at him and his friends a few moments ago, everything seemed endearing after the fact, even if it was annoying in the moment.

"What are your plans, for today?" He asked casually.

"Huh?" Helga jumped, now broken out of her train of thought from his sudden question. She felt her pulse surge but managed to bring it back to normal, just as she saw his relaxed smile. "W-why do you ask?" She blurted out, watching it grow wider at her question, and swallowed her panic down. "I hope you aren't asking me to join you and your geeky band of merry morons into some dumb exploration game, because I'd rather read the dictionary." She finished, giving him a bored look to emphasize her disinterest and hide her true intensions.

"I couldn't invite you, even if I wanted to." Arnold let out a small laugh, surprising her a little. "It was decided that this would be a guys' only adventure."

"Oh?" Helga placed her elbows on the table and eyed him suspiciously. She watched as his wide smile shortened, and seemed to twitch. "What sort of local tale would solely interest boys, I wonder?"

His smile disappeared completely, and his gaze turned down towards his plate as he fumbled in his mind for the right words to say. He definitely couldn't tell her the truth, for many more reasons other than just protecting Harold's pride. Helga was an avid adventurer in her own right, and usually liked to accompany their friends when investigating some spooky tale… though, mostly just to disprove any sort of supernatural experience, and make fun of anyone who believed it. "Aren't you girls having another make-over slumber party at Rhonda's soon?" He asked, knowing his reasoning was a valid response. "So… we figured, why not?"

Unable to contain herself, Helga let out a snorted laugh. "As if I actually want to attend that!" She turned her body away from the table and crossed her arms, still very annoyed as this was something she was being dragged to. "You think I want to sit around and listen to Princess Rhonda talk about everyone's looks and whatever hot gossip is floating around? You think I want to cake some sort of mush on my face to help 'preserve our youthful appearance'" She spat distastefully, mocking the very concept. "The only reason I'm even considering it, is because I don't want to leave Phoebe by herself to deal with those harpies, and whatever uncomfortable sit through they have planned."

"Why did you go last time, if you really didn't want to go?" Arnold did his best to remember everything he and the boys saw, when spying on the girls through the window. The image was hazy, but he did remember green goo plastered on some of the girls faces, and Helga looking particularly annoyed.

"To crash it, of course." She shrugged, with a smug grin on her face remembering how much research she had done to join, becoming the life of the party, and then shutting it down after realizing how stupid it all really was. "Dressing up Harold was pretty fun, though." She confessed, letting out a chuckle, then turned her grin towards the boy in front of her. "You want to take his place this time? I bet dressing you up would make the party real fun!"

Arnold gulped at the thought, and felt further uncomfortable as she seemed like she might really enjoy torturing him in such a way. "N-no thanks…" He replied, his voice sounding weak as he attempted to stir the conversation away from her hungry imagination. "I bet this time, she'll have lots of different things planned and you'll end up having a good time, without us interrupting."

Helga eyed him for a moment, but noted his sincerity. "The only thing I'm looking forward to, is jumping into her parents new state of the art hot tub." She could feel that her muscles still felt the train that Gertie had put them through, and unconsciously began to rub the top of her thighs, with both hands underneath the table. "It's not every day that a chance like this comes along, and I'll be taking full advantage of it. She hasn't said that we'll be using it, but knowing her, she'll want to show it off and even if she doesn't…" Helga's face contorted into a devilish smile, "With how much she's went on about it, we all deserve to test it out and see how 'très magnifique' it is for ourselves, right?"

Unable to contain his true feelings on the matter, Arnold frowned. "Just don't cause too much trouble." He said, now worried for both of their sake.

Her grin gave way to a chuckle. "Trouble? Me?" She asked in a prissy tone, placing her hand over her heart and feigning shock. "Why, I'd never do something like that."

"Helga…" Arnold warned, now knowing his feelings of worry were vindicated.

Using her planted feet, Helga pushed her legs out and caused the chair to make a screeching sound against the linoleum floor, and stood up. She locked eyes with him, keeping her mischievous grin intact, and reveled in the fact that he cared so much. Whether it was just Arnold being his usual busybody self, or if there was more to it, it made no difference; her heart melted just the same.

While Arnold saw she intended on doing whatever it was she had in her mind, he didn't let his convictions waver either and continued with his disapproving gaze. "You know nothing good ever comes from the two of you butting heads…"

Helga began to shake her head. "Oh Arnold, Arnold, Arnold…" She chuckled, making her way back to his side, but this time, placing her hand down on the tables smooth surface in front of him. By resting her body's weight against it, as she could lean forward to be at his eye level. "What's the worst that can happen? She'll kick me out?" She asked seriously, then let out a fit of maniacal laughter. "That would be a GREAT!"

He could see the point she was trying to make, however this only made him worry further. "That's still no reason for ruining the party for the other girls…"

The laughing fit stopped, and Helga clenched her jaw. "Hey, don't go ruining my fun when you have your own plans, bucko." She replied, squinting her eyes in annoyance. With one swift motion, Helga removed her hand from the table and gave it a sturdy slap, making the boy in front of her jump, and her laughter resumed once more. "You do your things your way… and I do things my way. " She said arrogantly, before turning around and leaving the boy in his kitchen, to think.

Once he heard her footsteps beginning to ascend his staircase, Arnold pushed his plate into the middle of the table, let out a loud sigh, and let his forehead meet its cold and solid texture. Today was going to be difficult enough, with having to navigate through an old condemned factory, but now he had the added gift of worrying about the future drama between two unmovable forces, that would soon collide on purpose. Who knew what casualties this would result in, and the thought of it only made Arnold's full stomach, began to twist.

Things can never be easy with her, can they?

---

"Hold on just a moment, Helga…" Phoebe said patiently, trying to grasp everything she had just been told. They both sat across from one another on her bed, her elbows touching her knees in a cross legged position. "While, I'm quite surprised with the adept vitality of such an elderly woman, I'm still not sure why she would dress you up in a hand knit cat suit, and have you maneuvering throughout the neighborhood just to spy on Wolfgang, Edmond, and Ludwig. I'll admit that their actions were undeniably suspicious, but I just don't see how it involves either of you, or us, for that matter."

"Like I've said Pheebs, she's crazy." Helga replied, shoving her hand into a container of mixed nuts that was snug in between her legs, and trying to fish out the specific ones she wanted. "But it's not about the cat suit or the gymnastics!" She then threw a few in her mouth and continued, "The long and short of it, is that they went into that place for a reason, and it has something to do with the guys. I don't know the specifics yet, but what I DO know, is that it can't be good!"

"I do find it rather odd that they would suddenly have a sleep over at the Horowitz residence, especially since Eugene wasn't amongst the group at their lunch table gathering." Phoebe placed a finger to her lips, and considered the facts around her. "As well as Arnold's announcement of Gerald having a sudden peaked interest in gathering more information about local legends, when he hasn't so much as hinted this to me himself…"

"It all makes sense, when you put two and two together." Helga placed the lid back on the can of nuts, and set it on the floor. "They're all going in that place, Phoebe and I don't know about you, but I don't trust them going in there to do whatever it is they're doing, without us there, and with the added known fact that Wolfgang and company went in there themselves just before this."

"You're right… It would be rather irresponsible of us to let them willingly walk into such a dangerous situation; without this particular knowledge if it might aid them." Phoebe let out a soft sigh, feeling somewhat defeated as, even though she didn't have any special plans for this evening, she sure wasn't planning on doing anything adventurous either. "What's your plan?"

Despite knowing that Phoebe's participation was reluctant, Helga couldn't help but smile. "Don't exactly have one yet, but let your parents know that you'll be sleeping over my place tonight. Make up something, like we have a book report to do."

Phoebe uncurled her legs from beneath her, and stood up, giving them a brief moment to stretch. "I'll let them know that you're having a sudden life crisis and need me as emotional support."

"Close enough." Helga agreed.

---

"So… here we are again…"

The decrepit building stood threateningly high in front of the pack of young men, each with their own grim expression as they pieced together the reasonings behind why they had come in the first place. The sky glowed with an orange-pink hue as the sun was beginning to go down just behind it, casting out an eerie shadow.

"We're really going in there, huh?" Sid continued as he gawked at the large monstrosity. "No backing down, right?" He looked at his fellow men, hoping that someone would back down so he could as well, but neither would make eye contact and give him a way out. "All in?"

"Gee… This place does look a little scarier now that it's getting dark." Mentioned Eugene, shivering as a chilly breeze hit his skin. "But with our supplies, I'm sure we'll be fine!" No one shared his optimism, but each took a walkie-talkie as he handed them out from his backpack. "Yep! So long as we stick together, we'll be done in no time!"

"My tummy hurts…" Harold complained, trembling as he rubbed his popped out stomach.

"Better hold it in, Bubba, or this will only take longer." Gerald informed him, before taking in a deep breath and steadying himself to begin their deed. "Everyone have their flashlight?" He watched as each boy removed their backpack, and armed themselves with their own light source with a nod. "Good. This could take an hour, or several so everyone be prepared for the long game. Did you all let your folks know that you're sleeping over someone's house?"

"Yeah, I told em' that I'm staying over at Arnolds house." Replied Stinky, as he opened his backpack wider. "Pa gave me a whole bunch of his home made jerky to share. He's been dabbling with a few different dehydration techniques and reckon if I handed enough out, he'd get some good feedback."

Gerald grabbed a plastic baggy filled with what looked like leather, and looked it over with the little light that was left from the sun. "Did… he say what the jerky was made from?"

Stinky shrugged. "Didn't ask but I've had a few pieces and I think it's pretty good!"

"Somehow… that doesn't lessen the suspicion one bit…" Gerald cringed but placed the bag in his backpack anyway, hoping he wouldn't need to use these rations, as he grabbed a few granola bars from his house. "That aside, I also said I was staying with Arnold."

"Oh! So did I!" Eugene cheered.

Eyes shifted around to each other once more, and Arnold felt the pit of his stomach grow deeper.

"Who else… said they were staying at my house?"

One by one, each boy raised their hand with the exception of Curly, who let out a laugh of disgust. "I can't believe this! You fools are unbelievable! Simple instructions and no one but I seemed to follow them correctly?"

"Well, I said I was staying over Gerald's house to catch up on a project of his." Arnold corrected, causing Curly sneer in his direction. "Whose house did you say you were staying at?"

"What's it to you?" Curly crossed his arms. "It doesn't matter now, does it? Seems like everyone will be calling your house for some big slumber party that isn't even there!"

Arnold scratched his head in frustration, before giving way to a sigh. "Luckily, my grandpa is usually the one who answers the phone and he'll make up something on the spot if anyone's parents call… He's pretty good at stuff like that. I doubt we have too much to worry about."

"This better not get messier or my mom's gonna find out and kill me!" Harold shouted, tears welling up in his eyes from a mixture of panic and nausea. "Then I'll never get married, or own my own butcher shop, or… or have my own son to pass it down to!"

"Criminy! The world doesn't need to hear your plans for the future!" A familiar female voice echoed off the buildings, causing everyone to turn around. Walking towards them, was now Helga and Phoebe.

"No!" Harold cried out, now stomping repeatedly on the old cement, causing bits and pieces to hop out of the cracks and shoot in various directions. "No! No! No!"

"What the heck's up with him?" Helga asked the group, who had their own mixed expressions at the sight of them. "And why are you all here?" That's when she pretended to piece together the pieces that Arnold had laid out to his grandpa at breakfast. "Oh! This must have been that research you were talking about." Helga let out a chuckle before elbowing Arnold in the side. "I gotta hand it to ya, Football head! Out of all the urban legends for you and Gerald to be looking into, this one is particularly colorful… if you like the color red."

"Although I'm not extensively well versed in the story, I'm surprised it's been standing all this time." Phoebe said as she pulled her blue sweater down closer to her knees in an attempt to keep her body warmer, all whilst avoiding Gerald's surprised eyes. "Surely, it would have been cheaper to sell the place after… the incident, rather than paying continuous property taxes. Though, I can see that it at least has been serving a home for the local birds, which is nice."

Harold let out another loud whine. "Will you two just get out of here?! This is none of your business!"

"It's a free country, pink boy!" Helga yelled back, stomping over to him, and causing him to recoil. "I didn't realize you owned the place!"

"What… are you guys doing here?" Gerald asked curiously, glancing over to Arnold who shrugged in response. "This place is pretty out of the way."

"There's an instrument repair shop not too far from here, and I was escorting Phoebe there to get new strings for her Cello." Helga replied brazenly, giving the tall haired boy a glare. "And as you can see, this isn't exactly the safest area to just be hanging around, so I offered to go with her."

"Yes." Phoebe confirmed, playing along. "There's a sale going on that was for today only, and I didn't want to pass on the opportunity, seeing as they can be quite costly."

"See?" Helga slowly walked around Harold's shivering body, and over to Gerald. "Our events for the evening are now accounted for..." She stopped and scanned his perplexed expression for waiver, "Not that it was anyone else's business but ours. What are YOU doing here, exactly? You're not actually thinking of going in that place, are you?"

"Actually Helga, we are." Arnold chimed in, eagerly grabbing her attention. "And we'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this."

"Yeah, because we wouldn't even BE here in this mess, if it wasn't for Harold." Sid shrieked, leering at Harold who only bore his fist at the boy in response. "You know, I have goals and plans of my own too! Not just you! I have aspirations and dreams, just like everyone else and I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't have the kind of MONEY to cover my FUNERAL COSTS!"

"Sid!" Gerald ran over to the short, stringy haired kid, and placed his hands on his shoulders to steady him. "Calm it down!" He said, shaking him and gaining his attention away from Harold. "No one is dying tonight! Not on my watch." He then showed the quivering kid his flash light and communication device. "You see these? You'll be fine so long as you have them, so just relax!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Sid replied, pushing Gerald off of him and then pointing straight at Eugene, who took a step back with caution. "Our fates are sealed!"

"Oh please, if anyone will be causing us an early demise, it's the person who loses it before even entering!" Curly replied, stepping in front of Eugene. "Don't get me wrong, I hate him too but you're the one already crumbling before we even set foot in the place! Have you never seen a horror movie?! The one who loses their mind in the beginning, is always the first to die!"

"Says the guy who held himself up in the principal's office over some kickballs!" Sid pressed back, stepping closer to Curly who didn't move a muscle. "You lost your mind years ago!"

Curly lowered his glasses and smirked at the accusation. "Though, as you can see, I'm perfectly calm and not alerting the masses to my illicit activities planned for the evening."

"He's got you there." Chuckled Helga, now fully amused at the scene.

"Will everyone, just stop!" Arnold finally spoke up, now placing himself in the middle of the fight, his arms outstretched in an attempt to push them all back and away from each other. "You guys are acting ridiculous! The longer we stand out here fighting, the less time we have to get in, do what we need to do, and get out." He could see that the fighting parties were beginning to settle, then turned towards Helga. "Would you please not make this situation any worse than it already is?" He pleaded to her, in a hushed voice. "They're already on edge."

"It's not my fault they're all babies, scared of a little dank and dark building." She huffed in defense.

"That's a whole lotta talk for someone who doesn't have to venture on in there." Stinky replied, with annoyance. "On accounta, you not being roped up in this mess."

Helga raised her eye brow in interest. "Oh?" She sang, moving away from Arnold's shadow and towards the daring voice. "Is that a challenge, I hear?"

"No…" Arnold pinched the bridge of his nose, and wished his friends would just keep their mouths shut.

Stinky furrowed his brow at her audacity. "Sure is! Once you put yourselves in our shoes, maybe ya'll think twice to laughin' at us for worrying about our physical wellbein'."

"Why! Why me!" Harold wailed, dropping to his knees, and clasping his hands together into a praying position. "I promise, I'll never ask anyone what they're doing, ever, ever again! Will tonight just be over already?!"

"No can do, Helga." Gerald stepped forward, gaining back her attention. "We only have enough flashlights for ourselves and I'm not putting anymore lives on the line for this."

"Phoebe." Helga then clapped her hands, calling over her assistant. Without any time to waste, Phoebe hurried over and handed Helga two flashlights, causing Gerald's face to droop. "You were saying?"

"I bought them as an extra precaution in the event that we'd be stuck out later than necessary, and the street lights might be out." Explained Phoebe before anyone had a chance to ask.

"Of… course you did." Gerald sighed, glancing over at Arnold one more time, now even more suspicious than before.

"Guys…" Eugene called out, pointing to the sky. "I don't mean to interrupt but the suns almost completely gone. It might be best if we hurry inside so we can utilize what natural light we have left, to see a bit of our surroundings before we go off exploring."

"He's right…" Arnold agreed, now worried that they'd lost precious time with arguing. He could see that half of the guys weren't happy with this decision, but there was just no going back now. "They already know we're here, and they even have their own flashlights…"

"I wonder how that came to be…" Gerald grumbled under his breath.

"As we've already decided, the more people to cover more ground, the sooner we can be out of there." Arnold continued, now leading the way towards the broken piece of fence. "Come on."

Letting out one last wail in distress, Harold got up and stomped over to the opening that Arnold was politely holding open. "LETS JUST GO ALREADY!" He said, getting on his hands and knees to squeeze through.

Flashing a charming grin at everyone around, Helga moved along next. "Come on, Pheebs!"

"Coming!" Phoebe chirped, following in the blonde girl's stead.

Next to go through was Stinky, then Sid and finally Eugene and Curly at the party's heel.

Once they got closer to the building, the way in made itself known as a side door was being propped slightly open with a small rock, with a piece of paper taped to it, which read: "Good Luck, Losers."

Arnold opened the old metal door, causing a loud screeching noise to pierce everyone's ears and them to shutter.

"Criminy!" Helga cried out, covering her ears. "That's more insufferable than Harold's crying!"

Turning on his flashlight, Arnold shone it into the dusty lobby of the ground floor. Dust flew high in the air, causing the kids to cough and fan it away from their face. Debris littered the area, consisting of old pieces of rotten wood, concrete blocks, glass from bottles that had been smashed by previous adventurers, and an occasional long metal desk left behind by its previous owners. Much like the outside, Graffiti adorned most of the walls with colorful spray paint, mostly just vulgar language but some coupled with interesting images.

As their eyes adjusted to the new surroundings, a lone staircase was visible in the middle of the room, towards the far back.

"Alright." Gerald cleared his throat, and made his way to the front of the group. "Now that we're finally inside, it's time we ready ourselves for whatever comes our way. Make sure all your flashlights are in working order, and your walkie-talkies are loud and clear." He then looked over at Sid, who was paler than usual. "We'll all be leaving this place alive… but before we do, I think it would only be right to tell the tale that it holds."

"Do it, Gerald." Sid agreed from the distance, pointing a shaky thumbs up.

One by one, each of the sixth graders turned their flashlights on, and focused them to the floor just in front of Gerald, illuminating his form.

"Take a look around, at the crumbling walls that once held this flourishing establishment up high." His voice announced, beckoning to them all. "It happened some time ago, long before any of us were born; this place alive with light and the voices of its workers, steadily working their usual shifts, nothing amiss or ever questioned. Machines whizzed and whirred, while their operators' pressed buttons, pulled levers and quality checked all the ground up and pelletized pieces of pet food, each piece handled with care. The job was an honest one, and each worker would come home with a paycheck, happy to support their family… but this wouldn't last forever. Nay, nay! For one fateful night would forever paint the walls red, and leave a mystery still yet to be fully solved. It's said that the owner of this plant, a good, portly business man by the name of Mr. Bergus, always made his employees feel at home and appreciated. Raises for all workers, bonuses whenever more contracts were added, and holiday parties that would be extended to all! It's hard to believe by looking around us now, but this was once a really fine place. A wise poet once said, 'nothing gold can ever stay'… and sadly, this factory fell to that rule, some would say… head first."

The dim sunlight that emanated through the broken windows, slowly faded away and darkened the lobby further.

"Few years would go by with the standards always remaining top quality, but slowly… very slowly, the quality began to diminish. Nutrition labels didn't seem to always match the product, and pets were beginning to get sick. After a particularly bad case of sick dogs, an inspection was done on the product to reveal the once, high grade protein of the usual chicken, beef, or fish was now low grade and even consisting of meat not usually fit for consumption. The media went wild, and lawsuits began to flood in, drowning the company in debt and soon, the workers started trickling out. Many didn't want to be caught in the storm, others didn't want to risk losing potential future jobs, but most left due to how they were now being treated. They were all just part of the machinery, with no love, respect, or even an occasional pat on the back. All incentives ceased and only the annual Christmas party survived but Mr. Bergus, who usually dressed up as Jolly Ol' Saint Nick, was now seen with a flask in his hand, rather than gifts for the children of his workers. He had become a sad and sorry shell of the man he once was.

One night, after the Christmas party was coming to a close, patrons had noticed that their mascot had simply… up and vanished. The batches of pet food that followed, became unusually tainted and discolored, causing many pets to wind up fatally ill. It was all a big mystery… until the food was tested and proved positive for human flesh."

The kids all gasped in unison, causing Gerald to dramatically pause, and let the implications set in.

"Human flesh, as well as fibers of red and white, typically woven into that of your standard Santa suit. What happened, you ask yourselves? Chaos ensued and each member of the party was interviewed by the police, and what was even more strange… was none of the stories were consistent. Some say, he was last seen just before midnight, singing, and having the time of his life. Others say he had a loud argument over some bets on a card game, but most interestingly of all… was it was noted that every single one of the people who had partied with the man that night, had something to gain from his death. They were all suspects, but no one was ever officially arrested. In the end, they settled and closed the case by calling it an accidental death by intoxication but… I don't know about you, but I don't think anyone would willingly turn on a crushing machine, and suddenly find themselves falling into it during a holiday party. What's even more suspicious, is the majority of past employees admitted that Mr. Bergus never knew how to operate any of the equipment. He was just a business man with a keen eye for a good product, or… used to.

Since his death, this place has been boarded up and left to rot. Most of the equipment was auctioned off… except the ones tainted with his remains. Those still sit in here with us, somewhere inside this building. Rumors began to spread about the equipment being haunted by his vengeful spirit, claiming that whenever someone would go near the machines, they felt as if they were being drawn to them before feeling a push from behind. It didn't take long before some would go missing, most famously, a group of high schoolers who lost a bet and forced to spend the night. The sun rose… but they were never found. Evidence that they had stayed here, sure but they had simply vanished, just like Mr. Bergus."

"Wow…" Eugene stood, mystified.

"Seriously?" Helga smirked, unable to contain herself. "You act like this is your first time hearing it."

"That's because it is, Helga." Eugene replied, smiling at her with a glow of innocence. "My family isn't really into the horror genre. I'm not much a fan either, but I find local tales like this one, to be very interesting! You can always learn a lot!"

"And now it's our turn to spend the night and disappear…" Harold whispered, too scared to even yell anymore.

"Oh, come off it!" Curly sneered at the crowd. "It's a fun story to tell, sure but it's clearly bogus! After all, how could anyone spread these rumors of haunted machines, if they all disappeared?"

"As much as anyone loves an urban legend, I'll have to agree that, although quite tragic, the implications of haunted machines are rather absurd." Phoebe chuckled, amused at the notion. "Even with the questionable evidence that surrounds ghosts being real, this one is a bit much. After all, if they had been pushed into the machines, and ground up into meal, surely there would have been evidence on the machines themselves."

Gerald smiled at his girlfriend, and placed a loving arm around her shoulders. "You maybe right, but the supernatural can't always be explained. That's what makes it supernatural, babe."

"Nah, ghosts are definitely real." Stinky explained, as he scratched his chin in thought. "My family's got plenty of stories of seeing em' back in Arkansas. Farms being haunted, strange noises, things gone missing and suddenly appearing…"

"Yeah… because they totally wouldn't just lie for the fun of it?" Helga crossed her arms, astonished at how dim some people could be. "Simple is simple, as some say…"

"Alright guys." Arnold clapped his hands and focused his flashlight towards the back of the room. "It's time we do what we came here to do."

"And… what is that, pray tell?" Helga asked, reminding him and everyone else that she and Phoebe had no idea why they were actually there, besides to tell an old ghost story.

"Harold got duped into this 'right of manliness' by Wolfgang and Ludwig." Sid spoke up, still quite sour at this whole ordeal. "Then dragged us into it because he can't do it himself!"

"They've hidden a box of… treasure for him to find, somewhere in this building." Arnold continued, "If he finds it and proves himself, they'll let him off the hook but if he doesn't, they'll…" His voice slowly faded out, unsure of how to even proceed with the explanation in a way that didn't sound so vile and incriminating to his fellow man.

"They'll ruin his life, got it." Helga finished for him, now at least understanding as much as she needed. "So, he gathered you dimwits into helping him out, because the boy's afraid of his own shadow."

"I am not!" Harold retorted, beyond ashamed of everything but still holding on to some pride. "It's because this place is huge and it would be impossible to find it by myself!"

Helga gave Harold a smirk, entertaining his excuses, before turning back to Arnold. "Okay, so what is this 'treasure' we're on the lookout for?"

"We can't tell you that." Gerald put bluntly, not letting the girl get the satisfaction of further humiliation over Harold's plight. "All we know is that it's gonna be in a box, so if you find a box with stuff in it, just let us know and he'll check it out to see if it's legit."

"And to do that, we'll be sorting ourselves into groups." Arnold held out the walkie-talkie that Eugene had lent them. "We only have 5 of them, so…" He did a quick head count, then frowned." We'll have to manage with groups of 2 and one group of three since we have an odd number."

"Or, one of us could be the look out, just like at Elk Island!" Harold suggested, his hand raised in earnest. "I can volunteer!"

Gerald let out a laugh. "Not so fast, big boy."

Arnold began opening his backpack and pulling out some straws. "I had a feeling this might happen, so I came prepared." He fanned the straws out evenly, as to show that there were more than enough for everyone there. "I'll shorten one of these, and whoever picks it can be the lookout with their own walkie-talkie." He then pulled out a few colored markers, "I'll also color the tips, in order to pair us off."

"Very resourceful." Complimented Phoebe as she looked at their instruments of fate. "How long have you all been planning this?"

"Only a couple of days." Gerald sighed. "He sorta sprung it on everyone last minute so we had to improvise. Luckily, Eugene had some equipment we could use to make this a bit easier."

"That's the only reason he was invited." Curly finished, giving Eugene a side eye. "Just as you two weren't initially part of the plan, either."

"Neither were you!" Sid interjected, angrily. "You forced us to let you come!"

"A man has his reasons…" Curly replied, turning away from the boy and paying him no mind. "Cut the straw, Arnold. Let's get on with this."

"R-right…" Arnold nodded, pulling out a small pair of scissors and cutting one of the straws in half. He packed them all into his hand, and smoothed down the tops to make them all flush. "Everyone, draw straws."

Everyone took their turn, grabbing a straw from Arnold's hand and looking at it. A gasp of relief came from Sid, as he thrusted his shortened straw into Harold's face.

"Haha!" He boasted. "Looks like I'm the lookout, this time! You did the time, now you pay the crime!"

"My colored straw is green… who's my partner?" Asked Stinky, showing his straw to the rest of them.

"Me." Curly replied, moving over to Stinky and placing his hand out for a shake. "I'll take care of you, if you take care of me."

Looking down at the boy awkwardly, Stinky forced a smile and shook his hand. "Deal…"

"My straw is yellow." Announced Arnold.

"As is mine." Phoebe replied, moving next to her new partner, and ignoring the glare from her best friend.

"Criminy…" Helga whined, looking at the slim pickings she had left to be paired up with. "Who has red?"

"Oh!" Eugene jumped up. "I do! I have red!"

Smacking her hand against her face, Helga grumbled something inaudible. It took a moment for her to recompose herself, but when she did, she growled at her new partner, causing him to give a slight "eep" noise.

"That just leaves me and you, Bubba." Said Gerald, as he looked over towards the large kid, who was still fuming at Sid for his constant teasing.

"Stop calling me that!" He yelled back, before stomping over to him like a defiant child.

"Alright, seems everything is in working order…" Arnold checked his backpack for extra batteries, then turned his walkie-talkie back on and off again, to make sure it was working correctly. "Next, we need to figure out which team is going where." He began to walk over to the staircase, causing everyone but Sid to follow. Once at the staircase, he noticed a smaller door behind it. "That must lead to the basement…" He thought aloud, before turning to his friends. "Considering how tall this building is, we probably only need one team to go down there. Anyone want to volunteer, or do we want to draw straws again?"

"We'll take the basement." Curly saluted, causing his partner to groan. "There's bound to be cool things down there!"

"Alright, Curly and Stinky will take the basement." Arnold confirmed to the groups. "If the signal begins to go out, please let us know and don't go any further. We'll all tackle the basement in the end, if need be, just to be safe. The rest of us will go upstairs and figure out how to split up from there."

"Good luck." Stinky waved at the group, before following Curly into the unknown and wishing he had just stayed home to help his cousin with her class assignment.

The groups slowly walked up the stairs. They were notably very sturdy, despite the years of neglect, which made Arnold feel a little more at ease. It was obvious that a lot of the building was beyond repair, but at least the stairs were structurally sound, which gave him hope.

At the top, the room branched out into three ways: Straight, left, and right. Arnold pointed his flashlight straight down the hallway in front of them, and could see another staircase, leading to a higher level.

"Harold and I will go right." Gerald said, waving to the group and taking the lead. "Let us know if you find anything… interesting." He laughed, insinuating the obvious to the other males in his vicinity.

"Why do you get to pick?!" Harold howled, stomping off to follow. "UGH! I hate this!"

Arnold, Phoebe, Helga, and Eugene watched as they slowly disappeared into the darkness.

"Which direction would you like to go?" Phoebe asked Arnold, pleasantly. "I have no preference."

Looking between the left, and straight paths, Arnold became conflicted. "Umm…"

"Since this is set up like a typical horror movie, I'll go straight." Helga sighed, looking towards her inevitable demise. "The blonde girl always climbs higher and gets stabbed by the serial killer." She then looked at Eugene, "In my case, I'm sure Eugene will somehow trip, causing me to fall off a balcony or something."

"Helga!" Phoebe scolded. "Don't say such things, even as a joke!"

Helga held her hand out towards the dark hallway in front of her. "Come on, Eugene. Lead me to my death."

"Oh… Gee…" Eugene stood frozen, unsure of what to do next. "I promise, I'll be extra careful!"

As Helga began to walk off, she looked over her shoulder at her best friend and love of her life, watching her off. Silently, she wished them both a safe search and knew in her heart that they would be okay. They were probably the safest group, when she thought about it, and here she was, stuck with the jinx. "Come on, Eugene!" She shouted, noticing that he was lagging behind her. "Being extra careful doesn't mean crawling at a snail's pace!"

"R-right!" The ginger replied, breaking into a speed walk to catch up with his hostile and pessimistic partner. "Sorry about that!"

This left Arnold and Phoebe standing awkwardly together, as they watched Helga and Eugene disappear into the distance. They could hear her mild cussing, as well as their footsteps going further up until eventually their presence had gone silent.

"Don't worry, Arnold." Phoebe smiled at him in reassurance. "You know how resilient Helga can be. She's nimble and quick witted, when given unsure situations such as this. If anything, she'll be watching out for Eugene and helping him avoid his…" She thought for a second to come up with the most appropriate word possible, "unfortunate accidents."

"Yeah…" Arnold agreed, but still felt his stomach tighten. He had been roped into Eugene's bad luck before and knew that, even in the direst of situations, the boy continued to be cheerful and created a relaxing atmosphere to dwell in, until someone saved him. This was true for himself… but Helga was another creature all together. "I just hope that she doesn't snap and cause him an… unfortunate accident."

"True..." Phoebe frowned, hoping the best for everyone involved.