How is it that this story has 13 followers and yet only gets at most one new review per chapter? Sheesh, it's not like I'm asking for a million dollars or to rule the world, I just want some honest feedback once in a while, is that wrong?
On a more serious note though, I wanted to discuss the order these chapters are supposed to go in. Simply put, I messed up.
When I was planning out the chapters for this story, I was going solely off of the order the Wikipedia listed the episodes. However, what I failed to realize was that the broadcast order did not always coincide with the production order. This is why "The Turnip Twist," despite airing before "Monumental Disaster," contained that detail of the statue, because it was in production after the latter episode (their production codes were 109 and 108 respectively). Meanwhile, the episode "Game Night/The Don't-Gooder" had the production code 107 even though it was technically the 12th aired.
In other words, starting from Chapter 13, I have been doing the episodes out of their proper order. I know it shouldn't matter in the long run, but to me, I think it's more important to do the episodes in the order they were meant to go in, rather than the order they were ultimately put in. So from now on, that's what I'm going to do.
Unfortunately, I only figured this out until after I completed the chapter on "The Turnip Twist" and was already halfway through the one "All Systems No." So...here's what I'm thinking.
I originally said that I would take a break after Chapter 18, but now that I've learned the true order of the episodes, I'm going to write until I get to 20. The next chapters I will write up will be for "Game Night" and "The Don't-Gooder" and once those are done, I'll do "Monumental Disaster" and "The Talent Show." Then, once all of those are done, I'll take down all the chapters following the twelfth one and reupload them in the right order. And then we'll finish off the first half of Season 1 with fan favorite episodes "Scratch the Surface" and "Friend-Off." So, there you go. You guys will get two extra chapters this summer.
For now though, here is chapter 14 (soon to be Chapter 18) based on one of my favorite episodes "All Systems No." This one was fun but also a little difficult to write, mainly because I had to make sure the characters avoided saying not just "yes" or "no" but phrases similar to those, which is what the episode does as well. Hopefully there aren't any oversights I missed. Enjoy!
Stretch, Stinkie, & Fatso: Muahahahahahaaaa!
Molly: Can't believe you're all mine
Fatso: Uh, what?
Molly: You and me for all time
Stretch: No way!
Molly: I'm never, ever, EVER gonna be alone again
Stinkie: This stinks!
Molly: It's just you three and me
Fatso: For all eternity?!
Molly: For all ETERNITY!
Stretch, Stinkie, & Fatso: NOOOO!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: It's the Ghost-Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee
Fatso: We've been cursed!
Stinkie: It's the worst!
Molly: Now you're stuck with me
Molly & Ghostly Trio: We're never gonna be apart
Stretch: Is there a way to hit 'restart'?
Molly: Nope!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: We're the Ghost-Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee
Molly: That's me!
Stinkie: Well, that's she. Hee, hee, hee!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee!
Fatso: Oh yeah!
Chapter 14
Your Yes Is As Good As Mine
It was Saturday morning in Brighton. The McGee household was quiet and still for a change, mostly because everyone was taking advantage of the day off from work and school by sleeping in. Even the normally chaotic Ghostly Trio, who didn't have to attend either, were enjoying some extra hours of slumber in their san phra phrom.
As it turns out, however, there was one family member who was completely awake, too excited to waste the whole day snoozing. Unsurprisingly, it was the perky tween daughter of the family, Molly McGee.
The girl peeked through the window of the Ghostly Trio's little home and saw them all sleeping in their individual beds.
"Aww…they're so cute!" she whispered. "Maybe I should just leave them alone and let them rest…ha! As if! WAKE UP, FELLAS!"
The Trio jolted out of their house, still wearing their pajamas.
"Gah! What's goin' on?"
"What the heehaw?!"
"I'm innocent, I tell ya!"
They noticed Molly looking up at them, a big smile on her face as usual.
"Figures you would be the one to disturb our eternal rest, McGee." Stretch grumbled. "What are ya doin' here anyway? Shouldn't ya be at school or somethin'?"
Molly giggled. "Silly Stretch, it's Saturday! But not just any Saturday because…I have no plans! No chores! No homework! No responsibilities!"
"No sense of boundaries." Stretch noted.
"No indoor voice." Stinkie added.
"No…Country for Old Men is a cinematic masterpiece." Fatso mentioned randomly.
"That is so stupid, you hurt my head!" Stretch shoved Fatso's head into his own nightcap.
Molly stood on her bed.
"And since I have no other obligations, I've decided that today is officially 'Best Friends Day'! A day where the four of us will do lots of cool, fun stuff because that's what best friends do!" she picked up her stereo and started to play a song she recorded the night before. "Feel free to chime in when you hear something you wanna do."
Molly: We…could…
Start out with a super happy picnic at the park
Then hit up the aquarium and watch 'em feed a shark
It's sunny, it's Saturday
Let's go out and make this an Awesome Best Friends Day!
"Oy vey…" Stretch facepalmed.
Molly: There's archery, calligraphy, ecology, and more
All the thrilling possibilities are right outside our door
There's auctioneering, volunteering, human bio-engineering
Look, the day is disappearing!
Come on guys, let's go!
We could float in silence in a deprivation tank
Or hunt some evil pirates and make 'em walk the plank
We could high-five while skydiving, what do ya say?
Won't you join me
For an awesome Best Friends Day?
When the song was over, the Trio huddled up and whispered amongst each other.
"All right bone bag, we've got our answer." Stretch finally announced.
Molly's eyes widened with anticipation.
"No way!" Stretch refused.
"No how!" Stinkie denied.
"Well…the pirate stuff sounds fun." Fatso admitted.
Stretch shoved a script in Fatso's face.
"Uh…I mean…no no Nanette! How was that?"
"Much better." Stinkie informed him.
"C'mon you guys," Molly encouraged. "You can't say 'no' to everything."
"Sure we can. We just did." Stretch poked Molly's nose and he and the others disappeared.
"But that's a terrible way to go through life! Or death!"
The Trio reappeared by Molly's bed.
"It's better than bein' overly positive and sayin' 'yes' to everythin' like you do." Stretch claimed.
"Actually, you're wrong." Molly disagreed. "Because 'yes' is good and 'no' is bad."
"Oh yeah?" Stretch smirked.
"Yeah!"
"Would it make ya happy, then, to say 'yes' to everything?"
"Yes! It would!" Molly returned the nose poke she received from Stretch. "And would you three hate it if you could only say 'no'?"
"Nope!" the Trio said simultaneously.
"You would too." Molly insisted.
"Okay, missy. What do ya say we make a little wager? For the rest of today, you can only say 'yes' and we's can only say 'no.' And the first one to admit they can't take it loses!"
"Sounds fair to me." Molly concurred. "And if I win, Fatso has to go on a diet, Stinkie has to brush his teeth, and you have to say only nice things! For two…whole…weeks!"
Stinkie and Fatso gasped in horror at the thought of healthy eating and dental hygiene. Stretch on the other hand, wasn't too worried.
"Deal! But if we win, you will never wake us up on a Saturday ever again! Best Friends Day or no Best Friends Day! And also…you become our personal slave for two weeks."
Molly shook Stretch's hand. "Fine by me! 'Cause it'll never happen! I can smell Stinkie's minty breath already."
Stinkie blew into his hand and sniffed it, gagging slightly. "Stretch…you better know what you're doin'…"
"I always do!" Stretch assured him. "And one more thing. Let's make it a curse! So, Molly McGee?"
The tallest ghost became even taller and he put on his "terrifying" face and spoke in his "terrifying" voice. Molly began to float, along with everything in the attic.
"Until midnight, one party can only say 'no'!" Stretch pointed to himself and his brothers. "And the other…" he pointed at Molly. "…can only say 'yes'!"
Lightning struck, setting the curse in place and returning the room to normal.
"Uh…was that really necessary?" Molly asked.
"No." Stretch chuckled, already affected by the curse. "But at least now neither of us can try to cheat our way through the bet. Plus, it makes it more fun."
Molly grinned mischievously. "Well…in that case…Stretch? Stinkie? Fatso? Do you three wanna spend the day doing nothing?"
The Trio all had their responses ready.
"Absolutely…not!"
"You bet we do…n't!"
"Aye…would say no!"
The three covered their mouths in shock.
"Oh…I see what ya did there." Stretch glared. "Very clever. Well, guess the answer is 'no' then."
"Yes!" Molly hugged the Trio and ran downstairs. "This is gonna be so much fun!"
The Trio smiled wickedly.
"Oh, it'll be fun all right…for us!" Stretch cackled, along with Stinkie and Fatso.
When the girl and ghosts made it to the kitchen, they were met with a rather unusual scene. Pete was swinging a broom around, knocking over dishes, and a bee was flying above him.
"Stand back, Molly!" he warned. "We've got a bee in the kitchen!"
The bee flew over to the Trio.
"Hmph. I hate bees." Stretch complained. "They scare so many fleshies without even tryin'."
"I bet they're not so tough without those stingers." Stinkie claimed.
Suddenly, the bee phased through Fatso's nose.
"Fatso!" Pete cried. "You caught the bee! Thank you! Now, uh, do you think you can release it outside?"
Fatso pretended to think. "Hm…can I release the bee outside? What do ya think, fellas?"
Stretch and Stinkie also pondered it over. Finally, they all said:
"No!"
Fatso flicked the bee out of his nose and it went after Pete again, much to his terror. The Trio laughed at the situation.
"I'm lovin' this curse so far!" Stretch commented. "And this is only the beginnin'…"
Later, Molly and the Trio were walking around downtown Brighton.
"Okay, I'm thinking we should stop at the library first." Molly informed the Trio. "We can check out some books and enter a literary world of pure imagination!"
"Hard pass." Stretch refused.
"Okay, how about this? Would you three prefer not to go to the library?"
The Trio groaned. "No…"
"Ha! I think I'm loving this curse, too!" Molly boasted, skipping down the street.
But then she froze, her eyes widening in fear upon seeing what was on the street leading to the library: Irving the Illusionist, a stage magician, doing magic tricks for passersby. Immediately, Molly turned around and headed the other way.
"Uh, hey genius!" Stretch called after her. "The library is thataway!"
"Yeah, um..I'm just taking the scenic route." Molly replied without turning around.
The Trio looked back at Irving and grinned, having figured out the issue. They floated in front of Molly.
"Whatsa matter, Moll?" Stretch taunted. "Don't like closeup magic?"
"Well…let's just say it's not my favorite." Molly confessed.
"Well now, ain't that a hoot comin' from Miss Unicorns-and-Fairies-are-Totally-Real?"
"Especially since ya don't seem to mind when we do magic for ya." Stinkie pointed out, sawing Fatso in half.
"Ta-dah!" the big ghoul made jazz hands before putting himself back together.
"That's different." Molly insisted. "That's real magic. Magicians are nothing but con artists who trick people!"
"Sounds like what we do." Stretch reminded her.
"Okay, yes. But at least you don't advertise yourselves as some big, spectacular wizard who can defy the laws of reality only to pull off the same old lame 'Is this your card?' routine and each time, you have to say 'Yes, that is my card, how'd you do it?' and then they always say 'A magician never reveals his secrets,' even though everybody knows they just use a deck of the same cards every. Single. TIME!"
At that moment, she realized people were staring at her and she quieted down before she inadvertently drew more attention to herself.
"Oh Molly?" Stretch sang. "Wanna watch some street magic?"
Molly chuckled. "That is a hard nnnniiihh…" she found herself unable to say the word. "Nnneehh…nnnnnuuuhh…"
"Sorry, what was that?" Stretch grew an ear along with Stinkie and Fatso.
"Ugh! Fine! Yes!" Molly blurted out. "I can't believe you used the curse against me…"
"What goes around comes around, Moll." Stinkie stated smugly.
With that, Molly reluctantly approached Irving the Illusionist, an unenthusiastic look on her face.
"Greetings, average observer!" Irving waved to her. "Have you come to see some…magic?"
"Well, Molly? Give 'em yer answer." Stretch nudged Molly in the ribs.
"Yes…" Molly grumbled.
The Trio snickered as Irving rubbed his hands together and pulled a coin from behind Molly's ear.
"Presto! Are you impressed…o?" Irving laughed.
Molly, however, was not impressed.
"That didn't come from my ear. You were holding that coin in your hand the whole time!" she jumped up and grabbed Irving by the collar. "I know your game, presti-digi-faker…"
Just then, she spotted her (literally) old friend, Patty, about to cross the road.
"Oh! Patty! Over here! Quick, before he gets out the cards!"
Patty approached her. "Molly! Perfect timing! I just finished cookin' up some gumbo, but my taste buds don't work the way they used to. Would you like to be my taste tester?"
Molly smiled at the Trio's disappointed faces. "Well, I do love gumbo. So, yes. I would be happy to."
But when Molly arrived at the retirement home, instead of being given the homemade, spicy goodness she was expecting, she was handed a bowl of gray, bubbling sludge.
"Um…this is gumbo?"
Patty nodded. "Not bad for a beginner, huh?"
The elderly woman then walked off, leaving Molly to test her experiment gone horribly wrong.
The Trio poofed up beside her.
"Wow, if that lady has grandkids, I sure feel sorry whenever she has to cook for 'em!" Fatso joked.
"So, ready to call it quits, Moll?" Stretch asked with a cheeky grin.
"Yes." Molly replied in a determined manner.
"Ha! I knew it!" Stretch paused. "Hold on, that tone didn't sound very defeated. Did ya actually mean to say 'no' but the curse kept ya from doin' it?"
"Yes." Molly said again.
"Okay, that's what I thought."
"Wait, wait," Fatso interrupted. "What if that was meant to be a 'no' too? How are we supposed to know when she secretly means 'no'? What if she keeps sayin'…the other thing forever and we never know if she's bein' serious or not?"
"Forever?" Stinkie repeated with a raised eyebrow. "The curse only lasts 24 hours."
"Enough!" Stretch scolded and then looked back at Molly. "Ya know what? For the sake of the plot, I'll just assume ya haven't given up yet. Which, to be honest with ya, we was hopin' ya hadn't."
Molly became nervous. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Well, we was thinkin' that gumbo could use a little extra spice…literally!" Stretch took out a bottle of hot sauce and laughed. "But I know how sensitive yer tongue is Moll, so I'll ask ya first. Do ya want some hot sauce on that gumbo?"
Molly glared at him. "Yes…"
Stretch poured it on. "That's what I like to hear! Heh, heh, heh!"
Stinkie held out a huge wheel of smelly cheese.
"How 'bout some limburger? Would ya like some of that?"
"Yes…" Molly winced and Stinkie dumped the whole wheel in.
"My turn!" Fatso butted in. "I've got the most horrible, nastiest addition of them all…" he held out a brown bottle. "Maple syrup…"
Molly's face contorted with disgust while Stretch and Stinkie scoffed.
"Maple syrup? Oh please!"
"That stuff's pure bliss!"
"Not to Molly." Fatso recalled. "I seem to remember a time when her mom made pancakes for breakfast and she refused to put syrup on 'em because quote-unquote 'it tastes like a tree's tears.'"
"It's true…" Molly shuddered.
"You can remember that but ya can't remember yer own name half the time?" Stretch remarked.
"Hey, my mind's a steel trap when it comes to food memories!" Fatso claimed.
"Wow, that's very insightful, Fatso." Molly commented.
Fatso turned his head. "Who? Oh, right. Me. So, Molly…would ya like some tree's tears to go with that gumbo?"
Molly gulped as she stared at the syrup bottle. The gumbo already looked bad enough with Stretch and Stinkie's add-ons, but this was clearly the extremely sticky and overly sweet icing on the cake. But due to the Trio's curse, she found herself unable to refuse.
"…Yes…"
"Atta girl!" Fatso poured the entire contents into the concoction, much to Molly's revulsion.
"There ya go, Moll." Stretch chuckled. "Bone appetit!"
"Right…okay."
Molly slowly picked up her spoon and scooped up a bit of the slop. She opened her mouth to take the first bite, but then hesitated to consider her options. She could either eat the gumbo and sacrifice her taste buds while the Trio indulged in her suffering, or she could tell them she wanted to quit and endure their endless boasting for weeks. It was a tough decision, but in the end, Molly chose not to give up, for she believed it was better to choke down a whole bowl of nasty gumbo than to give the Trio the satisfaction of learning they were right. So, she shoved the first spoonful into her mouth. Upon tasting the mixture, her face scrunched up and her eyes watered from physical pain. She could feel her tongue burning due to the spicy sensation of the hot sauce, the sour stench of the limburger, and the sickening sweetness of the maple syrup. It was truly a horrid combination.
"That's it," Stretch encouraged. "Make sure to eat it all up, Moll."
"That's right. Ya don't wanna hurt Patty's feelings, after all." Stinkie mentioned.
"Isn't this a fun Best Friends Day?" Fatso teased.
"Yes…" Molly sobbed and continued eating while the Trio watched her with big, amused smiles on their faces.
Fifty miserable minutes later, Molly had finally finished the bowl. After swallowing the last dreadful spoonful, she slammed her face against the table, moaning as she felt her stomach twist itself into knots. At that moment, Patty came over, having noticed her empty bowl.
"My goodness!" she said. "I must be a better cook than I thought! Well, there's plenty more gumbo where that came from. Would you like some more?"
Molly lifted her head and, to her terror, caught sight of a nearly-full pot of botched stew on the counter behind Patty, which the Trio were already adding more hot sauce, limburger, and syrup to.
"Well?" Patty anticipated her answer.
"…Yes…" Molly reluctantly accepted, looking like she was about to cry.
After getting through another round of taste-bud-destroying torture, and evading Patty before she could ask about thirds, Molly resumed her route to the library, the Trio right behind her, eager to cause her even more discomfort.
"Ohh…" Molly held her stomach in agony. "I can't believe you guys tricked me into eating that…that…that abomination! I feel so nauseous…" she sniffed the air and gagged. "Ugh! And you choosing to let one rip now is not helping, Stinkie!"
"Hey!" Stinkie was offended. "Why do ya always gotta assume I'm the one behind every terrible smell?"
All of a sudden, a skunk zipped past Molly, revealing itself to be the real cause of the odor. Looking ahead, Molly could see a mustached man in a top hat.
"Help! Someone help!" he cried.
"Oh my gosh, it's Weird Larry!" she pushed the Trio toward the road. "Let's cross this way!"
Stretch blocked her.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down! Why are ya avoidin' people out of the blue like that?" he smirked knowingly. "That don't seem very Molly McGee-ish."
Before Molly could come up with a retort, Weird Larry jumped in front of her.
"Help! It's my baby, Vera! She got out! Have you seen her? She's black and white, she's got a cute little fluffy tail, and she has a powerful stench only a father could love!"
"Or a ghost." Stinkie added, even though Larry couldn't hear him.
"Um…by any chance, is Vera a skunk?" Molly asked with dread in her voice.
Larry opened up a locket he was wearing around his neck. Inside was a picture of him and a baby skunk.
"Aww…what an adorable little stinker!" Stinkie cooed.
"Please, will you help me wrangle her?" Weird Larry requested.
Molly started to sweat and backed away. "Uh…I uh…" she covered her mouth before the word could come out.
Stretch snickered. "Now Molly, don't be so rude. He asked ya a question, so now you gotta give him an answer!"
Stinkie wrapped an invisible arm around Larry. "Don't leave the guy hangin'!"
"Look, I can see the word makin' its way up!" Fatso referred to a huge lump in Molly's throat.
"C'mon, Moll, it ain't healthy to hold it back like that." Stretch lectured.
"Right. Just let it out! You'll feel better, I promise. I always do." Stinkie belched.
Finally, Molly couldn't keep her answer in any longer.
"…YES!" she shouted so loud that her voice echoed across the street.
With that, the chase was on. Molly found the skunk hiding in an alleyway and attempted to dive after it. But the little bugger proved to be much faster than her and she ended up smashing into a pair of trash cans instead. Still, she kept up the pursuit, trying her best to ignore the unnecessary commentary from the Trio.
"And there it is, folks! McGee is slippin' past the wet cardboard boxes!"
"Why are they wet? We ain't gonna ask. Now she's tearin' through a fence, leavin' behind a lovely impact silhouette."
"She's goin' for the tackle now! Will she make it?"
Molly managed to grab Vera by the foot, but she easily escaped by spraying the tween in the face.
"And she fumbles!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the Trio laughed as Molly groaned in frustration.
"Would you guys please knock it off?"
"Well, since ya asked…no!" Stretch replied bluntly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Stinkie got a whiff of Molly's clothes. "Ahh…by the way, love the new perfume, Molly. It goes great with the foul mood you're in right now."
"So, give up yet?" Fatso prodded.
"You know my answer." Molly glared.
"Woohoo, victory is ours!"
"Actually, I was going to say nnn…nnn…you know…the other thing. I'm not about to let you three win."
Stretch shrugged. "Whatever. Don't matter to us. Whether ya admit defeat or not, we're still havin' fun."
"You were right about one thing, Moll." Stinkie explained.
"This really is an awesome Best Friends Day." Fatso finished.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Sooner or later, you three will have to say…that word…to something you really want and you'll be just as miserable as me."
"Right." Stretch scoffed. "Who we gonna say 'no' to? You're the only one who can see us, remember?"
"Exactly! And you can't give us anythin' we want!" Stinkie bragged.
As if on cue, a portal to the Ghost World opened up.
"We're home freeeeee!" Fatso screeched as the three of them were forcefully dragged through.
When they made it to the other side, they landed in front of the Ghost Council as usual.
"Please, have mercy!" Stretch pleaded.
"We won't do it again!" Stinkie promised.
"I confess, I stole the cookie from the cookie jar!" Fatso mentioned randomly.
The Ghost Council members, however, only chuckled.
"Relax." J. Edgar Boover reassured them. "You three aren't in any trouble. This time."
"We're…we're not?" Stretch was terribly confused.
"Quite the opposite." Ms. Banshee informed them. "We're actually rather…impressed with you."
"You are?" Stinkie perked up.
"I know, I can't believe it either. But it's true."
Ms. Stifflips brought out Brighton's misery levels, which were in the red.
"As you can see, misery levels have been on the rise in your town."
"They have?" Fatso scratched his head. "I thought for sure they had just gone down because Turnip Fest ended up bringin' in more happy tourists to Brighton. The ending of the last chapter said so!"
"The ending of what?" J. Edgar Boover raised an eyebrow.
Stretch slapped Fatso across the face. "They ain't gonna understand, dummy. We're the only ones who know we're in a fanfic."
"Oh. Right." Fatso blushed.
"Anyway," Professor Frankenstein changed the subject. "We think you drei have done a wunderbar job. Which is why…we would like you to join…the Elite Ghost Society!"
The Chairman held out his hand and gave a thumbs-up of approval.
"So, do you accept our invitation?" Ms. Stifflips inquired.
"Do we accept?" Stretch repeated in an excited tone. "Are you kiddin'? We've been waitin' for this moment our entire afterlives! You can bet yer bottom dollar our answer is gonna be yuhh…"
He found himself struggling to get the word out.
"Yuhh…yaahhhh…yeeeehhh…"
The Ghost Council members exchanged perplexed expressions. Even the normally emotionless Chairman showed a hint of concern.
"Hnnngghh…gaahhh…ppbbblth…"
Finally, Stretch sighed, having given up. "No…"
The Ghost Council gasped.
"Excuse me?!" Ms. Banshee was offended.
Stinkie covered his elder brother's mouth.
"Uh, he's just a little nervous. That ain't what he was tryin' to say at all. Here, maybe it'd be easier to put it in writin'."
"We don't have any paper." J. Edgar Boover informed him.
"Who needs paper when ya've got a healthy diaphragm? Watch this…"
Stinkie belched out a cloud shaped like the letter "Y."
"Eh? Eh? Keep watchin'…" he burped up another cloud, this one shaped like an "E."
"Almost there. Just one more…"
He let out one final belch shaped like an "S."
"There ya go! There's yer answer! I should enter a 'smelling' bee or somethin'. Hee, hee!"
But right as the "S" was about to take its place beside the "E," it suddenly morphed into an exclamation point. After that, the "E" became an "O" and the "Y" an "N," making the message Stinkie spelled out read: "No!".
"Huh?" Stinkie noticed this. "Wait, wait, wait, how the heehaw did that happen?"
"Is this some kind of joke?" Professor Frankenstein demanded.
"I…I can explain! Well, actually I can't, but…"
Fatso stepped up.
"Don't worry, fellas. I got this. After all, why say anythin' when you can sing it instead?"
Fatso played a starting pitch on a harmonica before bursting into a musical number.
"This ditty shall help me express the issue you'd like to address. Ya asked us to join the Elite, and frankly it's fillin' me with lots of stress! Now I must confess, it's anyone's guess how we managed this success…you always said 'they're a mess' but nevertheless we managed to impress…you…now thanks to our newfound finesse, we're finally makin' some progress, and maybe we'll no longer be depressed, but I digress. You asked us if we'd join and the answer…is…" Fatso froze and his cheeks puffed up due to the word literally getting caught in his throat. "…nooooooo!"
The Ghost Council was speechless at first.
"What kind of a song was that?" Ms. Stifflips complained. "That last word didn't even rhyme."
"That's enough!" Ms. Banshee ordered. "We'll give you one last chance, you three. Consider carefully because we will not ask you again. Ever! For the rest of eternity! Will you join the Elite Ghost Society? Yes…or no?"
The Trio looked up at the council nervously. Tears began forming in their eyes.
"No way…"
"No how…"
"No no Nanette…"
Ms. Banshee was furious.
"GET OUUUUUUUUUUT!"
Her voice blew the Trio into a portal back to the living world and they splatted right beside Molly, who was currently trying to retrieve Vera out of a broken washing machine.
"Gotcha! C'mere you! Stop squirming!" she turned to see that the Trio had returned. "Oh, there you are. What happened?"
Stretch sighed as he sat up. "Oh, not much. Just a major afterlife-changin' opportunity slippin' outta our fingers…"
"Aw, let me guess." Molly teased. "Did you have to turn down a date from Ms. Banshee?"
"Somethin' like that." Stinkie responded. "So, how's the skunk hunt goin'?"
"Just peachy." Molly replied sarcastically.
She reached in to grab Vera again, only to get sprayed in the face. She coughed.
"If I'm being honest, I think I'm-"
"Starting to regret this curse." the Trio said with her simultaneously.
"Wait a sec…" Stretch realized. "Did we just admit that at the same time?"
"Um…yeah, I think we did." Molly noted.
"So…does that mean…we were both wrong?" Fatso concluded.
"Yeah…" Molly nodded. "I mean, I certainly haven't had fun saying 'yes' all the time and from what you guys just told me, always saying, well, the opposite of 'yes' isn't a good idea either."
"Ya know somethin', McGee?" Stretch started. "You're right. This bet was a stupid idea from the get-go."
"Oh, I totally agree. Why don't we just call it off before we get our hearts broken or worse, Weird Larry asks us to catch a black widow next?"
The Trio made sounds of agreement (or as much agreement as they could make due to the effects of the curse).
Molly let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, great. Go ahead and break the curse then!"
"Ooh…" Stretch sucked in his teeth apprehensively. "About that…See, the thing is, once a curse has been set, there ain't nothin' a ghost can do to break it. All we can do is wait for it to wear off."
"What?! You mean you can't break the curse?"
"If we could, then we wouldn't still be stuck with you for all eternity, now would we? Don't worry, though. We may not be able to break the curse, but we can mix it up! What do ya say we switch answers for the rest of the day?"
"You mean…reverse the curse to the inverse?" Molly gasped happily and poked the Trio over and over. "Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it DO IT!"
Stretch cleared his throat and reentered his "curse" mode.
"I decree…you are no," he pointed at Molly and then at himself. "And we are yes!"
When Stretch returned to normal, Stinkie was the first to speak.
"Okay, let's test it! Hey Molly? Do ya want a pet skunk?"
"Uh…no." Molly answered.
"Darn! It worked!" Stinkie whined.
"Woohoo!" Molly jumped for joy right as Weird Larry approached her. "And speaking of which…Mr. Weird? Or, is it Larry? I dunno, but I did find your skunk!"
She opened the washing machine so Larry could look inside.
"That ain't Vera." he claimed. "It looks…feral…"
The skunk hissed and jumped out of the machine.
"Oh. Well, I tried." Molly began to leave.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna help me find my Vera?"
Molly turned around with an annoyed expression. "No!" she laughed. "Man, does that feel good to say again!"
With that, she walked out of the alleyway, leaving Weird Larry and his odd taste in pets behind.
"Okay," she said to the Trio. "What do you say we go home and hide until the curse wears off?"
"Yes ma'am!" Stretch agreed.
"Yes indeedy!" Stinkie concurred.
"Yes yes Yolanda!" Fatso blurted randomly, earning stares from the others. "That don't work as well…"
So, Molly and the Trio headed for home, believing it was the best way they could escape the pain and suffering caused by their "only say yes/no" bet. Unfortunately, as soon as they stepped through the door, they were met with a disaster: Pete and Sharon were running around the living room, being chased by what appeared to be a tornado made out of bees! Molly cringed, remembering how her dad had only been dealing with one bee before she left.
"Whoa, this really escalated while we were gone." she observed.
"Molly!" Darryl greeted her. "Thank goodness you guys are back! As you've probably already noticed, things got a little out of hand with that bee. Somehow, it managed to bring an entire swarm into the house. We were gonna just squish 'em, but Grandma Nin told us hurting bees is bad luck. So, we tried pushing them out with blow dryers instead, but then this happened! It's a catastrophe!"
Stretch whistled. "I'll say. But it ain't our problem!"
Molly grabbed his tail before he could float up to the attic.
"No, Stretch! We have to help!"
"Yeah, right!" Stretch slapped her hand away. "What good could an overly optimistic girl and three down-on-their-luck phantoms possibly do?"
One of the bees flew inside Fatso's nose and he forcefully sneezed it out. This gave Molly an idea.
"Wait, that's it! Bees get stuck if they're in ectoplasm! All we have to do is have Fatso eat them all and then spit them out outside!"
"Eat them?!" Fatso repeated exasperatedly. "But what if they sting me from the inside?"
Molly scoffed. "Aw, you'll be fine. Besides, what harm can they do to a dead guy?"
"Not a bad plan, McGee." Stretch commented. "But how are we gonna get 'em all in the living room?"
"You and Stinkie will lure them in, obviously!"
"Oh yeah? And what if we don't wanna do it?" Stinkie grumped.
"Okay, how about this? Stretch? Stinkie? Will you please bring the bees to the living room? And Fatso, will you please eat the bees and get them out of the house?"
The Trio sighed.
"I guess we had this comin'." Stretch admitted. "Fine, yes. We'll do it. But if we gotta suffer, so do you! So, will you not help me and Stinkie herd the bees together?"
"Oh, getting me back for the double negative earlier, huh?" Molly smirked. "In that case, no!"
"Perfect. Glad we finally got some good use outta this curse."
"Yeah, but I still don't get why it has to be me that eats the bees." Fatso whined.
"Obviously 'cause ya got more storage space." Stinkie reminded him.
"Oh yeah. Why did I have to retain my figure in the afterlife?"
They wasted no time putting Molly's plan into action. She, along with Stretch and Stinkie went all around the house, their goal being to find all the bees and bring them to the living room. Each time they found some, they taunted them into giving chase.
"Hey, bees! Can't get me!"
"Over here, ya honeymongers!"
"Nyah-nyah-nah!"
Soon, they had successfully brought all of the bees into the living room, where Fatso was (reluctantly) ready to devour them. Molly picked up a hair dryer and used its powerful air to blow the insects into Fatso's mouth, trapping them for good.
"Ha! Do your worst, bees! You can't sting a gho-YOW!"
The biggest ghoul began to squirm as he learned the hard way that bees could, in fact, sting ghosts. It wasn't long before the poor guy was covered top to bottom, inside and out with bumps.
"Okay, I gueth you can…" he said, his tongue all swollen.
Despite being in a huge amount of pain, Fatso continued to suck in every last bee in the house. When he finished, he flew up through the chimney and barfed them out of his system.
"We did it, you guys…" Molly announced wearily once Fatso returned, the latter still puffed up from the stings.
Pete, Sharon, and Darryl, who had been hiding behind the couch the whole time, came over and hugged Molly and the Trio.
"You saved us!" Pete cried. "How can we ever repay you?"
"Easy!" Molly zipped upstairs, followed by the Trio. "Don't ask us any questions until tomorrow!"
Hours later, and it was 11:59pm. Molly and the Trio were waiting up in Molly's room for midnight to arrive so the curse would finally be over. Fatso was still tending to his many stings.
"Well, only a few seconds left until freedom, fellas!" Stretch observed.
"Thank goodness." Molly sighed.
"Bout time!" Stinkie agreed.
"Now I know how Cinderella felt." Fatso noted, applying cream to his lumps.
"I think we all learned something today." Molly said with a smile. "That always saying 'no' and the opposite of 'no' is too extreme. What do you guys think?"
"Yeah, definitely." Stretch nodded. "Although it was admittedly kinda fun at some parts. Mostly the parts where we got to watch you in agony. Maybe we should do somethin' like this every Best Friends Day."
"Uh, that's gonna be a big 'no' from me." Molly refused. "And I'm not just saying that because the curse hasn't ended yet." she then gained a mischievous smile. "But seeing as how there's still a few seconds until it does…would you three like to braid my hair?"
"What?! Why you little-" Stretch facepalmed. "Yes…"
"I guess so…" Stinkie bemoaned.
Right before Fatso could give his answer, midnight struck, ending the curse.
"Absolutely!" he accepted the hairbrush from Molly.
"Uh, ya know ya don't have to say that anymore, right?" Stretch reminded him. "The curse is over."
"Hey, you got yer hobbies. I've got mine." Fatso lectured.
"Whatever." Stretch also took a hairbrush. "That was real sneaky there, McGee. Gettin' us at the last second like that."
"Yes. Yes, it was. But I learned from the best." Molly admitted, sitting down so the Trio could get to work on her hair.
"You're well on your way, kid." Stretch began brushing. "Yeesh, what's with all the tangles? It's like a rat's nest up here!"
"Too bad it don't smell like one." Stinkie moped.
"Hey, I got a better idea! How 'bout a beehive hairdo?" Fatso suggested.
"Why a beehive hairdo?" Stretch questioned.
"I dunno, just seems appropriate considering what happened today…can I, Molly? Can I? Can I?"
"Sorry, big guy. That's a 'no.'"
"Aww…"
Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee!
I ended up cutting the scene with the rest of the McGees dealing with the bees because I thought it was an unnecessary distraction from the main plot and instead just added an exposition dump for it later. Hope that doesn't bother you guys too much.
Okay, next time we'll be doing "Game Night," another one of my favorite episodes and thus, one I'm glad I don't have to wait until the second half of the story to do. Remember to review! Please?