Author: Crofton77

“I'm glad your shoulder is okay
again.” Belle poked the now healed shoulder of Charlie, who
grinned.

“It means I can use both Arm Scythes
again. Also means you don't have to worry about using the Lions Claw
ever again.” Charlie teased.

“Meanie pants.” Belle teased back.
The pair sat in their tree, watching the sunset. Below them, Lizzy
was in the new sandpit with Madeliene and Oscar, building
sandcastles.

“Have you noticed Lizzy's been a
little off recently?” Charlie asked off-handedly.

“A little. Except when she's with
Madels or sucking up to Sammy.” Belle replied, pulling a leaf off
the tree and shredding it. It was hard to believe that she'd seen
this tree fall down.

“Sucking up to Sammy?” Charlie
asked incredulously.

“Yup, she's had a crush on him since
before you went to Awesomica.” Belle told him. “Surely you've
noticed?!”

“Nope.” Charlie admitted.

“Worst. Older sibling. Ever.” Belle
frowned.

“Then why is my sister playing with
YOUR younger siblings instead of you?” Charlie smirked.

Thankfully, he didn't injure his
shoulder again in the ensuing fall.

–

That night, Ruby Daryl decided that a
bonfire was in order. Unfortunately, the site of aforementioned
bonfire was already occupied by a small book store.

I think you can see where this is
going.

Anyway, Ruby Daryl had just started
pouring the petrol when Lady Courage showed up. Now, while Lady
Courage was fully aware of who was in the Ruby Suit, Daryl had no
idea that his sister was one of the Noble Knights of the Last Order.

“How in the world did you know I was
here?!” Ruby Daryl yelped. “Do you have a tracker on this Suit or
something?!”

“I wouldn't know, I didn't build it.”
Lady Courage lifted up her arm and pushed in the face of her watch.
Pretty soon, the whole Order would be there, and then there'd be a
battle!

“All I want to do is have some fun,
I'm not hurting anyone!” Ruby Daryl complained.

“You're ABOUT to destroy someones
livelihood.” Lady Courage pointed out.

“They'll have insurance!”

“There's only one insurance company
that'll insure around here, and they're in your fathers pocket.”

“So?!”

“Do you REALLY think they'll get an
insurance payout?”

“Not my problem!”

“You really are a selfish arse.”

“Lady Courage!” Sir Hedgehog
arrived with Sir Dark, Lady Luck and Sir Lionheart. “Is he
serious?”

“I'm ALWAYS serious!” Ruby Daryl
sounded offended.

“You're a serious moron you mean.”
Sir Lionheart snapped. “Chuckles and Giggles should be here soon,
why don't you run off before you get your backside handed to you
again like last time?”

“That was more the Outer Knights than
Chuckles and Giggles!” Ruby Daryl sneered.

“Because Chuckles and Giggles have
NEVER taken out the Ruby Suit.” Lady Luck rolled her eyes.

“You know, that's a good point.”Ruby
Daryl sneered. “Don't you agree gentlemen?”

The four Knights looked horrified. Four
Death Valley Mobsters appeared, each wearing a green copy of the Ruby
Suit!

“What do you think of the Emerald
Suits?” Ruby Daryl laughed. “I will admit, they're no where near
as good as the Ruby Suit, whomever created it was a genius, but
they're still pretty good!”

Lady Luck looked at Sir Dark in horror.
The Emerald Suits might be inferior in power, but they'd be much
harder to take out – there were NO shoulder boxes!

One of the Mobsters threw an Emerald
Shard towards the four Knights. Dodging, they saw the first
limitation of the Emerald Suits – the Emerald Weapons didn't last
long before evaporating.

“Definitely not the Ruby Suit.”
Lady Courage smirked at her brother beneath her mask, earning her a
scowl back from under his mask.

Sir Dark, Sir Hedgehog and Sir
Lionheart had already begun to fight off the new Emerald Mobsters.
Lady Courage meanwhile made a beeline towards Ruby Daryl, while Lady
Luck hung back waiting to treat any wounds. It wasn't too long before
Sir Hyper and Lady Silent showed up, and the numbers began to favour
the Knights of the Last Order.

“You really think it's going to be
that easy?” Ruby Daryl took a swing at Lady Courage with his Ruby
Sword. “You don't know HALF of our new tricks!”

“I'm sure you're going to show us.”
Lady Courage groaned, breaking the Ruby Sword in two with her
baseball bat.

Ruby Daryl snarled and opened his hand,
four Ruby Whips appeared. Each Whip connected to one of the Emerald
Mobsters.

Suddenly, the Knights of the Last Order
were now dealing with FOUR Ruby-powered Emerald Mobsters, which were
now just as dangerous as the original Ruby Suit.

“Not good!” Sir Lionheart squeaked
as an Emerald Shard came flying towards him. He rolled out of the
way, but was struck with an Emerald Whip on his hip bone, paralysing
him.

“We have to separate them!” Lady
Luck rolled out of the way of an Emerald attack, clutching her
first-aid kit tightly.

“How?!” Rasped Lady Silent, trying
to block a barrage of Emerald Shards.

Meanwhile, Chuckles and Giggles were
rushing to the scene as fast as they could.

“If you hadn't been so caught up in
doing your hair we'd be there by now!” Chuckles groaned as he ran
below the flying Giggles.

“Hey, YOU were the one who wanted a
toilet stop before we left the tip!” Giggles shot back, annoyed.

The pair shot down a small one-way
street, hoping to save time. Alas, the Outer Knights of the Last
Order had the same idea.

“Not you lot again.” Chuckles
rolled his eyes.

“I thought you'd already be at the
scene causing havoc and mayhem?” Giggles asked.

“Sir Moonlight wanted a toilet break
before we left.” Lady Sunlight shrugged.

“Hey, you two were the ones who had
to have their hair right!” Sir Moonlight defended himself.

“Nevermind that, we need to get to
that book store and figure out what's going on!” Lady Starlight
looked harassed.

“Chill out already!” Lady Sunlight
looked concerned at her sister. “We'll get there and save the day,
no problem.”

“Because it's all about the glory.”
Giggles rolled her eyes.

“What's your issue?!” Sir Moonlight
snapped.

“Look, let's get going already!”
Lady Starlight tore off, agitated.

“Hey, come back here!” Giggles flew
after her. Chuckles was about to follow, when an arrow from Sir
Moonlight stopped him.

Lady Starlight approached the
battlefield. The Noble Knights of the Last Order were in complete
disarray. Lady Courage, Sir Dark and Sir Hyper were the only ones
left standing, while Lady Luck tried desperately to tend to the
others. Her task was made more difficult by the Emerald Mobsters.
Ruby Daryl meanwhile had returned to pouring petrol around the
book store, while being careful to maintain his connection to his
lackeys.

Lady Starlight was about to rush in and
attack, when a strong hand pulled her back.

“You can't just rush out there by
yourself, we need to wait for Chuckles and the others!” Giggles
told the younger woman off.

Lady Starlight shook her off. “I
could sort them out easily.” Was her arrogant retort.

“I might be able to severe the
connections between Ruby and the guys in green, but there's still
four of them to one of you and we don't know where the conversion
points on these other suits are so FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD
AND RIGHTEOUS IN THIS WORLD WHY DOES NO ONE LISTEN TO ME!?” Giggles
roared in fury as Lady Starlight made her way out to fight.

She'd seen her target. The Emerald
Suits might not have had shoulder boxes, but the conversion between
thought and matter had to be made somewhere. Logically, that would be
made somewhere in the upper region of the body. That's when Lady
Starlight had noticed the small green lights on the chest-plates of
the Emerald Suits. Giggles could easily severe the connections,
making any attack easier.

All that was needed was a little luck.

Lady Starlight ran into the line of
sight of the four Emerald Mobsters.

“Why don't you come after a REAL
fight?!” She taunted, which drew the Emerald Mobsters after her.
Meanwhile, Giggles executed a perfect aileron roll through the Ruby
Whips, destroying the connection between Ruby Daryl and his crew.

“What the…oh, it's YOU. Where's
your little boyfriend? Scared of me?” Ruby Daryl sneered at
Giggles.

“Just doesn't think you're worth the
effort, sorry sweetheart.” Giggles shot back, pulling out the Lucky
Seven Gun and aiming for the shoulder boxes.

With the Ruby Whips destroyed, Lady
Starlight found it easy to take out the Emerald Suits. The first one
was by far the easiest, as Sir Hyper had the Emerald Mobster in a
reverse sleeper hold, exposing the chest-plate to a direct hit from
one of Lady Starlights throwing stars. The second was a bit harder,
as Lady Courage wouldn't stay still, making the Emerald Mobster have
to duck and weave to keep from having his head removed from her
trusted baseball bat (why wouldn't you stick with the classics?).
Eventually she got stabbed in the shoulder with one of the Emerald
Shards, and Lady Starlight scored a direct hit when he stood over his
fallen prey. The third one was mainly the work of Sir Dark, who saw
what Lady Starlight was doing and tried to emulate her. He managed to
hit the chest-plate on a fluke when the Emerald Mobster tried to
dodge a throwing star.

Lady Starlight grinned, certain that
the fourth and final Emerald Mobster would be a breeze. Alas, upon
seeing the carnage she had wrecked upon his co-workers, the last
Emerald Mobster decided to go on the offensive. Just as Lady
Starlight turned around ready to throw the last star, she was stabbed
in the middle of her back with an Emerald Shard.

She staggered, the effects of the
Emerald Shard not nearly as punishing as a Ruby Shard, but still
enough to give the Emerald Mobster the upper-hand. Forming an Emerald
Dagger, he prepared to finish off the Outer Knight.

Thankfully her big brother Chuckles
stepped in, or who knows what might have happened. With one punch,
the light on the Emerald Mobsters chest-plate was cracked by one of
the Arm Scythes. All four Emerald Mobsters were defeated, and Ruby
Daryl decided to scarper.

“I'll get you back for this, just see
if I don't!” Ruby Daryl flew away in a rage. Giggles prepared to
give chase, but as per usual her Backpack cut out and she was left on
her backside. Why she doesn't have lower back trouble is anyones
guess.

“You're lucky I got here when I did.”
Chuckles scolded Lady Starlight. Giggles head snapped up. Luck?
LUCK?!

Lady Starlights blood ran cold. That
hadn't been luck at all. There was no way she could deny it now, not
after what had just happened.

“Let's get out of here. C'mon
Starlight.” Sir Moonlight grabbed Lady Starlight by the arm.

“You shouldn't have run off on us,
you could have been killed.” Lady Sunlight said crossly as they
made their way back to their hideout.

“I'm sorry.” Lady Starlight
mumbled.

“SORRY?” Lady Sunlight fumed. “All
you can say is sorry? We're supposed to be a team you know, we're
supposed to do this together. How are we supposed to…”

The rest of Lady Sunlights speech was
lost on Lady Starlight, who was deeply shaken.

She had just activated the
Improbability Clause.

Again.

“YAY!” Lizzy clapped her hands with
Madeliene, who had just finished a shape matching game on the
computer. “You're such a smart little girl!”

Madeliene laughed. Lizzy beamed. Sure,
for a seventeen-year -old babysitting wasn't the coolest thing to be
doing, but there was just something about the young Masters that drew
Lizzy to her. She agreed with Sam that childcare and teaching were
the best things in the world, and was already preparing her
University application to get into early childcare.

We won't go into the crush that she has
on Sam though.

Madeliene was moving on to the next
level of the very simple puzzle game and Lizzy helped her. Already
Madeliene was showing signs of her family heirloom, the Masters high
IQ that got the Beglys out of so much trouble.

If you believe in that stupid
Improbability Clause. Lizzy
smirked to herself.

Izzy
soon walked in with Hugo, both carrying copious amounts of shopping.

“We
got you some nice things too!” Izzy waved a bag at Lizzy, who
laughed.

“Thanks
guys. Who's the smartest little girl in the world?” Lizzy soon
returned to doting on Madeliene. Hugo chuckled and Izzy rolled her
eyes.

She flopped down on
the couch and flicked on the news.

“WE
ARE REPORTING LIVE FROM PLEASANTVILLE CENTRAL WHERE CHUCKLES AND
GIGGLES HAVE ENGAGED THE DEATH VALLEY MOB AFTER THE MOBSTERS TOOK
OVER PLEASANTVILLE MEMORIAL SHOPPING CENTRE.” The newsreader cried.
Video of Chuckles, Giggles and the Knights of the Last Order fighting
off the Death Valley Mobsters showed.

“We
should get going! Come Liz.” Izzy quickly got up. “I've got your
stuff in my room.”

“I
can't just leave Madels!” Lizzy retorted. “Lady Sunlight and Sir
Moonlight can handle this without me.”

“She'll
be fine, Mum's home!” Izzy pointed out, pulling her twin sister up.

“Well…sorry
kiddo, I've gotta go save Pleasantville.” Lizzy reluctantly got up.

Madeliene looked
devastated. Tears began to form and fall from from her eyes.

“I've
gotta save the city.” Lizzy pleaded.

“Iggles!”
Madeliene cried. “Uggles 'n Iggles!”

“Chuckles
and Giggles won't save Pleasantville…” Lizzy tried to tell the
little girl.

“Uggles
'n Iggles!” Madeliene pleaded, crying loudly.

Lizzy looked sadly
at the little girl.

"Come ON."
Izzy urged.

The last thing
Lizzy saw as she walked out the door was Madeleine in tears.

–

The interaction was
still playing on Lady Starlights mind when she, Lady Sunlight and Sir
Moonlight rushed to the shopping centre. The plan was to rush in and
finish off Master Revolver and Mobster Marion.

“Hurry
up Starlight, you're slowing us down!” Lady Sunlight urged her twin
sister on as they ran.

“I'm
just…I'm just thinking we should go the other way.” Lady
Starlight said suddenly, for some reason wanting to delay the
inevitable clash between themselves and their brother Chuckles.

“Why?”
Sir Moonlight looked at her quizzically.

Lady Starlight was
about to say “Never mind”, when she heard little Madelienes voice
again.

“Uggles 'n Iggles!”

“Because
I do.” She shot. Without waiting for a reply, she ran down another
street, leaving Sir Moonlight and Lady Sunlight bemused.

“Well,
let's go.” Lady Sunlight ran after her sister, followed by Sir
Moonlight.

Their path lead
them close to the Council building, and sure enough they found Ruby
Daryl three blocks down heading to the battle between the Death
Valley Mobsters and the Noble Knights of the Last Order/Chuckles and
Giggles.

“Oh,
it's YOU three. I thought you'd be at the mall already, looking for
your fill of blood.” Ruby Daryl saw them first, and smirked beneath
the Ruby Mask.

“Well,
you're definitely not getting there!” Lady Sunlight threw her yo-yo
at him. He dodged and threw a Ruby Blast at the three, who
scattered.

“You
honestly think you three stand a chance against me, all nine of the
Last Order took me on and they LOST!” Ruby Daryl laughed as an
arrow from Sir Moonlight was expertly blocked by a Ruby Shield.

CRACK.

“You're
kidding me!” Ruby Daryl cried as one of Lady Starlights throwing
stars landed in one of the shoulder boxes. “Do you know how hard it
is to repair this thing?!”

“I
have some idea.” Lady Starlight thought of Ruby Giggles.

Lady Sunlight tried
another shot with her yo-yo, managing to embed it in Ruby Daryls arm.
He roared in pain and yanked his arm into his chest, pulling Lady
Sunlight in for a direct hit. She went sprawling to the ground, the
yo-yo landing beside her.

Sir Moonlight tried
another arrow, which was blocked by the Ruby Shield, as was another
throwing star from Lady Starlight. He threw two Ruby Shards at the
pair, missing Lady Starlight but hitting Sir Moonlight.

“Oh
no.” Lady Starlight groaned. It was just her and Ruby now. She
didn't think she was strong enough nor fast enough to take him alone.

She leaped out of
the way as another Ruby Blast was thrown at her. She threw one of her
throwing stars in retaliation, which was stopped by a Ruby Shard. She
only had five left. She couldn't waste them, unless she could somehow
gather up the ones she'd already lost.

She decided the best method of survival
was to try and either wear him down (nearly impossible) or antagonise
him into a rash close-range attack. She ran circles around him,
barely dodging Ruby Shards and Ruby Blasts.

"Stay still you little witch!"
Ruby Daryl roared in fury. He was getting agitated, playing into Lady
Starlights plans. What she HADN'T planned for was his new trick – a
Ruby Sword.

Thankfully, she
didn't have to. A bullet that was obviously from the Lucky Seven Gun
narrowly missed Ruby Daryls other shoulder box, causing him to swear
loudly.

“YOU
TWO?!” He roared in fury.

“Leave.
Now.” Chuckles stood below Giggles, his arm still in a sling.

“Fine.”
Ruby Daryl hissed through gritted teeth. He wonkily flew away in a
huff.

“It's
a good thing you guys DID get him though, if he'd arrived at the mall
any earlier and we would have all been in deep diabolical doo-doo.”
Giggles waved to the three Outer Knights, who were slowly pulling
themselves together.

“Oh
go blow it out your ear Giggles.” Sir Moonlight scowled, before
making off with his two companions.

“Rude!”
Chuckles and Giggles were appropriately affronted.

“They
do have a point, it WAS lucky we went that way instead of heading
directly to the mall.” Lady Sunlight smiled approvingly at her
sister as they headed back to their base of operations, a small
deserted café near the edge of the city.

“Amazing
what a bit of dumb luck can do.” Sir Moonlight agreed.

Lady Starlight said
nothing. She had an uncomfortable, sneaking suspicion that what had
just happened hadn't been dumb luck at all, and if her sister ever
found out, well, she'd never forgive her. For Lady Starlight was
coming to the dreaded realisation that with the help of the baby
Madeline Masters, she'd just done what she'd sworn she'd never, EVER
do.

Lizzy Begly had
just taken advantage of the Improbability Clause.

–

Thomas Begly sighed
as he walked into the kitchen after a long day at work, followed by
his usual philosophical beer with Peter Masters. As he walked to the
fridge, he noticed his wife digging into a very large chocolate
mudcake.

“Is
that really necessary dear?” He foolishly asked.

“I
look at it this way, if you or the kids piss me off I still have to
deal with you, I can't just get rid of you. If this cake gives me the
shits I just have to go to the toilet and the problem is solved.”
Was Bettys reply.

Thomas opened his
mouth and raised his finger ready for a rebuttal, but wisely thought
the better of it. “Can't argue with that logic love.” He said,
walking out of the kitchen.

He walked into the
lounge room and had just sat down when his two daughters walked in,
one looking pleased but bruised, and the other looking harassed but
fine.

“Do
I even WANT to know what you two got up to?” Thomas raised an
eyebrow.

“Horse
riding. Lizzy wouldn't get on, but I did and I might have had a
tumble or two.” Izzy lied, looking cheekily at her father.

“Yeah.”
Lizzy agreed quietly.

“You
okay Liz?” Thomas looked at his youngest daughter (by ten minutes),
concerned.

“Just
tired out. I think I'm going to go to bed early.” Lizzy sighed and
slowly trudged up the stairs, her mind weighed down by the conflict
between what she thought she knew and what had happened.

She remembered the
fight that her grand-father Charles Howzat had had with his long-time
best friend and the grand-father of Belle and Madeliene, Joe Masters,
who had also been the best friend of her other grand-father, Tim
Begly. She flopped down onto her bed. She couldn't deny that she had
Begly blood flowing through her veins, but there was also the strong
Howzat influence as well. She couldn't unhear the arguments, the
assertion that the 500-year-old Masters Code was old and redundant,
an excuse to be a coward, the assertion that the 500-year-old Begly
Improbability Clause was nothing more than dumb luck and a complete
myth. Yet she couldn't deny what she had not only seen with her own
eyes, but caused by the fact that she had listened to a Masters.

It was
doing her head in. How Charlie had managed to reconcile the two
sides together was beyond her, but it seemed that he had done it. How
else could he justify using his grand-fathers weapons as his own? The
Arm-Scythes had been Charles Howzats signature weapon for most of his
life.

She
rolled over onto her back and sighed. It was just a coincidence.
That's all it was. There was no Improbability Clause and the Masters
Code was still archaic.

This is what Lizzy
Begly believed.

That's
what she thought, anyway.

“GET
OUT OF MY WAY!” Lady Sunlight roared in fury, throwing her sun
yo-yo and narrowly missing Lady Silent. She reeled in her weapon and
prepared to fire again when she was taken out with a solid
hip-and-shoulder by Lady Courage.

“We
nearly got rid of Marion for good, and you stopped us you FOOL!”
Sir Moonlight shot another arrow at Giggles, who cartwheeled out of
the way and landed on a nearby balcony.

“Will
you give up?! What did we ever do to you?” Sir Dark and Sir
Hedgehog fought against Lady Starlight.

“Stop
getting in our way!” Lady Starlight threw some more of her throwing
stars at them.

Let's
rewind a little bit. Mobster Marion had actually been very good the
past few weeks, keeping her nose out of crime, but it all came undone
when she went to get her hair cut and didn't like what the
hairdresser had done. Obviously, this is a valid reason to call in
the rest of the Death Valley Mobsters and have the place destroyed.

(Personally
I'm with Marion but for the purposes of this story let's just agree
it was a massive over-reaction)

The
Outer Knights of the Last Order were first on the scene, and had
nearly killed Mobster Marion when Giggles stepped in, telling Mobster
Marion to get the hell out of there and stop being such a stuck-up
bovine. Infuriated, the Outer Knights of the Last Order chased
Giggles to the abandoned old school, where they landed in the middle
of a Noble Knights of the Last Order ambush.

Another
arrow barely grazed Giggles helmet as Sir Hedgehog threw one of his
blades at Sir Moonlight. Sir Moonlight dodged easily and fired an
arrow at Sir Hedgehog, which was shot out of the air by Giggles and
the Lucky Seven Gun.

“You
guys have tried to kill both Ruby and Marion, what makes you so
different from them?!” Sir Hedgehog asked as Sir Moonlight grabbed
another arrow.

“They're
criminals! We're trying to save people!” Lady Sunlight threw her
yo-yo again, nearly hitting Lady Courage.

“Can't
we all just get along!?” Lady Luck pleaded, holding her first-aid
kit close.

“If
you lot would do your job properly, we wouldn't be here!” Lady
Starlight thundered.

“Look
at you, you easily outnumber us three to one, yet you still haven't
beaten us!” Lady Sunlight laughed.

“We're
not trying to BEAT you, we're trying to make you see reason!” Sir
Hyper groaned as he dodged another throwing star.

"You're
pathetic." Lady Starlight scowled.

Sir
Moonlight dodged a punch from Giggles and swerved to avoid Sir
Hedgehog. He then shot an arrow directly at Giggles, whose Backpack
decided to malfunction again, leaving her a sitting duck.

CLANK.

"No
way has your shoulder healed yet!" Sir Moonlight roared in
anger. At the last second Chuckles had stepped in with the Lions Claw
Blade and cut the arrow in two!

"You're
right, it hasn't, but I can wield with one hand unlike some people
who can barely lift a sword with two." Chuckles replied, arm
still in a sling.

"Nobody
likes you." Giggles sulked.

"What
are you doing Chuckles, you're going to get yourself killed!"
Lady Starlight looked in horror at Chuckles.

"He
definitely will if he gets in my way!" Sir Moonlight pulled out
another arrow, but was stopped by Lady Sunlight.

"Leave
him alone Moonlight." She warned.

Sir
Moonlight looked confused, but backed off.

"Stay.
Out. Of. Our. Way." He warned threateningly, before the Outer
Knights of the Last Order escaped.

"What
was THAT all about?" Sir Dark asked.

“You
know you look really weird wearing only one Arm Scythe right?”
Giggles asked, poking Chuckles un-injured arm.

–

"So
what's for dinner tonight?" Charlie sat in the tree next to
Belle later that evening.

"Dad's
having some friends over from Awesomica, they're doing a tour of the
world and thought they'd stop by." Belle replied, pulling some
dead leaves off the tree. "They were going to head to the Great
Nations but things there are starting to get dicey."

"I
saw on the news." Charlie sighed. "Guess what else I saw on
the news."

"Demon
resigning as Mayor?" Belle asked hopefully.

"Worse.
Pro-Outer Knights crap." Charlie told her. "People are
calling in to these news shows and giving the Outer Knights their
support."

"This
really isn't helping our cause. Don't these people think long-term?"
Belle groaned.

“Anyway,
I'd better go. The twins are having a friend over and they want us to
meet him.” Charlie sighed, stretching out.

“A
guy?” Belle looked surprised. “Not guys?”

“I
have no idea, apparently he's a bit older than them.” Charlie tried
to keep the distaste from his voice.

“And
so you're going to play big brother and scare him away, right?”
Belle grinned.

“If
Dad doesn't get to him first.” Charlie grinned back.

He
headed back inside and straightened his hair before heading
downstairs to meet his sisters friend. He got to the bottom of the
stairs before seeing the dark-haired, handsome young man.

"Good
evening. You must be Charlie." Hugo smiled a little too
graciously.

Charlie
immediately scowled. He didn't like the look of Hugo
Graziano one little bit. Thomas didn't look thrilled either.

"That's
my name." Charlie reined himself in a little. "And you must
be Hugo."

"Indeed.
It's nice to finally meet the beloved big brother of my two favourite
girls." Hugo smiled politely. Charlie didn't trust that smile.

"That
looks like it hurt." Hugo continued, looking at Charlies arm.

"Broke
it at work." Charlie replied coolly. Who was this creep?

"You
should come into the kitchen and meet Mum." Izzy quickly grabbed
Hugos hand. The twins dragged him away as Charlie shared a look with
his father.

"Don't
like him and don't want him near my sisters." Charlie said
bluntly.

"Agreed.
I'll be keeping an eye on him." Thomas scowled after the young
man.

Hugo,
meanwhile, was inspecting an old scroll on the wall near the kitchen.
Lizzy smiled.

“That's
not the real one, it's a copy. The Masters have the original.” She
told him.

“I
will never kill another human being again. I will always respect my
elders, even if I don't agree with them. I will endeavour to dress
nicely and appropriately. I will never hold back, and will fight
forever for what is right. Most of all, I will always believe.”
Hugo read. “Signed, Maurice Masters.”

“The
Masters Code. They live next door, and they've lived by it for over
500 years.” Thomas came in from the lounge room. “Which is about
the same amount of time our families have been best friends.”

“A
bit archaic needing a code to tell you how to be a decent human being
though.” Izzy scowled.

“It's
tradition.” Charlie stood behind his father, also scowling. “We
honour the past by honouring the Code!”

“You
set WAY too much by the code, you even use a capital C when you say
it!” Lizzy cried.

“How
on earth do you know whether or not someone is using capitals when
they speak?” Thomas wondered out aloud.

“You're
right, I do. Because that Code has survived 500 years for a reason.
Because our friendship with the Masters family has survived FIVE
HUNDRED YEARS.” Charlie fought back.

“Can
we not do this with guests in the house?!” Betty snapped. She
turned apologetically to Hugo. “It's an old family argument, I
apologise for their rudeness.”

“No
need Mrs. Begly, I understand.” Hugo smiled politely. Thomas didn't
like that smile. It was too polite for his liking!

“Oh,
Liz, Lara was over earlier, she was wondering if you could take care
of Madeliene again next week?” Betty turned to her daughter.

“Of
course!” Lizzy squealed, making Izzy chuckle and Charlie smile. No
matter how much she wasn't thrilled with the older members of the
Masters family, Lizzy Begly was a sucker for the baby Madeliene!

“Lizzy
is madly in love with the baby Masters.” Izzy explained to Hugo,
who chuckled.

“It's
nice to see that one of you likes children.” He commented, earning
him veiled glares from the two male Beglys.

Betty
sighed. It was going to be a long dinner.

"So let me get this straight."
Charlie stood in the back yard, one arm in a sling. "You can
make the recoil on the Lucky Seven Gun look non-existent but you can
barely pick up the Lions Claw Blade?!"

"IT'S HEAVY." Was the sullen
reply.

The logic behind this latest exercise
was that with Charlie out of commission until his shoulder healed, it
would be beneficial for Belle to be able to use the Lions Claw Blade.
Given that the Lions Claw Blade was now stuck firmly in the ground in
the backyard, one could surmise that the exercise was going poorly.

"I'm flabbergasted. How are you
NOT able to swing a simple sword around?" Thomas shook his head.

"Same way you couldn't fire a gun
if your life depended on it." Peter came to his daughters
defence.

"It's a piece of metal, you simply
swing it around and hit people with it!" Thomas cried.

"I think you're seriously
underselling the art of sword-fighting." Peter replied.

"What would YOU know?" Thomas
glared at his best friend.

"Obviously more than you!"
Peter got riled up.

"You saying I'm dumb?"

"No need, it's plainly obvious to
anyone with a brain!"

Enraged, Thomas slapped Peter.
Infuriated, Peter slapped Thomas back…look, for the dignity of both
men, let's not go into the specifics of what happened next, other
than to say Charlie quickly grabbed the Lions Claw Blade and took off
with Belle as to not be seen with the pair.

–

Of course, no matter how bad Belles
training was going, the world wasn't going to stop. Not even a week
after Charlie got shot, Ruby Daryl decided to wreck some havoc. Not
trying to steal anything or help take out a historical monument to
create space for progress, he just wanted to get out and hurt people.

He's not a very nice person.

“There's no point in carrying this on
Ruby, your Ruby Weapons can't hurt me and I'll be lucky to get a shot
in with the Lucky Seven Gun. Why don't we both just go home and call
it a day?” Giggles tried to reason with the bully, both of them
hovering above Pleasantville Central Park.

“Get stuffed. That Backpack of yours
will give out eventually, then you're screwed.” Ruby Daryl smirked.

“Not really, I think I can make your
life miserable from the ground.” Giggles folded her arms.

“Oh really?” Ruby Daryl readied
himself to attack.

“Either way, I can stop you from
hurting people.” Giggles said.

“Even without your little boyfriend?”
Ruby Daryl sneered.

“She's still got us!” Sir Hypers
faint voice could be heard somewhere below them.

“What he said.” Giggles shrugged.
“Now will you please sod off or do I have to bop you?”

Ruby Daryl laughed.

“Come on then, come and get me!” He
readied himself for an attack.

Giggles grinned to herself and flew
towards Ruby Daryl, who started floating upwards.

Or, rather, Giggles started sinking
downwards.

“This is embarrassing.” Giggles
groaned as she landed squarely on her backside again.

“You make this too easy!” Ruby
Daryl howled with laughter. He threw a Ruby Shard at her, making her
flinch unnecessarily as it hit her, not having any affect.

“Whatever Ruby, I can still stop you
from hurting people down here!” Giggles yelled angrily.

“And we can help!” Sir Dark piped
up as Sir Hedgehog helped Giggles to her feet.

“Oh really? Let's see how you can
deal with this!” Ruby Daryl began to form Ruby Shards in both
hands. When he had ten, he started flinging them in all directions.

“Scatter!” Sir Lionheart cried. The
Knights of the Last Order rushed to stop the Ruby Shards as Giggles
tried to hit the Shoulder Fuses on Ruby Daryl. Ruby Daryl was wise to
this strategy however, and formed two Ruby Shields to protect them.
Laughing, he formed more Ruby Shards and kept throwing them, mixing
in some Ruby Blasts for the fun of it.

The Knights tried to block the Ruby
Weapons with whatever they could, but soon their limbs got hit and
they started falling, none of them having the immunity to the Ruby
Power that Giggles had.

“So Giggles, do you still think you
can stop me?” Ruby Daryl grinned as the Knights lay wounded.

“I won't stop trying until I do!”
Giggles snapped. She racked her brains. She had about fifteen minutes
until the numbness from the Ruby Shards wore off and the Knights of
the Last Order could help again. If Ruby Daryl fired off Ruby Shards
in all directions again, then it was almost a certainty that someone
innocent was going to get hurt.

Ruby Daryl readied his next lot of Ruby
Shards as Giggles pulled out the Lucky Seven Gun and fired. Ruby
Daryl was about to laugh that she'd missed, when he heard a loud
“Clang!” behind him.

A small throwing star landed on the
ground. Ruby Daryl realised that if Giggles hadn't shot the star out
from the sky, then he'd be dead. He looked towards where it had come
from, and saw three figures standing on a rooftop.

Two of them were female, with long,
flowing red hair. They wore beautiful one-piece suits that covered
from their feet to their necks, including their dainty fingers, and
they both had beautiful masks covering their faces. One was gold, and
the other was silver. Behind them in a very professional-looking
white suit was a man with a similar mask on his face.

“What did you do that for Giggles?! I
almost had him!” The one in silver yelled angrily. In her hands
were a mess of throwing stars.

“Because I'm in this business to save
lives!” Giggles roared back.

“You're saving the wrong ones, try
saving innocent people in future!” The gold one leapt to the
ground, in her hands a weird yo-yo looking thing in the shape of the
sun, with the rays being golden blades sticking out of the yo-yo. The
other two jumped down behind her, the one in white shouldering his
bow and wearing a quiver of white arrows.

“Get out of here, let the
professionals handle this, little girl.” The white one walked over
to Giggles and shoved her aside.

“Rude!” Giggles scowled.

Ruby Daryl looked at the scene
unfolding. “Man, I don't need this drama. I'm going to go and see
what Mum's got on for me for dinner. See yas!” He turned to fly
away.

“Not so fast.” The one in while
loaded up his bow with an arrow. Just as he fired, Giggles slammed
him to the ground, sending the arrow flying into a nearby bush.

“YOU LITTLE WITCH!” The one in
white roared in fury.

“I. Save. Lives.” Giggles scowled
at him. “Who the hell are you?!”

“Sir Moonlight, if you must know.”
The man stood up and glared at her. “My associates are Lady
Sunlight and Lady Starlight, and I think even YOU can figure out
which is which.”

“No, I couldn't actually.” Giggles
spat sarcastically.

“We,” Lady Starlight walked over to
them. “Are the Outer Knights of the Last Order.”

“YOU ARE NOT!” Sir Lionheart raced
over, livid, his Ruby wound healed. “You will NEVER be a part of
the Last Order if you insist on using the same tatics that our
enemies use!”

“OUTER Knights of the Last Order.”
Lady Sunlight smirked. “We're not quite as pathetic as you are,
even if our mission is the same.”

“We don't have the same mission.”
Lady Courage scowled, standing behind Sir Lionheart.

“The liberation of Pleasantville from
crime?” Lady Sunlight said. “Sounds the same as our mission to
me.”

“Stay out of our way. Or we can't be
held responsible for what happens.” Sir Moonlight warned.

The “Outer Knights of the Last Order”
made their exit.

“Who were they?” Sir Hyper walked
over, holding up Sir Dark.

“Trouble.” Giggles replied. “Lots
and lots of trouble.

–

“Baby talking makes you sound like an
idiot, you know that right?” Izzy smirked at Lizzy, who was
gabbling to Madeliene Masters later that evening.

“She's a gorgeous little girl, aren't
you sweetie?” Lizzy cuddled the baby Masters, who squealed happily.

“You are SUCH a sucker.” Charlie
teased from the couch. “You'll spoil her rotten if you're not
careful.”

“Wittle Maddy Masters could never be
wotten, could you my little munchkin?” Lizzy cooed to Madeliene,
making her siblings laugh.

“Her big sister could use some
cheering up. What's with the frown?” Charlie poked Belle, who was
sitting on the couch next to him.

“Just what happened today.” Belle
sighed as Betty came out with a steaming hot tray of freshly roasted
meat, followed by Bill Masters with the vegetables and Peter with the
gravy train.

“Here mate, let me get that for you.”
Thomas rushed to help Peter with the gravy train.

“It's fine mate, here, let me get
your chair for you.” Peter put the gravy train down and pulled out
a chair for his best friend.

“This is going to make me sick.”
Lizzy gave Madeliene back to Lara and sat down.

“Tell me about it.” Belle rolled
her eyes as Thomas and Peter continued to smother each other with
compliments.

Parents.

When it finally ended, it ended with a
bang.

“Give it up Revolver!” Giggles
flew alongside the truck that the Death Valley Mobsters were speeding
down the main street in. In front of them was a armoured van full of
priceless jewels. Beside it, Chuckles was speeding along on his
motorcycle, yelling directions at the driver.

Up ahead, Sir Lionheart and Sir
Hedgehog were getting ready to plant roadspikes, while Sir Hyper and
Sir Dark cleared the streets of any innocent bystanders.

“I'm coming with the armoured truck,
be ready with the spikes after we come past!” Chuckles said into
his watch.

“No problemo!” Sir Lionheart turned
to Sir Hedgehog. “Time to roll!”

Sir Hedgehog ran to the other side of
the road. The armoured car sped past, and Sir Lionheart rolled a
line of road spikes out towards Sir Hedgehog.

“Look out! Here comes the DVM!”
Sir Hedgehog yelped.

As expected, the truck ran over the
road spikes and blew all of its tyres, sending it spinning. Giggles
floated in the air, trying not to laugh as the truck stopped right in
front of an adult store.

“Not funny you little pest!” Master
Revolver jumped out of the truck and slammed the door shut.

“You're right, it's freaking
HILARIOUS!” Giggles giggled (oh har har har), until she landed on
her backside, courtesy of the Backpack again.

“You should really get that fixed.”
Master Revolver pointed out.

“It's a work-in-progress.” Giggles
shrugged, getting up and rubbing her sore bottom.

“Anyway, time to sort you out!”
Master Revolver aimed his shotgun at her.

“Rude!” Giggles frowned. She
pulled out the Lucky Seven Gun and aimed it back at him.

“Well this looks entertaining.”
Chuckles walked over casually.

“I wouldn't be so cocky. It's sheer
dumb luck that you lot are alive at the moment.” Master Revolver
snarled.

“A sword to a gunfight Chuckles?
REALLY?” Giggles shook her head at her best friend.

“At least SOME of us have class.”
Chuckles stalked off. Without warning, Master Revolver turned his gun
on Chuckles and fired, striking him in the shoulder!

“CHUCKLES!” Giggles cried. She
fired the Lucky Seven Gun at Master Revolver, hitting the hand that
had shot Chuckles. As Master Revolver dropped his shotgun and yelled
in pain, Giggles flew over angrily and kicked him fair in the face.

“HOW DARE YOU SHOOT MY BEST FRIEND?!”
She screamed in rage. “And in the BACK as well you COWARD!”

“Police are coming Giggles, we need
to get outta here!” Sir Hedgehog called to her. Chuckles was being
held up by Lady Courage and Sir Hyper, while Lady Luck was looking at
his shoulder.

Giggles gave Master Revolver one last
kick to the crown jewels before escaping with the others. She was
seething. How could she have let Chuckles get shot?!

Chuckles leapt gingerly into her arms
and she flew back to the tip.

“You okay mate?” Giggles asked as
they soared through the sky.

“He shot me. How rude!” Chuckles
said, affronted.

“We'll get Petunia to look at it when
we get back to base. She'll fix it up no problem.” Giggles
promised.

Suddenly, the Backpack gave out again.

“FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD IN
THIS WORLD!” Chuckles roared angrily as Giggles managed to
straighten up.

“Sorry.” Was the sheepish reply.

–

“Aren't you just the cutest?” Lizzy
Begly lifted up baby Madeleine Masters, who squealed with laughter.

“You're smitten.” Izzy laughed as
Lizzy danced around the Begly lounge room with the baby Masters.

“I can't help it.” Lizzy defended
herself. “Isn't that right Madels?

Madeleine hugged Lizzy tightly in
response.

Suddenly, Belle and Charlie burst in,
with Thomas and Betty close behind. Petunia was with them, and
started directing everyone at once.

“What happened?!” Izzy noticed that
Belle was holding a sodden red rag to Charlies shoulder.

“Master Revolver shot Chuckles.”
Thomas told them, pulling a chair from the dining room into the
lounge room so that Petunia could get started on cleaning Charlie up.

“Owch.” Was Charlies contribution
to the chaos.

“How did it happen?!” Izzy cried as
Lizzy went to sit on the couch near her brother.

“Giggles and Master Revolver were
having a stand-off when Revolver turned around and shot Chuckles in
the back.” Petunia said. “Thankfully it only went through his
shoulder, no major organs hit.”

“WHY DIDN'T YOU FINISH OFF
REVOLVER?!” Izzy roared at Belle. “YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN OUR
BROTHER KILLED!”

“I'm not a killer Izzy, you know
that.” Belle scowled as Peter Masters ran in.

“Is Charlie okay?” He asked.

“Never better.” Charlie groaned
sarcastically.

“Oh good.” Peter took Madeleine off
Lizzy, who was staring daggers at Belle. “Oh dear, we're not going
to have THIS fight again are we?” He sighed.

“We wouldn't be having it if these
two could do their job correctly!” Lizzy scowled.

“It's not OUR JOB thank you, we
happen to do it out of the goodness of our hearts.” Charlie scowled
as Petunia stitched up his shoulder. “OW!”

“Well you should do it properly or
not at all!” Izzy snapped. “You got Grandpa killed-,”

“UPSTAIRS.” Thomas Begly pointed to
the stairs.

“Dad-,” The twins began to protest.
However, one look from their father was enough to have them both
begrudgingly head up the stairs to their room. Betty followed them,
looking harassed.

Not long after, Daniel and Sam burst
in.

“I found the bullet!” Sam grinned,
holding a small bullet in his hand. “I also found the one you shot
Revolver with. Should I give it to him?”

“In his shoulder would be fantastic.”
Charlie quipped dryly, feeling sorry for himself. Petunia had
finished stitching him up and was admiring her handiwork.

“No fighting now for at least a
month.” She said, setting his arm up in a sling.

“Say WHAT now?!” Charlie cried.

“The bullet fractured your shoulder
blade. You're going to need to rest for a long time.” Petunia told
him matter-of-factly.

“I really don't like Master Revolver
right now.” Charlie groaned.

–

“What's the matter with my girls
today huh?” Hugo Graziano, son of business mogul Great Graziano,
looked bemused at the Begly twins as they all sat together in a
high-end restaurant for lunch the next day.

“Nothing.” Izzy scowled, viciously
ripping a bread roll in half and dipping one of the halves into her
pumpkin soup. Lizzy rolled her eyes.

“We're a bit upset that Chuckles
managed to get shot, personally we think he, Giggles and the Knights
of the Last Order need to step up their game.” She smiled at Hugo.

“You mean those vigilantes?” Hugo
looked amused at Izzy. “I don't know why they don't just mind their
own business.”

“Especially if they're not going to
do their job properly and get themselves shot.” Izzy growled
through a mouthful of bread.

Hugo chuckled. “I didn't have you two
pegged as social justice warriors.”

Lizzy narrowed her eyes at him. “You
do realise we live in a city where we could get mugged at any second
and our legal system wouldn't do a thing about it?”

“Oh come on, you would NEVER get
mugged with me around. I'll protect my girls.” Hugo patted her
cheek. Izzy giggled as Lizzy blushed.

“Have you girls ever thought of
joining the cause yourselves?” Hugo asked as they continued their
meal.

“Not really. Like I said, it needs to
be done properly. It's sheer dumb luck that Chuckles and Giggles are
so well-armed, and you've seen what the Knights have got.” Izzy
replied, completely ignoring the fact that the Masters have been
gunslingers for centuries and that the Howzats were brilliant
hand-to-hand combat specialists paired with the Begly swordsmanship
and blacksmithing.

“Fair enough. Although it IS a bit
rich of you to dump on Chuckles and Giggles when you're not prepared
to put yourselves on the line as well." Hugo pointed out.

"Is it rich of someone to
criticize a meal without being a chef?" Lizzy frowned.

"I'm just saying…" Hugo
threw up his hands. "Put yourselves in their shoes."

"You have no idea." Izzy said
bitterly. "You seriously have no idea."

                                  http://thienuncage.deviantart.com/

Charlie watched as Belle sat silently
on the floor in front of her father as he brushed out her washed and
dried hair. She had been in the shower for twenty minutes trying to
get the smell and the feeling of the old rotten mattress off her. He
didn't blame her, it had been disgusting hiding in there. Reduced to
cowering in filth from the Death Valley Mobsters.

Some heroes they were.

“I could have gotten everyone
killed.” Belle whispered. “I am such a fool.”

“It's okay Belle, no one is holding
it against you. We were all thinking of what life would have been
like if we'd succeeded. We were doing so well until everyone ran
off!” Charlie banged his fist on table.

“We never stood a chance. The people
we rallied up were either cowards or as guilty as those we opposed.
How could we ever expect anything to change?” Belle let her head
fall into her arms. “It's just like 93 years ago.”

“No, it isn't.” Peter said.

Lara walked over with some hot
chocolate for the pair of them. Thomas was sat with his hand on his
sons shoulder, and Betty was sitting by the fire with the twins.

“You survived.” Peter continued.
“Ninety-three years ago there were no Knights of the Last Order or
Chuckles and Giggles. The protesters back then didn't even try to
run or defend themselves. They certainly hadn't been spending years
previously defending the city.”

“What does it matter, we got
completely humiliated out there.” Belle sighed. “OW, Dad!
Gentle!”

Peter yanked the comb through his
daughters stubborn hair. “That wasn't the battle. That was only
the drawing of the battle lines. The REAL decider is if you guys
continue on. If you guys give up now, then it will be just like all
those years ago. But if you get back up and keep fighting, and show
Demon and his Mobsters that you aren't beaten, then THAT will make
all the difference.

“After the massacre, no one dared to
fight again. Until you guys stepped up. Suddenly there are now nine
people fighting for Pleasantville. Not to mention the influence
you're having on your siblings and the people around you. Already
you've recruited Webster, and you were able to save Sunny. You just
have to keep going, slowly but surely you'll turn more and more
people to your side until Pleasantville is changed forever.” Peter
finished his little sermon by tying Belles clean hair into a
ponytail.

“Show Pleasantville you won't be
beaten. Show Pleasantville that the good guys won't give up on
them.” He kissed his daughters forehead. “And get to bed.
You've got a fair few scrapes and bruises to heal up, and given
tomorrow is Saturday I don't want to see you out of bed until at
least 10, got it?”

For the first time since Belle got back
from Brisvegas with those forsaken flyers she smiled. “Yes Daddy.
Good night!”

Charlie sighed, the weight in his chest
feeling lighter. At least Belle was smiling again.

“C'mon hotshot, it's time you went to
bed too.” Thomas helped him up. As he walked home with his family,
he felt his fathers arm around him.

“You heard what Pete said Charlie,
and Pete's the smartest guy I know. These things take time, and it
probably won't be in your lifetime that it will get fixed. I just
hope you realise that and don't get too discouraged.” Thomas said
as they walked in the front door.

“I won't. I'm in for the long haul.
G'night everyone.” Charlie limped up the stairs, his two sisters
looking up the stairs after him.

–

The next day was bucketing down with
rain, which suited our heroes just fine – they didn't want to do
anything either!

“Rainy days are always good in
moderation.” Petunia yawned, sitting on a sofa in the back of Bills
restaurant.

“Yeah, we've been due for a good
one.” TJ agreed, his head resting in her lap. Both of them had
black eyes from the previous days adventure.

“And now that we have a functional
dam, there's no more fear of another drenching.” Sam joked. Even
after his heroics that day, he was still very wary around water. He
was sporting a plaster under his eye from where a bullet had grazed
him.

“Anyway, Dad is SPEWING about
yesterday. He called me this morning to see if I'd heard about it.
He's arrested three reporters and two television producers over it,
but he can't hold them because the government is now looking into
things here.” Sunny grinned. “Our little protest got a fair
amount of coverage around Ostraya.”

“So we might have made a difference
after all.” Belle smiled, nursing a sore shoulder.

“We've certainly made people sit up
and take notice. Dad will find a way to paper over the cracks, no
question, but I dare say the heat will be on for a long time yet.”
Sunny told them.

“Hopefully we can keep that heat on
long enough for the next generation of Knights to take up the
mantle.” Webster smiled at his daughter, who smiled back.

Tate, Melody and Madeliene were all
sitting in the middle of the floor playing with blocks. Even though
there was still a long way to go, everyone in the room felt a bit
better about the future of the three little girls.

“The best thing is I don't think
there'll be much in the way of crime going on for a while. We can
finally have a break!” Daniel laughed.

“It'll be nice going into uni without
people wondering why I'm all beat-up. I tell them I do roller-derby
and it usually keeps them happy.” Tammy told them. After regaining
her voice, Tammy decided she wanted to become a speech-therapist.

“Imagine, spending weekends fishing,
camping, reading…Belle! Can't you keep your nose out of a book for
five seconds?!” Charlie yelped as he saw his best friend was
nose-deep in another textbook.

“What?! The massacre of 93 years ago
was whitewashed, I wouldn't be surprised if this one got similar
treatment.” Belle looked at them.

“Do you EVER stop?” Webster giggled
as Sunny shook her head.

“Nerd.” She poked Belles arm.

“But it's important to know! After
the last demonstration is when the Death Valley Gang first appeared –
they were originally a faction opposed to the corruption of
Pleasantville!” Belle yelped. “They started off as a 'Robin
Hood'-style gang specializing in robbery, which is probably how they
became corrupt and started working with the Mobsters of Misneach and
the Light Reach Clan to get rid of the March Hill Crusaders, the
Silent Lake Gang and the Hidden Fear Crew – seriously?! Why does no
one ever listen to me?!”

Just about everyone had fallen asleep
listening to Belle lecture on about history! Poor Belle.

                     http://thienuncage.deviantart.com/

The loud roar of the crowd carried all
the way to the Council building, where Mr. Jones was waiting.

“It sounds like Giggles has mobilized
the entire city. This doesn't look good at all.” Master Revolver
looked out of the window.

“It doesn't help that SOMEONE had to
commit a crime right in front of everyone and give the little wretch
ammo.” Daryl scowled at Mobster Marion, who glared back.

“Blaming isn't going to solve
anything.” Mr. Jones walked between the pair towards his desk. He
opened the top drawer and pulled out his Demon mask. “I originally
donned this mask to get rid of those interfering mongrels, who
invaded my home and interfered in my personal affairs with my
daughter Sunny. Now could be the time to not only remove the
vigilante problem, but destroy any future hope of a resistance.”

He walked back to the window, clutching
the mask in both hands as he watched the advancing crowd.

“Pleasantville has thrived on the
darkness for two centuries. It has become a prosperous city dealing
in dirty little secrets. It is where I was born, it is my home, and
I won't see it brought down by some upstarts who think they know
better!” He growled.

“Plus there's the fact that crime
pays much more than this so called 'honest work' they keep
sprouting.”

“So what's the plan?” Master
Revolver asked.

“Daryl, has the Ruby Suit been
repaired yet?” Mr. Jones looked at his son.

“I'll go and check.” Daryl quickly
scooted off. Mr. Jones beckoned to the others to join him.

“Call the rest of the DVM.” He said
“It's time to face the music.”

–

The crowd were roaring behind the
Knights of the Last Order, who stood with Chuckles beneath Giggles,
who was floating proudly, arms folded in triumph.

“Get your buns out here Demon, it's
time to face the music!” She cried. “We aren't scared of your
mob any more, we out-number you a hundred to one!”

The thunderous roar from the crowd
signalled their approval of their leader and the chants for Demon
Jones and his crew to show their faces were deafening.

“She's really doing it.” Sir Dark
looked around disbelievingly.

“She's really doing it.” Sir
Hedgehog echoed, thinking of his wife, daughter and long-lost best
friend.

“It's all going to end.
Pleasantville is finally going to be free.” Lady Luck whispered.

Lady Courage looked up at Giggles.
There were no more pangs of jealousy now, only a fierce pride and
loyalty to her friend.

“Thank you.” She said quietly.

Finally, Demon Jones stepped out of the
Council building, flanked by Master Revolver, Mobster Marion and Ruby
Daryl. On the roof of the building stood the entirety of the Death
Valley Mobsters, all armed and ready to attack.

“We still out-number you even with
the DVM! The age of darkness is OVER Jones, and the sooner you
realise that the better off you'll be!” Giggles yelled.

“Oh? You think sheer numbers will
win?” Demon smirked.

“I KNOW they'll win. We've finally
had enough.” Giggles pointed out.

“Enough you say? Enough of
prosperity and an easy life?” Demon looked down his nose at
Giggles. “I thought you were intelligent Giggles.”

“Easy for whom?” Giggles snapped.

“Easy for everyone!” Demon laughed.
“Less people get hurt when the status quo is maintained.”

“Unlike you, we're not afraid of a
little pricked finger in the name of progress.” Chuckles stood
underneath the floating Giggles. “The time for a fair go is now!”

“Very well. Have it your way. We
gave you a chance to back down but you foolishly gave it up.” Demon
shrugged.

“YOU'RE the fool Demon, and the time
of Pleasantvilles freedom is nigh! Who's with…me?” Giggles spun
around, ready to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

The only ones behind her were Chuckles
and the Knights of the Last Order. Everyone else had vanished.

“They took one look at the guns and
remembered who's in charge and why. They know their lives are better
served by minding their own business instead of challenging the
system that has worked for centuries.” Master Revolver told them as
Giggles slowly dropped to the ground. “It's over Knights, your
crusade is over, you've lost. Give up now and we'll go easy on you.”

Giggles felt all the blood drain from
her face. They'd all run away on her. She'd failed and now because
of her rashness, something she'd always held against Chuckles,
because of her the Knights of the Last Order, her friends, they were
all going to die.

She felt her fingers brush the Lucky
Seven Gun. Even if she wasn't opposed to killing, they still
wouldn't survive against the hundred or so Mobsters who had their
guns aimed at the heroes. She felt herself sink to the ground next
to her best friend, to whom she owed a huge apology if they somehow
survived this.

“We're dead. We're completely dead.”
She gulped.

“At least we tried, right?” Sir
Hedgehog tried to remain positive, but his voice was laced with fear.

“We'll certainly go down in history,
but not for the reasons we wanted to.” Lady Courage thought of her
daughter. Of how Melody could very well grow up without a mother and
without hope.

“We're going to fight our way out of
this.” Chuckles growled, pulling out the Lions Claw Blade.

“Charlie are you INSANE?” Giggles
hissed so the others couldn't hear. “They're all armed to the
teeth and out-number us twenty to one!”

“We'll just distract them. Up you
go!” Chuckles grabbed Giggles before she had a chance to protest,
throwing her into the air.

She squeaked angrily, the Backpack
making her soar high into the air. She sighed and pulled out the
Lucky Seven Gun.

“Here's to the Improbability Clause.”
She muttered, before firing blindly.

“GET HER!” Demon screamed. The
hundred Mobsters began firing. Giggles braced herself for the rain
of bullets, but only a few scratched her.

It was then she realised that she was
right in front of the large setting sun. They were missing because
they couldn't see her.

She looked to the ground. The others
had scattered, and Demon was furiously yelling at the Death Valley
Mobsters to follow them.

Giggles continued to fly into the sun.
The others were still being chased, but now each of them stood a
chance at hiding and surviving.

She saw Chuckles get backed into a
corner by twenty eager Mobsters, who wanted nothing more than to be
the one to hand his head to Demon.

She quickly swooped down and grabbed
her best friend. Alas for the faulty Backpack! It got them around
the block before flinging them both to the ground.

“Darn it, darn it, darn it!”
Giggles scrambled to her feet. She felt Chuckles grab her elbow and
help drag her up and both of them ran as they heard footsteps
hurrying behind them.

They bolted down the street, ducking
behind cars, street signs, open doors, ANYTHING to protect them from
the sprays of bullets that often rang out as they desperately tried
to get away.

Chuckles could feel his lungs burning,
and every footstep and every gunshot sounded louder and closer than
the last. Giggles fired a shot back every so often to disperse the
crowd, but even those were getting fewer and less effective as she
ran out of ammo and the Mobsters grew wise to the fact she would
never kill any of them.

There were too many of them. Where
ever the pair ran there were more Mobsters, hunting them down,
wearing them down. Chuckles was gasping for air and Giggles was
close to tears. Every turn seemed to bring them closer to the end.
Fear and exhaustion gripped at Chuckles heart, and he didn't know how
much more he had.

Suddenly a miracle happened. A small
beep issued from the Backpack – it was charged! With one last
great effort, Giggles heaved Chuckles up into the sky with her,
swerving through the rain of bullets to an abandoned old building.
The pair ran inside.

“They went in there!”

“FIND THEM!”

“We have to hide!” Giggles
squeaked. The pair ran down the corridor, terrified the squeaking
boards would give them away. They could hear the Mobsters coming up
the stairs behind them – what would they do?!

Chuckles quickly pulled Giggles into
one of the rooms and as quietly as he could closed the door. They
heard a loud crash as one of the doors down the corridor was kicked
in. Then another. And another. Closer and closer.

“We can't stay in the open like
this!” Chuckles hissed.

Giggles looked around. The room was an
old bedroom of sorts, the curtains moth-eaten and falling apart, the
carpet worn and torn, and the mattress on the bed sagged with mould.

“It's disgusting, but we have no
choice.” Giggles lifted up the mattress as much as she could. “Cut
a hole in the bottom and we'll hide inside, hopefully they won't
think to turn it over.”

Chuckles turned green, but he had no
other alternative. Cutting just underneath the seam of the mattress,
he made a hole barely enough for them to squeeze in. Giggles as the
smaller went in first, barely able to fit between the rusted old
springs. Chuckles squeezed in after her with a lot more difficulty.

Chuckles felt for Giggles hand, and
squeezed it tightly as the door was kicked open loudly.

They could hear several people tearing
the room apart. The sound of footsteps so close to them made their
hearts pound so loud they were sure the Mobsters would hear them
easily, even if they were still kicking in doors and ripping up
furniture all over the place.

Giggles wanted to cry. She was
terrified. If they were found there was no way they'd survive.

Suddenly the pair could feel themselves
being lifted upwards then falling back down again with a crash as one
of the Mobsters upended the bed to check under it. Chuckles didn't
know what hurt more, the landing that was barely cushioned by the
rancid old mattress or the heavy bed landing on them.

“Damn, not here either!” They heard
the footsteps move away, and another door crash in, much further down
the hall this time. Giggles felt herself breathe just a little
easier, but not much.

After what seemed like hours, finally
silence reigned. It took the pair a while to trust the silence
though, and eventually it was Chuckles who whispered.

“I think they're gone.”

“How can you be sure?” Giggles
whispered back. “They could have left someone here.

“I doubt it, they're not that smart.”
Chuckles tried to joke.

“Okay then, but try to be quiet!”
Giggles agreed with a hiss.

The pair slowly extracted themselves
from the disgusting old mattress. Sticking their noses out of the
room, they found out that Chuckles was right and they were safe.

“Let's get going while the goings
good!” Chuckles whispered, even though he knew no one could hear
them in the empty building.

“But how? It's too obvious if we fly
off and we're easy to catch on foot.” Giggles protested.

Chuckles thought for a second.

“If we leave by foot and try and
stick to the shadows until we get to the suburbs we should be okay.
It's night time now, and it will be easier to hide.” He said.

Giggles nodded. Misery was starting to
creep in alongside the fear and exhaustion, knowing that she'd sold
her friends into a deadly trap and could have possibly killed them.
Chuckles gripped her into a tight hug, before taking her by the
shoulders and bending down until he was at eye-level with her (and
given she's so short…).

“We're going to be okay, and so are
the others. I think the Mobsters were more focused on getting us,
not them.” He tried to reassure her.

She looked out of a nearby window.
Darkness had engulfed the city of Pleasantville, which meant that
they'd been in this musty old room for several hours. It didn't feel
like it though.

“Let's go then.” She sighed. The
pair headed back down the rotten old stairs, every creak and groan of
the old building making them jump. They decided to sneak out one of
the broken windows, both of them scared that the Mobsters were still
guarding the front of place. Thankfully they ended up in a deserted
back street, which led onto another deserted street. Keeping to the
shadows and the back streets, they managed to get out of the city and
into the suburbs, where Giggles held her best friend and lifted the
pair of them up off the ground and back towards the tip. It was
quiet up in the air, and both of them were tense, waiting for the
sound of a gunshot to force them back to the ground again.

They were in luck, however, as it
seemed to be late and most people were inside either sleeping or
getting ready to sleep. Chuckles and Giggles wondered what their
parents were doing – were they up worried or were they at the tip
waiting?

The stars shone brightly, their
white-blue light a stark contrast to the deep, dark blue-black sky.
The Moon shone down on them in all her glory, and as they got closer
to the tip they started to breathe easier and started to notice these
little details. Not many people get to soar through the night air
under the stars and the Moon with their best friend, it's a magical
experience that more people should get the opportunity to have.
Eventually though the pair touched down at the tip, hearts pounding
in their mouths – was everyone okay?

The pair hurried through the tip, the
last fear of losing their friends providing them enough adrenaline to
get through the aching muscles, the breathlessness. Tears began to
form in Giggles eyes – if any of them were gone, it was completely
her fault.

“I think I heard them over here!”
She heard the sound of Daniels voice and a small ray of hope opened
in her heart. The pair bolted towards the sound, desperate, scared,
exhausted.

They stopped. Everyone was there.
Daniel, TJ, Petunia, Sunny, Sammy, Tammy, Webster. Peter, Lara,
Bill, Thomas, Betty, Maddy, all the parents of the Noble Knights of
the Last Order.

“Thank heavens you're both all
right!” Betty rushed to her son and gripped him tightly.

Giggles pulled off her helmet and threw
it to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as she ran into her
fathers arms with a loud “Daddy!”

It had been a long, painful, horrible
day.

                                   http://thienuncage.deviantart.com/

Belle was seething. An innocent young
man was now going to go to gaol for crimes committed by Ruby, thanks
to Mr. Jones. Plus due to her having a little outburst in the court
room, she was now suspended for a month.

“I heard what happened.” Peter
walked with her out of the courthouse. “Don't worry about it too
much, I've had more suspensions than I can count. It just means you
get stuck filing for a month, no big deal.”

“But how can I protect people if I'm
suspended?!” Belle kicked a nearby rock, sending it flying to a
pond and scaring the ducks.

“You'll have to leave it to Giggles
to do.” Peter hugged his daughter.

“It's not fair. I wish -,” Belle
started, when she saw the look her father was giving her.

“If wishes were leaves, the trees
would fall down.” Peter reminded her gently. “Anyway, it's the
Leos versus the Far Coast Canaries tonight, won't that be fun?”

“We're more than likely going to get
flogged Dad.” Belle deadpanned as they got into the car.

“Spoilsport.” Peter laughed as they
drove home.

Alas, she was right. The Leos lost
10.14. 74 to 12.3.75. Bad kicking is bad football!

–

“Hey Belle – are you serious?!”
Charlie poked his head into Belles window to find her studying again.
“What could you POSSIBLY have to study for NOW?!

“I'm RESEARCHING doofus. Did you
know the last public demonstration in Pleasantville was ninety-three
years ago?” Belle informed her best friend as he leaned on the
window sill.

“And?” Charlie prompted her.

“There were only fifty people who
demonstrated their frustration with the Council at that time. They
were wiped out by the March Hill Crusaders.” Belle sipped her tea.

“Who?”

“The March Hill Crusaders used to be
the ruling power in Pleasantville before the Mobsters of Misneach
overthrew them fifty years ago. It's a very interesting read
actually, it seems that Marion and Revolver aren't the first time the
DVG and the Mob have worked together.” Belle continued to read.
“The Mob had huge opposition from the Silent Lake Gang, who spent
thirteen years struggling for survival against the DVG before
eventually the DVG won out. So really the two-player system has only
been around for forty-seven years.” She looked at Charlie, who was
drooling slightly. “Did ANY of that register?!”

“I know that you were talking, does
that count?” Charlie asked.

Overall I think the Leos got off pretty
lightly comparatively.

–

“If I have to hear ONE more lecture
on the political history of Pleasantville then I am going to flip.”
Charlie sat down in the kitchen at Bills restaurant.

“Hear hear.” Sam groaned, dipping
his chips into the aioli.

“I think she's trying to get a
protest going.” Sunny told them, trying to feed Melody while
keeping herself clean (and failing at both).

“I don't know why, the last protest
in Pleasantville didn't end so well for the protesters according to
her.” Daniel tried to steal some of Sams aioli for his calamari and
was swiftly rebuffed.

“I think that she thinks we can get
better numbers this time. Plus there's the fact that the town
vigilantes are on her side.” Tammy successfully stole some of the
aioli for her chips.

“If she does then the Knights of the
Last Order are 100% behind her. By the way, where IS she?” TJ also
helped himself to Sams aioli. Sam scowled and gave up.

“I think she nicked off to Brisvegas
for the day.” Charlie checked his watch. “She should be back…”

Suddenly there was a loud tapping on
the kitchen window. Outside, Giggles was floating above the ground,
waving at them.

“…Now?” Charlie looked surprised.
The group headed outside where they were each presented with a large
pile of flyers.

“You went to Brisvegas dressed as
Giggles?” Petunia looked incredulously at Giggles, who nodded.

“I couldn't get these printed here,
you don't know who's on the side of the DVM. Plus if Belle came back
with these, my family would be in trouble. It was best that I just
took the back of the bus there and back and got the printing done
away from Pleasantville. By the way I wouldn't be seen with those
without a uniform on.” Giggles pointed out, making everyone recoil.

“Pleasantville for the Innocent?”
Sunny picked up one of the flyers from her pile. “People Power
Protects our Pleasantville?”

“Work Hard for a Pleasant
Pleasantville?” TJ raised an eyebrow at Giggles, who shrugged.

“Hey, I had to come up with these all
by myself, YOU guys weren't helping!” She defended herself.

“I love this picture of Sir Hyper.
Makes me look tough!” Sam grinned at another one of the posters.

“You made me look like a wuss!”
Daniel cried as a picture of Sir Lionheart holding a puppy appeared
on a poster.

“I'm TRYING to make us look good and
drum up support. Now, disguises on and let's get handing these out!”
Giggles flew off with her pile of flyers, eager to start work against
the corruption of Pleasantville.

“Was my niece just out here?” Bill
walked out with a tea-towel over his shoulder.

“Look at what she's been up to!”
Sunny waved a flyer in Bills face.

He sighed.

“I admire her tenacity, but one rally
isn't going to save Pleasantville.” He warned.

“We have to do something.” Petunia
piped up.

“I agree! Let's go guys!” Daniel
raced to grab his pack which held his Sir Lionheart armour.

The revolution had begun!

–

“I don't want any more junk mail!”

“You're breaking the law yourselves!
Turn yourselves in and I'll think about it!”

“Go away, I have things to do!”

“Well, this is working out fine.”
Lady Courage frowned, most of her fliers still in her hands. “No
one wants a bar of us!”

“We have to keep trying, it IS for
our city after all.” Sir Dark pointed out.

“Plus if we don't Giggles will eat us
alive.” Sir Hyper pointed to the sky as Giggles flew overhead,
showering them with flyers.

“Stand up for a better
Pleasantville!!” She yelled loudly.

“She's starting to get annoying.”
Sir Dark admitted as the others groaned.

A tall blonde figure wearing a fur cape
and a royal blue dress with a sword hanging from her waist walked
over. “Please tell me you guys have nothing to do with this!”
Mobster Marion shoved a flyer in their faces.

“Giggles rail-roaded us into it.”
Sir Hyper admitted.

Mobster Marion snorted. “Should have
told her to quit before she embarrassed herself, there's no way she's
going to change anything – especially not with this trash.”

“By the way is that a new dress?”
Lady Luck asked.

“Yes it is.” Mobster Marion did a
quick twirl. “What do you think?”

“It'd probably look better on the
person you stole it off.” Sir Dark snorted.

Mobster Marion scowled at him and
stormed off. Giggles floated overhead, watching Mobster Marion like
a hawk.

“What was that all about?” She
asked the Knights.

“Marion thinks your campaign is a
great idea, and she really hopes you can make a difference.” Sir
Dark deadpanned. Giggles glared at him.

“You have to admit Giggles, we're
fighting a losing battle.” Lady Courage pointed out.

“We can't just give up!” Giggles
cried. “I've already tried that and it didn't exactly work!”

“Well, what can we do if no one wants
to listen to us?!” Sir Hyper protested. “Face it Giggles, if no
one wants to change, then no one can make them!”

“We just have to make them see reason
is all.” Giggles tried to calm her friends down.

Just then, Lady Silent, Sir Hedgehog,
Sir Lionheart and Chuckles ran over.

“You guys not having any luck
either?” Sir Lionheart sighed.

“Nope. I'm ready to go home!” Sir
Hyper began to pout.

“But we can't give up now!” Sir
Hedgehog cried.

“Not you too.” Sir Dark rolled his
eyes.

“All we need is to demonstrate to the
people how bad the situation really is. That would really help our
cause.” Chuckles mused.

“Yeah, like Marion is REALLY going to
commit a crime right in front of us just so we can use it for our
political gain.” Giggles groaned.

Wouldn't you know it, at just that
moment a young boy with a awesome-looking model helicopter ran past
Mobster Marion, who looked greedily at the helicopter. In one swift
movement, she grabbed the toy and shoved the poor boy into the path
of an oncoming road train!

“Oh NO!” Cried Lady Luck as
Giggles flew as fast as she could towards the now crying child. With
barely a second to spare she whisked the young boy out of harms way
and deposited him on the footpath, unharmed.

Chuckles scowled at Mobster Marion and
snatched the helicopter back. “Not yours.” He snapped at her.
He then walked over to Giggles and the child and handed the toy back.

“You'll be okay. You head straight
home you hear me?” Chuckles warned the child.

“Yessir. Thank you!” The boy
looked up gratefully at his rescuers before running away home.

A small crowd of people had seen the
event, and were now looking curiously at Giggles.

“This is what is happening to the
innocent people of our city. This is NOT what Simon Masters and
Louis Begly had in mind when they built the Pleasant Dam!” Giggles
flew up into the air, yelling loudly. “They didn't envisage their
fellow man beaten to the ground, they didn't see innocent people
killed in the name of profit! And we, the people, have allowed this
to happen! No more I say!”

A small murmur of agreement went
through the crowd like a wave. More people were coming to listen to
Giggles!

“ARE WE GOING TO STAND FOR THIS?!”
Giggles roared. “ARE WE GOING TO LET THEM DO THIS TO US? NO, I
SAY, NO! WE'RE NOT GOING TO SUFFER THIS DRECK ANY MORE!”

People were starting to cheer, and the
crowd was getting bigger and bigger.

“PEOPLE OF PLEASANTVILLE ARISE! YOU
HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR INNOCENCE!” Giggles began to lead the
masses to the Council building.

“I'm certain she's ripped that from
somewhere.” Sir Hedgehog raised an eyebrow.

“Whatever, it's gotten the people
behind us! Let's go!” Sir Lionheart cheered, and they all followed
the crowd to the Council building.

The scene was set. Well, almost.

Ruby and Giggles were locked in a
stare-down, Giggles pointing the Lucky Seven Gun at the other shoulder
of Ruby, who was now having difficulty staying upright. You see, the
shoulder boxes on the Ruby Suit are a special conductor fuse in which
the information gathered from the band on the users temples was
translated into Ruby Power and then formed into Ruby Weapons.
Because the box was knocked out, not only was Ruby unable to form
Ruby Weapons with his right hand, but the booster under his right
foot was out too, meaning the only thing keeping him afloat was his
left leg.

It would have been the most amazing
setting for the beginning of an epic battle, had Giggles Backpack not
stayed true to form. It cut out again, leaving Giggles on her
backside.

“Class.” Chuckles raised his
eyebrow as Giggles got up and dusted herself off.

“I try.” Giggles replied before
straightening up and pointing the Lucky Seven Gun at Ruby again.
“Give up Ruby. You can't beat me.”

“Like heck I will!” Ruby growled,
forming a Ruby Shard in his left hand and throwing it at Giggles.

The Ruby Shard merely shattered
ineffectively against Giggles chest. Ruby was stunned. So was
Giggles.

“What in the -?” Giggles felt her
chest. Nothing. Not even a scratch.

“Well…that certainly helps us.”
Sir Lionheart smirked at Ruby. “Get him Giggles!”

“No problem.” Giggles aimed the
Lucky Seven at Ruby again, who flew off as fast as he could. Giggles
reached around and gave her Backpack a quick shake before taking off
after him.

She had missed flying. Soaring towards
the clouds, the memory of her grand-father lifting her up and pulling
her up towards the sky overcame her.

“I'll get him Pa. I won't ever give
up again.” She vowed, firing a warning shot at Ruby, who growled
and rolled out of the way.

Giggles shot up past him, and quickly
brought her ascent to a halt. She dived after him as he flew
haphazardly between buildings, the loss of flight power from his
right leg hindering him. Giggles fired another shot, but this time
Ruby used a Ruby Shield to block the attack.

“Darn!” Giggles groaned.

The pair were ducking and diving
through the streets, scaring a fair few citizens along the way, until
Giggles Backpack gave a jolt.

“Uh…oh…” She tried to steady
herself, but the Backpack had other ideas. She quickly grabbed the
nearest ledge and hauled herself up onto a balcony.

“Stupid thing!” Giggles groaned as
she slowly made her way back down to the ground.

“GIGGLES!” She heard footsteps
behind her. Chuckles was running towards her, that annoying look in
his eyes that told her that she wasn't going to like what she heard.
“I bet he's headed for the Council Building! If we head there now
we can cut him off!”

“Chuckles, he's probably going to get
there well before we do seeing as we're on foot, not to mention the
CHUCKLES GET BACK HERE!” Giggles cried as Chuckles grabbed the back
of a bus that was flying past. Using the last of the Backpacks
power, she shot after the bus and jumped on beside him.

“You DOLT.” She scowled, holding on
to the bus with one hand while flicking the Backpack into charge mode
with the other.

The bus rolled on for a good twenty
minutes. Finally, Chuckles let out a yell.

“There he is! C'mon Giggles!” He
grabbed his best friend and jumped off the bus.

“YIKES!” Giggles screamed as she
was yanked off the speeding vehicle. “And just what do you suppose
we do to stop him? He's still got Ruby Shields that make the Lucky
Seven useless.”

“Get me up there and let me try!”
Chuckles grinned. Giggles facepalmed, but she grabbed him and lifted
him up so they were right in front of Ruby.

“How in the-?” Ruby stopped.
Chuckles leapt from Giggles to Ruby, sending Giggles spiralling in
the process.

“Get off me!” Ruby growled, trying
to force Chuckles off. Chuckles tried to hit the remaining shoulder
box with one of the Arm Scythes, but was repelled by another Ruby
Shield.

The pair struggled in mid-air,
sometimes plummeting dangerously but never managing to hit anything
thankfully.

Giggles righted herself, annoyed. “Of
all the stupid…CHUCKLES!”

She flew towards the struggling pair,
Chuckles still trying to knock out the shoulder box while Ruby was
trying to throw Chuckles to his doom.

Without thinking, Giggles brought her
hand down on the shoulder box protected by the Ruby Shield. It
shattered, leaving it free for a hit from the Lions Claw Blade which
Chuckles was now waving around.

The box gave one last shot of light
before it gave out, destroyed.

And, as anyone with any common sense
would have predicted, both men began to fall.

“Probably should have thought of
that.” Giggles shrugged, before grabbing both men and tossing Ruby
onto the roof of a nearby building.

“Well,
that was harder than it needed to be.” Giggles sighed as they flew
back to the tip, heading over the abandoned school to make sure the
Knights were okay.

“Hee
hee, I've got the Improbability Clause back on my side!” Chuckles
couldn't help but cheer with glee.

“Oh
drop it will you? Uh…ARGH!!” Giggles cried as the Backpack cut
out again and the pair landed on a pile of dead grass clippings.

–

“He's
gone! Yay for Chuckles and Giggles!” Sam and Tammy danced for joy
as the group sat around the Masters living room.

“That's
one less worry on our minds! Good work guys!” Daniel thumped Belle
and Charlie on their backs, making them wince.

“Wish
we'd thought about going for the shoulders, it never occurred to us
to ask your Dad.” TJ grinned sheepishly, his arms around Petunia.

“So
some good came of you getting zapped with the Ruby Suit after all!”
Peter rubbed a towel over his daughters dripping hair. “I'd say
being flooded with Ruby Power has made you immune to it!”

“How
cool is that?!” Petunia laughed.

“I
have to ask though, when did you get the Lucky Seven back?” Sunny
held Melody as Patrick rubbed her shoulders.

“I've
been trying to tell everyone how I did it for the past week!” Belle
looked annoyed. “I kept getting interrupted!”

“Well,
no one is going to interrupt you now Beauty. Spill!” Peter grinned.

“Well,
it was after I had that lovely chat with Sunnys Dad…”

–

Belle drove back
towards the suburbs, fuming. How could he believe those things?! How
could he believe it was RIGHT?! It angered her to the point where
she was half tempted to whip out the helmet that was sitting on the
back seat and kick his backside from here to Chitney!

She stopped at a
set of lights and sighed. No use letting him get to her. No use
getting riled up. Belle would win this war eventually, let him win a
battle or two first.

Her eyes floated
down to the fuel gauge, which was nearing empty. She sighed again
and turned off to head towards the petrol station.

She quickly
glanced in the rear view mirror again and tensed up. That helmet was
still there where she'd stuck it because having it in her wardrobe
was becoming unnerving. It was like having Giggles in the back seat
saying “We could finish him, let's go already!”

No. Those days
were over. The fight was now to be fought higher up. That was where
she was needed. At the next set of red lights she grabbed a blanket
from under the passenger-side seat and threw it over the helmet. No
more.

She pulled into
the service station and noticed Master Revolver and a few of his men
fuelling up their truck. She sighed. What a rubbish day!

Master Revolver
didn't seem to notice her however. He was too preoccupied with
getting his bladder emptied while the cronies filled up the truck.

Belle parked the
Elantra as far away she could from the Death Valley Mobsters, putting
the truck between her and them. She was a little scared, the petrol
station was in one of the quieter areas of town, plus a large bush
hid it from the road and if the Mobsters decided they liked the sight
of her, she was finished.

She swiped her
debit card on the bowser and began to fill up, not wanting to have to
go past the truck and into the station. She kept her eye on the
truck as she filled up the Elantra.

One of the
idiots had left the door open and a gun sitting on the front seat.
Hadn't they heard of gun safety?! Belle shook the nozzle from the
bowser off before putting it back, her car filled. Seriously, the
knobs were all hanging out on the other side of the truck, leaving
the cab completely exposed!

She looked again
as she put the nozzle back in the bowser. The gun looked like it was
a rather large Colt. 45. Huh.

Belle was about
to get back into the car when she slapped herself. A large Colt
.45?! THAT WAS NONE OTHER THAN HER LUCKY SEVEN GUN! She had to
get it back!

She quickly
glanced around. The only sounds were the disgusting ones coming from
Master Revolver in the toilets.

She quickly
grabbed the helmet in the back of the car. She then drove the
Elantra out of the station and parked it a little way away behind
another building. She headed back to the petrol station, where
Master Revolver was finishing up in the toilet.

Sucking in her
breath and putting her helmet on, she quickly scooted across the to
the truck, grabbed her gun, shot a few rounds at Master Revolver as
he emerged from the toilets, bolted back to the car, pulled off the
helmet and drove off as quickly as she could, laughing.

–

“You're
kidding, right?” Charlies jaw dropped.

“Nope.”
Belle grinned.

“Was
firing at Revolver REALLY necessary?” Lara frowned.

“Yup.”
Belle grinned.

“So
YOU'RE the one who fired the shots that helped Charlie get the Lions
Claw back!” Thomas said.

“Yup
again.” Belle smirked.

Charlie could
feel his eye beginning to twitch.

“It's been a busy fortnight.” Peter
lounged back in his chair.

“A long, busy fortnight.” Thomas
agreed. “At least Belle is talking to Charlie again.”

“I'm just glad he survived being
shoved out of the tree.” Peter sipped his beer.

The pair were sitting on the bank of
Pleasant Creek, two fishing poles dangling lifelessly in the water.
The bait was probably long gone by now, but neither man had any
inclination to check the end of his line.

“They're figuring it out. Soon it'll
be as if they never left.” Thomas smiled, taking a swig of his
beer. “Hopefully appreciating each other-,”

“And us.” Peter added.

“-more.” Thomas finished as they
toasted their sentence.

The suns heat began to wane as it
floated softly down into its western bed.

“Where ARE the kidlets today anyway?”
Thomas stretched out.

“Lara has taken Madeleine and Ozzie
to see her parents, Belle is hanging out with Charlie and they're
meeting up with the Knights later tonight to go to the movies. Did
you hear about Webster joining them?” Peter gave his fishing rod a
token nudge.

“Maddy had a fit. Betty had to help
calm her down.” Thomas laughed. “Betty can't wait for the twins
to come home from camp, she misses them.”

“It's hard being a parent sometimes.”
Peter sighed.

“I hear you.”

–

“This is where we made our first
stand so many years ago. Can you believe it?” Sir Dark was still
walking with a slight limp, but he was much better now. The Knights
of the Last Order had been training at the tip, until they heard
council workers coming in to inspect the place. So they'd run off
and found themselves at the abandoned private school where Masked
Revolver had met his fate.

“With this still taking up valuable
land I don't understand why Demon wanted the memorial destroyed.”
Lady Courage walked through the ruined classrooms.

“Because the memorial was in a great
location.” Sir Hyper said bitterly, his arm still bandaged. “Did
you hear that Marion only got three weeks community service for
destroying it?!”

“He's not even pretending to be on
the right side of the law any more!” Sir Hedgehog cried angrily.
“And the people of this city just let him get away with it!”

“This place is a crime haven. There
are so many businesses that come here to do their dirty work and
places for them to do it that it's not funny any more. Belle told
me.” Lady Silent croaked.

“Unbelievable. So the DVM aren't the
only threat in town.” Sir Lionheart groaned.

They heard laughter outside, and not of
the fun and joyous variety.

“That sounds like Ruby.” Lady Luck
listened.

“It IS Ruby.” Lady Courage
glowered. She HATED her brother with a passion!

“I desperately want to see who he's
tormenting, but last time we tried to attack him as a group it ended
poorly.” Sir Lionheart groaned. “I hate this situation. Why
Belle couldn't have disposed of the Ruby Suit properly-,”

“Don't you DARE blame Belle for
this!” Lady Luck fumed. “For all they knew the Suit was busted
after what it did to her!”

“And just leaving it in the tip was a
good idea?!” Sir Lionheart growled.

“I hear Knights!” The voice of Ruby
floated through the school.

The Knights froze. Sir Hedgehog
reached out and pushed the face of his grey watch in and prayed that
Chuckles and Giggles would see it.

–

“Cheeky little brats!” Belle cried
as her siblings laughed with glee. The front of her shirt was soaked
with water from the bathtub where Oscar and Madeleine were having
their bath.

Belle grinned as she splashed the two
back.

“That floor had better be dry when I
get in there!” Lara yelled from downstairs.

“Uhhh…” Belle and Ozzie looked
around. A thin layer of water covered the entire surface of the
tiled floor.

“Figures.” Lara appeared at the
door. She laughed at Belles shirt. “They use you to try and mop
up the floor did they?”

Belle grinned.

“You go and get changed, I'll handle
these two.” Lara grabbed Madeleine and hauled her out of the bath.
Belle headed back to her bedroom and was about to get changed when
she noticed a grey light coming from her desk.

“Sir Hedgehog is in trouble.” She
looked at the red watch. The arrow was pointing in the direction of
the old abandoned school.

She sighed and looked out of her
window. Charlie was waving madly at her.

“I was driving past and I saw it.
Ruby Daryl has got them!” He squeaked.

“I shouldn't have left the Ruby Suit
at the tip. This is all my fault.” Belle sighed.

“You guys didn't know that the thing
still worked! We were just grateful to get if off you and away from
here!” Charlie swallowed hard. “We were terrified you weren't
going to survive and that everything Joe had done had been in vain.”

Belle looked back at the watch. Part
of her wanted to turn away, say that she couldn't do that sort of
thing any more, that her fight was higher up.

But she knew that if she didn't have
the support from down the bottom, that she'd never get up the ladder.
The people of Pleasantville needed the courage to want to change,
and the only way that was going to happen was if their heroes,
Chuckles, Giggles and the Knights of the Last Order stayed true to
their cause.

Plus smacking the pants off Daryl
sounded like fun.

“Let's get going then.” Giggles
grabbed the watch and the rest of her gear and followed Chuckles to
the old school.

–

Lady Luck ducked her head as another
Ruby Blast shattered the wall above her. She tightened the bandage
around Lady Courages bleeding arm.

“I can't do any more.” She looked
sadly at her friend, who was badly bruised and battered.

“It's okay Lady Luck. You've done
your best.” Lady Courage staggered to her feet as Sir Hyper went
flying past them.

“He got my arm again! I can't feel
it!” The young man cried. Lady Luck ran to try and help her
friend, but copped a Ruby Shard to the leg, immobilising her.

“You lot are making this too easy.”
Ruby sneered. He floated above the wounded Knights of the Last
Order, all of them looking sad and sorry for themselves.

Sir Lionheart couldn't move his legs
due to the Ruby Shards, Sir Darks ankle was flaring up again, Lady
Luck was immobilised, Lady Courages arm was broken again, Sir
Hedgehog had been knocked out along with Sir Hyper and Lady Silent
was nursing some bruised ribs.

“What do you guys honestly think
you're doing?” Ruby laughed. “You honestly thought you stood a
chance against 200 years of history? You can't change this city, no
one can change this city. If people don't like it, they're welcome
to leave.”

“If they can.” Spat Sir Dark.

“Not our fault if people dig
themselves into holes they can't get out of.” Ruby shrugged.
“Anyway, you lot are pitiful. I bet you reckon you're all heroes
too.”

“We tried.” Sir Lionheart gasped
for air.

“Maybe we might make a memorial for
you. Something to remind people never to challenge the status-quo
again.” Ruby lifted up his hand and the Ruby Power began to gather
in his hand. The conscious Knights reached out for each other,
prepared to make a last stand against the might of the Ruby Blast.

“Be brave Knights.” Sir Lionheart
glared into the eyes of Ruby Daryl.

“Let this be a lesson to all of
Pleasantville.” Ruby hissed as he lifted his arm to throw the Ruby
Blast.

A gunshot sounded and Ruby screamed.
The Ruby Blast oozed out of his hand and sank to the ground
harmlessly, where it disappeared leaving a small hollow in the
ground. The mounted block on his shoulder had ruptured where the
bullet had hit it.

“Sorry we're late guys.” Chuckles
stepped out from the shadows, grinning. “You're screwed now Ruby.”

“Says who?! Who shot me?!” Ruby
screamed in fury.

“That would have been me.”

Behind and above Ruby floated none
other than the original Giggles.

And in her hand was the Lucky Seven
Gun.