Author: Crofton77

The rest of the camp flew by in a blur
of fun. Although enjoying themselves as much as possible, the seven friends made sure to keep an eye out for Sunny, who seemed to be in a
constant state of fury. Even Daryl was wary of his sister!

Soon, it was time to go home, much to
the sadness of everyone. The seven friends were lucky enough to
snaffle the back of one of the buses, where they could talk easily.

“My last time at school camp.”
Daniel sighed.

“And we only have one more left.”
Belle turned to Charlie, who sighed too.

“We have loads more left!” Sammy
grinned cheekily.

“Yeah, but you have more years left
of being bossed around.” TJ poked the younger boys forehead.

“Oww!” Sammy rubbed his head.

“So, have you two decided what you're
going to do about Marion and Revolver? Dingbat is on warden duty in
a month.” TJ mentioned, turning to Belle and Charlie.

“Put him back in gaol?” Charlie
grinned.

“Easier said than done. We're just
going to end up having to put him back every single time he escapes.”
Belle groaned.

“It'll be fun!”

“It'll be dangerous.”

“Shush you lot! I'm TRYING to catch
a nap here!” Petunia frowned at them. Tammy shot them all a dirty
look. She had been about to doze off too.

Belle looked out of the window. Her
thoughts turned to Sunny. After everything that had happened between
them, why did she suddenly feel the urge to protect her long-time nemesis?

–

That night the friends had dinner at
Belles place. Everyone loved Bills cooking, and Joes stories made
the night all the more interesting.

“Big game on tonight too between the
Leos and the Mynahs.” Daniel grinned at Charlie as they cleaned up
their steaks. The Collymoddle Mynahs were one of the most despised
teams in the competition, and unfortunately also one of the best.

“It'll be fine. With Jackson Blue,
Louis Tiger and Joe Patrick in red-hot form, we'll whomp them.”
Peter piped up.

“Don't forget Tony Rockcrusher.”
Sammy added.

Belle was excited. It was the first
time she had ever had so many friends over. The house was filled
with laughter and fun, and she was so happy that she finally had so
many people she could hang out with.

Finishing up her dinner, Belle took her
plate to the sink to rinse it off for her uncle. She looked out the
window.

In the opposite window, Sunny was busy
scrubbing dishes. She looked lonely and sad, and Belle almost felt
bad for her. She WAS lucky compared to Sunny – while she had to do
chores as well, her father, uncle and grandfather helped her and each
other where ever they could.

Sunny looked up and scowled, drawing
the curtain across the window. Belle frowned and shook off whatever
pity she had for the bully before heading back to hang out with the
rest of the crew. They had gotten out the board games, and were
having a blast.

Charlie was about to roll the dice for
his next turn, when a bump and some laughter was heard from next
door. It was pretty much ignored, they were used to it, but Belle
couldn't let it go. What was happening in that household? Was Sunny
okay?

“You're distressed Beauty. Are you
holding something back?” Peter asked as he took his turn.

“No…yes…kinda.” Belle looked
towards the kitchen.

“Are you worried about Sunny?”
Sammy asked.

“She was mean to us Belle, don't
worry about her.” TJ said bluntly, annoyed that Peter had just
taken the lead off him.

Charlie looked at Belle. “It's
against the Code for a Masters to just let things go. They don't
ever hold back.”

“What about Sunny?” Joe asked. The
children told him about what had happened at camp between them. Joe
sat back and looked thoughtful.

“You're right to be concerned little
one.” He finally said to Belle. “No one should have to live like
that. It probably explains why she was so mean to you.”

“Because she hates me.” Belle
sighed.

“She probably likes you very much.”
Joe corrected kindly. “But she's jealous – very, very jealous.
You have everything that she's craved all her life.”

“That's no excuse for being mean to
us!” Charlie yelped.

“No, but it's part of the reason.
It's very complicated.” Joe leaned forward. “It explains a lot
of why the pair of them are the way they are. Daryl has always been
spoilt, and Sunny has always been second fiddle to him. I'd love to
throttle Jones if I wasn't a civilised man.”

“So what can we do?” Belle asked.

“You can't. No one can do anything.
He's not exactly abusing her is he?” Petunia said slowly.

Tammy looked deep in thought. Then she
jumped up and tapped her watch.

“The Knights of the Last Order? What
could they do?” Daniel asked.

“Count me out.” TJ said.

“Me too.” Sammy agreed. “She was
too mean to us.”

“Chuckles and Giggles will go.”
Charlie stood up.

“Are you sure the situation even
calls for that sort of force?” Belle rolled her eyes.

Sure enough, a cry of pain came from
next door. Sunny's voice.

“Seriously?!” Belle got up and
followed Charlie upstairs, where they got into their Chuckles and
Giggles attire. The pair then snuck next door and peered in a
window.

“Daryl!” Sunny cried, trying to get
her doll back.

“Go and clean the toilet first!”
Daryl laughed, holding up the doll above her head. It was a
beautiful male doll, wearing a neat tuxedo and with a porcelain face.

“I DID clean it!” Sunny tried. To
Giggles, Sunny looked sad and tired, nothing like the fiery bully she
knew.

“Not good enough! Do it again!”
Daryl commanded.

Sunny spared a glance through an
archway to her parents, who were in the other room watching
television. “Daryl please, don't hurt Ramjet.” She begged.

“Wonder what would happen if I
smashed its face on the tiles.” Daryl mocked.

He threw the doll to the ground. Just
before it hit the hard tiles, it was caught be a speeding Giggles!

“What the hell?!” Daryl cried. He
moved to attack Giggles, but was stopped by the appearance of the
Lions Claw Blade in his path.

“DAD!” He yelled, terrified of the
combined might of Chuckles and Giggles.

Mr. Jones ran in. He prided himself on
being a law-abiding, straight-edge man of the highest
standard, and to see that two of the towns vigilantes were in his
house greatly disturbed him.

“What is going on here?” He
growled.

“Why is Daryl picking on Sunny?”
Giggles asked.

“And why aren't you doing anything
about it?” Chuckles added.

“I don't see how it's any business of
yours how I raise my children. I request that you leave my house at
once. You are trespassing on private property.” Mr. Jones glared
at the pair of them.

Giggles handed Sunny her doll back.
“You deserve better than this. Everyone does.”

She turned to Mr. Jones and Daryl.
“You two should be ashamed of yourselves. Sunny's a human being
too, no matter the circumstances of her birth.”

“You have no right sticking your
noses into business that doesn't concern you.” Mr. Jones warned.
“I'm surprised you two haven't been arrested yet.” He stepped
towards them.

“Get out and stay out. And learn to
mind your own business, no one asked you to come in and martyr
yourselves.”

The pair left, both shaken by what had
happened.

They got back home and changed back to
their civilian clothes, then headed downstairs as the football game
was starting.

“How did it go?” Bill asked as the
pair sat down.

“We didn't change a thing.” Belle
hugged her knees. “We couldn't save Sunny.”

“Don't be so sure. These things take
time little one.” Joe put a reassuring hand on her head.

For interests sake, the Leos won 25.2
(152) to 1.19 (25) that night.

–

The next day, the friends headed to the
tip to hang out and train a little bit.

“Hi-YAH!” Sir Hyper swung his
nun chucks haphazardly at Sir Dark, who rolled out of the way and
counterattacked. Both were laughing.

“This is training?” Giggles asked
Sir Lionheart.

“Yup! So what if it isn't the
super-training you and Chuckles have had, at least we're having fun.”
Sir Lionheart said defensively.

“You really need to be more careful.”
Lady Luck was bandaging up Chuckles, who had fallen from a pile of
old TV sets laughing at the “training”.

“My bad.” Chuckles was still
chortling.

Lady Silent had one eye on the monitors
and another on her brother being silly with his best friends. She
looked towards the monitors again, not expecting to see much (crime
in Pleasantville usually took Saturdays off). She gasped.

Sunny Jones was headed right towards
them!

Lady Silent bolted out of the den and
raced towards Sir Lionheart. She grabbed his arm, jumping up and
down like mad.

“What is it Tammy?” He asked.

“So, this is where you lot hide out.
I'd heard rumours.”

It was too late. Sunny Jones had made
it to the den where the heroes were hiding out!

“Sunny.” Giggles said.

“Cut the rubbish.” Sunny snapped.
“I know it's you Masters.”

Everyone froze.

“And I know your little friends are
the Knights of the Last Order too.” Sunny continued. “So take
off the masks and let me fight you face-to-face!”

“Why do you want to fight us for when
all we did was try to help you?!” Lady Luck roared furiously.

“Do you know how much trouble I'm
in!? My parents aren't talking to me at the moment because YOU
couldn't keep your stupid nose out of it!” Sunny fired back. “Your
disgusting holier-than-thou attitude is beyond a joke!”

“Hold your tongue!” Sir Lionheart
stepped forward. “We have been trying to do the right thing!”

“And that gives you the right to
interfere in things that never concerned you?” Sunny fumed.

“You're being abused you stupid brat,
can't you see that?!” Sir Dark yelped.

“Everything was fine before you
stepped in!” Sunny was furious. Inside her felt like molten lava,
she was hurt, jealous, angry, upset and alone.

“Get out and leave us alone.”
Chuckles stepped forward. Sunny scoffed.

“I know all of your identities. If I
went to the police right now, you'd all be screwed.” She smirked.

She flinched as the Lions Claw Blade
was pointed at her, inches from her chin.

Giggles stepped forward, putting an arm
across Chuckles chest.

“No Chuckles. Let me handle this.”
She said calmly. She thought of what her grandfather said about
things taking time. The wounds Sunny had endured wouldn't heal
instantly. Until they did, she needed help. Fighting with her
wasn't going to help anything.

“Sunny, we're sorry we caused you so
much trouble.” She said.

Sunny stepped back. An apology?!

“We never intended to make things
worse for you, we just wanted to help.”

“You condescending bitch!” Sunny
screamed in fury. She flew at Giggles, who shot up into the sky and
over Sunny, landing behind her.

Sunny spun around quickly and grabbed
Giggles, trying to hit her. Giggles grabbed Sunny back and flew them
both into the air. She let Sunny go and kicked her into a nearby
pile of mouldy old mattresses.

Sunny finally landed on the ground with
a soft “thud” and lay on the ground crying. Lady Luck bolted to
her side to try and fix her up. Sunny submitted weakly, too tired to
carry on.

“You'll be okay Sunny.” Giggles
landed in front of them. She took off her helmet. “We'll be your
friends and look out for you.”

Sunny looked up at Belle, before
nodding weakly.

She had nothing else left.

“Sammy, get in the canoe.”

“No.”

“C'mon Sammy, it'll be fun!:”

“No.”

“Sammy please, you got to at least
try.”

“No.”

“Sammy-,”

“NO.”

Sammy stood well away from the lake
where Daniel and TJ were trying to coax him into the water and into
the canoe. Ever since the car accident that had taken Tammys voice,
Sammy had been terrified of water, especially big bodies of water
such as pools, lakes and the ocean. The car (driven by their erratic
uncle) had gone speeding into Lake Pleasantville. Thankfully, the
car had landed in shallow water, but it was still enough to cover the
car. Tammy had slept through the whole thing, but Sammy remembered
everything, from the water flooding into the car to the people who
had rescued them.

“Sam, come on, you have to face your
fear sometime.” Daniel tried.

“No.” Sammy sat down firmly on the
dry grass. “You can't make me!”

“Come on, we'll get a canoe with
Petunia.” TJ sighed.

Tammy grabbed Belles hand.

“Of course you can come with Charlie
and I!” Belle grinned at her.

They picked out a pair of canoes and
headed down to the lake. It was a beautiful day at Camp Tall
Parakeet on the Silver Coast, great for some fun out on the water.
The school had arrived at the camp the day before, and the scholars
were looking forward to a week of fun and sun!

“It's ON!” Daniel cried, splashing
water at Tammy, Belle and Charlie. Tammy steadied her paddle, then
swept it through the water, sending a considerable amount over
Daniel, Petunia and TJ.

“Who knew the littlest of us was the
strongest!” Belle laughed.

“You gotta watch that one, she's a
fierce little tiger!” Petunia splashed at her.

The friends were having a good time,
even Sammy cheered from the safety of the shore. Of course, it
wasn't to last.

Sunny and Daryl had also come to camp.
Since the day at the tip, the Jones siblings had found it harder to
pick on Belle and Charlie, owing to the fact that they now had the
numbers behind them to defend themselves. However, the Jones
siblings still took advantage of every chance they could get to make
the lives of the seven friends miserable.

The two Jones siblings had a canoe to
themselves, and were watching the frivolity from afar. They saw
Belle and Charlies canoe swing away from the other canoe, trying to
put some distance between them so they could launch another attack.

“Start paddling.” Daryl grinned at
Sunny. Sunny simply grimaced, nodded, and began to paddle. She had
grown into a tall, determined, beautiful teenager, although she still
had a tiny scar under her eye.

The pair made a beeline towards Tammy,
Belle and Charlie. The two canoes crashed and the three friends were
sent flying into the water.

“TAMMY!” Petunia cried, reaching
over to grab her best friend. Tammy held on to the side of the canoe
and glared at the Jones siblings, who were laughing hysterically.
Suddenly, the pair were launched into the water – Belle and Charlie
had swum underneath the siblings canoe and overturned it!

The friends all roared with laughter.
Belle swam over to their overturned canoe, planning to right it and
get back in, when she felt something grab her foot. Without warning
she was back under the water, struggling to get back to the surface
and fill her lungs with air. Whatever had her was dragging her down
as far as it could. She saw a shadow move up past her, pushing her
back down into the depths of the water before surfacing.

She struggled as fast as she could to
get back to the surface, her lungs burning. The light of day seemed
so far away!

Something grabbed her hand, and pulled
her up into the air. She spluttered and gasped for air, holding on
to Charlie who had pulled her out. Daryl was wearing a smirk, and
Sunny was trying to get back into her canoe.

She looked up at Daniel, TJ and
Petunia. Together, the seven friends headed back to the shore. Sammy
hugged his sister the moment they were on dry ground, then suddenly
he hugged Belle too.

“That was mean what they did.” He
said. “I saw Daryl duck you.”

“I know. It wasn't very nice.”
Belle hugged him back. They all made their way back to the camp to
dry off and lick their wounds.

Soon, they were hard at the table
tennis. Belle and Charlie lost every game they played, including the
one they played against each other.

“That…that…” Daniel looked
stunned.

“That is REALLY bad.” Sammy filled
in.

“At least we're trying, right?”
Charlie asked. Everyone groaned.

They heard some noise outside. Belle
poked her head out of the door. “Everyone's heading back now,
we'll have to go to assembly soon.”

“Ah well.” TJ yawned.

The group headed out and followed the
crowd back to the cabins. Along the way, they saw something that
would change things forever.

“Daryl, cut it out!” Sunny cried as
Daryl flicked her with a towel behind some bushes. His moronic
friends laughed.

“Don't be mean Daryl, stop picking on
me Daryl.” Daryl mimed his sister cruelly. “You wouldn't even
duck that unwanted bastard!”

“We'd already gotten her and her
stupid boyfriend, why make things worse?” Sunny argued.

“I'm not your boyfriend.” Charlie
looked at Belle indignantly. Belle looked back, just as peeved.

“You've always been soft. I remember
that stupid kitten you got upset at me about.” Daryl sneered.

“Meow…” Belle whispered, turning
back to the argument.

“Anyway at least I'm not like you.
YOU actually hate her!” Daryl laughed.

Sunny growled. Belle looked at her
from behind the bushes in horror. Sunny looked towards her feet. It
wasn't hate. It was a million times worse.

“You can't even deny it.” Daryl
shoved her to the ground. “You're just as unwanted as her – you
weren't even meant to be born. Mum and Dad wanted another boy too.”

“Daryl is REALLY mean!” Petunia
whispered.

Belle wanted to be happy. She wanted
to revel in Sunnys pain. She wanted to walk away and leave the
scene. But something stopped her.

A Masters never holds back.

It was wrong what
Daryl was doing to his sister. Belle couldn't stand back and watch
it happen.

She bolted out of
the bushes and slapped Daryl hard.

“Your
sister may be a cow, but she didn't do anything to you!” Belle
roared.

“BELLE!”
Charlie ran out beside her. Petunia and Tammy ran to help up Sunny
(who shook them off) and Daniel, TJ and Sammy stood with Charlie.

“How
pathetic.” Daryl sneered. “Two unwanted children.”

“Belle
IS wanted thank you!” TJ fumed.

“You
should see how much her father loves her!” Daniel added.

“And
she's our friend!” Charlie finished.

“Whatever.”
Daryl walked off, his friends in tow.

“Are
you okay?” Belle asked, turning to Sunny.

Sunny was blind
with rage. This girl, this stupid little girl who had been dumped on
her fathers doorstep as a baby with pneumonia and on the brink of
death, this stupid little girl whose father would do ANYTHING for
her, this stupid little girl who had best friends and an uncle and a
grandfather and now she'd really ticked off her older brother and she
had no right to do that and she had no right to care and…

“DON'T
you DARE speak to me!” Sunny thundered. She knew she was crying,
but she was beyond caring. “You don't know ANYTHING!”

She shoved Tammy
and Petunia to the ground in anger.

“Sunny,
what's going on?” Petunia asked.

“Just…Just
shut up!” Sunny roared. She glared at Belle.

“You
have everything. A father who loves you, an uncle and a grandfather
who would die for you, a friend who you've had for life, MORE friends
who think the world of you! Why did YOU get that?! You weren't
meant to be born either! I bet you never have to be silent around
the house because you're a disturbance, or have to do all the chores
because you're one mouth too many!” Sunny was beyond anything at
that point. She ran off, crying.

“I
HATE ALL OF YOU!”

The friends stood
there in shock, all of them troubled by what had just happened.

“What
on earth does she mean, 'not meant to be born'?” Belle looked
confused.

“Beats
me.” Daniel said. “But I think we've figured out why she's so
mean to you.”

“Explains
Daryl too.” Charlie said bitterly. Belle thought of something.

“Have
you ever noticed that Sunny always has a cut or a bruise somewhere on
her?” She asked.

The others looked
at each other.

“You
know, I think you're right.” Petunia said slowly.

“I
really wonder what goes on in that Jones household.” Charlie said.

The old bell on top
of the camp hall rang out, and the seven friends made their way over
for the assembly.

With the leaders of the Death Valley
Gang and the Mobsters of Misneach out of commission (at least until
bail was posted), the crime rate in Pleasantville dropped
significantly. However, there was still enough action to keep
Chuckles and Giggles busy.

“I don't like it.” Thomas said to
Peter as the two youngsters made their way inside their respective
homes after one such escapade a few weeks later.

“I don't either. But it keeps them
amused.” Peter replied, sipping his beer.

Joe had taken to training Belle in
strategy on her spare afternoons, plus Charlie had constant phone
calls from his grandfather talking about sword fighting, so the pair
were never bored. Life was becoming full for the pair of them,
especially with the school camp coming up.

“What a month.” Belle lay on a mess
of branches in the tree. Charlie hung off a lower branch, watching
the creek that ran behind the houses.

“It's nice to finally have a day
off.” He said.

“Did you hear about Marion?” Belle
asked.

“What about her?” Charlie sighed,
not really interested.

“One year total, six months suspended
sentence. She'll be out in five months.” She replied. “Daddy
tried, but she's too well-connected.”

“You're kidding me!” Charlie
groaned.

“Nope.” Belle sighed. Belle was of
the opinion that her father was the best prosecutor in the world, but
even he couldn't compete with the corruption of the Pleasantville
council.

“And it's only a matter of time
before Master Revolver escapes…again.” Charlie rolled his eyes.
“First night Dingbat is on duty at the gaol and there'll be a
breakout.”

The pair sighed. Suddenly there was a
small but audible “Bang!” coming from the tip.

“Again?” Belle perked up.

“Police haven't found anything
suspicious Belle, so don't worry about it.” Charlie yawned. Belle
glared at him. He blinked.

“Oh…right…” He mumbled
sheepishly. “Does this mean no more day off?”

–

It did.

“There's no one HERE Giggles, can we
please go home and go play some Lethal Fight now?” Chuckles groaned
as the pair searched the area where the noise had come from.

“Footprints, Chuckles. Lots and lots
of footprints.” Giggles snapped the visor of her helmet back down.
“In a tip that is apparently deserted most of the time.”

“And we're going to follow said
footprints?” Chuckles followed Giggles as she headed towards some
old cars.

She held up one finger to silence him,
and walked towards the cars slowly. She pulled out the Lucky Seven
Gun, and suddenly banged it on the bonnet of one of the cars.

“OW!!!” Cried a voice inside the
car.

“Sir Hyper?” Giggles asked. Within
seconds, Chuckles and Giggles were surrounded by the Knights of the
Last Order!

Chuckles drew out the Lions Claw Blade
and stood with his back to Giggles.

“So. You're the ones who have been
making that noise.” Giggles said.

“And what if we are?” Sir Lionheart
stepped forward. “You have no business here.”

“Please don't fight, we're on the
same side here.” Lady Luck pleaded.

“Or are we?” Sir Dark glowered
beneath his hockey mask. The Knights were all covered in various
bits of metal and padding, probably trying to simulate armour. Sir
Lionheart had an orange Lion on his chest, Sir Dark had a white unlit
candle on his, Lady Luck had a green four-leaf clover and Sir Hyper
and Lady Silent had yellow lightening bolts.

“Stand down Sir Dark!” Sir
Lionheart warned.

“We've helped each other out before.”
Sir Hyper piped up. “And you guys are good.”

“Thanks.” Giggles couldn't help but
grin.

“How about we trust each other. On
the count of three, we all take off our masks.” Lady Luck
suggested.

“What do you say Giggles?” Chuckles
asked.

“I don't see that there's anything to
lose by working with these guys.” Giggles agreed.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

“HAVEN'T WE SEEN YOU GUYS AT
SCHOOL?!” Everyone cried.

“You're Belle and Charlie, right?”
Daniel asked.

“Yeah, and you're Daniel and TJ.”
Belle replied.

“And you're Petunia, Tammy and
Sammy.” Charlie added.

“Wait, aren't you the guys who saved
us a few years ago when the DVG attacked the old private school?”
Asked Belle.

“We sure helped!” Sammy grinned.

“Thanks for that.” Belle smiled
back.

“And you two are the ones who Daryl
Jones really has it in for.” Daniel said.

“Yeah.” Charlie sighed. “Although
I don't know what I ever did to him.”

“You could hang out with us, his
group don't have the strength to deal with us as well as you.”
Petunia pointed out.

“Tunia!” TJ groaned.

“Well why shouldn't they hang out
with us? The only reason Daryl targets them is because he has his
posse. If these two started hanging out with us, he wouldn't be able
to hurt any of us. You DO remember what he did to Sammy in school
yesterday right?” Petunia frowned at her friend.

“I guess so.” TJ sighed.

“We don't want to cause any trouble.”
Belle offered.

“It's no trouble, TJ is just
stubborn.” Sammy giggled. “I like you guys!”

Belle and Charlie grinned sheepishly.

“Although if you're going to hang out
with us, you should probably have watches.” Daniel pointed out.

“Watches?” Charlie asked..

Tammy produced two snap wristbands, one
blue and one red. Both were rather thick and bulky, with a black
face on both of them.

“Tammy made them, she's great with
electronics.” Daniel smiled. “She's managed to hack into just
about every security system in the city – it's how we keep track of
everything.”

“Those watches we use to communicate.
If someone is in trouble, they just push the face in-,” Petunia
demonstrated. Suddenly, every ones watches started vibrating and a
green arrow showed on the screens, pointing at Petunia.

“Awesome.” Belle grinned. Her
father would certainly appreciate something like this!

“We each have a different colour –
Dan is orange, TJ is white, Tunia is green, and I'm yellow. If all
the colours show up at once, it means Tammy and home base are in
trouble.” Sammy explained. Tammy smiled and led the group into a
large pipe that had long since been buried in earth and rubbish.
Inside was a desk with several keyboards attached to what looked like
old computers, and the back wall and the sides were littered with old
monitors, each showing what was going on in Pleasantville.

Tammy pushed a red button, and all of
the watches lit up with the colours orange, white, green, yellow,
red, blue, purple and grey.

“Who are the purple and grey colours
for?” Charlie asked.

“No one yet, Tammy just thought it'd
be a good idea to have extras in case we have new people come in.”
Sammy beamed at his twin sister, who grinned back.

“Amazing!” Belle looked at the set
up.

“By the way, what on earth have you
guys been doing to cause all the banging that's been happening?”
Charlie asked.

“Sparring. Sometimes things get too
rough and things get knocked around. Today we managed to knock a
gutted car off it's pile into another pile…which knocked the whole
lot down.” Daniel rubbed his neck sheepishly.

“How…?” Belle looked dumbfounded.

“We were pretending the piles of cars
were buildings and jumping all over them. Luckily no one was hurt.”
Petunia frowned at the boys.

“Buildings are no problem for me –
I can fly!” Belle laughed

“I have to ask though – how on
earth CAN you fly?!” TJ asked Belle, getting over his stubbornness.

“My Dad made this for me. It took him
years.” Belle showed them the Backpack. She then jumped up and
suspended herself about a foot off the ground. “It's fun.” She
couldn't help but brag.

And then the Backpack malfunctioned
slightly and she landed on her backside.

“That happens sometimes.” She had
to admit. Everyone laughed.

–

After that, the seven heroes became
good friends. They were always seen together at school, they often
hung out at the tip having mock battles and lots of laughs and their
parents soon became friends too. Best of all was the School Camp,
because finally Belle and Charlie could go without fearing what would
happen to them.

Well, almost.

 “Where's my daughter?” Peter asked,
walking down the stairs.

“Dunno.” Replied Bill, basting a
chicken as Meow looked on. “Don't even think about it.” He
warned the cat as she licked one of her paws.

“Where's my daughter?” Peter turned
to Joe.

“No idea.” Joe continued watching
the television.

Peter frowned. He walked over next
door.

“Hey Tom, seen Beauty anywhere?” He
walked into the Beglys kitchen.

“No. Have you seen Charlie?”
Thomas replied, grabbing a pair of beers out of the fridge.

“Nope. They're in trouble aren't
they?”

“I'll bet.”

–

Belle jumped off the bus and landed on
a roof. She checked the strap of the Backpack where the charge meter
sat. Still had plenty of juice, but she had to be careful. She
wandered around the city, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

Soon enough, she saw two young boys
being chased by a pack of thugs.

“Chasing children?! Seriously.” She
jumped down between the thugs and the boys.

“Greetings citizens. What seems to
be the issue?” She asked.

“Little brats, their father owes us
money.” One growled.

“Oh?” Belle asked.

“Move.” Another stepped forward.
“Before we call Master Revolver.”

“And what exactly is HE going to do?”
Belle asked, folding her arms. The two boys quickly looked behind
them gratefully, before rushing off onto the nearest bus.

“Now they're gone! You're going to
pay for this Missy!” The first thug growled.

Belle rolled her eyes behind the
helmet. She pulled out the Lucky Seven Gun, to the gasps and
shudders from the thugs. “Of course I am.”

“Revolvers gun!” The thug stepped
back. “You really ARE in trouble!”

“Where IS Revolver? Robbing an old
lady somewhere?” Belle asked.

“Actually, yes. A couple of streets
over.” The thug said, pointing in the direction of his boss. Belle
immediately took off in the direction he pointed in, just in time to
kick Master Revolver in the head and stop him from taking the poor
womans purse.

“Why thank you!” The old lady
breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hold on to me, I'll get you out of
here.” Belle said, lifting up the woman and flying her away.

“Come back here!” Master Revolver
yelled angrily.

“You hide in here, I'm going to go
and deal with Mr. Grumpy Pants down there.” Belle sat the woman up
on a balcony next to a small family who had been watching. She flew
back over Master Revolver, who shot at her with an old sawn-off
shotgun.

He missed.

“Cop this you flog!” Belle cried,
pulling out the Lucky Seven Gun again and shooting the shotgun out of
Master Revolvers hands.

He growled, watching the young
vigilante floating above him. How'd she come to have HIS gun?!

“You're stuffed Revolver, you can't
beat-,” Suddenly, the Backpack gave out, and Belle dropped to the
ground, her fall being broken by some garbage.

“You were saying?” Master Revolver
grinned, advancing on her. Belle pointed the Lucky Seven Gun at him.
He laughed.

“Go on, shoot me. I dare you to.”
He sneered.

A Masters will never willingly take
the life of another.

Darn the Code!
Belle couldn't even bring herself to want to kill the man in front of
her, ever since she was little the Masters Code had been drummed into
her.

She just couldn't
shoot.

“Just
as I thought.” Master Revolver grinned. He moved forward to
attack, only to get smacked in the head with a poorly-made nun-chuck.

“Sir
Hyper!” He growled.

“Hi!
How are ya?” Sir Hyper asked pleasantly. Belle used the cover to
reach back and switch the Backpack into charge mode. It would still
be a long time before she could fly again.

While it was
charging however, she could still kick some backside! She shot up
and tackled Master Revolver to the ground before jumping up and
running. Sir Hyper wasn't far behind her, and they both managed to
escape before Master Revolver recovered.

“That
was nice how you saved that old lady.” Sir Hyper said as they
walked down a neutral street. Both were relieved to have escaped so
easily.

“I
try.” Belle grinned underneath the helmet.

“Anyway,
I need to go and find the rest of the Order. Would you like to come
with me?” Sir Hyper looked at his watch. It was a big watch with
lots of lights on it.

“No
thanks. I need to get Revolver arrested.” Belle replied.

“Oh.
Okay then. If you like, I can get the rest of the Order and we can
help.” He looked up at her expectantly.

“That'd
be nice, thank you.” Belle smiled, happy to have some back-up.

“Hold
it.”

The pair spun
around. The other masked vigilante was back, the Lions Claw Blade
strapped to his back. Belle marvelled at its size, it was almost as
tall as her!

“It's
not safe to go after Revolver. You should know better Sir Hyper.”
The disguised Charlie told them off. Belle scowled.

“I
don't know who you are, but you can't tell me what to do!” She
snapped. Sir Hyper looked worriedly between the pair.

“I'm
going to get the rest of the Order, stay here!” He bolted.

The pair stared at
each other, neither recognising the other.

“You're
just going to get yourself killed.” Charlie warned.

“Yeah,
like you're not in danger yourself, Chuckles.” Belle snapped back.

“Chuckles
huh? Bet you're just a bag of Giggles. Go home.” Charlie fought
back.

“Chuckles
and Giggles hey? Either way, you're both going to pay for getting in
my road!”

The pair spun
around. Master Revolver had returned with five of his best henchmen
(which really isn't saying much, since henchmen = cannon fodder, but
I digress).

“You're
going down Revolver!” Belle readied herself for a fight. Charlie
drew the Lions Claw Blade.

“Huh.
Two of you huh? Against the might of the Death Valley Gang?” Master
Revolver grinned as two shots rung out. They barely missed the two
heroes, who bolted and hid.

“Damn
him!” Charlie groaned. “He has snipers!”

“We're
doomed. Might as well give up now.” Belle flopped down, dejected.
This certainly hadn't been her brightest idea.

“I
wouldn't say that just yet Giggles, I have a bit of magic on me.”
Charlie grinned. Belle rolled her eyes. “I'm serious, if I go out
there and fight right now I'd win easily.”

“Chill
it Chuckles, you'd be dead within seconds if you didn't take out
either the henchmen or the snipers first.” Belle told him.

“There's
an unfinished wall over there, one blast from one of those snipers
and it will come down all over the henchmen.” Charlie pointed out.

“The
chances of that happening are slim to – WAIT!” Belle cried as
Charlie ran out. Almost immediately the shots started. Belle could
see one of the snipers from where she was. He was on top of a
building nearby, and was too focused on Charlie to pay any attention
to her. A sudden beep told her that the Backpack had collected
enough CO2 to power her for another ten minutes.

She looked up at
the sniper. Taking off as quietly as she could she crept up behind
the sniper and kicked the rifle he had off the building.

“Uh…”
He threw up his hands as Belle pointed the Lucky Seven Gun at him.
She saw a cable nearby and used it to tie his hands together.

Meanwhile, Charlies
plan had worked. The wall had been hit, and bricks showered down on
the henchmen. One managed to escape, but his weapon was quickly shot
out of his hands by Belle. Charlie then went after the other sniper,
who had been on ground level, while Belle went after Master Revolver.

“So.
You can fly again.” He growled at her as she hovered maddingly
overhead.

“Yup.
Give up now?” She asked cheekily.

“No.”
Master Revolver was about to pull out another handgun, when red and
blue lights flooded the area.

Master Revolver was
busted.

Belle quickly flew
away from the scene, heading back to the tip. It was lucky that the
stupid plan had worked, even though it defied all logic…

Belle stopped in
midair. Defied logic? Dumb luck?

That wasn't magic
at all. That was the Improbability Clause.

Chuckles was none
other than her best friend Charlie Begly!

And sure enough,
when she got to the tip, she saw Chuckles taking off his disguise.

“So,
Chuckles. How long have you been keeping secrets from your BEST
FRIEND OF TEN YEARS?!” Belle fumed.

Charlie spun
around. Giggles was standing there, and even though he couldn't see
her face, her body language was enough to let anyone know that she
was FURIOUS.

“Belle?”
He asked. “You're Giggles?”

Giggles pulled off
the helmet and there stood Belle Masters.

“Well…I
WOULD lecture you on putting yourself in danger, but it would
probably be a tad hypocritical.” Charlie stared, dumbfounded.

“REALLY?”
Belle snapped. She then giggled.

Charlie shook his
head, but he too chuckled.

“Our
plans to get rid of the Death Valley Gang and the Mobsters of
Misneach worked!” He laughed.

“Yeah,
and for a while, we're safe!” Belle grabbed his hands and the pair
danced around in circles.

–

Peter Masters
wasn't a strict father. He had his expectations of Belle for
certain, but he knew it was up to her to choose her own path. He was
just there to teach her the skills she'd need to survive and thrive.
He rarely scolded her, prefering to talk to her and show her what was
expected.

So when Meow, Bill
and Joe saw how absolutely livid he was, they both remained as silent
as humanly (and felinely) possible. A news crew had captured the
whole scene, and it hadn't taken Peter long to notice the Backpack
and the Improbability Clause.

“Hello
Belle.” Peter said as Belle walked in the front door later on that
night.

Belle froze. A
fear like no other gripped her. Her beloved father only ever called
her “Belle” when she was in VERY BIG TROUBLE.

“Hi
Daddy…” Belle tried to smile politely. It failed.

“Giggles,
hey?” Peter narrowed his eyes at her. Meow, Bill and Joe cringed.

“Yeah…
pretty different huh?” Belle tried to joke her way out of the
impending doom.

“And
that revolver you had was pretty snazzy.” Peter continued the
onslaught.

“I…found
it.” Belle stammered. Bill gently picked up Meow, and was about to
follow Joe out when he felt his older brothers glare on his back.

“Get.
Back. Here. NOW.”

Meanwhile, Thomas
was ripping the strips off Charlie.

“YOU
COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN BELLE KILLED! YOU
COULD HAVE BEEN ARRESTED!” Thomas roared. The twins grinned
approvingly up at their older brother.

“You
rock Charlie!” Izzy clapped her hands.

“You're
a hero Charlie!” Lizzy hugged him.

“YOU
TWO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” Thomas thundered.

“Geez,
temper much?” Lizzy gave her father a filthy look.

“Sorry
for looking on the positive side!” Izzy followed her sister out of
the room. Woof, who had been asleep on the floor, followed the two
sisters out, also giving his master a reproachful look.

Both Belle and
Charlie were grounded for the rest of their lives, and the next. It
was late when they finally got to bed, both exhausted from the days
events.

“Hey
Charlie!” Belle called softly out of the window. Charlie was
about to lie down when he heard her call.

“Belle,
how much trouble did you get into?” Charlie called back.

“My
life is over, how about you?” Belle replied. Charlie groaned.

“Me
too.” He sighed.

“GET
TO BED YOU TWO!” They heard Peter yell from downstairs.

“Do
you MIND Masters?!” Mr. Jones replied loudly from his bedroom.

“SHUT
UP JONES!” Was the cry from both the Beglys and the Masters.

Charlie grinned at
Belle, who grinned back.

“Good
night Chuckles.”

“Good
night Giggles.”

Belle wiped her mouth, her split lip
bleeding slightly. Charlie was keeled over next to her, gasping for
breath.

“An unwanted bastard and a dork.”
Daryl Jones smirked.

His friends laughed. Sunny looked
angry. She slapped Belle again.

“Unwanted bastard.” She hissed.

Belle growled. It was after school
again, and the Jones siblings were enjoying themselves.

Sunny glared at Belle. Even though
they were the same age, Belle was still smaller than Sunny. Daryl,
while a bit older than Charlie, was no where near as big nor as
strong, so he often called on his posse to help him out.

Belle glared back at Sunny. She
noticed that Sunny had a bruise around her left arm.

“What are YOU staring at?” Sunny
seemed livid, compared to her brother.

“I don't know what I did to you, but
bug off.” Belle snapped.

Charlie got up just in time to block a
punch from Daryl. The pair wrestled for a few minutes.

“BELLE! CHARLIE!” The pair heard
Betty Begly calling for them.

“Go on, run!” Daryl and his friends
laughed. Belles eyes met Sunnys.

“Have you two been fighting with the
Jones kids again?” Betty asked as the pair climbed into the back
seat of the Beglys Toyota Camry.

“They started it.” Charlie said.

“You really need to find some more
friends.” Betty said as they pulled out of the school pick-up zone
and drove back towards home.

“Can we stop by Uncle Bills new shop
and see how he's doing?” Belle asked. Bill was in the process of
opening a restaurant.

“I guess.” Betty said warily.

“All I ask is that you help out!”
Bill roared at Peter.

“I'm DREADFULLY sorry if I'm too busy
working a job to keep YOU in the lifestyle you're accustomed to!”
Peter fired back.

“Hi Daddy. Hi Uncle Bill.” Belle
bounced in, kissing her father and Uncle.

“Hey kiddo.” Bill hugged his
favourite (only) niece.

“Hi Beauty. How was school?” Peter
ruffled her hair.

“We got beat up again.” Charlie
walked in, dejected. He put his bag on a table, which instantly fell
apart.

“Yeah, that's been happening a lot
today.” Peter said sheepishly, looking at the table.

“Because YOU won't pull your weight!”

“I'm too busy earning an income!”

Belle looked around the room. Most of
the decorating had been done (80's surf shack), but the furniture was
still a mess.

“I don't know what's up with those
Jones siblings.” Belle sighed. She went to sit on a chair, thought
better of it, and sat on the floor instead. “Why do they continue
to pick on us?”

“I'd be looking at their father if I
were you.” Betty said.

“Mr. Jones?” Belle and Charlie
asked.

“Yup. Anyway, I'm going to go and
pick up the twins from music practise, are you coming with me or
staying here?” Betty asked.

“I'm staying here.” Belle said.

“I'll come with you Mum.” Charlie
got his bag. “Catch ya Belle.”

“See ya Charlie.” Belle waved. She
leaned back against the wall. Her thoughts wandered to the news
she'd heard about Mobster Marion losing her beloved sword. She then
thought of the Lucky Seven Gun. The DVG were furious that it was
never recovered. Guilt weighed on her mind – if that gun was found
in her possession, not only did it mean her family were in danger,
but it was also highly illegal. She'd not only stolen the gun, but
had it hidden in the bottom of her wardrobe, not secured safely at
all. She was only on her provisional gun licence too – if she was
discovered, her father could lose his licence as well.

“Belle! Can you go to the store at
the end of the street and get us some nails?” Bill asked, snapping
Belle out of her daze.

“You're sending my daughter out
alone?!” Peter cried.

“It's neutral territory and still
daylight. Not much chance of her getting hurt.” Bill pointed out.

“The DVG and the Mob aren't the only
threats out there!” Peter fumed.

“Yeah, but Belle can handle herself.
You said so yourself when you let her have that stupid contraption of
yours.” Bill snapped.

“There's a difference between flying
and having a bad landing and being attacked by idiots who are out for
blood!”

Belle shrugged, and headed outside. It
was a cool afternoon, and the sun was starting to set in the west.
Belle knew where the hardware store was, so she hurried down the road
to where it was. She knew it was dangerous, but there was a bit of a
thrill to it.

Pleasantville had always had a crime
problem, ever since Simon Masters and Louis Begly had dammed up
Pleasant Creek and drained Lake Pleasant two hundred years ago. The
remains of the Lake still existed, and so did the Creek, which snaked
out from the dam to the centre of the city where the Lake formed.
Pleasantville really was just a big hole in the ground. A festering
hole of crime.

She got to the store with no trouble,
and bought two packets of nails. It was when she headed back to the
restaurant that things went pear-shaped.

“Hello cutie-pie.” A man stepped
out in front of her as she left the hardware store carpark.

“Please leave me alone.” Belle
tried to get around him. She felt a hand on her shoulder and knew
she was in trouble.

“Why, don't you want to hang out with
us?” The other man behind her said. She could almost hear him
leering at her.

She sighed, then threw an elbow back
into the guy behind her, then punched the guy in front of her and
ran. It was fruitless, because three more men were running towards
her.

She ducked out of the grasp of one, and
weaved into a nearby alley.

Dead end.

“Well, this sucks.” Belle turned
around to face her attackers. One of them wore a hooded jacket, and
now he threw back the hood.

Belle gasped. Revolver Jr! His
fathers mask had been broken down the middle, and now Revolver Jr
wore half of it, held in place by elastic around his head. He had
long, curly hair that almost looked comical.

“I see you remember me. Do you
remember my father?” Revolver Jr asked.

Belle remained silent.

“Can't speak? I don't blame you.
You lost me my father and my family gun. But you did leave me the
Death Valley Gang. So I took the mantle of Master Revolver, and now
I'm going to get my revenge on you.” Master Revolver grinned.

'At least his father didn't have a
thing for exposition.' Belle thought. 'Not to mention his grammar
sucks.'

“Still silent? I'll happily make you
OWCH!” Master Revolver cried in pain. He'd just been nicked by the
Lions Claw Blade.

“Seriously? Do you ever shut up?”
The masked vigilante asked, standing in front of Belle.

“YOU!!” Master Revolver cried.
“Although I must thank you for getting Marion out of the road.”

Belle saw her chance. She bolted past
the men, who were too busy glaring at her rescuer. One tried to grab
her, but ended up getting smacked in the face again. She ran back
towards the restaurant, the masked vigilante running along the
rooftops beside her.

“I wouldn't wander around alone again
if I were you!” He warned her. She glared at him before heading
inside to her worried father.

–

Belle was sitting in her room that
night, holding the Lucky Seven Gun in her hand. The cartridge in the
modified seventh chamber looked old, like it had never been fired.
So there was some truth to the legend.

She sighed and looked out of the window
towards Charlies room. His light was still on.

“Hey, Charlie!” She called softly.

“Hey Belle.” He climbed out into
the tree. She joined him. “I hear you had a close call today.”

“Yeah, Master Revolver wants revenge
on me.” Belle sighed, leaning back into the familiar branches. She
could hear her family yelling at each other over the television
remote.

Charlie frowned. His parents were
going over the twins homework inside, he could hear them talking.
“With Marion out of the way, he's pretty much got Pleasantville
under his control. You could be in trouble.” He said.

“Thanks for that.” Belle glared at
him.

“It's the truth.”

Belle groaned. She was REALLY in
trouble now.

“You'd better hope he doesn't find
the Lucky Seven Gun.” Charlie continued.

Belle buried her head in her hands.
“Eh av eet.” She mumbled.

“Excuse me?” Charile asked, not
hearing her.

“I have it.” Belle pulled her face
away from her hands.

“YOU WHAT?!” Charlie yelped.

“Is everything okay out there?”
Betty called up.

“Fine Mum!” Charlie called back.
He glared at Belle.

“You are rightly and royally SCREWED!
Get rid of it!” He hissed.

“Easier said than done if Revolver is
after me.” Belle sighed.

“I'm going to bed, I have ju-jitsu
tomorrow.” Charlie kissed his friends cheek. “Don't worry too
much about it.”

“Easy for you to say.” Belle sighed
as she headed back inside. Charlie bit his lip. Listening to Belle
talk about the Lucky Seven Gun made him realise he was in a bit of
danger himself habouring the Lions Claw Blade. When Mobster Marion
got out of gaol, she'd be after blood.

Belle drew her curtain and sat on her
bed again. She was about to go to sleep when something occurred to
her.

The masked vigilante, he'd managed to
get Mobster Marion arrested. If Belle could somehow get Master
Revolver arrested too, she'd be safe for a little while. Enough time
to get rid of the Lucky Seven Gun. It'd be dangerous, and she'd have
to be disguised, but she was quick and strong. Plus she had an
ability that very few other people had…

She opened her wardrobe. In it, she
found a red helmet her father had given her that she refused to wear
– it had a big yellow star on it which made her cringe, if she was
going out on the motorcycle with her father she was wearing her blue
one. She set it on the bed and grabbed a red shirt and some red
jeans. Thinking to herself, she grabbed a pair of brown leather
gloves and a silly little red cape she once used as part of a Little
Red Riding Hood costume. Finally, she got out the Backpack. One
advantage she would have over the DVG was her ability, however
limited, to fly.

She thought to herself some more. Her
father had a normal Colt .45, but she wouldn't use that. She'd grab
her grandfathers Desert Eagle and use that instead – a bit faster
to reload, and used similar ammo to what the Lucky Seven Gun could
take.

She bundled all these things up and hid
them together with the Gun in the back of the wardrobe. She also
grabbed her old steel-capped boots – they would help provide a bit
of weight and stability while using the Backpack, which didn't have
any controls, but was controlled using body movement. Belle almost
had it perfected, but there were still some issues.

She then allowed herself to go to bed.
She would get Master Revolver and put him away.

She had to get him before he got her.

–

Next day was a normal day. Belle and
Charlie went to school, got beaten up at lunchtime by the Jones
party, and tried to get home as quickly as possible.

Belle went to her room, grabbed the
bundle and snuck out of the house. She then ran towards the old tip,
keeping an eye out for trouble along the way.

“Hey, where are you going by yourself
and in a hurry?”

She was halfway to the tip when she ran
into Sir Dark.

“None of your business.” Belle
readied herself for a fight.

“It's not safe out here, you should
be at home where you at least stand a chance.” Sir Dark warned her.

“I can take care of myself, thank
you.” Belle ran off.

Sir Dark shook his head. He then
headed back to the city, where he knew he'd be needed.

Belle reached the tip in one piece.
She looked around for a bit for a private place to get changed, and
she found one – someone had hollowed out a mound of garbage and
used some old sheets of metal to form a sort of room.

She changed into her new outfit, and
holstered her guns. She looked towards the city. It would take her
a while to get there, and the Backpack didn't have enough power to
fly there.

She then noticed a bus about to come
flying past the tip. Using the Backpack, she jumped up to the top of
a well-constructed pile of cars, then floated down to the roof of the
bus, landing as quietly as she could.

Pleasantvilles newest hero was coming
to town!

Life soon returned to normal after the
heroics of Belle and Charlie, give or take a few scandals and
developments. First of these was the rise of the vigilante group
“The Knights of the Last Order” who held their own against the
DVG and the Mob. Second of these occurred several years after the
incident, when the private school was shut down due to concerns of
corruption (now how could that have happened?) which meant the
students were all forwarded into the public school, meaning that it
finally got the funding it needed and all the students of
Pleasantville were finally able to get the education they deserved.
Finally, recently another young vigilante had risen up, however he
was nameless.

Anyway…

“Will you kindly NOT spread your
rubbish all over the dining table!?” Bill growled angrily at his
brother.

“Unlike you, I'm trying to better
humanity!” Peter snapped back, trying to gather his papers away
from his ruthless younger sibling.

“And who do you expect to feed you
while you soldier on?! MOVE THIS CRAP NOW.” Bill fumed, trying to
serve dinner.

“Will the pair of you shut your
traps?! I'm trying to watch television!” Joe yelled at the pair of
them.

“Such a healthy environment for a
young lady.” They heard Mr. Jones tut-tutting in his yard.

“CAN IT JONES.” The three yelled
angrily. Just then, Belle walked in from her gymnastics class.

“Hi everyone! Smells good Uncle
Bill! How are you doing today Pa? Hey Daddy!” She kissed all
three men in turn. She noticed her fathers papers.

“Are you still working on that?”
She inquired.

“Yes, I am still working on it.”
Peter sighed in resignation. “I really don't know how to fix it.”

“It's fine Daddy really. It just
takes a little practise to get it right.” Belle replied. At
sixteen, Belle had a bit more optimism than her father.

“Belle, last time you used the thing
you nearly flew head-first into the ground.” Peter pointed out.

“That's because she was showing off.”
Joe piped up.

“Yeah Daddy. The Backpack works
fine, you don't need to fine-tune anything.” Belle grinned. The
Backpack was Peters first attempt at inventing – a jet-pack which
ran on carbon dioxide. Unfortunately it wasn't very efficient, only
lasting about ten minutes before the user fell victim to gravity.

“I don't know…maybe…” Peter
trailed off.

“Well, if you don't want it, can I
please keep it?” Belle asked.

“NO!” He uncle and grandfather
cried in horror.

“Sure.” Peter replied. “It's in
my room.”

“Are you TRYING to get your daughter
killed?!” Bill roared furiously as Belle scurried off to claim her
prize.

“Are YOU a parent?” Peter fired
back.

“I happen to be one!” Joe retorted.

“Yeah, well you're not Belles father,
I am!”

“I raised you two!”

“Yeah, and you screwed up one.”

“You stay out of this you brat!”

“Who are you calling the brat, just
because you're the oldest-!”

“I thought I raised you two better
than bickering!”

“Obviously not from what I can hear.”

“MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS JONES!”

–

“Hi Mum! Hi Dad!” Charlie burst
into the kitchen that evening. “Hi Lizzy, hi Izzy.”

“Where have you been?! It's late and
Belle got home from gymnastics hours ago!” Betty fumed at her son.

“I had to take the long way home to
avoid trouble.” Charlie lied, trying to escape to his room.

“Charlie, come down here now.” His
father commanded gently. Charlie knew he was in trouble.

“Charlie, you KNOW it's dangerous
outside. Especially after dark. Hell, it's probably dangerous in
here too, the DVG are known for breaking into homes.” Thomas said
evenly. Charlie cowered in fear. He was REALLY in trouble!

“You also have to think of your
sisters. You're their big brother, you have to set an example.”
Betty stirred the casserole she was cooking.

“Yeah Charlie. We're young and
impressionable.” Lizzy said.

“Yeah, we're unable to rationalise
and make decisions for ourselves.” Izzy added.

Charlie sneaked them a grin. He could
always count on his sisters, they worshipped him.

“Therefore, we've decided as
punishment you're not going to the Brisvegas Leos Charity Ball.”
Thomas scowled at the twins.

“Whose dog is that howling? It
doesn't sound like Woof.” Joe asked as the Masters family settled
down to a chicken curry.

–

The masked crusader was sitting atop a
building a few days later. His only weapons were a pair of short
daggers, which didn't make him feel too safe but it was all he had.
He wore a blue shirt, dark blue jeans and a leather duster, with
tough combat boots. To conceal his identity, he wore two blue
bandannas, one around his face and the other over his head, almost
making him look pirate-like. His tip-less gloves were grey and
matched his belt, where his small grappling hook and rope sat.

News had been floating around that a
particularly wealthy businessman had been visiting Pleasantville, and
was staying in the hotel across the street from where the young man
sat. He knew that news like that would draw the Mobsters of
Misneach, who were experts at kidnap and extortion. They were
certainly better than the Death Valley Gang anyway.

A black limo pulled up in the darkness,
and the young man watched the businessman get in. Slowly, the limo
pulled away, and the young man followed along the rooftops.

Inside the limo, the businessman was
about to relax, when he heard a voice.

“You're in a spot of bother.” He
heard someone next to him say.

His head nearly snapped it spun around
so fast. Next to him was a beautiful young lady.

“How'd you get in here?!” The
businessman sputtered.

“I was hiding under the seat. It's a
trick seat you see, something my father had installed before his
untimely death a few years ago.” The lady smiled. It was a
disconcerting smile, but not nearly as bad as the five-foot blade
that sat next to her. “I see you've noticed the Lions Claw Blade.
It's been in my family for generations. I'm Marion, of the Mobsters
of Misneach.”

“I see. I guess you're after my
money?” The businessman tried to regain his composure. Mobster
Marion tilted her head slightly.

“You're worth a fair bit more dead
than alive, so we hear. Quite the insurance policy on your head.”
She tittered.

“I don't understand.” The
businessman began to sweat. Mobster Marion pulled forward the seat
between them. The businessman gasped when he saw what was in the
boot.

His wife and two children were bound
and gagged. Mobster Marions voice turned cold.

“You give us every dollar you have,
or we kill you and your beneficiaries, meaning your insurance and
your assets go to your nephew…who we have under our control.” She
commanded.

The businessman gulped. He was in BIG
trouble.

He was about to protest, when the limo
swerved sharply and crashed into a tree.

“What the-” Mobster Marion grabbed
the Lions Claw Blade and opened her door. She was instantly kicked
in the head by the masked youth.

“Get your family out of here, I'll
handle the Mob.” He handed a knife to the businessman, who began to
cut the ropes binding his family.

“Ugh…Grrr!” Mobster Marion shook
off the kick, and glared at the youth. “YOU!” She spat.
“You're the one who's been making the life of my people difficult!”

“You say that like it's a bad thing.”
The youth shrugged. He had to act quick when the Lions Claw Blade
was swung angrily at him, locking his daggers together to block the
attack.

He rolled backwards, letting the Blade
slam down on the ground in front of him, barely missing. Mobster
Marion swung again, this time the youth was ready and got out of the
way with no problems. Thankfully Mobster Marion wasn't particularly
fast, so he was able to block or dodge without too much trouble.
Unfortunately she was still faster than him, meaning there was no way
he could get in a counter-attack while she held the Lions Claw Blade.

“Damn it!” He hissed as she
narrowly missed again, so close he could almost feel the blade
against his skin.

“You're in over your head sugar.”
Mobster Marion pointed the sword at him. “I am the greatest
swords-woman in this country, you don't stand a chance against me.”

She lifted the sword again, and swung
at the youth, who dodged again. He rolled out of the way of another
swing, and felt the cold hardness of a wall against his back.

He was trapped.

Grinning, Mobster Marion stabbed the
sword at his head, embedding it in the wall when he ducked. “You're
history, sunshine.” She smirked in triumph. “As soon as – OW!”

The youth looked around in shock.
Someone had aimed a rock cleanly at the Mobsters head.

“Sir Lionheart!” The youth cried.

“I aim to please.” Replied Sir
Lionheart, who had appeared out of no where.

“Why you – OW!” Mobster Marion
cried again, this time having been smacked over the head with a pole.

“Sir Dark! How nice of you to join
us! Where's everyone else?” Sir Lionheart asked.

“Lady Luck and Sir Hyper should be
here soon. Lady Silent is back at the base fixing her brothers
armour.” Sir Dark replied, tripping Mobster Marion up.

“So, you're the Knights of the Last
Order.” Mobster Marion snarled. “I've heard of you pests.”

“We've heard of you too, we never
thought we'd actually see you doing some legwork though.” Sir Dark
replied.

“Insolent.” Mobster Marion growled.

The youth grimaced. Mobster Marion was
still rubbing her sore head. Then he noticed the Lions Claw Blade was
still next to him. He pulled it out of the wall and held it up to
the moonlight.

“HEY! Get your hands off it you
little – YIKES!” Mobster Marion rolled out of the way as the
youth returned the favours she'd been dishing out all night.

“Nice shot!” Sir Lionheart cheered.

“Give her everything you've got!”
Sir Dark laughed.

Suddenly, wails erupted and the
darkness exploded in red and blue. “The cops!” Mobster Marion
cried angrily. She looked towards the youth, but he was gone.

And he'd taken her sword with him.

“We'll probably catch you later!”
Sir Lionheart grinned.

“Much later!” Sir Dark laughed.
“See ya after your term!”

The two Knights headed off quickly,
bumping into Sir Hyper and Lady Luck a few blocks away.

“We missed everything?!” Sir Hyper
cried, swinging his crudely made nun-chucks around.

“It wasn't anything much. That
stupid idiot in the leather jacket nearly got himself skewered by
Marion.” Sir Dark told them as the group headed back to the tip
where their base was hidden.

“Is he okay?” Lady Luck asked,
concerned.

“He's fine. He really shouldn't try
and take them on alone though. He needs a friend.” Sir Lionheart
said.

–

Just outside of Pleasantville was the
garbage tip. It was probably the most well-managed of the councils
facilities, although it was quite big. Big enough for someone to
hide in easily.

The youth had escaped back here after
his escape from the Mob. Breathing heavily, he pulled off his mask
as he shakingly held his new prize.

Charlie Begly was now the master of the
Lions Claw Blade.

Belle was allowed to keep the kitten,
and soon it was as if they'd had Meow their whole lives. She had the
bad habit of chasing Woof, much to the amusement of many.

School soon started, and both children
were enrolled into the local private school. Unfortunately, the
Jones siblings were also enrolled, as were their posse, and soon
Belle and Charlie came to dread school. Worst of all, Mr. Jones,
their father, was filthy rich and often donated funds to the school,
which made the teachers brush a lot of the siblings behaviour under
the carpet. Still, Belle and Charlie had each other, and they had their tree,
which the Jones siblings found impossible to scale.

The years went on, the arguments
between the Masters men continued, the world continued to be envious
of Thomas Begly, and the two children grew into young teenagers.
Life was pretty routine, until the day that changed everything.

The children were sitting in the school
auditorium for the weekly torture session, a.k.a the Friday Assembly.
Belle stared at the principal, trying to remain conscious while he
waffled on about school uniform policy.

“You're drooling.” Charlie
whispered. Belle shook herself.

“How are you awake?” She whispered
back, keeping an eye out for the teachers.

“I heard something outside.” He
whispered back.

At the age of 13, Charlie was already
starting to grow muscular like his father, helped by his karate and
ju-jitsu classes. Unlike his father on the other hand, he looked
like he was going to get his mothers height. As Peter said, “The
boy will be built like a brick out-house!”

Belle, at 12, while not as muscular as
Charlie, certainly had an athletic build, thanks to being a gymnast
and her father insisting she learn how to use a gun properly. She
was also very fast, and still looked like a clone of her father. As
Betty said, “That girl is going to knock 'em out all over the
place!”

“I think you're just hopeful.”
Belle replied, just as a teacher spotted them.

“HEY, you two, want to share with the
rest of us?” He snapped, glaring at the pair. Sunny Jones, sitting next to Belle, smirked. She knew there'd be tears.

Belle stammered. "Uhhh…"

What would have happened next no one
could say, because there was a loud bang, and the room was stormed by
men in balaclavas and wielding machine guns.

“Oh no. The DVG!” Sunny groaned.
“DVG” stood for Death Valley Gang, a thuggish organisation that
specialised in robbery and drugs. The thugs quickly knocked out the
teachers and one of them held up the principal, while the others kept
their guns pointed at the children.

“Masked Revolver!” Sunny shuddered again. Masked Revolver was the leader of the DVG, and a
superior marksman. His modified Colt.45 was special, in that instead
of six chambers, it had a “lucky number seven” chamber as well.
It was said that he never had to use the seventh chamber, as he could
destroy any opposition in 6 bullets. The only people who had seen
the face behind his black and red mask were dead…yeah, you get the
picture. He's a real bad guy.

Masked Revolver only stood by the door
however – it was the boy who was holding up the principal who
seemed to be running the show.

“Pick up the phone, and call the Head
of the School Board. NOW.” The boy commanded. He followed the
principal to the phone that was on the wall near the stage, his gun
pointed at the older mans back the entire time.

Belle was terrified. She gripped
Charlies hand tightly. Were they doing to die?

“Nawww, how cute is this? The Dumb
Valley Gang are holding up a SCHOOL!” They heard someone gloating.

“Rack off Marcus you clown!”
Masked Revolver snapped at the new intruder. Mobster Marcus with his
long, flowing hair was sitting on one of the skylights, peering in at
the action.

“Oh great, not the Mob too.” Sunny was really starting to get on Belles nerves. Everyone knew who
the Mob were – the Mobsters of Misneach were lead by Mobster
Marcus, a proficient swordsman whose five-foot blade was just as
feared as the Lucky Seven Gun that Masked Revolver held. It was
rumoured that if you dared blink in front of him you'd find your head
gone before you opened your eyes again.

Rumours in Pleasantville have a habit
of being far fetched.

“My my, such temper! Such petty
thuggery.” Mobster Marcus chuckled. “Well, while you play with
the kiddies, we're going to go and play with the big boys. Around
about now, the Pleasantville National should be overrun with my men.”

“We'll see who's gloating after your
men have been shot down by security, whereas I'll escape with a
decent ransom from parents who are scared for their little babies.”
Masked Revolver grinned.

Mobster Marcus smirked and left.

Charlie looked at Belle. Who had
disappeared.

“Belle? Why are you under your seat?”
Charlie quickly ducked under the chairs with her.

“They got distracted. So I hid.”
Belle replied.

–

“YO, TJ, over here!” Daniel called
to his friend.

“CATCH!” TJ bombed the football in
Daniels general direction. Daniel grinned and was about to grab it,
when little Sammy leapt up on his back and took a speccy.

“Sam!” Daniel laughed, chasing the
boy around. He quickly handpassed the ball to his twin sister,
Tammy, who kicked it to her best friend Petunia.

“Come on guys, you know I can't play
football!” Petunia groaned. Poor Petunia was rather on the
overweight side, and much preferred reading about medicine and
practising to be a nurse than roughing around with her friends.

“Yes you can 'Tunia, you just got to
get up and run!” TJ thumped her back.

“Thanks, Theodore.”
Petunia shoved the ball back into TJs stomach.

Daniel sighed. He
was the oldest at 14, with short brown hair, thick glasses and bright
blue eyes. TJ was next at 12, a pale kid with dark black hair who
liked to dress in a Gothic style. Petunia was 11, with long red hair,
freckles and green eyes. Finally there were the 10-year-olds Tammy
and Sammy, with jet black hair and dark skin. The five were
inseparable, and were some of the few students who attended the
run-down public school.

“DON'T
call me Theodore!” TJ snapped, snatching the football away.

“Naw,
don't fight guys!” Sammy whined.

“Yeah,
how about we all go and get some ice-cream? I still have my pocket
money.” Daniel suggested.

“I
love ice-cream!” Petunia cried.

“I
can't complain about that!” TJ grinned.

“Ice-cream!
Dan, you're the greatest!” Sammy hugged his hero.

Tammy smiled and
clapped. A car accident when she was little had robbed her of her
voice, but she was highly intelligent.

“Remember,
we need to stick together, even if it's daytime there are some
Gangsters and Mobsters around.” Daniel reminded them of the
ever-present crime threat.

“Actually,
I haven't seen any of them around today. Must be bank-robbing day.”
Petunia piped up.

The five made their
way along the street, when they saw why the coast was clear.

“They're
holding up a school? How low can they go?” TJ fumed. He looked
towards the small police force gathered at the front of the school.
“Why isn't the whole force here?!”

A loud explosion
came from the city.

“I'd
say because the Mob robbing a bank.” Daniel pointed out.

TJ glowered. His
father was an officer in the police force, and TJ thought the world
of him. Alas, unfortunately the senior constable was a man called
Wallace Dingbat who was completely useless.

“I
can't believe it. The DVG will more than likely get away with this
because that MORON is in charge!” Petunia looked at the school
building. Parents were starting to crowd around the school, all of
them in various stages of fury and fear.

“My
little girl is in there! I have to save her! Let me GO!” Peter
Masters was trying to pry himself free of Bill and Joe, who had him
pinned down.

“Mate,
you can't do anything, if you get killed what will she do?” Bill
tried to calm his older brother down.

“She's
my little girl!” Peter cried.

Joe looked towards
the building and growled. “We have to wait.”

Peter sunk to his
knees and put his scarred face in his hands. Two scars adorned his
face, one across his eye and the other across his nose. Both were
earned defending Belle. His father had three scars, one across his
eye, one across his nose and the other across his lips. Bill got the
one across his eye while climbing out of a womans window trying to
escape her husband.

Yeah…

Daniel and the
others walked away from the scene. None of them felt like ice-cream
any more.

“I
wish we could do something.” Petunia said.

“Anything!”
Sammy kicked at a stone, missing and stubbing his toe. “OW!”

Daniel looked back
towards the building.

“Maybe
we can sneak in around the back, get the Gangsters attention, and
maybe then the police can come in and save everyone?” He
suggested. “Nah, too dangerous.”

“Yeah.”
Everyone agreed.

So they went and
did it anyway.

–

Belle was thinking.
It was the family fault, her father told her, they were cursed to be
forever thinking. It was a symptom of rather high IQs.

“Anything
yet?” Charlie poked her.

“No.”
Belle snapped. The DVG hadn't noticed the two children out of
hundreds missing thankfully. The two remained hidden behind some old
stage props while the Gangsters kept an eye on the kids, waiting for
their ransom.

“If
they got distracted again, we could sneak up behind them and take
them out.” Charlie said. “Then everyone else could escape and
we'd be heroes.”

“Charlie,
there are at LEAST ten of them out there! There is no way on Earth
we stand a chance.” Belle pointed out. “You're only thirteen,
and I'm younger still.”

“I
have the Improbability Clause on my side though.” Charlie said.
The Improbability Clause was the term the Begly family used to
describe their often sheer dumb luck, usually after a Masters had
pooh-poohed their plans.

“You're
kidding me.” Belle facepalmed. “And would you mind telling me
where this distraction is coming from?”

Suddenly there was
a loud banging on the windows. Someone was throwing rocks at the
South wall!

“TAKE
THAT YOU GANGSTER SCUM!” Daniel called out from underneath the
bucket on his head, obscuring his face.

“Leave
us kids alone!” TJ threw rocks behind his hockey mask.

“You're
mean and cruel!” Petunia called from behind her surgical mask.

Sammy and Tammy
just threw rocks as hard as they could, both wearing handkerchiefs
over their faces.

“Get
'em you Mighty Knights of the Last Order!” TJ cried, hitting the
DVG boy who was running the show squarely between the eyes.

“You
were saying?” Charlie grinned at Belle. “They've left one of
their guns over there, you can shoot them!”

“You
might have the Improbability Clause, but you know that the Masters
Code says I'm not allowed to kill!” Belle hissed back. The Masters
Code was five rules that every Masters lived by – no killing,
always respect your elders, always wear something nice, never hold
back and believe.

“Yeah,
but the Code says to never hold back too, you can still take their
legs out!” Charlie pointed out.

“Oh
dear…CHARLIE!!!!” Belle hissed as Charlie rushed out to attack.
She followed him, grabbing the gun he mentioned and firing wildly.

“What
the-?” Masked Revolver cried as he ducked underneath a barrage of
bullets, only to have a rock fly through the window and smack him on
the head.

“It's
working!” Sammy cried.

“Sir
Dark, get the door!” Daniel commanded, looking at TJ.

“Sir
Dark? As you command, Sir Lionheart! Sir Hyper, follow me!” TJ
grinned at Daniel and beckoned for Sammy to follow him. Together,
the pair managed to get one of the doors open.

A barrage of kids
streamed out of the room to their relieved parents.

“Watch
out!” Petunia knocked Tammy aside as one of the Gangsters fired.
“That was close Lady Silent!”

“Thank
goodness for you Lady Luck!” Daniel helped the both of them up.
“Knights retreat!”

Meanwhile, Belle
and Charlie were trapped, taking on Masked Revolver and the boy, who
turned out to be Masked Revolvers son. The other Gangsters, sensing
defeat, had bolted, most being apprehended by the police outside.

Charlie was making
short work of Revolver Jr, the other man having run out of ammo.
Belle meanwhile was in trouble. Masked Revolver had pulled out the
Lucky Seven Gun, and had already fired two bullets.

“You
have Stormtrooper Syndrome or something?” Belle asked.

“Not
cool Belle! We're Trekkies here!” Charlie snapped.

“Yeah!”
Revolver Jr. looked annoyed.

“My
apologies.” Belle bowed her head, before taking off with Masked
Revolver in pursuit. Charlie was about to follow, when his foot was
grabbed by Revolver Jr.

Belle foolishly
climbed up the ladder above the stage, before realising she'd sold
herself into a dead end. She looked at Masked Revolver, terrified.

Masked Revolver was
having difficulty himself, he couldn't properly balance on the narrow
walkways. He steadied himself to fire at Belle.

“It's
over now brat!” He grinned. He fired, just as Belle dropped,
hanging onto the beam for dear life. The bullet unfortunately hit
one of the supports that held the beam up, dropping it about a foot
causing Masked Revolver to fall.

He landed head
first into the stage, killing him instantly.

“NO!”
Revolver Jr. cried, running towards his father. “Where is it?!”
He quickly searched the body, pulling off the broken mask. “Where
is it!?”

The police quickly
swooped in. Belle carefully climbed back down to the ground, when
she noticed something shining under one of the curtains.

The Lucky Seven
Gun. Without thinking, she shoved it into the pocket of her skirt.

She ran over to
where Charlie was answering Officer Dingbats questions. It was
mostly rubbish, Dingbat was clearly incompetent.

“Belle!”

“Charlie!”

The two children
were swamped by their parents, who proceeded to fuss over them.

“It's
not fair Dad! How come Charlie and his family get the ability to
completely circumvent logic, but all we get is a silly code of
ethics?!” Belle complained as the group made their way back home.

“You're
still young yet little one. One day, you'll come to appreciate the
Masters Code.” Joe patted her head.

Traffic was stopped along the highway,
choked and congested. Much like the occupants of the Hyundai Elantra
near exit 34.

“That was DISGUSTING Belle!” The
driver of the silver Elantra, Peter, rolled down the window choking
from the stench. His brother, Bill and their father, Joe, were doing
the same.

“Sorry Daddy.” Belle rolled her
eyes, staring blankly out the window. Her eyes were blank for a
six-year-old, and her father was worried about her. So worried that
he was moving her away from the city of Brisvegas and relocating her
to the town where he'd grown up – Pleasantville.

–

A young boy walked into a two-storey
house some distance away in Pleasantville. He was upset. A few days
ago he'd been told that his friend who lived in the house next door
had to move as the owner of the house was coming back. It was the
fourth friend he'd had in that house, it seemed no family wanted to
stay there.

“Charlie! Go and check on your
sisters for me please.” His mother, Betty, was elbow-deep in
pastry. The boy, Charlie, trudged upstairs to check on his twin
sisters, Isabelle and Elizabeth (or as they will be known, Izzy and
Lizzy).

“Oh my – GROSS!” Charlie bolted
out of the room. One or both of his baby sisters had dirtied their
nappies.

Betty sighed, set the pastry aside,
washed her hands and went upstairs to tend to her daughters. For a
long time no matter how disgusting his sisters were, Charlie had been
willing to help with anything. Since the neighbours had moved
(again) he'd been distant – too distant for a seven-year-old.

–

The Masters family and their now stinky
Elantra pulled up to the house in Pleasantville. There still wasn't
a fence between it and the house to the East of it – instead there
was a very large eucalypt which bridged between the bedrooms and the
ends of the houses. Peter wondered if his old friend was still in
that house.

He knelt down to Belles height and
pointed to the bedroom whose window opened up to the tree. “That's
your new room – where your Aunt Jessie used to sleep.” His eyes
darkened as he thought of the sister who had walked out on them a
long time ago.

“You mean the little bitch who was so
up herself she didn't think we were good enough?” Belle asked
innocently.

That sister.

“Yeah…please don't use that sort of
language again.” Peter ushered her towards the house, making a
mental note to smack his younger brother senseless – who says that
sort of thing in front of a six-year-old?!

Belle walked inside the house. It was
very open-plan, with the entrance opening out into the loungeroom,
which was framed with the open kitchen at the back and the dining
room next to it. Off the dining room looked to be a bathroom of
sorts, and next to it was a bedroom, where Joe was unpacking boxes.
Right in front of his door was the stairs, so Belle climbed up them.
Upstairs was another bathroom, and at one end was two bedrooms and at
the other there was only one. Belle headed towards the bedroom at the East end and found herself in a tiny room, barely big enough
to hold a queen-sized bed and a desk. At one end of the room was a
HUGE wardrobe though, so it made up for the fact it was narrow.

“Watch out, coming through!” Bill
called. Belle skipped out of the way against the wardrobe as her
uncle brought in a huge queen-sized double bed. “Er…I guess you
can climb on over the end, right kiddo?” He looked at where the bed
was going.

“I guess.” Belle nodded. “At
least I won't be able to fall out of bed.”

Her father then brought in her desk,
which he set up with a mirror opposite the window that looked out
onto the big tree. Next to the desk was her big set of drawers, and
finally there was about five boxes of clothes and toys that needed to
be sorted out.

–

Charlie was lying on his bed. His room
was big and square, with a desk, toybox and a huge poster of Jackson
Blue, the courageous Captain of the Brisvegas Leos. He heard
something coming from the house next door, and looked up and through
the window to see a little girl with bright yellow hair and brown
eyes putting papers into a chest of drawers. He watched her for a
few minutes, before heading downstairs.

“Mum, Dad, the new neighbours are
here!” He said as Betty Begly was busy playing with the twins.

“Are they?” Thomas, Charlies
father, perked up from his newspaper. “Well, let's go and say
hello and see if we can give them a hand.”

“I can't take these two over, they'll
just get in the way. Take Charlie and the dog with you.” Betty
said. Thomas looked at Charlie, shrugged back.

“Woof!” Charlie called. “We're
going over next door!”

A large Beagle bolted through the
loungeroom and skidded to a halt next to Charlie. He barked loudly.

“What are we going to do with you
Woof?” Thomas shook his head.

The three went over to the other house,
and knocked on the door.

“Tom?” Peter answered the door.

“Pete?” Thomas replied

The pair glared at each other, before
laughing and hugging.

“You're weird Dad.” Charlie
muttered.

“It's good to see you mate, I haven't seen you since Belle was born!” Thomas said.

“Well, you'll be happy to know I finished my law degree in
Brisvegas.” Peter grinned.

“So you ARE a blood-sucking scumbag
after all!” Thomas laughed.

Charlie let the men talk. They walked
inside and sad down at the table.

“You'll have to meet my daughter,
Belle.” Peter smiled.

“Is that the girl I saw?” Charlie
asked.

“Yup.” Peter grinned. “Hey
Beauty, someone's here to meet you!”

“So, did Jill come back?” Thomas
asked. Peter shook his head.

“I'd rather not talk about it,
especially in front of Belle.” He replied. “How about you?”

“Guess.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No way!”

“Yes way.”

“Another child?!"

"Twins"

"Nice work! Who'd have thought old Tom Begly would be shackin' up with old Booty Betty?" Peter laughed

“I'd rather you not call her by her
old nickname in front of Charlie.” Thomas turned slightly pink,
but still grinned. “I told you she loved me.”

Just to inform our readers: Thomas
Begly is 170cm (still taller than Peter!), rather solid and was balding by the age of twenty.
Betty Begly ne Howsat, even after three children, is 180cms, with a
gorgeous figure and long red hair.

Just then, Belle walked in shyly.
Peter frowned slightly. The last year or so had changed Belle from a
very outgoing, sarcastic and loud child to a shy, meek one.

“Hi.” She said.

“Hello there!” Thomas smiled
kindly. “Say hello Charlie.”

“Hello Charlie.” Charlie smirked as
his father.

“Little…”

“Why do you two go outside and play?”
Peter suggested.

“I'm still tidying my room.” Belle
replied.

Charlie looked at his father in shock.

“You can finish that off later
Beauty, off you go to play with your new friend.” Peter ushered
the pair and Woof outside into the joint backyard. The Masters
family and the Begly family had been friends for centuries, and the
two homes had been built together so the two families could maintain
their friendships. The two children made their way outside, where
they proceeded to eye each other warily.

“You'd better be as cool as my other
friends.” Charlie warned.

“Eh.” Belle sat down and started
ripping up grass. Woof sat next to her and sniffed her ear. She
waved him off.

“What's wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Why don't you want to play?”
Charlie frowned.

“No reason.”

“You're weird!”

“I guess.”

“My Mum says that you should always
strive to make new friends.” Charlie tried.

“Mums suck!” Belle suddenly bit.

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

Charlie swung a fist at Belle, who
dodged easily. Enraged, Charlie tried again, and missed again.

“You're a slow-poke!” Belle teased.
She swung her leg to try and trip the boy up, but his leg was too
solid and he was too strong. He went to grab her but she dodged
again. Woof started barking loudly at the pair, trying to get
between them.

“Hey, what's going on here?!” Bill
ran outside. “Belle, why are you fighting with this kid?!”

“She said my Mum sucks!” Charlie
cried.

“All Mums suck!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“PETER! YOUR OFFSPRING IS FIGHTING
WITH THE NEIGHBOURS!” Bill cried.

“Just shout it over the neighbourhood
why don't you, you numbskull?!” Peter fumed, running outside.

“Well if YOU would get your act
together as a parent-,”

“If YOU had any idea how to BE a
parent-,”

“GENTLEMEN!” Joe growled from the
kitchen. Thomas, who had run out with Peter, laughed.

“I see some things never change.”
He chuckled. “I'll see you guys later.”

He took Charlie and Woof away.

“Charlie, Belle had a really hard
time with her Mum. She doesn't know any better.” He said as the
pair walked inside.

“But Dad-,”

“Charlie, if Mum decided she didn't
love you anymore and left you to die on someones doorstep, wouldn't
you think she sucked?” Thomas asked.

“Well, yeah. Is that what Belles Mum
did?” Charlie asked.

Meanwhile, Peter was talking to Belle.

“Belle, just because your Mum sucked
doesn't mean everyones Mum sucks. I reckon you'll find Charlies Mum
is really cool.” Peter said to Belle.

“But Dad-,”

“Belle, Charlies Mum takes care of
him. She loves him a lot and would never leave him.” Peter told
her.

“She wouldn't?” Belle asked.

–

Belle was back in her room, putting the
last of her clothes into the giant wardrobe, with its several hanging
racks and shelves along the inside. It was almost a walk-in, except
it was much smaller.

She could hear her father, grandfather
and uncle fighting in the kitchen about dinner. They could never
agree on anything, and were always having arguments. However, Belle
knew that if someone tried to hurt her or any one of them, the
fighting would instantly stop and the three would become an
unstoppable team.

Her family was cool like that.

“Hey, Belle!” She heard Charlie
calling from his bedroom.

“Hi.” She replied. She grabbed
her chair and sat down at the window.

“I'm sorry about before.” Charlie
offered.

“I'm sorry too.” Belle replied.
“Can we be friends?”

“Sure!” Charlie replied. He slowly
eased himself out of his window and into the tree between them.

“Is it safe?” Belle asked.

“Of course it is!” Charlie climbed
across it.

“Oh look, it's monkey boy! And he
has a little girlfriend too!” They heard a snide voice from below.

“Daryl Jones!” Charlie groaned.

“Daryl Jones?” Belle asked. “He
looks mean.”

“He called you a monkey!” Another
snide voice.

“And his little sister Sunny.”
Charlie told Belle.

Belle looked down at the Jones
siblings. Both had jet-black hair, and both were skinny with fair
skin, compared to the suntanned look of Belle and Charlie. The two
siblings had icy blue eyes and freckles, and almost looked like
twins. There was a small scratch on Sunnys face, otherwise the pair
were immaculate.

“You two are mean.” Belle pointed
out.

“Yeah, and?” Daryl replied.

“You shouldn't be!” Belle snapped.

“Well too bad. I can so I will.”
Daryl smirked.

Charlie snarled at him.

“Stop looking like a twit Begly and
get down here so I can thump ya.” Daryl called out.

“NO.” Charlie replied.

Daryls smirk faltered.

“Oh look, a kitten!” Sunny
squealed.

Daryl turned around. A little
calico-coloured kitten, looking dirty and underfed, was struggling to
get out of a drain. Daryl smirked again. He grabbed the kitten out
of the drain and put his fingers around its neck.

“Well then, I guess I'm going to have
hurt this kitten inste-ARGH!” Daryl cried as Belle rushed over and
bit him – hard! He dropped the kitten, which looked confused.

“That was too mean Daryl!” Sunny
cried as Belle scooped it up. She turned on Belle. “But you
didn't have to bite him!”

She aimed a kick at Belle, catching her
in the stomach. Belle groaned and rolled over, trying to protect the
kitten.

“Leave Belle alone!” Charlie
jumped out of the tree and stood beside his new friend. Daryl
smirked at the pair of them, when suddenly a voice called out.

“CHARLIE! DINNER! BRING BELLE WITH
YOU!” Betty summoned the children. “Oh, it's YOU two.” She
looked down her nose at the Jones children.

“Smell you losers later.” Daryl
walked away, taking Sunny with him. Betty looked at Belle and
Charlie.

“Are you two okay?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Belle got up, holding the
kitten. It meowed.

“Oh the little thing! Get up and
bring it inside, we'll get some warm milk into it.” Betty helped
Belle to her feet.

Belle smiled at Charlie, who smiled
back.

And from that day forth, the pair were
the best of friends.