Author: Crofton77

“NO.” Giggles
smacked the hand of the Haunted Maze Trouper who was trying to sell a
young man some drug of some description in Pleasantville Park.

“But I NEED it!”
The man begged.

“What you need is a
cold shower and some help. Call this lady, she's brilliant at peer
support.” Giggles handed the man Tammys business card. “Imagine
the savings you can make!”

“Saving for what?”
The man said bitterly.

“Getting out of
Pleasantville for one.” Giggles pointed out.

The man blinked, and
with a scowl he walked away.

Giggles turned to the
Trouper that was now staring blankly at her from behind the purple
baby mask.

“You know what you're
doing is naughty.” She scolded.

The Trouper moved their
head to the side.

“Don't give me that
look.” She continued.

Then the Trouper pulled
out the knife (we all knew that was coming) and took a swing at
Giggles, who dodged easily.

“RUDE!” Giggles
frowned. “Hey, Chuckles, stabby things are your side of the
family!”

“Right on!”
Chuckles jumped down from the tree he was sitting in. “I'm not
going to even need the Lions Claw for this!”

“Chuckles, hollow
knife with drugs in it, remember?”Giggles groaned.

Chuckles grinned. He
flew at the Trouper, using an Arm Scythe to knock the knife from
their hand. He then used a well-aimed kick to knock them to the
ground.

“Winning!” Chuckles
waved to Giggles, who facepalmed.

Then a gunshot rang
out, and the Trouper was dead. Chuckles and Giggles froze.

“Revolver?”
Chuckles called out tentatively. Silence.

Giggles walked over to
Chuckles, both the Lucky Seven Gun and the Desert Eagle drawn.
Suddenly the quiet area of the park in the sunset seemed very, VERY
spooky.

“It's started, hasn't
it?” Chuckles gulped.

“We need to get out
of here.” Giggles said.

Then the sirens and
lights appeared.

—

“I can't believe
this.” Peter groaned.

“Believe it. Chuckles
and Giggles should think themselves lucky they're not in gaol for
murder.” Judith Jofrey replied.

They were sitting in
Judiths office. It was the day after Chuckles and Giggles escaped
arrest for the death of the Haunted Maze Trouper.

“Especially as the
whole plan was that they got arrested and out of the way.” Judith
continued. “Revolver and Marion want a clear path to take out the
Crusaders and the Troup.”

“Can't you talk to
your sister and get her to see that turning Pleansantville into a
warzone is a bad idea?” Peter asked.

“Her mental state has
been going downhill since Dad died. I don't think anyone can reason
with her anymore.” Judith sighed. “She won't listen to Revolver,
she won't listen to Jones and she won't listen to me. Especially now
I'm dating Daniel.”

“Oh?” Peter raised
an eyebrow.

“She's worried if I
have an heir before her, I'll steal the Misneach assets.” Judith
told him. “Which is stupid, because Dan and I haven't been together
all that long.”

Peter was about to
reply when they heard gunfire outside. They walked to the window.

“Roger NO!” Giggles
cried, shoving Master Revolver out of the way of a gunshot.

“Get out of my way
brats or I'll kill you too!” Crusader Roger aimed again to take out
Master Revolver. “This dog needs to PAY for what he did!”

“We don't necessarily
disagree, we just think there MIGHT be better ways about it!”
Chuckles fought to keep Mobster Marion from entering the fray.

“GET. OUT. OF. MY.
WAY!” Marion roared, bringing her sword down on Chuckles.

“Will you calm your
farm already?!” Chuckles blocked her with the Lions Claw Blade.

“Well…this is a bit
obvious.” Peter folded his arms and watched everything unfold.

“I want to know where
the Haunted Maze Troupe is in all of this.” Judith narrowed her
eyes.

“You REALLY think
they care about the death of one of their own?” Peter asked.

“I don't think they
CARE, I just think they might want to make a statement so they're not
seen as weak.” Judith replied. “The illusion of power is
important here. That's why Roger set you up. He couldn't be seen as
weak after Mark was killed.”

“But this attack
doesn't make sense.” Peter looked back down. “He's left himself
wide open.”

Suddenly there was an
explosion to the east. Judith looked horrified.

“That BASTARD!” She
cried.

“Aah. He was
distracting Marion and Revolver so he could blow up the Misneach
Manor.” Peter said. “It looks like there's going to be
consequences for everyone.”

Chuckles and Giggles
looked at each other as Marion and Revolver ran to their limo to
check the damage to their manor.

The tempest had
started.

“So, do I really want
to know the logic behind kidnapping Belle?” Daniel asked one sunny
afternoon as he stood with Judith Jofrey on Pleasant Dam.

“Demon wanted revenge
on Peter for alerting the authorities to the presence of the Ruby
Suit.” Judith replied. “He put a hit out on Belle.”

“And your sister just
happened to be the first to get to her?”

“Not really. It's a
long story. Suffice to say your friend annoyed quite a number of
people during her ordeal.”

“Knowing Belle I'm
not really shocked.”

“She's your friend!”

“Doesn't mean she
can't bore me to death.”

Judith did her best to
suppress a giggle. “Anyway, you're in luck. Everyone seems to be
united in their annoyance with her, for now.”

“And that means?”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“No mischief for a
while.” Judith replied.

“I doubt that.”
Daniel frowned. “The Troupe are always looking to sell their drugs
and cause trouble. The Crusaders will probably be looking to strike
you guys first. Roger will still be pissed about Mark.”

“Do you EVER take a
break?” Judith wrapped her arms around his neck. “You don't have
to be the big leader all the time.”

“Can't help it.”
Daniel hugged her back. “Unfortunately when you're the oldest of a
rag-tag group of kids, you become their leader and you'll always be
their leader.”

Judith looked up at her
boyfriend. She felt like there was something that he wasn't telling
her…

—

“A-And then…Roger
just shoves me into the Trouper…and he's all “She's YOUR problem
now!” and ran off!” Belle howled with laughter as she told
Charlie how she had talked herself to freedom. “And the Trouper
just looks at me, which is when I told him all about the beginnings
of the Haunted Maze Trouple fifty years ago in Brisvegas…”

“Which I do NOT need
to hear about!” Charlie laughed with her.

“I honestly don't get
them.” Peter shook his head, looking up at the tree where the
friends were chilling out.

“I don't either.”
Thomas sighed.

“I'm glad you're safe
though. I was worried there for a while.” Charlie said as the
laughter died down.

“I was fine. I just
figured if it was enough to get you to tune out, it would work on
anyone.” Belle grinned. The grin slid off her face as she turned to
look at the slowly flowing creek.

“You okay?” Charlie
asked.

Belle sighed.

“The government
doesn't care. No one cares except us. Why are we even bothering?
Nothing's going to change.”

Charlie blinked.

“All the government
cared about was getting their suit back. The people here are still so
willfully ignorant. Why don't we just give up?” Belle continued.

“Belle, these things
take time.” Charlie told her. “The government might not care, but
they can be made to care.”

“The government has
people campaigning in the opposite direction to us. People with money
and power and influence. We can't fight against that.” Belle
groaned.

“We CAN!” Charlie
cried. “It's been done before!”

“Everything is
working against us.” Belle sighed. “And what do we get for our
trouble? Attacked. Kidnapped. Ostracized.”

“We're gaining allies
Belle! It's hard, it's slow, but we have to do it!” Charlie took
her hand. “We have to make a difference. This isn't just a
Pleasantville problem, but if we can fix it here then maybe others
will take heart and fix their problems too!”

Belle turned to look at
the creek again.

“We need to do this
together Belle. You, me, the Knights, your Dad…we all need to keep
working together.” Charlie begged her. “If Chuckles and Giggles
give up, your Dads arguments start ringing hollow.”

Belle sighed again.

“Please Belle?”
Charlie looked quite pathetic. “Without you, I'm nothing.”

Belle laughed, scaring
Charlie.

“YOU are nothing
without me?” She scoffed. “Charlie, if it wasn't for you I'd
never get off my butt to do anything! I'd be too busy procrastinating
all day!”

“You got your degree
by yourself!” Charlie pointed out.

“As a form of
procrastination. If I had a choice to stay at University and do
nothing but study I'd take it in a heartbeat. Alas, I have a best
friend who keeps me on my toes, who motivates me and who keeps me
optimistic.” Belle grinned.

Charlie smiled back.

“You're right of
course.” Belle looked towards the creek again. “I just get
disheartened so easily.”

“It's not going to be
a quick process. You've said so yourself.” Charlie put a hand on
her shoulder. “I mean, you've told me a million times about how
certain interests lobby the government and that most people don't
care as long as it doesn't affect them. Well, we're gonna make them
care!”

Belle grinned at him.

“Wanna go out and
make ourselves visible?” She asked.

“Absolutely.”
Charlie replied.

So Chuckles and Giggles
headed out into Pleasantville…a wise move in the end!

“We need to stay calm
and figure out a plan.” Thomas said.

“STAY CALM?!” Peter
roared. “MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! SHE COULD BE DEAD FOR ALL
I KNOW!”

“Chill out Pete!”
Thomas tried to calm his friend down, nearly getting his head taken
off for it.

“Peter!” Lara tried
to pull her husband back into his seat.

They were sitting in
the Begly lounge room, still trying to process what had happened.
Charlie was dead silent. His best friend was gone.

“TJ is trying the
best he can at work without being found out, but I think we can
narrow it down to three main suspects.” Petunia paced up and down
behind the couch.

“That doesn't help,
no one knows where the Haunted Maze Troupe hide out, and by the time
any of us got to Fallsville Beauty could be…be…” Peter began to
hyperventilate.

Charlie shook his head
and walked outside. There was no way Belle was dead. It was
impossible. If she was gone, then so was the Improbability Clause. If
the Improbability Clause was gone, then there was no Chuckles.

Charlie sat next to the
tree. There was no choice. He HAD to save his best friend!

He jumped up.

Then he remembered that
he had no clue on how to do it, and the one person who could have
helped him was the one he was trying to save.

He sat back down,
feeling defeated.

Then he jumped back up
again. There were multiple Masters that he could get to help him!
Peter was too distraught, and Madeleine was too young, but there was
still Bill!

He bolted inside to get
his Chuckles gear.

“What are you doing?”
Thomas asked as Charlie sped past.

“I'm gonna get Bill
to help me with the Improbability Clause and get Belle back! I just
need my Chuckles uniform!” Charlie replied.

“Hold it.” Peter
and Thomas said.

Charlie stopped.

“What's going to
happen when whomever kidnapped Belle sees that Giggles is also
missing?” Peter pointed out.

“You can't go as
Chuckles. You have to be careful.” Thomas added.

The pair gave each
other some serious side-eye as Charlie slumped.

He bolted up to his
room and flopped onto his bed with all the drama that his devastation
would allow him.

—

Next morning, things
looked even bleaker.

“She really is gone.”
Peter looked at his breakfast, unable to touch it.

Lara uncomfortably
served Oscar and Madeleine their breakfasts. She couldn't help but
feel like this whole mess was her fault, and that the Masters family
would have been better off not knowing her.

Meanwhile, Charlie had
awoken with a sense of duty, of purpose, and of well-meaning but
misguided determination.

“I WILL find Belle!”
He jumped out of bed and got dressed. He bolted out of the house
(grabbing some toast on the way) and rushed to Bills Restaurant. If
he was going to find Belle, he needed the Improbability Clause. To
use the Clause, he needed a Masters.

“Hi Bill!” Charlie
burst through the back door of the restaurant.

“Why are YOU so
perky?” Bill snapped, pouring himself a coffee.

“We're gonna find
Belle!” Charlie announced.

Bill looked at the
young man for a long time. “I don't know whether to pat you on the
head or shake my head at you.” He sighed and looked up at the young
man. “I'll probably shake my head though since you're now taller
than me.”

“I need a Masters to
use the Improbability Clause.” Charlie told him.

“And why do you need
the Improbability Clause?” Bill asked.

“To find my best
friend.” Charlie pointed out.

“How about no?”
Bill started getting the kitchen organised.

“And why not?”
Charlie looked offended.

“Because unlike my
brother and my niece, I'm not a complete brainiac know-it-all.”
Bill pulled on his apron. He stopped.

Charlie was grinning
from ear to ear.

“Oh no.” Bill
groaned.

“Thanks Bill!”
Charlie bolted from the restaurant.

“Oh lordy…” Bill
groaned again.

—

“Charlie, what are
you doing?! Why aren't you helping us search for Belle?” Lady Luck
cried into her phone.

“Because she's fine.”
Charlie replied, sipping on some iced tea.

“Tell him he's a
jerk!” He heard Lady Courage in the background.

“Lady Courage says
you're a jerk. How can you be so relaxed?!” Petunia cried.

“I think he's finally
snapped!” Thomas said.

“Dad says he thinks I
finally snapped.” Charlie repeated.

Suddenly, Mobster
Marions limo pulled up. The door was kicked open and out flew Belle!

“Take her!” Marion
cried, slamming the door. The limo sped off.

Peter and Thomas looked
at each other, shocked.

“Nicely done Belle!”
Charlie got up and helped Belle to her feet.

“Explain?” Peter
hugged his daughter.

“Belle never shuts
up.” Charlie grinned.

Belle broke out of her
fathers arms and proceeded to chase Charlie up the tree.

“You guys heard that,
right?” Thomas picked up Charlies phone.

“I give up.” Lady
Luck hung up.

—

“I heard a few things
while I was kidnapped.” Belle said as the group sat at the tip
later on.

“Between lectures you
mean.” Charlie grinned.

“Demon is beyond
furious. That's why I was taken. He blames Dad for all of this.”
Belle ignored him. “He's also kicked Daryl out.”

Sunny started laughing.

“That could be
dangerous if Daryl decides to do his own thing.” Daniel frowned at
her.

“Daryl doesn't do
anything he hasn't been told to do first. He's a follower, and if he
can find someone who will let him do what he likes, only then will he
be a threat. Until then, he's going to lay low.” Sunny told them.
“Daryl Jones is no longer a threat.”

“Everyone is busy
regrouping right now. It's a race to see who can get their bearings
first.” Belle told them.

“Thankfully we seem
to be prepared.” TJ breathed a sigh of relief.

“I hope you're
right.” Daniel frowned.

“You got knocked out
by a-,”

“Finish that sentence
Teej and I will hurt so you so badly the DVM will be jealous.”

“So no dicking
around-,”

“SAMMY!”

Daniel would never hear
the end of it. His fellow Knights of the Last Order found his plight
simply hilarious, especially now that the threat was gone. The
Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service had cleared out,
the last part of their mission forever failed. The group was at Bills
restaurant, waiting for their meals.

“I'm just thankful
Peter and Thomas are okay. They could have gotten really screwed up.”
Sunny added the last part slyly.

“Will you all stop
with the puns?” Daniel grumbled. “You all know how bad Carbon
Power is. These two were MONSTERS!”

“Chill out mate,
we're all just having fun.” Charlie said, using a rather miffed
Belle as a back-rest.

“Fun, huh?” She
snapped at him. “Like your Dad did pretending to be DEAD?”

“It was a JOKE,
Belle-Belle.” Charlie rolled his eyes at her. “Relax, you've been
tense since we got to Brisvegas.”

“WHY WOULDN'T I BE
TENSE CHARLIE?!” Belle suddenly jumped up and yelled. “MY FATHER
SOLD OUT TO THE GOVERNMENT AND WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED FOR IT IF YOUR
FATHER HADN'T BEEN NEARLY FATALLY INJURED! PLEASE TELL ME WHY I
SHOULD BE ALL RELAXED LIKE YOU?!”

And with that Belle
stormed out of the room and into the back kitchen to sulk.

“Well SOMEONE is
moody.” Charlie also began to sulk.

“You're not gonna run
off to Awesomica again are you?” Sunny asked slyly.

—

“He's such a MORON!”
Belle grumbled at home later than evening after ranting for two
hours, fifteen minutes and twenty seconds about how horrible her best
friend and his father were.

“Him or his father?”
Peter said with a slight hint of bitterness.

“ALL OF YOU!” Belle
flopped to the sofa.

“Belle, I know you're
a bit mad still over the whole Ruby Suit issue-,” Lara started.

“Leave it.” Belle
snapped.

“You do NOT speak to
your Mother that way!” Peter fired.

“SHE'S NOT MY
MOTHER!” Belle stormed upstairs. Where on earth had THAT come from?
Biologically they might not have been related, but it was accepted
fact now that Lara Masters nee Vargus was the Mother of Belle
Masters, especially by Belle herself.

Belle sighed, before
jumping out of her window, shimmying down the tree and heading off
for a much-needed walk. The whole business with the Ruby Suit had
certainly thrown her for several loops.

—

“Where's Belle? I
want to talk to her and apologise. I've been a bit rough on her
recently.” Charlie poked his head into the Masters kitchen a hour
later.

“She WAS in her room.
Now she's gone walkabout.” Peter told him. “She's in a snit
alright.”

“Between you and Dad
and I we've really gone and done it. Why on earth did you steal the
Ruby Suit?!” Charlie asked.

“I didn't STEAL the
Ruby Suit, I just fixed it up behind their backs.” Peter told him.

“UGH!” Charlie
stormed off in search of his best friend.

“Why would she be
over here? She's not particularly fond of us at the moment.” Thomas
said when Charlie went back home to check for Belle there.

“She's not here,
although to be honest if I were her I wouldn't want you near me
either.” Sunny looked down her nose at him when he checked at her
place for his best friend.

“She's not here.”
Daniel's place.

“Hasn't been here all
week. Want some cake?” TJ and Petunitas.

“Not since she
borrowed my sparkly blue nailpolish.” Tammys.

“Nope.” Sammys.

“Why the HELL would
she be here Begly?!” Judith Jofrey chased him out of her apartment.

“She must be really
mad at me.” Charlie slumped as he walked back home. He was just
turning into the street when he saw his sister Izzy walking the baby
Masters, Madeleine.

“What's up Charlie?”
Izzy asked him.

“Charlie!”
Madeleine waved her hands at her sisters best friend.

“Hi.” Charlie
mumbled.

“Aww, c'mon, what's
up?” Izzy asked.

“Belle-Belle!”
Madeleine answered.

“Ah, you're still
upset that you haven't been taking your best friend seriously and now
you're angry because she's not around when you want to apologise.”
Izzy smirked. Suddenly Madeleine let out a wail and grabbed her eye.
“Sorry! She's still doesn't fully understand being Claused yet.”
Izzy picked the toddler up out of the pram and began to soothe her.

“You are SMITTEN with
that baby!” Charlie had to smile.

“If proper respect is
given, then age should be no deterant to friendship!” Izzy poked
her tongue out at him. “It's okay Madels, you're a smart girl yes
you are!”

“Anyway, HAVE you
seen Belle?” Charlie asked as Madeleine started giggling again.

“Nope. Have you tried
calling her phone?” Izzy said dismissively.

Charlie blinked.

“Anyway, we gotta go,
Sam is picking me up for a movie tonight and I need to be ready.”
Izzy grinned. “We're going on a double-date with Tammy and her
girlfriend.”

“Sounds good. Just
don't scare Tammys date off.” Charlie brushed her off as he dialled
Belle from his own phone. He vaguely thought that Izzy was as smitten
with Sammy as she was with the baby Madeleine as the phone rang out.
“DAMN!” He cried.

Belle must be totally
livid if she wasn't answering her phone. Charlie couldn't stand it.
He remembered the pain he had felt the day that Belle had woken up
after her grandfather Joe died. She hadn't forgiven him then either.

He HAD to make this
right. He was going to keep on calling until he got an answer. He
called again. And again. And again.

After about the sixth
time he finally got an answer. A cold voice simply said “She won't
answer.” and hung up.

Charlie felt his blood
run cold.

Belle Masters had been
kidnapped!

“Belle, you're
driving like a maniac, calm down!” Charlie tried to stop Belle from
getting the both of them killed on the Warry-Go Highway.

“I have to get back!
What if they do something to my Dad?!” Belle cried.

—

Peter put his phone
down. “Bloody hell. I have to go into the office, Scavie wants a
file sent that can't wait until tomorrow.”

“I'LL GO WITH YOU!”
Everyone one of the Noble Knights of the Last Order cried.

“Guys…I don't need
a guard. I've been fine up until now, and I will continue to be
fine.” Peter picked up his car keys. “Someone's used these to
open something.” He wiped something off the key that looked
suspiciously off.

“Pete, you STOLE
GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, furthermore that property WAS A TOP SECRET
WEAPON.” Sunny cried. “They're going to be after you!”

“If anything, it's
Lara who's in danger, you should be protecting her!” Peter shot
back. “She's the government employee!”

“Look, here's how
it's gonna happen.” Daniel held up his hands for calm. “I'm going
with Peter. If all of us go, it's too conspicuous. Sunny, you,
Petunia and TJ are staying here with Lara. The twins are gonna go
patrol.”

“Only two of us on
patrol?” Sammy asked.

“I reckon it will be
the last calm patrol before the fallout begins.” Peter told them.
“Demon is going to be furious at the Masters clan, plus at the
Haunted Maze Troupe for causing trouble while the Presidents
Entrusted National Intelligence Service was here. The Mobsters are
gonna be frothing at the bit to cause trouble again. Once Chuckles
and Giggles get back, it's gonna be on for young and old.”

“Oath.” Sammy
looked at Tammy, who nodded at him. Both of them headed to the tip to
suit up and ship out.

“Don't you think I
should come with you to protect Peter? Three of us here is a bit
overkill.” TJ pointed out to Daniel.

“We'll be fine, we're
just going to get a file.” Peter stood at the front door. “Can we
go now?”

Daniel and TJ shared a
worried look.

—

“BELLE THERE IS
ALREADY SOMEONE IN THAT LANE! BELLE SLOW DOWN!” Charlie screamed in
terror as Belle took the exit towards the Wastelands where
Pleasantville sat.

“No time! We're still
half an hour away!” Belle said, pedal to the metal as she swerved
past a family in a station wagon.

—

“I can't believe I
agreed to this.” Peter grumbled as Thomas drove him and Sir
Lionheart to the Council Building.

“Well, you didn't
want a full security detail, so we brought the Improbability Clause
with us instead.” Sir Lionheart told him.

“Swell.” Peter
groaned.

“Cheer up Petey.
This'll be quick, there'll be no need for the Clause.” Thomas
grinned.

They pulled into the
carpark and headed into the building.

“See? Simple.”
Thomas said as Peter went through the filing cabinet to get the file
he needed to send.

“I know that, and you
know that, but the Knights seem to think otherwise.” Peter walked
to his desk to get an envelope out. “Security let us in no problem,
it's quiet and no one is getting on my nerves.”

That's when watched his
best friends face fall.

“Sir Lionheart?”
Peter called out. Silence. “LIONHEART?” He tried again. “Darn
it Tom, you told me no Clause!”

“We have to go and
find him, he could be in – LOOK OUT!” Thomas cried as Richard
Dickson threw the Hedgehogs Quill Dagger at Peter from the shadows!

“Don't worry about
the Knight, Testy and Ball took care of him quite quickly.” Dickson
smirked as the knife landed in the wall next to Peters head.

“Maybe I SHOULD have
had a full security detail.” Peter gulped.

The door to the office
opened, and Testy and Ball walked through. Ball had Sir Lionheart
over his shoulder.

“Perfect, we'll
unmask him when we get back to base and get all the details we need
from him.” Dickson said before aiming the Speedy Two at Peter.
“Once we know who Chuckles and Giggles are, we can sort things out
in Pleasantville.”

“You faked being bad
with those weapons to get us to lower our guard. You're more
competent than we thought.” Thomas growled.

“A simple ruse, but
so very, very effective.” Dickson smirked. “Now Mr. Masters, to
deal with you.”

“PETE NO!” Thomas
rushed to defend his best friend. Dickson fired, narrowly missing
both men with the first bullet.

“You make this too
easy.” Dickson fired again.

If Giggles hadn't
jumped through the window at that moment, knocking over Dickson, the
bullet would have struck Peter Masters down where he stood.

Instead, it hit Thomas
Begly close to his throat.

“TOMMY!” Peter
cried, rushing to his best friend side.

“Gentlemen, deal.”
Dickson got ready to finish the job while Testy and Ball took care of
Giggles.

“Not so fast!”

Dickson was sent flying
by a punch from Chuckles, which cut open Dicksons face with an Arm
Scythe.

“Darn it, there's
three of them, and according to Daryl, two of them have in-built
Carbon Power!” Giggles groaned.

“Well, you have
in-built immunity!” Chuckles shoved her towards Testy and Ball,
while he went after Dickson. Dickson growled and pulled with his
hand. The Hedgehogs Quill, which was attached to a thin string, came
back to him and he used to to block another offensive. Unfortunately
for him, Chuckles was relentless, leaving him unable to reload the
Speedy Two.

Sure enough, when Ball
threw his Amethyst Blast at Giggles, she was able to dissipate it
easily. With the Lucky Seven Gun, she was able to keep the pair away
from the battling Dickson and Chuckles.

“Fall back!”
Dickson regrouped with Testy and Ball, who were happy to get away
from Giggles and her guns.

“Get out of
Pleasantville and don't you EVER come back!” Giggles warned.

Dickson glared at her
for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he turned around and
walked out of the room.

“You're gonna just
walk off?!” Testy asked incredulously.

“Fall back.”
Dickson growled.

The two men followed
him out of the room, and out of Pleasantville. Both of them shot
parting filthy looks at Chuckles and Giggles, who weren't
particularly bothered.

Chuckles ran to his
father.

“Dad?!” He looked
at his fathers lifeless body.

“I…I…couldn't
stop the blood…he…was…my…best…friend…” Peter could
barely speak.

Chuckles understood.
He'd been here before.

He covered his face as
Giggles came over and took his arm. She looked at him quizzically.

“Are you…laughing?”
She said quietly to him.

Suddenly Thomas lurched
forward with a roar, scaring Peter and Giggles.

I did say it was CLOSE
to the throat. Probably more near the shoulder. Peter refused to talk
to him for three weeks.

“Something's not
right.” Belle packed her bag as fast as she could. “If they're
after the Ruby Suit they might decide to get rid of Dad or Lara too!”

“There's no sense
killing yourself trying to get there, otherwise who will protect
Peter? Relax!” Charlie carefully folded his underwear.

“Dad's put himself in
danger. I can't believe he blabbed about the Ruby Suit!” Belle
shoved her clothes into the bag. “I mean, what was he thinking?
Driving out to Fallsville wasn't going to save him at…CHARLIE NO I
DON'T NEED THE CLAUSE RIGHT NOW!” Belle cried as a familiar
expression crossed her best friends face.

Suddenly, Charlie
started packing faster than Belle!

“Okay fine, Clause
me.” Belle grumbled.

“Belle, think about
what's out at Fallsville. Your father didn't make that call.”
Charlie shoved as much as he could into his suitcase.

“There's nothing out
at Fallsville, it's a dump. A rural town with only one landmark and
that's March Hill…oh NO!” Belle began packing faster, getting her
clothes messed up with Charlies.

“That's right. It
looks like Crusader Roger is getting his revenge on Revolver by
trying to oust the DVM from the Council.” Charlie groaned. “And
he thought he could use the government to do his dirty work for him.”

“And instead all he's
done is make my father a target!” Belle cried. “Demon's gonna
come after my Dad, I just KNOW it! And that's if Dickson doesn't get
to him first!”

—

“I can NOT believe I
let you guys talk me into this.” Sunny sighed as she walked up the
Masters driveway.

“Hey, Belle herself
said the more we know the better.” Sammy pointed out. “Actually,
her last message sounded quite panicked…”

“The point is, if
we're to protect Peter, we need to know the full story.” Daniel
strode forward.

“No, we don't.”
Sunny glared at him.

“Trust me, it's
better this way.” Petunia put a hand on Sunnys shoulder.

Sunny groaned, and
knocked on the door.

“We don't want
any…Sunny? Since when did YOU guys start knocking?” Lara opened
the door.

“We need to talk to
you and Peter. About the Ruby Suit and why Dickson is here.” Daniel
pushed himself forward and looked Lara dead in the eye.

Sunny facepalmed.

“I'll get Pete. You
guys can wrangle Ozzie and Madeleine.” Lara said.

Inside, the two younger
Masters were chasing each other around with pillows.

“PILLOW FIGHT!”
Sammy cried, and joined the frockling children.

“I swear, he's only
15 minutes younger than me.” Tammy rolled her eyes at her brother.

“He's good with
children though, you have to admit.” Sunny looked impressed as
Sammy had the two little Masters laughing.

Tammy and Petunia
shared a look, before giggling.

Lara returned with
Peter. While Sammy took care of Ozzy and Madeleine the others all
headed into the dining room to talk.

“We need to know what
you did.” Daniel got straight to the point. “Why is the
government after the Ruby Suit?”

Peter sighed. “It was
after Giggles debuted the Backpack with it's carbon technology.” He
began to explain. “The government sent Lara to find out about it.”

“Government? I
thought Lara was in family law!” TJ looked confused.

“I am, for the most
part.” Lara told them. “But on the side, I'm a government agent.
They use my family law employment as a good cover for what they need
me to do.”

“So Lara got in touch
with me and we reconnected. At the same time, she got me in touch
with a government lab and they got me to work.” Peter continued. “I
did a lot of work on the Carbon Power project, also known as Project
40.

“It took me a while
but eventually I came up with a prototype suit, the Carbon Suit,
which wasn't very good at all and flooded whomever wore it with
Carbon Power. I deemed it a failure, but the government decided they
wanted to continue with human experiments. I think they called it
Project 42.”

“Daryl said something
about Dicksons two goons wearing a Project 42 shirt.” Sunny said.

“I'll have to follow
up on that.” Peter grimaced. “Anyway, when they scrapped Project
40 I stole the Carbon Suit and fixed it up into the Ruby Suit. Then I
gave it to Beauty so she could be Ruby Giggles. I never thought that
anyone would think to stab her with a Ruby Weapon but Johannas did
so…”

“You STOLE the Ruby
Suit from the government?!” Lara cried. “You told me that they
were fine with you taking it! No wonder Dickson is here now!”

“Belle told us you
might become a target.” Tammy said quietly. “She was right,
you're in big trouble for sure.”

“It also explains how
you had the Ruby Suit made at all.” Daniel mused.

“I HAD always
wondered about that.” Sunny nodded.

“I made sure never to
let the government know I had it, so I don't know why they're after
it now. They rarely pay attention to anything that happens in
Pleasantville.” Peter groaned, burying his head in his hands.

“How'd they know
about the Backpack then?” TJ asked.

“Oh that's easy, I
put in a patent for that when Beauty was fifteen.” Peter told them.
“It was about a year after that when they started looking into it.”

“Which is when Belle
became Giggles.” Sunny breathed out. “Oh boy, what a mess.”

“You're telling me.”
Peter rubbed his face. Then his phone went off.

“Look, I know that
Ruby beat you up, but didn't Sidewinder come and help you out in the
end anyway?” Charlie tried to calm Daniel down over the phone.
“Yes, I KNOW your new tattoo nearly got ruined, but it didn't, so
it's all…Dan, please, we're doing our best here!” He held the
phone away from his ear as Daniel went on a very loud, very
unpublishable tirade. “Mate, seriously! We'll be home as soon as we
can. Okay, 'bye!” He quickly hung up the phone before Daniel could
start raving and ranting again.

“Of course it just
HAD to happen while we were at the Leos game.” Belle sighed.
“Although it's nice that the Leos are starting to win again.”

“It is, it is.”
Charlie agreed. “Webster should be back soon, hopefully he can get
us what we need.”

“Fingers crossed.”
Belle lay back on her bed. “Do you ever wonder if our ancestors
ever saw this happening when they first dammed up Pleasant Lake?”

“How could they
have?” Charlie asked.

“Well, that stupid
Improbability Clause for one thing.” Belle said slyly.

It took three hours
before Charlie would talk to her again.

—

Richard Dickson walked
slowly through the streets of Pleasantville under the cover of the
moonless night. Behind him were Testy and Ball, sticking close
together.

“I can't BELIEVE we
got stuck with this.” Testy ejaculated. “I bet they're all back
at base having a good laugh at us.”

“They're laughing at
YOU.” Ball grabbed him tightly. “Now shut up, this is a stealth
mission.”

“We haven't arrived
YET Mr. Ball, you can relax.” Dickson chuckled. “Now come on,
faster!”

They were headed
towards the Mayors mansion.

—

“What have you got
for us?” Belle and Charlie dragged Webster into the hotel room that
night when he finally arrived with news.

“Two communications.
One made just after the protest, one made a month ago.” Webster
handed the pair a folder.

The first one was
simple:

“I'm sure you've seen
the latest from Pleasantville. Now would be a good time to make good
on our deal. Much love!”

The second one was a
bit more threatening.

“The Mayor and his
son only have power due to the machinations of the Death Valley Gang
and the Mobsters of Misneach, plus that Ruby Suit. I suggest you do
something about this. Now.”

“Both of them sound
like Dad.” Belle scanned the two communications carefully. Charlie
blinked.

“Oh…oh no…I know
what Dickson is after.” He gulped.

—

Ruby Daryl was about to
go out and terrorize the local school disco, when he heard someone
behind him.

He stopped in the
middle of the school oval. He saw three figures walking towards him.
He flicked his hand, releasing a Ruby Shard, which he threw at the
approaching figures.

One of the figures
laughed and brushed the Shard out of the air! Ruby stepped back,
shocked.

“Didn't expect THAT
did ya, brat?” Testy snickered. He then formed his own Shard, a
deep blue one, and threw it at Ruby, who flew up into the air out of
the way.

“Looks like this is
your show, you like flying better than me.” Ball grinned at Testy.

“With pleasure.”
Testy suddenly launched himself into the air and chased after Ruby!
Ruby began to freak out. The closest anyone had come to being his
equal before was Giggles, and that was only because of her immunity
to the Ruby Power. Now, these two appeared, and they seemed to be
able to use that power without a suit?!

Ruby formed Ruby Blasts
in two hands, and fired them at both Testy and Ball.

Ball chuckled, before
grabbing the Blast and crushing it. He then returned his own purple
Blast! Testy just swatted his away.

Ruby put up a Ruby
shield, but even though it could easily take the Amethyst
Blast, he went flying, barely stopping himself from hitting the
ground hard. Testy followed after him, firing another Sapphire Shard.
Ruby tried a Ruby Shield again, but the Sapphire Shard was too fast, soaring into Rubys shoulder!

Ruby began to scream in
agony as the Ruby and Sapphire power began to flood his body.

“Perfect. Now to
extract it.” Dickson grinned. Ball and Testy walked over and began
to strip Daryl of his prized Suit.

From the light that the
Ruby Suit was emitting Daryl could see that the two men were wearing
grey shirts with “Project 42” on the sleeve. They ungraciously
ripped the Suit from the young man, causing him even more agony.

“Mission completed.
Let's get out of here.” Dickson waved the two men back to him.

“About time. I'm
never gonna live down the code name “Testy”!” Testy groaned as
the trio walked back to their lodgings, ready to leave Pleasantville
forever.

—

“You guys are NEVER
going to believe what happened!” Sunny looked almost gleeful as she
and Melody walked into Bills restaurant.

“You won lotto?”
Tammy looked hopeful.

“Alas, no.” Sunny
sat down with Melody squirming into her lap.

“You bought a house!”
Sammy guessed.

“Wait, what? NO, I
already have a house!” Sunny rolled her eyes.

“You're pregnant
again!” Petunia looked thrilled.

“NO!” Sunny was
getting annoyed.

“You got a job?” TJ
asked.

“WILL YOU LOT
LISTEN?!” Sunny roared.

Silence.

“Thank you. Now, some
Mobsters found Daryl butt-naked and passed out at the high school –
apparently Dickson stole the Ruby Suit off him!” Sunny told them.
“We're free of that tyrant!”

The cheers startled
passersby.

“Dickson wasn't given
a mission to investigate Pleasantville, I can tell you that right
now. The government doesn't give two figs about that city, no matter
what the uproar is.” Webster told them. “There must be another
reason that they went, and the investigation is just a cover.”

“What on earth are
they after then?” Belle asked.

“We know about as
much as you do.” Webster sighed.

—

“Peter Masters is the
reason you're here? HE called you?” Lady Luck raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. He has a few
deals with the government, and so he called it and we're here.”
Dickson told the Knights of the Last Order.

“Then why weren't you
here earlier? The protest was well over a year ago.” Sir Dark
asked. Something wasn't adding up.

“The wheels of
progress aren't very fast in the great City Hall of Ostraya.”
Dickson smiled.

Sir Lionheart closed
his eyes. This was going south badly. “I'm going to call an end to
this meeting. We're getting no where fast.”

“Very well. I'll send
my messages through your friend Theodore?” Dickson got up to leave.

“Constable Jacobs to
you.” Sir Hyper snapped.

Dickson nodded, before
walking away with Testy and Ball.

“I hope like crazy
Chuckles and Giggles have found something, because this is getting
hairy.” Lady Courage groaned when the Presidents Entrusted National
Intelligence Service was gone.

“I'm worried about
what they said about Peter.” Sir Lionheart folded his arms. “We'd
better get on to Giggles and let her know.”

“Right.” The others
except Lady Courage agreed. Inside, Sunny worried about her friend.
How would Belle react to the news that her father sold the power of
the Ruby Suit?

—

Belle woke up drowsily
the next morning (barely) as her phone beeped, alerting her to an
email from Sunny. She read the contents before groaning.

“What's up?”
Charlie didn't even open his eyes.

“Apparently last
night Dickson confirmed that my father sent for the Presidents
Entrusted National Intelligence Service.” Belle sighed. “Apparently
it took them a while to get to Pleasantville.”

“Huh.” Charlie
opened his eyes.

“That's that. Dad
sold the Ruby Suit to the government for a favour, which he called
after the protest and they've just taken their sweet time getting to
it.” Belle leaned back on her bed.

“Hmm.” Charlie
stared at the ceiling. “It's taken them over a year to get to it,
even with the public outcry?”

Belle sat up and rubbed
her chin. “You're right. Why wait until the public outcry died out
only to restart it again?”

She flipped through her
notes again, looking for anything she could find. There was a knock
at the door, and Charlie answered it. It was Webster, holding a pair
of coffees and a cardboard box filled with hot toast.

“Yes please!” Belle
and Charlie reached for the coffees. Webster chuckled as they ate and
drank.

“You certainly
haven't improved your study habits Belle.” Webster said when they'd
calmed down.

“Yours aren't much
better thank you.” Belle snapped back. “By the way, we need some
information.”

“All ears.” Webster
perked up.

“We need to know when
the Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service was requested
to go to Pleasantville. I want to see my fathers communication with
them.” Belle told him. Her voice quivered slightly.

“Your father isn't a
traitor Belle. He did what he had to.” Charlie said quietly.

“I'll see what I can
dig up.” Webster told them. “Why don't you go to a Leos game?
I'll be a few hours.”

“You can get the
information we need?” Charlie perked up.

“I'll get it, just
you watch.” Webster grinned. “Or my name isn't Sir Hedgehog!”

—

“Confront him…wait
until Belle gets home…confront him…wait until Belle gets home…”
Sammy said to himself, trying to weigh up the options.

“We're waiting until
Belle-Belle gets home and that's final.” Sunny snapped.

They were sitting in TJ
and Petunias lounge room, and that outburst from Sunny had Sammy
hiding in a corner.

“Easy Sunny!”
Daniel tried to calm her down. “We might not have time to do that.
Dingbat, Dickson and Demon are all out there and we don't know what
Dickson has in mind.”

“Well, from Belle's
email, we can safely say he's lying about his reason for being here.”
TJ read the email again. “I wonder what-,”

Suddenly, a news
bulletin appeared on the television, that had been left on as
background noise. “RUBY IS OUT OF CONTROL AGAIN, AND SO ARE THE
HAUNTED MAZE TROUPE!”

“Why, why, WHY did
they have to act up while Chuckles and Giggles were out of town?!”
Petunia groaned as everyone rushed to the tip to suit up.

They couldn't get there
soon enough, as Ruby Daryl was destroying everything in sight in
order to get even with some slight he had with the Haunted Maze
Troupe.

“Why doesn't it
surprise me that my brother is dabbling in drugs?” Lady Courage
muttered under her breath as the Knights arrived at the scene.
“Thanks Sir Motor!”

“You owe me.” Sir
Motor grumbled (he and his beloved daughter had been watching their
favourite show before his fiance had called him to take them to
battle).

“You'll live!” Lady
Courage chided him before rushing out to calm the farm.

“GET. OUT. OF. MY.
WAY!” Ruby was already trying to get through Sir Hyper and Sir
Dark.

"What the heck are
you doing Ruby?!" Sir Dark dodged a Ruby Dagger.

"Are you kidding?
I'm making a FORTUNE selling this stuff!" Ruby held up a packet
of white powder. The two Troupers giggled.

"You sick,
twisted, spoiled BRAT! Ladies and gentlemen please stand back."
Lady Luck yelled as she quickly ushered people away.

"Aww, you're just
jealous you didn't think of it first." Ruby sneered, shaking the
bag of white powder. Suddenly he screamed in pain and dropped the bag
into the outstretched hand of Lady Courage, who had taken the
opportunity to smack the bag out of his hand with her faithful old
baseball bat!

"You… give that
back or I …" Ruby readied a Ruby Shard. The two Troupers
continued giggling, until Lady Luck glared at them.

"I'd be careful
with that." Lady Courage opened the bag and held a bottle of
water over it.

"You wouldn't
DARE!" Ruby looked ready to kill. "There's nearly $6000 in
that bag!"

"You're making
this so much sweeter for me." Lady Courage looked quite pleased
with herself.

Meanwhile, watching the
carnage on the television in his hotel, Richard Dickson of the
Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service grinned.

"So there it is."
He watched as the white powder ended up drenched and on the ground as
the Troupers turned on Ruby. “Our mission is going to be a success
after all.”

TJ knew what he had to
do.

It was Monday morning,
and it was time for his interview with Richard Dickson, the leader of
the Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service. He had to be
careful. If Wallace Dingbat suspected a thing, then it was all over.

He walked through the
entrance of the room that had been set aside for the interviews and
looked around, inspecting everything. He wished he was Belle, who
could take in a lot of information quickly and scope out a situation
before anyone else, which allowed Charlie to form the best plan of
action. Of course, they were in Brisvegas for the week, so they were
no help.

His eyes scoped the
small window to the main office, the only window in the room. There
was a single desk with two chairs. Dickson sat on the other side of
the desk.

“Please, take a seat
Mr. Jacobs.” Dickson smiled at him.

TJ closed the door and
sat down. “My name is TJ.” He said.

“TJ?” Dickson
asked.

“So I don't get
confused with my Dad. He's Theodore Jacobs Snr, I'm Theodore Jacobs
Jr.” TJ told him. “Only my wife gets away with calling me
Theodore.”

“Yes, I see you're
married to a nurse. Petunia, am I right?” Dickson looked through
his paperwork.

“Yup, my 'Tuney.”
TJ smiled.

“You've been married
for a while. Judging from the fact that your face could light up the
dark side of the moon, I say things are going well?” Dickson smiled
back. “I recently got married myself.”

“Congratulations.”
TJ nodded.

“Thank you.”
Dickson shuffled his papers again. “Now, before we start, is there
anything you want to tell me?”

“Not here, no. I
mostly keep to myself and don't bother anyone.” TJ replied.

Dickson looked at him,
confused but not showing it. “Very well.” He sighed with
disappointment. “I see you're not going to talk.”

“Not here, no.” TJ
said again. “I don't have any knowledge that you might want.”

“Very well.”
Dickson sighed with defeat. He handed TJ his card. “Let me know
when you want to talk.”

TJ looked at the card.
“I don't think I'll be needing it.” He handed it back and left
the room.

—

“I don't get it.”
Belle stared at the page for the millionth time as they pored over
the files in the hotel. “Why did Dad sell the specs for the Ruby
Suit?”

“Maybe he was hoping
for a favour from the government? Maybe that's why the…them…are
here?” Charlie had to suppress a giggle.

“But why would Dad
wait so long after the protest to cash in?” Belle wondered.

Charlie thought hard,
but ended up shaking his head.

“It's no good. I need
more information before I can use the Clause.” He said. “Let's
get back to work.”

“Yeah.” Belle
nodded, before the pair of them dove into the paperwork in front of
them.

—

“Why MIDNIGHT of all
things?! And on a Monday night too?!” Sir Hyper grumbled.

The Noble Knights of
the Last Order was standing on the walkway of Pleasantville Dam

“Because that's the
way they do it in the movies.” Sir Dark replied.

“I gotta admit, that
was a good idea, handing back the note with his card.” Sir
Lionheart said approvingly.

“You learn quickly. I
couldn't risk Dingbat seeing anything.” Sir Dark told him. “I'm
already in a enough hot water there.”

“Ssshhhh, I hear
something.” Lady Silent piped up.

The group stood
silently as they listened. Soon, they could all hear the sound of
multiple sets of footsteps heading towards them. They soon saw
Richard Dickson and two of his men in the moonlight.

“Mr. Dickson. I'm
glad you accepted the Constables message. I'm Sir Lionheart, I
believe we have met.” Sir Lionheart introduced himself.

“Interesting.”
Dickson replied. “These are my men, the two I trust more than
anyone else, Mr. Ball and Mr. Testy.”

Sir Lionheart had to
swallow his laughter. He then introduced the rest of the Knights.

“Now, to business. We
want to know exactly why you're here and what you plan to do next.”
Sir Hyper sat on a nearby rock.

“That's a difficult
question. You see, what we've been sent to do and what we actually
plan to do are two completely different things.” Testy sighed. In
the dark all the Knights could see was a weaselly-shaped man who
looked completely untrustworthy.

“The government sent
us here as a cover. We're just here for show.” Ball said. He was
bigger than Testy, and looked more like someone military.

“But we don't believe
that's right. We actually want to make a difference.” Testy said.

“No offence, but how
do we believe you?” Lady Courage asked.

“None taken. We know
our story seems far-fetched.” Ball said. “It's up to you what you
do with it.”

“So you're not even
prepared to try?” Lady Courage narrowed her eyes.

“Easy Courage.” Sir
Lionheart said warningly.

“I don't trust them.
They're on OUR territory, we don't know where they've come from or
who they're working for or why. Everything they've said so far just
sounds way too convenient.” Lady Courage pointed out. “Especially
as it seems the government wants the status quo to stay as it is.”

Dickson stared hard at
her. Sir Lionheart grimaced beneath his mask briefly, before turning
to Dickson.

“My associate has a
point. Until we can fully verify your story and your intentions, we
won't be able to trust you or work with you properly.” He
conceded. “What can you give us?”

“I can give you
information about Peter Masters.” Dickson told them

—

Belle and Charlie were
deep in their files, when there was a knock on the door. The pair
looked at each other, stricken.

“Does anyone know
we're here?” Belle mouthed.

“They shouldn't.”
Charlie mouthed back.

The knocking started
again. Belle reached into her bag and pulled out the Lucky Seven Gun.
Charlie pulled out the Lions Claw Blade and walked to the door. Belle
positioned herself behind the bed and nodded.

Charlie opened the
door.

“Webster! Maddy!
Tate!” Belle put the Lucky Seven Gun down. “What are you guys
doing here?”

“Hopefully not
getting shot.” Webster chuckled. He looked a lot healthier than he
had when he lived in Pleasantville, which just went to show what that
city did to people. “Your Dad let us know you were here, so we
thought we'd help out. We can unlock doors that you can't.”

“Nice!” Charlie
grinned. “We need more information for me to process the
Improbability Clause.”

“And we've got some.
We just need to know about who they sent to Pleasantville.” Maddy
sat down and set Tate on the bed.

Belle and Charlie
looked at each other and giggled. Then they saw that Webster and
Maddy looked deathly serious.

“If it's the
Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service, we're in big
trouble.” Webster said. “You can NOT trust Richard Dickson!”

TJ might have agreed
with Petunia and had a path going forward, but the fact that his
father, the father he had looked up to and idolized, the father he
wanted to emulate had turned a blind eye to the corruption of the
Pleasantville Police Force just to further his own career made him
feel sick. It was all he could think about that weekend, when he
SHOULD have been thinking about how he was going to tackle Dickson.

Also, he probably
should have had his mind on the game of cricket he was playing at the
tip.

“TEEJ! Are you
okay?!” Daniel cried as the bouncer he bowled hit TJ in the ear.

“Owch.” TJ fell to
the ground, clutching the side of his head.

“You've been
distracted all day, what's up?” Sammy asked as Petunia tended to
the wound.

“Of course, if
SOMEONE would avoid bowling bouncers, that would be nice!” Petunia
rounded on Daniel.

“There is nothing
wrong with my bowling!” Daniel retorted.

Ten minutes later, when
the argument had finished, TJ told his fellow Knights about the
conversation he'd had with his Dad.

“Wow. I can't believe
your Dad just turned a blind eye to everything!” Tammy gasped. “I
mean, we all know your Dad!”

“I just…” TJ
couldn't bring himself to say it. Sunny put her hand on his arm.

“Your Dad loves you.
He did what he thought was best to protect you and give you the best
he could. Try not to hold it too much against him.” She said
quietly.

“Not all Dads can be
heroes.” Daniel added.

TJ sighed. “I
just…what if I go against him and he finds out? What if he finds
out I'm a Knight of the Last Order?”

“Then you have us.
We'll wear it if it happens.” Sammy said quickly and firmly.

“Exactly.” Tammy
agreed with her brother.

TJ sighed again.
Petunia finished fixing up his ear and put her arm around him.

“You can't do any
worse with Dickson and your father than your strike rate I guess.”
She said slyly.

Instantly, TJs father
was forgotten in yet another cricket argument. Stay classy Knights.

—

“What's up Dorkster?”
Charlie poked his head out of his window. Belle was sitting in the
tree, looking up through the new leaves.

“Something doesn't
add up. The protest was AGES ago. The government had plenty of time
to organize a raid, and something much more substantial then sending
the p- Dickson.” Belle had a small giggle to herself before
frowning again.

“Shouldn't we just be
grateful someone is here?” Charlie asked.

“Yes…and no.
Sometimes it pays to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not all gifts
are given with the best intentions.” Belle mused.

Charlie looked at his
best friend. “I don't think the answers will be in Pleasantville.”
He said slowly. “We'll need to go to Brisvegas.”

“Yeah.” Belle
nodded. “Wanna come with me?”

“And help you sift
through boring information on a dumb research project? Heck yeah!”
Charlie grinned. “We might need the Improbability Clause!”

“You're the worst
best friend ever you know that?” Belle scowled at him.

—

All being said, it
wasn't a bad car trip to Brisvegas.

“You are NEVER
driving my car again.” Belle snapped at Charlie as they pulled into
their hotel.

“You know it's a good
idea to change drivers every two hours.” Charlie lectured her as he
handed the key to the concierge.

“WE WERE TEN MINUTES
AWAY!” Belle yelped.

“Semantics.”

They checked in with no
problems (except Belle pouting) and they headed to their room. Almost
immediately, Belle began to arrange the desk and Charlie closed the
curtains.

“We could have been
followed! You're pretty hot property at the moment!” Charlie
pointed out.

“Good point.” Belle
agreed. She pulled out her laptop and set it up on the desk, with her
pen and notepad. She grabbed another pen and notepad and shoved it
into her handbag.

“We've got two hours
until the Brisvegas Council Library closes.” Belle said. “Let's
get out some information and bring it back here to analyse.”

“How are we supposed
to get said information? Most of it would be top secret wouldn't it?”
Charlie asked as they walked out of the hotel room.

“A name is quite a
lot.” Belle smirked. “And my name tends to get me into a lot of
places others would fear to tread.”

They headed to the
library, and got a hold of all the unclassified government records
that they were allowed. They got everything they could relating to
Pleasantville, and headed back to the hotel (with the all-important
detour for snacks).

“So, what do we do
first?” Charlie looked at the huge pile of binders on the desk.

“We procrastinate and
watch the cricket, duh.” Belle told him, jumping on a bed and
flicking through the channels.

“Now that sounds like
a plan!” Charlie grinned.

They watched an awful
game of Ostraya versus the Golden Isle. Towards the innings break,
they ordered room service (charged to the account of Peter Masters)
and continued watching the drivel before Belle got irritated and
started reading one of the binders. Charlie snickered behind his
hand, while watching the Golden Isle lose another wicket.

Suddenly, the binder
was down and Belle was trying to breathe normally.

“Belle? BELLE!”
Charlie jumped to her side. “What is it, what did you find?”

Belle turned to him,
pale. She shakily pointed to a page in the binder.

Charlie picked up the
binder and looked at it. He gulped. What he read could only mean one
thing, and one thing only.

Either Lara or Peter
Masters had sold the government the secrets of the Ruby Suit, long
before Belle had ever worn it.