Post by artgirlb [a.k.a. Numbuh 138] on May 1, 2007 22:09:53 GMT
Okay, it's been long enough to NOT consider this a double-post.
Considering I'm still unsure if Chapter 5 was good, I'm really, REALLY unsure if this is any good. Oh, well. The part I've been DYING to write is coming up next.
And there are not one, but TWO flashbacks here! I'm changing up the format a little, so I don't get bored.
---
Chapter Six
Saturday had arrived, and all the kids in town had gathered at Toobathon. Monty and Betty were standing by the river, chatting and waiting for Hoagie, while Ben was inflating his tube, looking unsure about whether he really wanted to be there. Just then, Hoagie arrived, carrying his inner tube on his shoulder.
"Hey, guys!" he greeted Monty and Betty, but their attention was directed at his tube. It was a dark blue, slightly beat-up thing, and it had the name "Betsy" written on it.
"THAT'S your tube?" Monty asked.
"Okay, she doesn't LOOK impressive," Hoagie admitted, then smiled, "But when it comes to tubing, all I need is Betsy and farfegtubin."
"You never told us what that was." Betty pointed out.
"I'll tell you what farfegtubin is - it's all about trust, faith, and the melding of kid and tube into the perfect racing machine. And thanks to that, I've won every race I've ever been in - heck, I bet that Betsy here could do more than just that! Why...she could save all the kids in town!"
"Yeah...I'm sure she could." Monty told Hoagie, to humor him. By now, he and Betty had noticed that Hoagie had a tendency to exaggerate.
Just then Hoagie noticed Ben, who was still working on his tube.
"Hey, Ben!" Hoagie greeted him, "Looks like you decided to come after all."
Ben stayed silent, as he added a little more air to his tube.
"I don't get it..." Hoagie remarked to Monty and Betty, "I've been friendly to him all week! What did I ever do to Ben?"
"Actually," Monty sighed, "I think I might've figured out what's wrong with him. You see-"
"ATTENTION!" a voice shouted, "ALL RACERS COME TO THE STARTING LINE NOW!"
"I'll tell you later." Monty quickly finished, as he dashed into the water, while Betty followed suit.
"Good luck!" she shouted to Hoagie, as she got in the water.
Hoagie, confident about the race, stepped into the water, and swam out as close to the starting line as possible, pulling his tube through the water. Just then, he noticed Ben, hesitating to get in the river.
"Come on, Ben!" he called, "What're you waiting for?"
"I don't think I wanna be in this race anymore," Ben replied, "I've never been in a tubing race before, and I'm not that great a swimmer..."
"Aw, c'mon, you'll do fine." Hoagie said, "Trust me."
"Well...okay." Ben finally agreed, slowly stepping into the river.
Hoagie smiled, and headed towards the starting line, pulling his tube.
"Well, Betsy," he confided to it, "I think this is gonna be a race to remember."
---
"Father, did you hear something?" the Delightful Children's voices inquired, alarming Tommy and Hoagie.
"Time to go." Hoagie hurriedly told Tommy. The brothers got up and rushed down the corridor in the direction of the window they had entered the house through.
"Shouldn't we contact Numbuh One?!" Tommy asked.
"As soon as we get out of here!" Hoagie replied.
"You're not going ANYWHERE!" boomed a voice from behind the boys. Tommy and Hoagie turned around to see the silhouetted figure of Father looming right behind them.
"How did you-" Hoagie began, but was interrupted as flames burst from Father's hands.
"WHERE...IS...HE?!" Father shouted.
"I-if you're talking about Dad...I-I didn't even know he was alive!"
"Wh-what do you want with Dad, anyway?" Tommy stuttered.
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Father screamed, now completely in flames.
"Hey, is that Dad over there?" Hoagie said, pointing behind Father. While Father momentarily looked behind him, Hoagie and Tommy ran off.
"Almost...there..." Hoagie panted, as they reached the end of the corridor. As the brothers arrived at the still-open window, Nigel arrived on the scene, a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. in hand.
"I heard shouting," he explained, "What's going on?"
"We'llexplainlaterrightnowwe'vegottaRUN!" Hoagie answered, jumping out the window. Tommy followed him, and Nigel, although still not sure what was going on, jumped out, too, closing the window behind him. The boys ran off towards the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., still parked behind the trees.
"All right, NOW can you tell me what's going on?" Nigel asked Hoagie, as they all got into the vehicle.
"Father's not after me," Hoagie answered, "He's after my dad!"
"He's still alive?!" Nigel gasped.
"I guess so...but I don't know why he would be after him..."
"Tommy," Nigel addressed the younger Gilligan brother, "What exactly did your dad's page in the Book of KND say about a 'Benedict Uno'?"
"I don't think Tommy could have seen that much." Hoagie pointed out, "Wait...what does this uncle of yours have to do with Father?"
"I...I have a confession to make." Nigel sighed, "Remember back when we found out my dad was Numbuh Zero? Well... I also found out something even more shocking...you see...Father and Benedict Uno are the same person."
"You mean Father's your uncle?!"
"Yes...but that's-"
"So, the guy we've been fighting this WHOLE TIME is related to you?!"
"Numbuh Two, that's not the point! If the Book of KND mentioned that your dad and Father knew each other, then we should take a closer look at that page."
"Um...Numbuh One?" Tommy spoke up, "This is kinda awkward, but...I kinda...took that page out..."
"YOU WHAT?!"
---
"On your marks...get set...GO!"
The Toobathon racers took off and sped off through the water. As Hoagie pushed himself and Betsy through the water, he noticed Ben catching up to him.
"See, what did I tell ya?" Hoagie said to him, "Pretty fun, right?"
"Yeah..." Ben replied, smiling for the first time since he had arrived, "This isn't so bad!"
"Hey, heads-up - waterfall up ahead."
"Waterfall?!"
Sure enough, the racers were all heading towards a rather large waterfall. Each kid shouted or squealed in excitement as they went over and down to the water below.
"Um, Hoagie, I don't know if this is too safe..." Ben whimpered.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Hoagie assured him, then pushed himself and Betsy off onto the waterfall, as Ben nervously watched.
"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hoagie shouted, as he zoomed down towards the bottom of the falls. He and his tube splashed down into the river below, and then quickly floated away.
"Hey, Hoagie!" shouted Monty's voice. Hoagie turned to see Monty and Betty nearby.
"How're you doing so far?" Hoagie asked them.
"Great, how about you?" Betty asked.
"Um, Hoagie?" Monty asked, "Have you seen Ben? I haven't seen him since the race began."
"Sure I have." Hoagie replied, "He should be here any minute."
As soon as Hoagie said this, an empty tube floated by them. All three kids immediately recognized this as the inner tube Ben had been using.
"That can't be a good sign..." Hoagie quietly commented.
Considering I'm still unsure if Chapter 5 was good, I'm really, REALLY unsure if this is any good. Oh, well. The part I've been DYING to write is coming up next.
And there are not one, but TWO flashbacks here! I'm changing up the format a little, so I don't get bored.
---
Chapter Six
Saturday had arrived, and all the kids in town had gathered at Toobathon. Monty and Betty were standing by the river, chatting and waiting for Hoagie, while Ben was inflating his tube, looking unsure about whether he really wanted to be there. Just then, Hoagie arrived, carrying his inner tube on his shoulder.
"Hey, guys!" he greeted Monty and Betty, but their attention was directed at his tube. It was a dark blue, slightly beat-up thing, and it had the name "Betsy" written on it.
"THAT'S your tube?" Monty asked.
"Okay, she doesn't LOOK impressive," Hoagie admitted, then smiled, "But when it comes to tubing, all I need is Betsy and farfegtubin."
"You never told us what that was." Betty pointed out.
"I'll tell you what farfegtubin is - it's all about trust, faith, and the melding of kid and tube into the perfect racing machine. And thanks to that, I've won every race I've ever been in - heck, I bet that Betsy here could do more than just that! Why...she could save all the kids in town!"
"Yeah...I'm sure she could." Monty told Hoagie, to humor him. By now, he and Betty had noticed that Hoagie had a tendency to exaggerate.
Just then Hoagie noticed Ben, who was still working on his tube.
"Hey, Ben!" Hoagie greeted him, "Looks like you decided to come after all."
Ben stayed silent, as he added a little more air to his tube.
"I don't get it..." Hoagie remarked to Monty and Betty, "I've been friendly to him all week! What did I ever do to Ben?"
"Actually," Monty sighed, "I think I might've figured out what's wrong with him. You see-"
"ATTENTION!" a voice shouted, "ALL RACERS COME TO THE STARTING LINE NOW!"
"I'll tell you later." Monty quickly finished, as he dashed into the water, while Betty followed suit.
"Good luck!" she shouted to Hoagie, as she got in the water.
Hoagie, confident about the race, stepped into the water, and swam out as close to the starting line as possible, pulling his tube through the water. Just then, he noticed Ben, hesitating to get in the river.
"Come on, Ben!" he called, "What're you waiting for?"
"I don't think I wanna be in this race anymore," Ben replied, "I've never been in a tubing race before, and I'm not that great a swimmer..."
"Aw, c'mon, you'll do fine." Hoagie said, "Trust me."
"Well...okay." Ben finally agreed, slowly stepping into the river.
Hoagie smiled, and headed towards the starting line, pulling his tube.
"Well, Betsy," he confided to it, "I think this is gonna be a race to remember."
---
"Father, did you hear something?" the Delightful Children's voices inquired, alarming Tommy and Hoagie.
"Time to go." Hoagie hurriedly told Tommy. The brothers got up and rushed down the corridor in the direction of the window they had entered the house through.
"Shouldn't we contact Numbuh One?!" Tommy asked.
"As soon as we get out of here!" Hoagie replied.
"You're not going ANYWHERE!" boomed a voice from behind the boys. Tommy and Hoagie turned around to see the silhouetted figure of Father looming right behind them.
"How did you-" Hoagie began, but was interrupted as flames burst from Father's hands.
"WHERE...IS...HE?!" Father shouted.
"I-if you're talking about Dad...I-I didn't even know he was alive!"
"Wh-what do you want with Dad, anyway?" Tommy stuttered.
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Father screamed, now completely in flames.
"Hey, is that Dad over there?" Hoagie said, pointing behind Father. While Father momentarily looked behind him, Hoagie and Tommy ran off.
"Almost...there..." Hoagie panted, as they reached the end of the corridor. As the brothers arrived at the still-open window, Nigel arrived on the scene, a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. in hand.
"I heard shouting," he explained, "What's going on?"
"We'llexplainlaterrightnowwe'vegottaRUN!" Hoagie answered, jumping out the window. Tommy followed him, and Nigel, although still not sure what was going on, jumped out, too, closing the window behind him. The boys ran off towards the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., still parked behind the trees.
"All right, NOW can you tell me what's going on?" Nigel asked Hoagie, as they all got into the vehicle.
"Father's not after me," Hoagie answered, "He's after my dad!"
"He's still alive?!" Nigel gasped.
"I guess so...but I don't know why he would be after him..."
"Tommy," Nigel addressed the younger Gilligan brother, "What exactly did your dad's page in the Book of KND say about a 'Benedict Uno'?"
"I don't think Tommy could have seen that much." Hoagie pointed out, "Wait...what does this uncle of yours have to do with Father?"
"I...I have a confession to make." Nigel sighed, "Remember back when we found out my dad was Numbuh Zero? Well... I also found out something even more shocking...you see...Father and Benedict Uno are the same person."
"You mean Father's your uncle?!"
"Yes...but that's-"
"So, the guy we've been fighting this WHOLE TIME is related to you?!"
"Numbuh Two, that's not the point! If the Book of KND mentioned that your dad and Father knew each other, then we should take a closer look at that page."
"Um...Numbuh One?" Tommy spoke up, "This is kinda awkward, but...I kinda...took that page out..."
"YOU WHAT?!"
---
"On your marks...get set...GO!"
The Toobathon racers took off and sped off through the water. As Hoagie pushed himself and Betsy through the water, he noticed Ben catching up to him.
"See, what did I tell ya?" Hoagie said to him, "Pretty fun, right?"
"Yeah..." Ben replied, smiling for the first time since he had arrived, "This isn't so bad!"
"Hey, heads-up - waterfall up ahead."
"Waterfall?!"
Sure enough, the racers were all heading towards a rather large waterfall. Each kid shouted or squealed in excitement as they went over and down to the water below.
"Um, Hoagie, I don't know if this is too safe..." Ben whimpered.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Hoagie assured him, then pushed himself and Betsy off onto the waterfall, as Ben nervously watched.
"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hoagie shouted, as he zoomed down towards the bottom of the falls. He and his tube splashed down into the river below, and then quickly floated away.
"Hey, Hoagie!" shouted Monty's voice. Hoagie turned to see Monty and Betty nearby.
"How're you doing so far?" Hoagie asked them.
"Great, how about you?" Betty asked.
"Um, Hoagie?" Monty asked, "Have you seen Ben? I haven't seen him since the race began."
"Sure I have." Hoagie replied, "He should be here any minute."
As soon as Hoagie said this, an empty tube floated by them. All three kids immediately recognized this as the inner tube Ben had been using.
"That can't be a good sign..." Hoagie quietly commented.