Mystery guest villain dialogue assisted by Zed's writer

A few hours after falling asleep, Becky Joy tossed and turned. Nightmares were pretty common after the whole icky time she'd spent kidnapped by the slavers. Plus she wasn't used to sleeping outside. She rolled over, hearing quiet, hushed voices and saw Darson slowly waking Green up. Becky thought about telling him not to wake up Green but then she realized it was probably time for Green to stand guard.

Becky knew Darson would probably stay up and guard the others without complaint if Becky'd asked him to but of course, Becky wouldn't want her most serious soldier to have to go without sleep without a good reason, especially since she knew him to be much older than the other Goblins.

Becky sat up, still feeling restless.

"Is everything okay?" Darson asked her. "You should be sleeping, ma'am. If we end up sleeping overnight again, you'll have to take one of the guard shifts."

Okay, sure the idea of someone suggesting Becky Joy to stand guard wouldn't seem like a clever idea on the surface, what with her being prone to distraction, seemingly limited in her attention span, and given her fondness of loud games and laughing. But it's not she actually has the maturity level of a six year old - just a few of the characteristics of someone younger. Given that she's quite intelligent, it works out a lot better than one might assume. As long as you give a little leeway for occasional loud laughter and hyjinx. Okay, monologue done.

"Becky?" Darson repeated after that slight no-dialogue pause.

"Oh, sorry, I was sniffing," Becky said, raising her voice a little in the excitement. "I mean thinking. I think I smell something close by!"

"Shh," Darson said, reminding her that "Goblina's still sleeping."

"Not anymore," a groggy Goblina said, half open eyes falling on Becky and Darson. "What's up, guys?"

"Nothing," Darson said. "Becky can't sleep. She needs to try harder. You, too."

"Nope!" Becky sat up like a bolt. "You two get some sleep. I need to investigate something!"

"Now?" Darson asked.

"Something's nearby," Becky said. "I don't know what it is, but it stinks, but it smells familiar, and I am gonna take a quick look."

"I'll go with," Goblina offered.

"Naw!" Becky said. No point in keeping quiet since all four were now awake. "You should sleep."

"I can't," Goblina said. "Not if I know there's no one out with you. What if you get lost and can't find your way back?"

Becky let out an "Eep!" Then Becky said, "Okay, you can come, as long as you promise to be careful and not get lost, too. Cause I need you to help me find my way back!"

Goblina nodded and Darson asked they not be too long. So Becky and Goblina set out in search of whatever stench it was Becky thought she smelled!

After a little walking towards the source of the odorous offense, Becky and Goblina begin recognize the smell of Awakesun’s body odor. (Or Becky probably still knew her by her old name, Awakensun.) Which isn't to say the knowledge made the smell any less unpleasant, of course. Despite that, Becky smiled and picked up her pace to a run. Goblina let out the blink-blinking of confusion and rushed to catch up with Becky!

They found Awakesun sitting in a very tall tree. There weren’t any branches near the ground and they had to be wondering how she climbed it. She had both of her arms wrapped around the tree. It looked like she was hugging an old friend.

"Oh, Awakengail!" Becky cried out loudly. "Are you up to your hippie antics again?!"

Becky tee-hee'ed.

Awakesun aka Gail looked down at the two. "There are demons in this forest! We have to get rid of them!"

Goblina corrected her. "They're mostly in Forest Village."

"Then let’s go there, and get them out of my forest!"

Becky giggled, starring up at the hippie Gail. "But that's our job! And did you know there was bad weather in Degrassi, and kittens?!"

"Bad weather? I haven’t heard about that at all. We have to protect the kittens at all cost!"

"Nooooo!" Becky corrected, howling with laughter. "The kitty kitty kitties are safe! They're back at Degrassi! And there was like, a tornado, I think! And a lot of everyone got hurt, and and.."

"Kadlin whipped up a nasty spell," Goblina calmly explained as Becky ran in a circle. Goblina continued, used to it. "Everything is okay now."

"So the kittens are safe? Really?" Awakesun said anxiously. Becky nodded enthusiastically.

"Unless Gnolls eat kittens!" Becky gasped and turned to Goblina. "Do Goblins and Gnolls eat kittens?"

"Only on holidays," Goblina said. But when Becky and Gail screamed in terror, Goblina corrected herself. "I'm kidding. I'm just kidding! No, pretty much never. Especially not pets."

"Goblins sound horrible! But enough about the safe kittens! We need to get rid of the demons."

"We are not horrible!" Goblina protested.

"You shouldn't joke like that," Becky reprimanded Goblina. "That's not funny and it's mean!"

Goblina bowed her head. "I'm sorry. Can you both forgive me?"

"Hmmm. Maybe. Let me think about it." Awakesun paused for a moment and then says, "Ok!"

"That was quick," Becky said. "How.. do we get you down, Gail?!"

Gail jumped down from the really high tree and used her wind to cushion her fall.

"That was a lot smarter than ice steps!" Becky explained. "You slip off cause it's ice, not nice."

"Cold isn’t nice."

Becky glared at her. "Cold is awesome."

"Wind is awesomer!" Awakesun said enthusiastically.

Becky frowned. "Oh no," Becky said as Awakesun summoned a huge gust of air and filled everyone’s nose with a wonderful aroma.

"Stop doing that!" Becky said, gagging.

Awakesun looked offended. "You’re saying that like I smell or something!"

A strange deep voice burst from the distance. "What is that horrible stench?!"

Becky gasped. "I didn't say it!"

Awakesun looked sad. "Fine, what next?"

"Look out!" Goblina pulled Awakesun and Becky out of the way of a blast of noodleroonie that seemed to come out of nowhere. Becky eep'ed.

"I The Mouse with the Adventuring Suit of Power am what's next! And.. why are there just three little girls to witness the magnificence of myself? Might as well turn off the foreshadowing music now."

Becky blinked. "Was that techno?"

"Trip-hop. It's classier. Now, you with the foul stench. Please. Please. Don't blow your stench around again - I've gagged on less." A small mouse stepped forward in a suit far larger than Gail, Becky, or even Goblina. Er, not to imply Goblina's oversized, of course!

Becky stood up in front of the others. "Hi! Are you here to work with us to stop all the big, ugly, stupid demons? And we're gonna pay you in cheese, and the demons are really stupid and clumsy and we're gonna beat 'em up and be team Becky's Mouse team?!"

"Right - two extra-spicy fireballs for you!! And I'm lactose-opposed! I hate all those who assume I'm weak to cheese offerings: it's stereotyping, I tell you."

Before he could attack, Becky protested. "I didn't say I'd give you lactose, I said I'd give you cheese!"

"That would be amazing to put in my garlic brownies! Cheese in them the next time." Awakesun said.

"And you - you shame both culinary know-how, and delicate feminine odour. For shame!!" The mouse sniffed in a huff, and staggered forward, blasting them with a pillar of flame which the three wisely avoided. Being hit by, I mean.

"Ahhh!" Goblina huffed, barely avoiding the scorching attack. "Where there's smoke, there's fire!"

"Really?" I the Mouse stopped, standing on his hind legs. Er, having his suit stand up a little taller than usual. "I marvel how you three make do with such pitiful intellects. 'Where there's...' I think I the Mouse will help the world just this once, and cease your continued existence."

Goblina stopped, scratching her head. "Sorry. How about 'He's gonna roast us?'"

Becky's eyes lit up. "Or 'He's on fire! Boom shakalakka!'"

"Fire!" Gail used her wind and blew the fire up in the sky so it wouldn’t spread into the rest of the forest.

"I'm gonna stop this cold!" Becky said as she prepared to summon up her most powerful ice storm, causing the temperature to drop around the four combatants.

"Have the three of you ever used grammar in a proper fashion? Look, we in Hey Daze are maniacal, bloodthirsty, and devious - and we still take the time to think out our sentences before speaking. It helps if your subdued and cowering audience can follow your speech..." The mouse continued to ramble on like a senior tenured professor of the Liberal Arts of Mayhem, even as he found himself being encased in a thick sheet of snow and ice.

Becky interrupted him. "We're winning, yay!"

"We are? We are!" Awakesun said excitedly, grabbing her dart gun off her back and taking a shot at the annoying mouse that wouldn’t shut up.

"Humph! Very well, you may have bested me this time but you'll never-" The mouse's deep exclamations cut off as he reflexively curled into a ball, and fiddled with his whiskers sleepily.

"Oh yeah, cold makes people sleepy!" Becky whispered to Awakesun. "Hyperthermia."

"Cold. Icky." Awakesun said.

Becky frowned. "You're making me feel bad."

"Sorry, didn’t want to make you sad." Awakesun said as she runs over to Becky and hugged her.

Becky covered her nose. "It's okay... really it's okay... can you let go now?"

"Ok," Awakesun said and smiled.

"Er," Becky said. "Cause I don't want you to run out of hugs is all."

"It would be a terrible thing if I’d ever run out of hugs!" Awakesun said, horrified.

"Hey!" Becky said. "It's time for you to meet my friend, unless Sassy Snake is sleeping, then it's time for you to sleep downwind."

"I’ve always liked snakes!"

Becky's eyes went big. "Didn't you know she can talk to snakes? And her name is Sassy Snake, but she's a person? And that I like chocolate and marshmallows on crackers?!"

"That sounds yummy! Not the snakes, but the chocolate and marshmallows!"

Goblina let out a short breath. "Oh, good."

"And we're walking!" Becky grabbed both women's hands and lead them back to the camp. "Walking, everyone!"

"Keep it down!" Goblina ordered. "Sassy and Darson are probably asleep."

"Let’s go find them then!" said Awakesun as they started back towards camp.

Becky and Sassy Snake is fun but so is Becky and Awakesun! (Formerly Awakensun.) The three have a rather silly side to them although Sassy might be the most serious of the three- and Becky's had a variety of moments in AIL. It's hard to believe how close we are to the final AIL mission- or the Finales for this mission. But time marches on. Next up.. er, I forget and I don't wanna spoil it for myself. hehe