An hour later, they were still driving around through the suburbs.
"I don't believe this!" Myf exploded as she realised she had done yet another complete circle. "Who was the dickhead that designed this bloody city in the first place?! It doesn't have a single straight road!!"
Scod stifled his laughter, trying to focus on the road map in his lap. Myf continued to swear loudly, running through stop signs and red lights.
"For a police officer, you sure don't drive very well," Gatesy grumbled from the backseat, before rolling over and dozing off again.
"How am I supposed to read the map if you keep swerving all over the road?" Scod eventually yelled, barely resisting the urge to throw the street directory at her.
Myf took her eyes off the road to glare at him. "Hey, if you don't like my driving get out and walk!"
"Fine! I'd probably get to Melbourne before you anyway!"
"Fine!" Myf retaliated, swerving over to the side of the road and knocking over a letterbox as she pulled up onto the curb. "I'll see you in Melbourne!"
Still fuming, Scod climbed out of the car and stormed down the street, street directory still in hand. Myf sat in the car for a few moments, glaring at the dashboard. Finally she sighed and climbed out of the car, hurrying down the road after Scod.
Puffing slightly as she caught up to him, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to a stop. Turning around to glare at her, Scod crossed his arms across his chest. "What do you want?" he demanded, although his voice had lost some of the edge it had had in the car.
"To apologise," Myf said, looking up at him. "I know you were trying to help, and I know my driving leaves a lot to be desired�" she broke off and sighed. "I'm sorry, ok?"
Scod scuffed his feet slightly. "Yeah, well�I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped like that." Myf smiled and stuck out her hand.
"Truce?"
"Truce." Scod shook it, a grin spreading across his face. Together they walked back to the car. Scod let Myf drive again - mainly because she confessed her total inability to read road maps - and climbed into the passenger seat. As he was shutting the door, his foot knocked something. He bent down and picked it up. It was the little round thing Myf had given to him in the house, just in case Gatesy gave them any trouble.
"What's this?" he asked Myf, looking closely at it. It looked like a ball of playdough, only it had a line running across the middle which made it look like it could split in two.
Myf glanced over before returning her eyes to the road. "It's a spell for protection. It knocks out any would be attackers." She shrugged.
"Really?" Scod asked, intrigued. "How does it work?"
"It's easy," Myf replied, "all you have to do is-"
"Oops!" Scod cried, as he dropped the ball. It bounced on the floor, then snapped open. A cloud of gas seeped out and swirled around his head. Scod's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped against the window, snoring loudly.
"-throw it at someone's feet," Myf finished. She chuckled slightly as she reached over and gently took off Scod's glasses so he wouldn't break them. Keeping her eyes on the road, she folded them and put them on the dashboard. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when she spotted the sign leading out to the freeway.
"Finally," she muttered, as she swerved across three separate lanes and skidded across someone's lawn. (Just because she's spotted the right sign, didn't mean she was on the right road).
Pushing her foot down on the gas pedal, Myf sped back to Melbourne, Scod and Gatesy's snores sounding loudly through the car.

Gatesy slowly opened one blood shot eye, and found himself staring at a dark piece of fabric. The sharp throbbing in his head however prevented him from working out why. Obviously he had had too much to drink - he still felt like he was swaying. Wait a minute. His other eye flew open and he quickly sat up, ignoring the loud protest from the rest of his body.
He was in the back of a police car, and there was a petite woman driving. Another man was slouched in the passenger seat.
"You're awake," the woman stated the obvious, peering at him in the rearview mirror. He regarded her warily, his eyes darting out the window before settling on her again. His hangover wasn't helping his thinking much, and buggered if he could remember how he'd gotten here. Although for some reason, his brain kept telling him fairies were involved�
"Where am I?" he demanded, trying to ignore the way his voice thundered through his head. "Who are you?"
"You're on the freeway to Melbourne, and my name's Myf. I'll be your kidnapper for the evening," Myf replied cheerfully.

Gatesy stared at Myf, not sure if he'd heard correctly. Kidnapper? Why the hell would anyone want to kidnap him?
"Why the hell would you want to kidnap me?" he asked, glancing over at Scod who was still snoring loudly.
"We need you," Myf said simply.
"What for?" Gatesy was not convinced.
"You'll know when the time comes," she replied mysteriously.
"Bugger that!" Gatesy yelled. "I want to know now!" Myf raised an eyebrow.
"You sound like a five year old Gatesy," she said with a chuckle.
"Gatesy?" Gatesy looked confused. Myf sighed. This wasn't getting them anywhere.
"Look Steven, I'm sorry but I can't tell you why we kidnapped you. You'll cooperate easier with us if you think we're sane," she pointed out.
"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice," Gatesy muttered, jiggling his handcuffs around in front of him. "Wait a minute. What do you mean 'if I THINK you're sane'?!"
"Go back to sleep Gatesy," Myf grumbled.
Just then Scod decided to wake up. Yawning and stretching slowly, he rubbed his eyes and fumbled blindly for his glasses.
"Welcome back," Myf said with a smile. "They're on the dashboard." Scod put on his glasses and glanced out the window.
"How far away are we?" he asked.
"We're nearly there - about 30 minutes or so," Myf replied, swerving sharply to the left to miss a lory truck. There was a loud thump from the back and a pained groan. Scod peered into the backseat. Gatesy, who hadn't had a seat belt on, had gone flying across the car and hit his already aching head on the window. He lay on the seat groaning.
"Ouch," Scod commented, turning back around. "Think we should give him some panadol or something?" he asked Myf. She shrugged.
"I don't see why not," she replied, beeping the horn loudly at a passing volvo driving on the correct side of the road. "Stupid American," she muttered sourly. Scod didn't point out that Americans drive on the right side, and it was Myf who was driving the wrong way, not the volvo driver.
"Do we have any?" he asked, looking in the glove compartment.
"Uhhh�I don't think so," Myf replied, taking her eyes off the road to look back at Gatesy, who was still cowering on the back seat and clutching his head, his handcuffs making clinky noises. "Unless he has some?"
Scod scratched his head.
"He did when we found him, but I think he left it in the kitchen."
"Oh."
They were silent for a moment; the only sounds were Gatesy's quite moaning and the angry blast of horns by passers by.
"Do you spose you could�" Scod gestured with his arms.
"Do a spell?" Myf asked, frowning slightly. He nodded. "Maybe. I'll see what I can do. Here, take the wheel." Without warning she let go of the steering wheel and opened her door. Scod dove over and grabbed the steering wheel as the car began to swerve.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he cried as Myf climbed out of the car and onto the roof, the wind whipping her hair about, even though it was tied up.
"I can't bloody well do anything from in there, can I?" she yelled, the wind carrying away her voice as she clung to the roof and slammed shut the driver's door.
"She's nuts!" Scot muttered. Gatesy groaned.
Holding onto the roof with one hand, Myf leant over the side of the car and grasped the door handle behind the driver's seat. Yanking the door open, she somehow managed to maneuver herself into a position where she could drop easily onto the seat, shutting the door behind her in the same motion.
"There," she said, brushing away a strand of hair that hung in her face. "That wasn't so hard."
Scod stared at her in disbelief in the rearview mirror. Myf ignored his incredulous expression and turned to face Gatesy, who was still clutching his pounding head - although he was now sitting up instead of lying down. A sympathetic smile on her face, Myf gently took his hands in her own and pulled them away from his head. Gatesy looked at her with a pained expression. Already a nasty bump had formed on his forehead. Myf had to resist the urge to laugh - he looked like he was growing a rhino horn.
Just as gently, she placed her own hands against his temples delicately, making sure her touch was feather light.
"Close your eyes," she whispered, closing her own. Although slightly wary, Gatesy did as he was told. Anything to get rid of this pain!
Slowly Myf linked her mind with Gatesy's - albeit a little uncertainly. This was another spell she'd never tried - but she wasn't about to admit that. She'd cured her own hangovers many times -this shouldn't be any different. Right? Myf strengthened the link between them until she could feel the same pain as Gatesy. Ouch! That was one major hangover! Trying to concentrate, she reached for that tiny place that knew how to heal and deal with pain. Carefully, she pushed against it until all the pain was gone, then reached into Gatesy's mind and did the same thing. Slowly she opened her eyes to find Gatesy starring at her.
She smiled. "Easy as pie," she said wearily. She swayed slightly, but remained sitting up. That particular spell always made her so tired�probably because she was relying on her own body to fix things.
"What�how�what did you do?" Gatesy asked, looking a bit frightened. Myf sat back and leant her head against the back of the seat.
"Magic," she muttered, a tad more sarcastically than she meant to. Suddenly she noticed that the car had stopped, and Scod had turned around to face her.
"Why've we stopped?" she asked.
"We're here," he replied simply. "It's showtime."

Both Gatesy and Myf peered out the window. They were in the car park outside.
"What the hell are we doing here?" Gatesy asked, completely confused. Scod and Myf glanced at each other.
"Should we tell him?" Scod asked uncertainly.
"I spose he's going to find out anyway�" Myf replied dubiously, looking at Gatesy.
"You know it's rude to talk about a person when that person is present," Gatesy pointed out, glaring at them. Myf raised an eyebrow.
"Gatesy, we just kidnapped you and took you interstate. Do you honestly think we're worried about manners?" Gatesy grumbled, but didn't say anything. Scod looked at Myf expectantly. She sighed.
"I don't know," she replied, rubbing her face tiredly. She'd been driving all night and along with the healing spell, she was exhausted. "I spose I can put an invisible spell on him too."
"If you think you're up to it," Scod said slowly, noticing how tired she was. Myf forced a smile.
"Of course I'm up to it," she replied, sitting up. "I'm up to anything." Without hesitation she turned to Gatesy after grabbing the small stone she'd stuck in Scod's pocket and put the same spell she had put on Scod only the day before, chanting and muttering. Ignoring the way her limbs cried out in protest - and the way Gatesy looked at her oddly - she dropped the stone onto the floor, got out of the car and stood waiting impatiently for the other two. Scod quickly grabbed the spell book and the bag of magic things, before helping Gatesy (who was still in handcuffs) out of the car. Myf turned and headed inside, with Scod trailing behind, Gatesy in tow and a worried expression on his face.
Surprisingly they weren't stopped once by staff or security. Undisturbed, they headed backstage. Myf let Scod take the lead to the dressing room, as she'd never been there before. He tried to look casual as he wove through the maze of corridors, trying not to look too conspicuous (even though he had an invisible spell on), pulling a reluctant Gatesy behind him. Myf followed behind them both, trying hard to stifle her yawns.
Scod peeked around the door into the dressing room. It was empty. The three of them shuffled inside, Myf locking the door behind them.
"Let's get this over with," she muttered, straining to keep her eyes open. Scod watched her, his worry increasing.
"Are you sure you should be doing magic when you're so tired?" he asked anxiously. Myf glared at him, as though offended that he was hinting she wasn't up to it.
"I'm fine," she grated out, grabbing the spell book from his hands and dumping it loudly on the floor. Gatesy was sitting at the dressing table, watching them both warily. Obviously they were out of their minds. His eyes scanned the room, looking for a way to escape.
"I really don't think you should do the spell right now," Scod insisted. Myf whirled around and glared up at him.
"What the hell would you know?" she demanded. "How do you know what I can and can't do?"
"I don't!" Scod retaliated, his anger also rising. "But you said yourself how dangerous this magic thing is! I don't want you to get hurt!" Myf opened her mouth to answer, but Gatesy chose that moment to make a break for the door. He was across the room before the other two had registered he had even moved - neither were in a position to stop him. Myf was already pissed off, and this was the last straw.
"STOP!" she roared, stretching her arm towards him. Her voice boomed in the tiny room and a bolt of lightning shot from her palm and laced across the room. The door exploded in a cascade of flames. Gatesy was flung to other side of the room. Although he wasn't hurt he didn't move, lying stunned on the carpet.
Scod stared wide-eyed at the crater where the door used to be.
"Oops," Myf muttered. There was now a very large hole in the wall, and the door had been vaporized completely. She knew now that Scod was right - she was far too tired to do any spells - but she wasn't about to admit it. Had she not been so tired, she wouldn't have made such a mess; she would've just melted the lock.
"Okay, okay - you're not too tired," Scod said hurriedly. "In that case, we'd better do the spell quickly, before security has a chance to come and kick us out!"
Even in her disoriented state, this made sense to Myf. She nodded slowly and knelt down next to the spell book. Scod went over to check Gatesy, making sure he wasn't hurt or in shock.
Myf rubbed her eyes and squinted at the words in the book. Her vision was starting to blur, and she could barely read the words, but she knew if they didn't do the spell now, they might never get another chance. With a sinking heart she realised that she would have to do one of the most difficult spells she'd ever done, half asleep from exhaustion and in a hurry before security came.

Scod helped Gatesy to his feet.
"You ok mate?" he asked, scanning him for injuries. Gatesy looked a bit shaken, but he was otherwise unhurt. Slowly he nodded.
Scod glanced back at Myf, who was reading the spell book and muttering to herself. She looked so tired - Scod hoped that he could help her out with the spell in some way, so she wouldn't have to take on the whole thing. He had gathered from her behavior that it was a pretty major spell. Before he could offer though, she stood up and turned to face them.
"I need you to be in pretty much the same positions as when you made the wish," she informed Scod, who didn't notice that she was swaying slightly. He pointed Gatesy over to the wall where he had been standing and then sat down on the chair where he had been angrily strumming his guitar.
Myf pulled out several things from her bag, quickly placing them strategically around the room. She then closed her eyes briefly, summoning up all her extra strength and trying to focus it all into her spell. When she opened her eyes again Scod and Gatesy both gasped in fear. The whites of her eyes had gone blood red with fire dancing across them, and her pupils were fully dilated. Myf ignored their reaction and began to chant the magic words before the energy building up in her tried to force its way out.
A non-existent breeze picked up, whipping Myf's hair around until it broke free of it's tie and fanned out around her head. She ignored it, raising her hands and gaze to the ceiling and chanted louder.
Suddenly security burst into the room, just as Myf was finishing the chant.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" one of them demanded. Myf's voice faltered. She was so tired, and they had no time left. She dropped her hand to her side and lowered her gaze, the wind still whipping her hair around in all directions. Her eyes met with Scod's. She searched his gaze, easily reading the worry for her and the desperation to set everything right. She couldn't let him down. She raised her arms again and began to chant with renewed determination.
"Hey!" one of the security guards yelled. "I don't know what you're doing, but stop!" He suddenly rushed at her, fully intending to knock her off her feet. Scod saw what he was going to do a spilt second before he moved.
"NO!" he cried, leaping to intercept the guy.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Myf finished the spell with a shout, just as her concentration was broken when she was tackled by the security guard, who was in turn tackled by Scod. Gatesy made a break for the hole in the wall, but was shoved back by the remaining security guards. There was a huge flash and a roaring sound, and then everything went black.

Scod slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a blue sky. What the�? He turned his head to the side and found himself staring at a clump of lush green grass. He quickly sat up, looking around wildly. He was in the middle of a small field, surrounded by trees - a sort of thicket. Gatesy and Myf were both lying unconscious nearby. Scod scrambled over to where Myf was lying, and gently rolled her over. She was out cold, but didn't look hurt.
Gatesy moaned and slowly sat up. The first thing he noticed was he was still handcuffed. The second thing he noticed was that he was outside. He looked around curiously.
"What happened?" he asked Scod. "Did she blow up the building or something?" he nodded, indicating Myf. Scod glared at him.
"Of course she didn't!" he snapped. "At least�I don't think so."
Gatesy tried to fold his arms across his chest, but just ended up looking unco as the handcuffs around his wrists prevented him from doing so.
"So where are we then smarty pants?" he demanded, glaring at the handcuffs as though it would make them disappear.
Before Scod had a chance to reply, they both heard a loud neigh coming from the scrub. Exchanging a confused glance, the two stood up, Scod standing by Myf protectively.
Suddenly a huge war-horse, bearing a knight on its back, burst into the small thicket with a thunder of hooves. Scod and Gatesy cried out in surprise, leaping backwards.
The knight brought the huge horse up sharply, causing it to rear up and cry its defiance before settling down, pawing the ground with a snort. The knight looked at Scod, then at Gatesy - at least, that's what they assumed he did. It was a bit hard to tell with the helmet. As if reading their minds, the knight lifted his visor and stared at them, then looked at Myf lying on the ground.
"Prethee, knaves," the knight announced. "What art thou doing with that wench? If methinks thou art defiling a noblewoman of sort, my blade shall seek thy life and run thee through."
"Wench?" repeated Scod, offended. Myf wasn't a wench! Gatesy looked confused.
"What the hell did he say?" he asked Scod.
"Thy language is most strange!" the knight declared, drawing his sword with a steely rasp. "Thou must be sorcerers - a crime punishable by death! For God, King and Country!" he roared, rearing his horse up and charging at Gatesy, who yelped and made a bolt for the bushes.

"That does it!" Scod yelled. "Time out!" The knight froze, as did Gatesy.
"What?" demanded the Author. Scod glared at her.
"What the hell is going on?" he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The Author put her pen down.
"You got sent back in time - where else do you find medieval knights?" she asked with a smirk. Scod rolled his eyes.
"Okay fine - but why are we here?" The Author shrugged.
"Cos I watched a medieval movie this morning, and thought I'd write it into the story. I love writing about thee's, thou's and thus's!" she grinned. Scod starred at her.
"How the hell were you going to explain such a huge plot change?" he cried.
"I was going to use the excuse that Myf broke her concentration when the security guard tackled her - causing her to send you guys too far back in time," the Author mumbled, suddenly unsure that her idea had been a good one.
Scod frowned, trying to follow her warped reasoning.
"But if we just went back in time, why are there knights? Wouldn't we have just gone back through Australian time? There were never any knights in Australia. And how come there's no scrub? Why is the land so green?"
The Author gazed around the thicket, and opened her mouth to say something before shutting it again. Damn. He had a point.
"I hate it when the characters are smarter than I am," she muttered, picking up her pen again. The knight and the thicket disappeared, to be replaced by walls and a dressing table.

Scod suddenly found himself sitting in exactly the same position as where he had made the wish. Gatesy was on the other side of the room, glaring at him.
"Mr Fluff 'n' Stuff has nothing to do with this!" Gatesy yelled back. With an angry cry, he spun around and punched the wall. "You make me so f---ing mad!" He screamed, turning around to face Scod again. "I wish you'd never joined the group!"
This time Scod didn't have his anger to shield him from Gatesy's harsh words. They hit him like a slap in the face.
"Do�do you really mean that?" he asked, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice without quite succeeding. Gatesy gave an exasperated sigh, turning around to stare at the wall again.
"No," he said eventually, rubbing his face wearily. "I just�I don't know. I just get worried, you know? I'm afraid that this won't work out, and we won't be friends any more. I don't think I could handle that."
Scod felt a little shocked by Gatesy's confession. He slowly stood up, walking over and placed his hand on Gatesy's shoulder, who smiled at him gratefully.
"Hey, it's ok," he told him, smiling reassuringly. "You don't think I feel those sort of things too? If I didn't have Tripod, who knows where I'd be! Probably in some dumb office job!"
Gatesy couldn't help but grin.
"Yeah - and I'd probably still be doing commercials," he replied. Scod laughed.
"I'm sure you would've gotten beyond that," he informed him, a wide grin on his face. "You'd probably be on Play School or something! C'mon - we've got a show to rehearse."
Gatesy handed him back the guitar, and the two headed back out into the stage area where Yon was waiting.
"Things sorted out?" Yon asked, putting down his bottle of water and eyeing the two of them, looking for any signs of hostility. Scod and Gatesy grinned at each other.
"Nope!" they chorused together, then laughed. Yon gave them both a weird look, but let it drop.

That night their show was a huge success. A complete sell out, with the crowd lapping up everything that was hurled their way. Afterwards the boys sat down to sign autographs, as they usually did after a gig.
Scod was beginning to forget everything that had happened as he signed CD after CD, when he heard a familiar voice.
"Excuse me, but would you mind signing this for me?" Scod looked up and found himself gazing at Myf, who was holding out a shirt.
"Myf!" he cried in delight before he could stop himself. Myf stared at him.
"Uh�yeah," she replied, her smile uncertain. "How'd you know my name?". Scod frowned slightly, not sure what she meant, then he realised - she didn't remember because it had never happened.
"Uh, I remember seeing you at another gig," he mumbled, taking the shirt from her and quickly scribbling on it. "I just remembered for some reason."
Myf gave him a weird look as she took the shirt, but seemed to accept his explanation. Scod had mixed emotions as he watched her walk away. It was probably a good thing that she didn't remember what happened - it might have made things a bit weird between them, pretending not to know each other - but he couldn't help but feel sad. He had enjoyed spending time with her, despite her driving skills. He shifted in his seat, and frowned when he felt something hard in his pocket.
Myf watched from the other side of the room as Scod pulled the wishing stone out of his pocket, and smiled sadly to herself. She hadn't really wanted to pretend that she didn't remember, but she convinced herself that it was better for Scod this way. Besides, now he could use the stone without feeling guilty or worried that she'd find out. Myf grinned. Now they could have some fun.