OURSTORY

Eight year old, Molly Ketchum, stomped heavily toward her room. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest, and her face screwed up in a look of defiance. She hated going to bed! Stomping down the hallway, she saw ahead of her, her rabid rabbit doll which had been tossed carelessly on the floor (in a rush of excitement to go bike riding), not three hours before. Molly snatched up her rabid rabbit and thrashed it against her leg in frustration, as she ran the rest of the way to the bunk bed she shared with her little sister Rose. Molly's bunk was on top. As she ascended the wooden ladder to her bed, fort, beauty parlor, and Barbie dream beach house, she took some satisfaction in shaking the bed enough to cause Rose to topple from her preferred sleeping position (face down, knees pulled under, butt way up in the air) to the floor. Rose, at 6 years old, was just at the age when, though toppled from her bed, she could not be toppled in her mind. After a brief moment of shock, she stood up, hands on hips: "I know you did that on purpose, and I'm telling dad!" She climbed back into bed and settled again into her preferred sleeping position. Molly, with a shrill "I don't care!", threw rabid rabbit down upon her younger sister, using all her strength and might. Tonight, she had no plans to sleep. The dull thud of Rabid Rabbit hitting the mattress let Molly know that she had missed her target. This only added fuel to Molly's bad temper. Having nothing left for ammunition - throwing her pillow had briefly crossed her mind, but was dismissed as too costly a missile - Molly fumed silently as her sister's breathing tuned into the rhythm of sleep. Her heart skipped up to her throat when her dark thoughts were interrupted by a soft unfamiliar voice, "What was that all about?". Her eyes snapped to the direction the sound had come from only to widen in shock at the the sight of Rabid Rabbit standing on the top rung of the bunk bed ladder...his arms crossed across his chest. Rabid Rabbit was so named for his sightly upturned eyes and the red thread that had come loose from his smile, and dripped down his chin - causing an unmistakable resemblance to an evil grin. But Rabid Rabbit was actually quite nice. He had looked after Molly since she was two but only now did he feel it was time to talk: "Well?" he asked again. Molly looked ashamed and gulped down a startled cry. Awestruck and humbled, she struggled for the words to explain herself to Rabid Rabbit. "I, I...don't want to sleep!" she burst out. A tear of angst rolled down her freckled cheek and landed on the sheet. She poked at the wet spot with her finger, hiding her eyes from the veracious Rabbit "That's all very well", said Rabid as he ungracefully pulled himself fully onto Molly's bed, "but that doesn't explain why you have thrown me around like a lawn dart not once, but twice today. I am not as young as I used to be you know; I could've lost my tail!" Molly stared open mouthed at the diminutive bunny still unable to quite believe what her eyes where showing her. Her mouth opened closed many times as if attempting to pump words up from her lungs, but to no avail. "Close your mouth Molly, we are not a codfish...." the Rabbit joked. Molly almost laughed. Still unable to believe her ears, Molly felt slightly more relaxed hearing the familiar words of her beloved Mary Poppins. Searching for something to say, she grabbed her favorite barbie (a ghastly pink punk thing, with shredded pink hair and ripped fishnets), which had been lodged between the bed and the wall, and thrust it towards the rabbit: "Have you met Alicia?" "Yes" the rabbit replied. "I have met all the others, and we're quite concerned about you."

Rabid Rabbit stared at Molly. His bright eyes pierced her and began to imbue her with a sense of responsibility such as she had never known in her short life. How strange! Rabid Rabbit waved his arm, and then...a line a pure white began to run down the wall beside her bed in a broken pattern. Without a sound, a crack formed and then, in a fantastic display of color, burst open to reveal a small wooden door in her wall by her feet. The door looked to be made of slats of oak and was painted a deep green. I sparking brass doorknob and knocker decorated its surface. Molly's eyes widened to an almost impossible degree and she shook her head violently still unconvinced of what she was seeing. A loud snore from below brought her back to her senses. Just what is going on?! As she opened her mouth to ask just that question, she was interrupted by the gruff but soft voice of Rabid. "Shhhh. You don't want to wake up the kid. Stay here, I'll be right back." Rabid then trudged over the bed toward the door. As he approached her legs he placed one stubby paw on her shin and flung himself, with surprising, agility to the other side. When he approached the door, he rapped a soft and, to Molly, oddly familiar rhythm with the knocker and the door opened for him. Without a word, he slipped into the opening and closed the door behind him. Within a couple of minutes, during which Molly seemed unable to move, Rabid emerged from the door again. In his arms, he held ... a big tub of sparklers like the kind Molly loved to watch on the fourth of July. Behind him, Molly could see fields and fields of grass with many sparklers, lit up, in the ground, like flowers - all against the backdrop of the night sky. Of course, it wasn't the fourth of July, and Molly knew her rabbit was about to introduce her to a magical world just like the lands she'd read about in the children's books she was now outgrowing (Molly rightly suspected she was in for a lot more than just happy surprises). Rabid beckoned to Molly, and she dutifully climbed down the ladder and walked slowly over to the door, still in disbelief. Rabid handed Molly a sparkler and set the tub down outside the door. He motioned for her to follow him out into the fields. Molly turned and looked around her room, wondering if she would ever return. Then, without further hesitation, she skipped out the door into a land which seemed to reflect the light of the moon like a giant pool of water. As Molly stepped out into the cool grass, Rabid closed the door softly behind them. And taking a sparkler for himself...he gave another to Molly and, placing one stubby paw to his mouth indicating that Molly should follow him quietly. Holding the sparkler as high over his head as a stuffed rabbit could to light the area around him, Rabid lead Molly around a beautiful silvery white lake. On the far shore, she could just make out the shape of a house. Somehow she knew that house was their destination. Molly was worried that she would drop one of the sparklers, or that they would burn down to her fingers, but about halfway around the lake, she realized they were magic sparklers, that did not burn out... unless placed in water. Preferring the mystery of the night surrounding her, Molly stooped to dip one of her sparklers in the glistening water. Although the sparkler fizzled, Molly noticed something strange about the lake; it was thick, like tar, but still translucent. Rabid Rabbit quickly grabbed her hand: "Let's not go there yet dear girl..." The Rabbit looked amused and Molly thought better than to question him. Their walk around the lake was beautiful, but it took a long time, and Molly began to think about her bed at home. The rabbit sensed her thoughts and reminded her that she was the one who, without question, did NOT want to go to sleep. Molly wondered why her rabbit was so smart...especially considering how often he had been tossed around! At last they made their way up a small path to the house. The path was soft beneath their feet, and surrounding it were a whole lot of...the strangest looking flowers Molly had ever seen. They were stems that rose from the ground to about the height of Molly's calf, or the bottom of Rabid's ears, what made them unique, however was about half way up their length, the stem seemed to bend and twist into long spirals that ignited in fantastic luminescent colors that lit the path to the house in lights of bright oranges, greens, reds, golds and a myriad of colors, some of which were unimaginable to Molly until she had seen them. As they walked along the path, Molly thought she heard the faintest music, quiet tones that approached the ear like a whispered breath. She gasped as she realized the the music was coming from the strange flowers. "Whisper roses," grunted Rabid, "only place they grow is along this path." All to soon for Molly, who regretted leaving the musical flower behind, they arrived at the front door of the cottage. It was hardly a grand palace, but had a simple elegance. The larger than normal cottage was perfectly round and perfectly white with a golden thatched roof. A few windows glowed with an inviting warmth, and the door, yet again, was slotted oak and painted green with shiny brass door knob and knocker. Rabid scaled a trellis snaked with vines that flanked the door to the cottage and, with his ears, snatched the brass knocker and pounded out that same rhythm as before and quickly hopped down. Where have I heard that? Molly was once again prevented from voicing her thoughts.

This time, cut off by her own voice uttering yet another throaty gasp as the door opened to reveal....BIG BAD BEAR, the fattest, hugest teddy bear that Molly could ever have imagined. He was almost as tall as the ceiling of the cottage and he was wider than the doorway. But something even more amazing happened just at that moment: Molly and Rabid Rabbit began to grow to the same size as BIG BAD BEAR! "How's it goin' pal?" Rabid asked as he gave BIG BAD BEAR a manly pat on the shoulder. Once again, Molly was awestruck, but she was getting used to this feeling - so she decided then and there to steel herself against ever feeling paralyzed. She wanted to be like Rabid Rabbit now; He was just, and kind, and strong, and the kind of inspiring leader she had always imagined herself to be - especially when bossing Rose around. With this new burst of courage she managed to introduce herself to BIG BAD BEAR, who returned the courtesy. "BIG BAD BEAR" thought Molly, "I wonder which kind of girl thought up that name!" Rabid Rabbit and BIG BAD BEAR stepped into the little room behind them (of course everything seemed little now that they had grown) and began to chat about their adventures in the real world. Molly found that she was extremely tired and, having no place to sit, she slumped herself against the wall, and drifted off to sleep.
    What must have been a few hours later, Molly awoke to a huge racket outside the window. Sounds of birds and a kind of clanging, coupled with loud laughter and thudding rang in Molly's ears -which, being twice their normal size, were all the more sensitive to the noise. Absolutely none of the...experiences Molly had earlier this evening could have prepared her for the sight that met her eyes as she carefully peered out of the window that faced side yard of the cottage. The golden light of a bonfire illuminated a scene of chaos and humor. Big Bad Bear was staggering blindly around the fire pit. Both his right foot and left paw were stuffed inside separate brass pots. A much larger pot, which Molly thought looked suspiciously like the clay honey jars in the illustrations of one of her favorite books, seemed to - in an ironic twist - have swallowed Big Bad Bear's face so that his snout and eyes were obscured and only his ears, twitching wildly, were visible.   Flying wildly around his encased head were five creature that only just resembled hummingbirds. They were larger than one would expect, about the size of a robin, and their yellow and black striped plumage certainly explained their interest in the honey pot. Each in turn, they would let out a loud chirp and then peck violently at it. Big Bad Bear, in a desperate attempt to swat at them, seemed to occasionally forget which of his paws were incased in brass and a loud CLANG would ring out as metal met clay. Rabid Rabbit sat limply on ground, helpless with laughter, his back against the log off of which he had slid. "Well, this won't do", muttered Molly, desperately trying to hide a smile, "This won't do at all". In a flash, she sprinted through the back door and around to the side of the cottage. Taking a brief moment to register that Big Bad Bear was now stumbling dangerous close the bon fire, Molly sprang into action.Shooting Rabid Rabbit a look half chastising, and half amused, Molly grabbed BIG BAD BEAR's free paw, and pulled him away from the bonfire. BIG BAD BEAR, startled, clanged his other paw against the clay pot on his head and bellowed a muffled "Ow". "Rabid, help me out here," Molly demanded. Together Rabid and Molly managed to pull each one of the pots off BIG BAD BEAR, whose head had now taken the shape of the big clay pot. Molly and Rabid sat down at last and laughed until their sides ached. BIG BAD BEAR did not think this was very funny, but meanwhile the large hummingbees were thoroughly enjoying the contents of the pots. Suddenly Molly jumped up and ran down the magic whispering path towards the lake. "C'mon!" she yelled. BIG BAD BEAR, sticky with honey, and Rabid, glanced at one another, jumped up, and together shouted, "NO MOLLY!" Molly did not stop. She had an unstoppable urge to go swimming, was hyper with the excitement of the evening, and could already feel the silky, magical water against her skin. When she reached the bank of the lake, she almost hesitated, but didn't; With one great leap she plunged into the silvery water and found it cool and crisp - just as she had imagined. "This is heaven" Molly thought as she turned on her back to practice her "dead man's float". BIG BAD BEAR and Rabid, hurtled down the whisper path, sprinting as fast as their stubby legs could take them, but they could see they were too late. Suddenly out of the water, and right underneath Molly, there rose an enormous ship - around which the entire lake seemed to expand. The ship was also silver and floated on the water as if suspended just above the surface. A brief rain of silvery, silken water, showered on the bear and the rabbit, who stood amazed and terrified. Molly found herself lying face up on a hard flat surface. Before she had time to shake the water from her ears and take stock of this new, and ever stranger, situation, the sounds of an opening door and footsteps froze her to her spot. A soft thump, then a sharp crack, then a soft thump, a sharp crack growing ever louder as the sound approached her at an eerie, slow, but steady, pace. Molly lay quietly, her gaze fixed upward a the rigging of the magnificent ship.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, a rough looking face interposed itself between her and the glowing silver sails which had transfixed her sight. Molly's eyes took only a moment to register the round sallow visage, with small dark eyes and a scraggly bluish beard that seemed, rather than frame the face, to be trying to restrain the plump cheeks from spilling out onto the figures shoulders. "Cap'n had been waitin' for ye, Girlie, " a thin lipped mouth, decidedly short on teeth, rumbled at her, "Come along then!". A strong arm had grabbed her by the shoulder and heaved her to her feet. "Now, you be a good lass and old Smedly won't give yer no trouble." Meanwhile, on the shore, Big Bad Bear was calling out to Molly and jumping up and down. Rabid Rabbit had grown quiet. He had to do something. He had brought Molly into this world; she was his responsibility. He had to get to that ship! Suddenly it hit him, "I've got it!" he exclaimed... Rabid Rabbit ran to the edge of the lake and looked up at the great ship towering above him. Steeling himself, he then proceeded to stomp one foot in the water and then to lift it out again. He repeated this, slowly making his way around the lake, until...he saw the signs that were the subject of his prayers with each thump of his foot. Tiny at first, a trail of bubbles began to make their way to the surface growing progressively larger as each in turn surfaced and vanished. "Finally," sighed Rabid. "I hope he doesn't take to long getting up here." Meanwhile, Molly was not enjoying her entertainment it at all. Smedly roughly escorted her through the bowels of the ship which seemed to be constructed like a giant maze with endless turns and staircases. Every so often they would pass through a dimly lit room filled with what Molly could only assume were members of the crew. They seemed strewn about on boxes and hammocks, some clutching thick round jugs, some sat with their backs against the hull and legs spread out before them. "They look like marionettes with cut strings," thought Molly. She was getting impatient. Her shoulder hurt under her captor's tight grip and Smedly smelled bad. Finally, they came to a stop outside of a large ornate door. Painted so dark it almost looked black, it had ornate gleaming silver trimmings with matching handle and dagger shaped knocker. Molly held her breath as Smedly's pudgy hand slammed the knocker twice on the door and a silky, deep voice answered, "Enter."
      "Hurry up," groaned Rabid. He thumped his foot impatiently on shore. A large bubble broke the surface very soon after. As it broke the surface, a deep quiet voice popped into the air, "I'm..." and with the next bubble, "...coming." Four more such bubbles reached the surface each in turn, "No....need....to....pound."
    "Hurry UP!" answered Rabid.
Tornupturtle was so named because he lived in the lake with the silver pirate ship and there wasn't a lot of room - so naturally, Tornupturtle kept getting bumped and scratched by the ferocious magical silver rudder. All this bumping also made Tornupturtle a bit dim and slow. He emerged, eyeballs first, from the glistening lake and looked up at Rabid with giant googly eyes. Just then Big Bad Bear came tripping along the bank and, resting his front paws on his knees he stammered, "H,h,h,h,h i you ole' tortured turtle!" The turtle stuck his head back under the water and brought it back up again, fast, so silvery lake water splashed again all over BIG BAD Bear. It was a gesture of affection, but Big Bad Bear looked annoyed nevertheless. "C'mon we HAVE to go!" Rabid insisted as he stepped onto the turtle's back and grabbed Big Bad Bear's paw. The three set off across the lake. They did not have far to go, and soon were gaining on the pirate ship - in fact they were almost touching the bow, when, just as Rabid had feared, the giant ship began to rise slowly up into the air above the lake...Rabid quickly hopped and grabbed hold of the keel of the ship. "Rabid!", bellowed Big Bear, "Get off o'there! There's got be another way!"
    "Well, if you know of one, I love to hear it!" replied Rabid as he desperately tried to cling to the slippery wooden keel with his round cloth forelegs. "We can't lose this ship!"
    "Let go," came the slow voice of T Turtle, "I know where they are giong".
Smedly opened the door and shoved Molly roughly inside. In contrast to the dark hallways and rooms they had just passed, this room was lit with more the 20 candles. Thier light, reflected of the many gold and silver trinkets and coins that adorned nearly every nook and cranny of the room. At the far end of the room Molly could see an ornate oak desk. On it were maps, a silver tea service set, a shiny brass telescope and "a pair of black leather boots?" thought Molly. The boots belong to and were currently being worn by a figure sitting behind the desk in a tall backed chair. A black pair of breeches, black long vest, and deep green long coat also adorned the figure who's face was obscured by the only dark spot in the entire room. In the figures right hand (covered in a white glove) was a smoking cigar. "Leave us, Smedly." The sound of his voice set the hair on Molly's neck on edge. "Make for The Point".
"Aye Cap'n". Smedly snapped a salute, releasing Molly's shoulder, and quickly spun and ran out the door.

Rabid hit the water with a tremendous splash and slowly made his way back to T Turtle's shell.   "Okay," he panted. "Where are they going?"
"Pirate's Point." answered T Turtle in his usual leisurely tenor. "WHAT?" exploded Rabid, "That's miles away! How are we supposed to catch them now?" Rabid whined, putting his soaked floppy head into his paws.
"I'll take you. Don't worry." said T Turtle.
"Oh, well that'll be brilliant, T! At the rate you move, we should get there this time NEXT YEAR!" Rabid cried, now banging his head on T Turtle's shell. "Why'd you tell me to let go?"
"Not on land," came T Turtle's measure response, "I can't move very fast on land, but I can swim better than most anything underwater."
"Uh..I'm stuffed with sawdust, T" Big Bear spoke up for the first time, "and I don't fancy being as solid as an oak by the time we get there."
"Not a problem...get in" replied T Turtle as the very top section of his shell popped open.
The ship sailed through the glistening night sky at a pace Rabid thought they would never beat.
Molly stood agape in front of Captain Z.
    Captain Z was the forgotton pirate of a Mr. Bobby Hollander - a computer geek who'd forsaken his toys in favor of the newest software and pieces of the computer he was working on. Captain Z (Z -A mathematical language used for developing the functional specification of a software program. Developed in the late 1970s at Oxford University, IBM's CICS software is specified in Z.), had held Bobby's interest for all of two days - and this made the fiesty Captain quite bitter.
    Z laughed. "Molly," he said "I like you. You're brave and headstrong and would do quite well on my ship as a scullery maid! Now who needs Rabid and that Big "Bad" Bear when you could live a life of high adventure on my ship?" Molly had given up trying to catch a glimpse of the captain's face. She stared blankly into the flame of one of the candles that flickered behind the large oak desk. Suddenly her bed didn't seem like such a terrible place to be and Molly began to wish she'd left Rabid behind in the corner on the hallway floor.
    The innards of TornupTurtle were dank and musty, but soft to sit on - and there were a couple of air holes for easier underwater breathing. Rabid sat, knees to his chest, and pondered their next move...Pirate's Point, which had been constructed with legos, then trampled by Barney the dog, was not an easy place to navigate. Indeed the place was utter chaos and there were so many nooks an crannies for Captain Z and his crew to hide in, that Rabid didn't know where to begin. He glanced up at Big Bad Bear who was passed out against tornup Turtle's shell wall. "Wonderful" Rabid thought, "Maybe I'd be better off leaving him behind."

Molly remembered then, the promise she'd made to herself; In a burst of courage she said "With all due respect Captain, I have better things to do with my life than be a scullery maid. I do have a sister, Rose, who might be interested in the position..." Captain Z laughed again. "Bring her to me and I'll consider your proposition. Until then, consider yourself hired. We boys could really use some decent cooking and cleaning on this ship." Capatin Z raised his hand and with a loud "ZING", threw open the doors across the cabin and whisked Molly back down the hallway where she was met again by Smedley, who'd been listening at the door!
     Rabid was frustrated. He tapped his paw on the gelatenous padding beneath him. "How many knots do you reckon T.?" He shouted. A slow "Fourty - least" came the reply. Rabid sighed. Suddenly it dawned on him - Perhaps the best plan he'd ever imagined - Just then, with a loud, shaking THUD, the turtle stopped.   "Ow. Sorry. We hit something." T Turtle announced.
"What did we hit?" Big Bear asked. "Hard to tell....water is kind of murky here. Oh...we hit a rock...big rock...no...not a rock...a fish...a big fish."
"Perfect!" Rabid shouted, bouncing as excitedly as he could without repeatedly thumping his head on T's shell. "Can you talk to it?"
"I'll try...hang on, fish communicate with their body as much as bubbles." Rabid and Big Bear braced themselves the best they could as T Turtle began slowly thrashing his body back and forth, blowing a series of bubbles in varying sequences. Then he suddenly stilled and waited. After a short pause he said "Okay. We have her attention. Her name is Bob."
"Bob the fish?" asked Big Bear
"Bob the trout." corrected T.
"Ask her if she can swim very fast." interrupted Rabi
"All fish can swim very fast," said T Turtle, "but I'll ask her." After another, and slightly more vigorous, series of bubbles and body twists, T Turtle said "She can swim very fast indeed. She says she is the fasted swimmer in her school."
"Excellent! Asker her if she wouldn't mind pushing us or towing us to Pirate's Point."
"OoooKay...but that is a complicated question. Hang on tight." T turtle then began to twists about with surprising agility and speed. He rolled and twisted, all the while, blowing a complicated formation of bubbles. Rabid and Big Bear tried their best to hold on, but on the second roll, Rabid's paw slipped and he tumbled headlong into Big Bears middle dislodging him as well. The two bumped and rolled about repeatedly crashing into the sides of the shell and each other. After a few minutes T Turtle slowed to a stop and Rabid and Big Bear's heads stopped swimming a few minutes after that. "Oookay." T Turtle's voice echoed around the shell, "She'll push us...fish don't like towing things."
"Probably reminds them too much of being caught on a fishing line." mumbled Big Bear. Rabid tried to answer but was interrupted by a loud thud as Bob the Trout slammed her head into the back of T Turtle and and began to swim them toward the underground channel that would take them to Pirates Point.
The channel was beautiful � the whole way through the channel was dark, but light shone through an intricate coral overhang and cast shadows on the surrounding walls shimmering and bouncing as the water streamed past � Rabid peered through the airholes in TornupTurtle�s shell and couldn�t help but admit to himself that this was one treat he was glad to experience. Once through the channel, the motley crew of four, exhausted from the journey, headed due south. After a few minutes � Just as Big Bad Bear was about to pipe up and ask when they might arrive, there was another huge �BUMP� and the turtle and the trout shook with vibrations.

�here y�are� Bob announced.

Rabid laughed. He knew all too well that something like this might happen � the prickly prongs of pirate�s point made for unexpected adventures all around�

Smedley led Molly, exhausted, down the tiny narrow passageway to a tiny little room with a cot and a tiny little window looking out over the lake. After Smedley left, and locked the door, this window interested Molly for only a moment before she simply collapsed on the bed in exhaustion.
When she awoke, Molly sat up and peered out the window. She could see that the ship had stopped on a patch of land and that they seemed to be teetering on a ledge of some sort. Molly was starving � she hoped that at least the pirates would have some food! And just as the thought occurred to her, food appeared in the doorway. �Mornin� girlie� Smedley greeted her, �you should considered yerself lucky you�re here on this island � the only place the sun rises in this land.� It was too early for Molly to register this; She was too preoccupied � staring at the small feast in front of her. There were muffins, grapes, croissants, steaming hot oatmeal�.�We�re gonna stuff ya so you can work harder!� -Smedley wasn�t one for subtlety. Molly�s eyes widened � at this point, she didn�t really care why they stuffed her, only that she get some of that food. Smedley placed the tray on the edge of Molly�s cot, and turned again and locked the door, chuckling to himself.
Captain Z. stood on the bow of the ship and bellowed �unload �em boys!� He rubbed his palms together in anticipation and smiled to himself knowingly � he had an idea of exactly where they could unload their treasure�
Shark's Cove was an isolated and desolate place on the far side of Pirate's Point. Perfect for hiding treasure. It was a pretty far march for the cliff where Z's ship, The Sea Serpent, was anchored. His men were in for a hard day.

After a brief goodbye, during which both Bob and T Turtle, thrashed and spun wildly. "Probably a good thing she's going," mumble big bear his paws on his round belly, 'if T said one more fish word to her, I think I lose my stuffing." Rabid smirked with a knock, T Turtle obligingly opened the top hatch of his shell. "Where to now?" asked T Turtle as they gazed at the prickly prong infested waters that surrounded the inlet to Pirate's Point.

Molly had barely finished her meal when the door abruptly opened again to reveal the pudgy form of Smedly. "Cap'n wants ter see ye." he said, clasping his thick fingers on her shoulder once again and guiding her through the bowls of the Sea Serpent. This time, after a tentative knock and the chilling voice beckoning them in, Smedly quickly opened the door and thrust Molly forward. "Smedly, go with the rest of the men to the Cove." ordered Z, lounging once again behind his impressive desk. With a quick salute and an "Aye, Cap'n", Smedly was gone, closing the door behind him. The room was silent except for the rhythmic ticking of a small clock that Molly, with a quick scan of the room, couldn't locate. Finally, with a pause that seemed to Molly to stretch on for ages, the shadowy figure behind the desk spoke. "I trust you found your accommodations to your liking?"   Molly only nodded in response. "My men are currently engaged in a very important errand for me. When they return, they are going to be very hungry. I hope you rested when you had the chance.   You are in for a long night." Again, Molly only nodded. There was short silence during which Molly got the distinct impression that the intimidating figure was carefully studying her. "Please sit." Z finally continued. "I thought we could use the time in the interim to get to know each other a little better." Molly stood defiantly in her spot. "Come, now." entreated Z, standing and coming out from behind his desk, "I think you find this very informative." With a gentleness that surprised Molly, he guided her to one of the chairs in front of his desk and took the one beside her for himself and with a deceptively gently voice he continued. "Do you know where you are?" Molly slowly shook her head. "Then you have no idea what you doing here, do you, Poor Dear?" Molly bristled a bit at his tone, but again remained silent. "Then, I'll explain.", continued Z, his voice taking on a hard edge, "You are an intruder into a land we call The Off World. It is a place our kind created long ago to escape the manipulations and callous neglect of our masters while they sleep. It is our sanctuary. Here we create the reality. Here we live the lives we want, free from the ridiculous and often cruel games your kind abuse us with for hours on end during the day." Z's features hardened to a scowl as he seemed to fight with his memories. Only seconds later, he mastered his thoughts and his features abruptly changed to the benign smile as his eyes met Molly's. "No one outside of our kind is supposed to know of our world. Oh, there are the occasional strays now and then, but it had been a long time....until that demented bunny of yours showed you the way." Z slowly leaned forward, stopping inches from Molly's face. "Now, let me tell you why you are here...."

T Turtle, Rabid and Big Bear had finally reached the shore of Pirates Point and trudged up the beach to the edge of a dense jungle. "Now, all we have to do is find the Sea Serpent." Said Big Bear.
"Easier said than done", responded Rabid with a sigh.

Rabid and Big Bear decided to leave T. Turtle to sleep at the water�s edge. T. Turtle was not one for rock climbing after all, and was exhausted after his journey. The cliffs of Pirate�s Cover were quite jagged, and as they climbed, Rabid and Big Bad Bear had to watch they didn�t rip their fur open on the sharp rocks. By the time the animals reach the top, the moon had fallen in the sky leaving only a purple wash over the sky that was illuminated by the morning sun. Rabid began to worry that their time would run out and they would not be able to return Molly in time for her breakfast the next morning � For every day of human time, the toys were allotted two of their own in the Off World.

Molly saw that Captain Z couldn�t hide the grimace on his face as he continued: �You have been chosen by the General Council to be an ambassador to all of us �toys� in the Off World.� Apparently you are a prime example of a child who doesn�t treat her toys well because you�d rather �grow up.� And yet, you still rely on us whenever you need a good cry or something to smash against the wall when you are angry. I, however, am opposed to the Council�s plan. I would like our island and this world to remain private from you demented children and your human ways � which, by the way, only become more prominent as you grow � they cannot be amended and I have no hope for you.�
Molly was slightly awestruck at the definitive nature of the Captain�s argument. She knew she had to find a way to prove them Captain wrong, but as long as he insisted upon making her a slave to the dishes, she knew she'd never succeed. She didn't even know where to begin after all -How to prove to this jaded old pirate that she wasn't like the little boy who treated him so badly? How to prove she could live up to her potential as a human child in the eyes of her own stuffed animals? What, indeed, did Captain Z. mean when he referred to her as an "ambassador"? Molly needed Rabid's help - and first, she needed a plan to find him!

The Pirates trudged along � dogged in their quest, they hauled with them three large burlap sacks, knotted at the corners, and in which could be heard muffled mumbles and protests. As they reached Shark�s cove, the morning had faded into noon and above them, large dark clouds began to roll across the horizon and thunder could be heard in the distance.