The quarrel between the brothers was short lived as Mr. Marren quickly dove into action, swiftly emerging between the siblings and knocking them backwards with his palms. The girls remained seated with their mouths hung agape, their eyes barely able to keep up with the man's movements.
"Such power," Christina whispered.
"Such speed," Dana added.
"He rocks," Sierra joined.
Mr. Marren, with barely a scratch on him, returned to his seat at the dining table and remained silent, as if the whole scene didn't phase him.
"This isn't over, brother," Pharaoh Bassler threatened, his voice immediately quieting as Mr. Marren shot him a warning glare. "I think it's about time for us to leave." The pharaoh motioned for the others to follow behind him as he exited towards the intensely decorated hallway. They muttered thanks and goodbyes to a flabbergasted Proxxy as they quickly exited the room.
"I guess we'll never know what a Zanzoobie is," Sierra sighed in disappointment.
"It's called Zanzabra, Sierra. It's as if you weren't listening to the conversation at all!" Dana scoffed, tossing her curly hair back in annoyance.
"Are you scolding me?" Sierra challenged, her bossy demeanor returning for the first time since Christina's meeting.
Dana rested a hand on her hip, an eyebrow quirking up, "Da's righ'."
Dana and Sierra stared into each other's eyes, challenging one another to make the first move. Meanwhile, the rest of the group continued to walk, too tired to intervene.
"I want cake," Sierra finally said, pulling away from Dana's gaze and looking solemnly off into the distance.
"I want more ramen," Dana complained, glaring at Pharaoh Bassler's back.
"Why have you all been acting so irritable lately?" Christina asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Have you eaten something bizarre?"
"All I had was the ramen," Dana confessed, Sierra and Pharaoh Bassler nodding with her. Mr. Marren and Christina shared shocked expressions as realization settled in their features.
"Was he?" Christina seemed to silently be holding a conversation with Mr. Marren as the three ramen-consumers looked helplessly towards them.
"Yes," Mr. Marren confirmed. "Proxxy used ingredients in the soup to counteract the catalyst."
With this statement, Pharaoh Bassler exploded, throwing his hands up in the air in fury and releasing a string of curse words. Thankfully, they finally had reached the front yard of the mansion, allowing the pharaoh to loudly vent out his frustrations without alerting anyone inside the house.
"Counteract what catalyst?" Dana questioned, turning her attention to the other two captors.
"The bananas I handed out during the meeting," Christina explained. "I injected the proper ingredients in it to bring about your reaction rate earlier than usual. The banana is the reason why you've been having contractions so suddenly."
"Then why did my personality changed when I took it?" Sierra asked, trying to understand the new information.
"The catalyst also suppresses instinctual emotions. It works as a sedative towards emotions, so it brings the contractions earlier as well as calms the subject. For you, it just calmed your normally agressive attitude," Christina explained.
"If it's only supposed to calm emotions for other people, then how did April regain normal sight?" Dana piped up, now fully immersed in the discussion.
"Truth be told, I have no idea," Christina shrugged. "It's not like I'm the ideal chemist. I did manage to grow this in a freak lab accident." Christina gestured to her hidden neck beard under her tightly woven circle scarf. The girls nodded slowly, accepting her explanation for the time being. They looked over to see a still-ballistic Pharaoh Bassler running around the gardens, destroying everything in sight. Mr. Marren looked drained as he took a seat on a nearby bench, taking out a small notebook and pen that was hidden in his Southhead windbreaker. Dana, exhausted as well, took a seat next to him, occasionally peeking over to catch a glimpse of what he was writing.
Hewford, it was entitled, in barely legible writing. Dana, enchanted, continued to read, being careful as to not disturb Mr. Marren as he furiously scrawled on the parchment.
Oh, woe.
Oh, woe.
Oh, woe.
Dana couldn't shake the feeling that she heard these words sung aloud before. She looked sympathetically at the man, his shoulder slightly hunched in defeat. It's as if the serpent meant a great deal to him. As he continued to write, Dana quietly crept away, nodding towards Sierra as she joined her. They walked quietly around the garden, appreciating the parts that were not yet broken by the pharaoh in his ramen-induced panic. Christina didn't join their trek, as she was preoccuppied with trying to calm down Pharaoh Bassler.
As the girls rounded the edge of the garden, an unidentifiable pale blue minivan swept by them stopping abruptly as it reached a few feet ahead of them. The girls stopped suddenly, startled by the sound of a car door slamming. Sierra slowly turned around, a surprised gasp leaving her mouth before a hand clamped over her face.
"Quiet, or you'll alert them of your escape!"
Tears sprung in Dana's eyes, relieved to hear the familiar voice of none other than...
"Detipahoe!" Dana squealed jumping up and down at the sight of the friend she thought she'd lost once taken into captivity. Another hand clamped down on Dana's face, immediately shushing her excited babbling.
"Really, it's as if you've never gone through a successful escape mission. Keep quiet!" The owner of the hand harshly whispered. Dana's eyes widened as she recognized April, alive as ever, standing before her. She shifted her gaze to the minivan and noticed Kent had also exited the vehicle, thoroughly inspecting the branding on its side.
"Honda?" Kent muttered, stroking his chin in thought. "That's the smallest 'd' I've ever seen."
"Come on, we have to leave now if you want to have a chance of escaping," Trevor Detipahoe tugged Sierra, April following in suit.
Dana cast a somber look back, an odd feeling washing over her. Was it longingness? Sympathy? She felt as if she were abandoning the people who took care of her during her captivity. She shook her head in astonishment as she climbed into the car, closing the door behind her and finally escaping the cage she was thrown into.
In the car, Dana noticed that more people had joined in on the rescue mission. Cranberry Cowdinner was crammed into the backseat along with Mila Soremedicine, their faces lighting up as they caught sight of their long-lost companions.
"No more running away anymore, okay?" Cran said, a smirk playing on her lips as her eyes seemed to mist over with emotion.
"Deal," Sierra laughed, giving her a thumbs up.
"Believe it," Dana forced out, still fighting the nagging feeling of betrayal as she watched the three figures standing in the garden retreating as the car lurched forward.
"Here," Trevor called from the other window seat, handing Dana and Sierra two bowls. With great awe, they realized the bowls held Coldstone icecream, most likely from Trevor's workplace.
"This tastes amazing," Sierra mumbled as she shoveled the ice cream into her mouth. "Does it have any special ingredients in it?" She slowed down her eating, eying the ice cream suspiciously.
"Nothing, really, but we did at a bit of cinnamon from some inconspicuous country. I think it starts with a 'Z'."
"Zanzabra," Dana and Sierra looked at each other in surprise as they spoke in unison.
"What the heck is a Zazoobie?" Kent called from the front of the vehicle.
