Slide 2:Two weeks ago… "Circe.“ "Buzz.“ The two did not look in each other's eyes as they spoke. Indeed, they did not even look in the general direction of each other. Circe and Buzz were not technically on speaking terms, and had not been since the night the General had beat up the Curious brothers and Loki along with them. Before that, Buzz had sort of had a crush on her... "You're looking well," the General grunted. "As are you.” She could not help herself. “Beat up any innocent scientists lately?“ "Don't—” "Look, we all know the only reason you did that was to impress me, but it didn't work, OK? Obviously. So let's just do our job here in peace, and you can try very hard not to ogle my chest.“ He was about to argue, but stopped himself. She wasn’t exactly wrong about the ogling.


Slide 3:"So why don't you fill us in on why you called this meeting?" Circe asked the woman in the business suit, settling herself into her seat.  "I've got important experiments to run."


Slide 4:Mrs. Payne smiled sweetly, if falsely. "Dear Dr. Beaker, such a pleasure to have you added to our team," she said, meaning the exact opposite. She turned to the rest of the group around the table. "Thank you all for assembling here today, I apologize for interrupting the schedule of your very, very busy lives." A barely concealed sneer at Circe caused the doctor to grimace. Circe, continuing her grimace, said, "Alright, I'm listening. Proceed.“ "Thank you, Dr. Beaker. Firstly I think it proper to introduce myself. My name is Mrs. Payne, and I am the Director of the SAMRIID in Strangetown.” The people around her smiled and nodded. “Now, as you all know, the SAMRIID office in Metro City was deeply involved in the recent Bluewater crisis, it being located at the nearest base outside of Bluewater itself. A team of soldiers and officers, along with former Chief Researcher Sally Sullivan, were tasked with controlling the plague situation and finding a cure and/or vaccine for the disease. Dr. Sullivan managed to find such a cure, and it has of course been distributed by Langraab Industries.“ "Yes, yes, we all know that, Payne..." Circe grumbled.   "I was only making sure we were on the same page, Beaker." Circe looked at her feet, and Mrs. Payne continued. "What is not commonly known is the foul play that occurred directly after Dr. Sullivan created the cure. A large family, the Doran family..."


Slide 5:Circe's head snapped up from the daze she'd fallen into when Mrs. Payne said "Doran." Her eyes widened as she realized why that name should spark recognition in her: Erin's fiancé, Ein. She was suddenly very attentive as Mrs. Payne went over in detail what had happened in Bluewater. She listened to the story of how the vaccine was created, of how Gethin and Amber Doran were killed. Criminals? Hardly. Is that what the Department of Defense really thought, that an artist with ten children was the reason behind a massive airborne disease? And now the government was after them.


Slide 6:When Mrs. Payne got to the part about different teams being assembled around Simland, Captain Hull looked confused. "...Why are you involving the Navy? We're in the freaking desert...and anyway, I'm not going to be much help to you. I'm an officer, I don't actually do anything.“ "You are here for appearances only, Captain Hull," Mrs. Payne said in a kind voice, as if she were speaking to a young child. "Oh. Well that's fine, then," the Captain muttered, relaxing. The Marine on his left just rolled her eyes at him. Mrs. Payne grinned at him and went on. "There is something else...Ladies and Gentlemen, we are, to put it simply, in a race."


Slide 7:The man in the Air Force uniform grinned excitedly. "A race! Hey, that's cool with me. This one time a buddy o' mine and me were really drunk, like totally plastered, right man?" Master Sergeant nudged Captain Hull with a knowing grin. "And so we each hopped into a couple o' jets and raced each other from here to Pleasantview, but the dumbass crashed right into Will Wright's—” "Not that kind of race, Master Sergeant," Mrs. Payne said shortly, cutting off the thrilling tale. "Damn..."


Slide 8:Mrs. Payne went on, ignoring the interruption. "We are racing to find the ten missing Dorans before the Elves of the North Forest do." Circe drowned the woman out after that. So that's it, she thought, they really after Ein and Ed...and their brothers. Circe tried to pay more attention as Mrs. Payne gave out responsibilities to the people sitting around her, but she just couldn't do it. She was far too preoccupied with—


Slide 9:"Dr. Beaker, are you ignoring me?" Mrs. Payne asked, irritated. You could almost see the smoke coming from her ears underneath her perfectly coifed hair. "It's a distinct possibility," Circe said, smirking. "What is it that you were saying, Payne?"


Slide 10:The haughty Marine spoke in Mrs. Payne's place. "She was trying to tell you your duty, but perhaps if you are not qualified as Chief Researcher I shall request the SAMRIID choose a more capable—” "I am capable! What do you need me to do?"   Mrs. Payne sighed. "As I said before, we do not know how dangerous these elves are, but it is safe to assume that they are very powerful. And, because they are after what we are after, they must be stopped. This Bluewater plague...Dr. Beaker, although Dr. Sullivan nullified the original virus with her work, I do not think it will be too difficult for you to use her research to create something that is instantly fatal to the Elves." In a lower voice she added, "And elf hybrids."


Slide 11:Circe carefully hid whatever reaction she was about to make, and nodded. "I do not know if it is possible, but I shall certainly do my best.“ "Good.” Mrs. Payne turned to Buzz. “General Grunt, you know your task, yes?“ she asked him. "Keep an eye out for anyone with pointy ears,“ he replied gruffly, still embarrassed for being caught looking at Circe’s chest. "Precisely. Well, I think that's all we needed to discuss today. Meeting adjourned."


Slide 12:When General Buzz returned home that night, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. Ripp burnt dinner, as always. Tank wanted to hear about the General’s work, as usual. A pretty boring night, really, or it was until someone showed up at the door in the middle of everything. The last thing the General ever expected to see had shown up right on his doorstep.


Slide 13:"LYLA?!" His ex wife? "But you're...you were...you are..."


Slide 14:"Dead? Yes, that's what I thought, too. I honestly can't remember a thing, but I woke up in a um...very strange place, but look! I've found my way home to you. To you and our wonderful boys..." The blonde woman said, looking lovingly at her middle child. Ripp was ecstatic. Of all his family members, his mother had understood him best. And now she was back! "Come on, Dad, she can stay, right?! RIGHT?!“ "I...I guess so..." The General was at a loss for words, really. "Awesome! Come on, mom, you've gotta see Bucky! He's SO big now...especially around the middle, hehe! And Tank's the same, just a prick like normal."


Slide 15:Circe homecoming that same evening was not as eventful, perhaps, but it was certainly full of anxiety. She entered the medical wing of her husband's laboratory to find Loki working over an apparently (and hopefully) unconscious Nervous Subject. He sang, "...the leg bone connected to the knee bone, and the knee bone connected to the—” "LOKI!" the woman shouted, trying to get his attention.


Slide 16:Loki Beaker turned to see his wife's panicked face. He put down the scalpel he was holding and turned to her. "Circe, I was about to begin Stage Two of my Very Secret Plan! What can you possibly want?“ "I...wait, before I start...Subject is asleep, right?“ "For certain, my love. I am very good at what I do.“ Circe nodded, and then recounted the topics of conversation at the SAMRIID meeting that afternoon. When she finished, Loki was silent for a while. And then...


Slide 17:"Well FISH STICKS!“ "Loki?“ "How dare they threaten my baby sister's happiness! You do NOT threaten the happiness of an evil genius's baby sister, no indeed!“ "What are we going to do? And am I supposed to create this super anti-Elf virus or what?“


Slide 18:Loki waved his non-metal hand dismissively, "I do not see why not, the man Erin is marrying is only half-Elf, and he's vaccinated. Create away, dumpling..." he said, trailing off. Loki Beaker was deep in thought for approximately one minute, and then he grinned wickedly. Circe waited for him to explain, but all he did was rub his hands together menacingly. "Loki, do you have an idea?" He nodded. "What is it?“


Slide 19:"Let me put it this way, my dear...sometimes...violence is necessary.“ His wife smiled widely. "Oh, Loki, I do love it when you go all mad scientist on me!“ "Muahahaha!" Loki laughed for greater affect…


Slide 20:…and then grabbed his nearly-as-evil wife for a passionately evil kiss. They were utterly distracted…


Slide 21:…So when Nervous bolted upright on the table, they didn’t notice. The Reaper child had heard the entire thing, and he was a great deal less than pleased with things. He made a face at them as he got down, and went in search of some clothes.


Slide 22:Ein gestured happily when he met Erin on the front porch of his new home. It was the night before the wedding, and she was moving in. She smiled at her fiancé. “Hey, Ein…you look happy to see me.”


Slide 23:As if to answer her statement, Ein jumped up into Erin’s arms. She staggered a bit under his weight, but laughed anyway. With a face of mock horror, she said, “Wait a minute….isn’t the whole carrying-over-threshold thing in your job description?” Ein’s eyes widened and he jumped down. “Aw, babe, I didn’t mean to—” She was worried she’d hurt his feelings, but when that impish smirk crawled onto his face she frowned. “…Don’t you dare.”


Slide 24:He dared. Ein scooped up his bride and sauntered through the door. With another devilish grin he turned towards his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him as he went.


Slide 25:Down the hall, Chloe Curious-Smith was settling into her new home as well. Nobody is exactly sure who asked who to live together, but the fact was that Chloe and Ed had decided it somehow. “Chloe-alieeeeen, how do you likey our beddy-room?!” Ed sang happily. “Edward picked the colors and everything!” Chloe laughed, but then put on a serious face. “Ed, I thought I asked you not to call me that anymore.” “Oh yeah! OK, OK…so…Chloe-Chloe, how do you likey our new beddy-room?!” He sang again. “Edward picked the colors and—”


Slide 26:Chloe-Chloe rolled her eyes and planted a kiss on her adorable sort-of-boyfriend. He was cute, and she loved him. She loved him AND his very colorful room.


Slide 27:The next morning, friends and family gathered in Ed and Ein’s front room to celebrate a wedding. The groom, Ein, gave the best man, Ed, a confused look when said best man began playing with some sort of…sphere. “Edward is sorry, Ein-twin. Chloe-Chloe said weddings make her edgy-wedgy and Edward is a teeny bit scared of her right now.” Ein grinned, and turned to look at the beautiful woman coming down the stairs.


Slide 28:Never knew I could feel like this Like I've never seen the sky before Want to vanish inside your kiss Everyday I’m loving you more and more


Slide 29:Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing Telling me to give you everything Seasons may change, Winter to Spring But I love you until the end of time Come what may, come what may I will love you until my dying day


Slide 30:Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste It all revolves around you


Slide 31:And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide But I love you until the end of time Come what may, come what may I will love you until my dying day Oh come what may, come what may I will love you


Slide 32:Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place Come what may, come what may I will love you until my dying day.


Slide 33:The newly pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Doran threw their hands over their ears to block out the noise that now came from their piano. Ceremony complete, Mr. Curious had switched from a lovely ballad to a very fast, very loud…thing. “Oh my Plumbob, Lazlo! Keep it down, you’ll break the keys!” Erin shouted over the techno beat. Ein nodded his agreement.


Slide 34:As the music returned to a peaceful melody, Loki Beaker went up to his sister. “Congratulations, Sister,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Aww, thanks Loki! Hey, did you check out the buffet? We went Asian, so there are—” “Wontooooons!”


Slide 35:Circe and Ein, having just given each other an awkward congratulatory hug, joined them. The female redhead sighed and said, “We’ll get to the food in a bit, but first…” she trailed off and looked at her very expensive shoes. Erin was confused. “Circe? What’s the matter? I hardly ever see you look at a loss for words…actually…this is the first time.” Circe grinned. “Oh, ha-ha. Its just that this is a rather serious subject, is there somewhere more private where we can talk?”


Slide 36:Loki gestured slightly (so slightly that they weren’t sure he had) to Nervous, who stood behind them trying to look inconspicuous. Nervous looked away, and Ein nodded. Erin spoke for her husband. “Yeah, we can go into the living room. I think everybody is going to be pretty busy eating for a while.”


Slide 37:Once seated on the bright blue couches Ed had picked out, Erin asked, “What’s so important that Nervous can’t even hear us? He’d never hurt a fly.” Loki nodded. “The Subject is harmless, to be sure, but we would still prefer that we four, and perhaps The Strange One and Chloe, were the only ones to know about this.”


Slide 38:Erin and Ein settled in to listen as Circe went over the events at her SAMRIID meeting and the subsequent conversation she had with Loki. The newlyweds did not like the sound of this “Very Secret Plan The SECOND” of Loki’s, but as he refused to go into much detail about it, they continued in silence.


Slide 39:As Circe’s story wound down, they all began to relax; it didn’t seem as if there was— “…any immediate danger. However, Ein…take care. You may blend in here because there are all sorts of people in Strangetown...but do be sure that if you have children, that they are aware of the circumstances. You should probably also tell Ed to stop talking about “elfy-ness” to everyone he meets.” At this Ein and Erin giggled, but Circe frowned. “This isn’t a joke.”


Slide 40:Erin smiled at her husband. “We know that, don’t we sweetie? And anyway, we have already taken some precaution.” “Oh?” Circe asked. “Yeah. The house and everything are all in my name. The only place “Ein Doran” can be found is in the record is at the hospital where he works. This could be a problem, but miraculously there is another Doctor Doran there, so we should be safe." Another thought crossed Erin’s mind, and she grinned wider. “Although…maybe you should do something about your hair when you go out in public, babe, to hide the ears?“


Slide 41:Ein made a face at this, and shrugged at his wife as if to say, “Are you serious?” She ignored him. “What do you guys think? Should he hide the ears in public, just in case? I know you said he shouldn’t stand out, but…” “No, that’s a good idea,” Loki replied. Ein growled a little…


Slide 42:….but he semi-good-naturedly put a Thinking Cap on his head every day before work after that conversation.


Slide 43:Dramatic conversations over, the rest of the wedding was rather enjoyable for all who attended. Ein approached the cake warily. He knew Erin... She better not shove that in my face, he thought. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to pull a face-smash on you, Ein.” He really loved this woman. It’s like she could read his—


Slide 44:—Mind. Or not, said Ein to himself as he tried to keep the cake from blocking his windpipe.


Slide 45:Once he swallowed, though, he could see the humor in the situation. And anyway, how could he be mad at her? “Sorry! I couldn’t resist, and the look on your FACE! Ha!” Erin’s laughter ricocheted off the house’s walls, and it was infections. Ein couldn’t help but cracking up a bit himself.


Slide 46:“Aw, balls,” Chloe groaned, looking at her midsection. “At least I’m not knocked—” “Chloe-Chloe, what’s the matter?!” Edward said as he danced into the room. “I’m getting fat.” He considered that. “Edward does not think so. Edward thinks Chloe-Chloe is perfect in every-wevery way!” he sang. Chloe grimaced. “Ed knows JUST what Chloe-Chloe needs! Come on!” And he led the way to the living room.


Slide 47:?“Here we are so what you gonna do?Do I gotta spell it out for you?I can see that you got other plans for tonightBut I don't really care… Size me up you know I beat the bestTick tock no time to restLet them say what their gonna sayBut tonight I just don't really care—” ? Ed hopped up into the DJ booth, pulling Chloe along with him, pushed a few buttons, and began to sing…


Slide 48:“Hit it, Erin-person!” “Woo!”


Slide 49:?“Come on baby we ain't gonna live foreverLet me show you all the things that we could doYou know you wanna be together,And I wanna spend the night with you—”?


Slide 50:?“Hmm, hmm…” “…with you…” “…hmm, hmm…” “Come with me tonight.We could make the night last forever…oh oh…”?


Slide 51:?“I've seen it all, I've got nothing to proveCome on baby just make your moveFollow me lets leave it all behind tonightLike we just don't careLet me take you on the ride of your life—” “That's what he said alright!” “They can say what they wanna sayCause tonight I just don't even care…”?


Slide 52:?“Come on baby we ain't gonna live foreverLet me show you all the things that we could doYou know you wanna be togetherAnd I wanna spend the night with you—” “Hmm, hmm…” ? “Ein, it’s ‘yeah yeah’, not ‘hmm, hmm’…!” ?“…hmm, hmm…” “Ugh –with me tonightWe could make the night last forever”?


Slide 53:?“Lets pretend you're mine” “We could just pretend, we could just pretend, yeah yeah…” “You got what I like…” “You got what I like, I got what you likeOh come onJust one taste and you'll want more…”“So tell me what you’re waiting for!”?


Slide 54:?“Come on baby we ain't gonna live foreverLet me show you all the things that we could doYou know you wanna be togetherAnd I wanna spend the night with you—” “Hmm, hmm…” “…with you… “…hmm, hmm…” “Come with me tonightWe could make the night last forever”?


Slide 55:?“Come on baby we ain't gonna live foreverLet me show you all the things that we could doYou know you wanna be togetherAnd I wanna spend the night with you—” ?


Slide 56:?“Hmm, hmm…” “…with you… “…hmm, hmm…” “Come with me tonightWe could make the night last forever”?


Slide 57:“Crap.” When Erin came downstairs the next morning, she couldn’t even make it into the kitchen before hauling it into Ed and Chloe’s bathroom to, er…well, be sick. “Must be a hangover, that was one crazy wedding. Or maybe…” She shook the thought from her head, and continued on her way to breakfast.


Slide 58:…And then she found herself gagging before she’d gone 15 feet. Chloe came out of her bedroom, and waved. “Hey, Erin. Um, were you in our bathroom just now? I thought I heard—” Erin gagged again, and her hands flew to her stomach and mouth. “Oh,” Chloe said, realizing what Erin still had not. She smirked. “Nice.” “Nice what, Chlo? Plumbob, do you have to stand there with that smug look on your face? You could get me tea or something.” Chloe’s smirk grew. “Some friend you are!” Erin shouted. “It’s not like I’m—”


Slide 59:“Pregnant?” Chloe finished, as she turned and went back into her room to get dressed. Erin stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. Then she yelled after Chloe, “You don’t know that! And keep your mouth shut, OK?” “Sure, sure…” “Seriously, Chloe.” “Whatever. See you at breakfast, Mom!” “CHLOE.” The half alien just laughed. It was all in good fun.


Slide 60:Oblivious to their significant others’ mini-argument, Ed and Ein were getting ready to chow down on— “Edwards FAMOUS omelets! Whee! Oh…oopsieeeeee! Ed burnt that one.” Ein shook his head, laughing, and sat down with his newspaper. He’d already gotten Erin a bowl of cereal, she’d said she was ravenous when she got up.


Slide 61:“OH MY PLUMBOB, Ed! You made omelet’s, too?!” Erin cheered as she munched on her food. “Yep yep, Edward’s FAMOUS mostly-not-burny-wurnt omelets!” “Awesome. I’ll have one when I finish this,” she said in response, excited.


Slide 62:Ein looked at his wife over his paper with a questioning look. Erin was normally a very light-eater, watching her figure. For no reason, of course, she’d always been fit. But still, he thought. “Oh, yeah…I guess that’s a lot of food, huh? Maybe I’ll just stick to the cereal then,” Erin said quickly, but then her face turned into a pout. She wanted an omelet, dammit. Ein shook his head. He hadn’t meant to upset her. He pointed to the big plate of omelets at the other end of the table, and made a thumbs up. “You’re right, sweetie, maybe I could have one, little omelet. Not going to kill me, right?” The idea of the eggy-goodness put Erin in a good mood again immediately. Ein grinned, nodded, set down his newspaper, and started in on his own food.


Slide 63:Erin lifted her bowl to get at the remnants, and Chloe laughed as she sat down to join the others. “Erin-person is very hungry today! Why is that, Edward does not knoooow!” Ein shrugged, Erin chugged the leftover milk.


Slide 64:“I know why. Don’t I, Erin?” Chloe said with a teasing tone.


Slide 65:Erin slammed her bowl on the glass table making the whole thing shudder. “Chloe…we’re not even sure!” “I am sure.” “You wouldn’t. “ “Yes, I would. You know I would.” Ed and Ein looked back and forth between the women’s faces. Edward grinned. “Ed thinks Chloe-Chloe and Erin-person are angry. Like grumpy monsters, GRR! Only…um…they are very pretty monsters?” Ed added when Chloe shot him a murderous glare. Ein looked at Chloe for answers. She obliged. “Erin’s knocked up. Congrats, Pops!”


Slide 66:“…” “Babe?” “…” “Ein-twiiiiin, you’re going to have spawnlets!” “…” “Geebus, Ein, snap the hell out of it.” Chloe’s snarky tone had done its work; Ein came back to his freaked-out senses. Erin’s…pregnant? Ein had never really thought about children, which was very odd considering he was half a Family sim. Until this news came out, that secondary aspiration hadn’t made a peep. And now? His shocked face went neutral for a second…and then he went into a gigantic smile. He was ecstatic.


Slide 67:“Oh my Plumbob, Chloe, you are SO lucky Ein took that well. But you can’t just throw stuff like that at him out of nowhere! He looked like he was going to have a stroke.” “You’re right about that, so I’m sorry I blabbed. It’s just such awesome news and you were being a total ditz about it. Babies are fun.” “Yeah.” “Yep.” Erin paused for a moment, and then her eyes lit up with a mischievous idea. “…So?” she asked. Chloe was stumped. “So…what?” “When are you and Ed going to pop out a few kids?” Three things happened simultaneously: Ein smirked, Chloe dropped her fork, and Edward choked on his omelet. Chloe smacked her friend. “You’ve got to be joking!” Erin couldn’t stop laughing long enough to say that she was, but she did nod.


Slide 68:Ed, having dislodged the food from “the wrong pipe”, turned to Chloe. “Edward has decided that Chloe-Chloe spawnlets might be fun!” Chloe stared at him. “No.” “Awwwwww…” “NO, Ed!”


Slide 69:In any case, children produced by these four were sure to be slobs. So, perhaps it was better that they wouldn’t be having too many. However…


Slide 70:“Kitty!” Chloe exclaimed when the shelter dropped off her new friend. Chloe, Romance sim extraordinaire, had a secret: Sure, romancing was her primary reason to live…but family was second. When she snipped at Ed about not having babies, she only meant not right away. Maybe one day, if she felt like it, they’d have one. But for now? “Welcome to the family, Planet!”


Slide 71:She jogged into the living room holding her new furry bundle of joy, and found her pretty-much-boyfriend dancing to some weird song about Hedges. “Ed!” she called over the music.


Slide 72:He turned around, still dancing, to see her glowing with happiness. “Chloe-Chloe, hi-ii! Want to dance with Edward? This song is…what is that fuzzy-wuzzy-was-a-bear thing?!” “It’s a kitten, Ed! Here, hold her for a second.”\


Slide 73:As Chloe bent over to fill up the food bowl, Ed looked confused. “Edward though Chloe-Chloe said we couldn’t have babies…” “A kitten hardly counts, Ed.” “Does Edward have to feed it?” “Sometimes, yep.” “Does Edward have to clean up its poopy?” “…Yeah.” “Kitten is the same thing as a baby then, Chloe-Chloe! It is OK, though! Edward will be a good kitty-daddy-person!” Chloe couldn’t help but smile.


Slide 74:That wasn’t to say Edward was completely innocent in the unexpected “babies” department. Ein strolled down the stairs to the side yard, headed for a game of catch with Erin, when he saw something…odd.


Slide 75:Outside in an area Ein had thought was empty, Ed was chucking a large hunk of some sort of meat into the mouth of a… What is that, anyway? He wondered. He stomped over to his brother and folded his arms over his chest. That was his way of demanding an explanation.


Slide 76:“Ein-twin! Likey, likey? Edward found this pretty cow plant allllll alone in the scary-wary secretive society house and then rescued her!”


Slide 77:Ein shook his head in disbelief. He then directed a pointed finger at the “cow plant” and then at Edward. Ed nodded. “Edward understands! Ed promisy-promises to take very good care of Bebop—” He stopped at Ein’s raised eyebrow. “Yeah, Edward named her Bebop, isn’t it pretty?! But Ed promises to feed her and watch her every day so that nobody gets crunchy-munched!” Ein grinned, and went to find a much safer place to play catch with his pregnant wife.


Slide 78:For the area around Bebop was a very unsafe place indeed. Within thirty minutes of Ed’s promise, Unknown Townie walked by the Doran house. He saw a piece of cake dangling from Bebop’s mouth, and well…the rest is history. Of course, Ed would later swear that the cow plant’s lunch was really an “evily-wevil elfy-spy and Bebop was just protecting her family-people!”


Slide 79:Throughout Erin’s pregnancy, life was pretty simple. Simple after Unknown Townie’s devouring, of course.


Slide 80:Erin’s ever-growing belly was something that really annoyed her (stretch marks, you know) but made her happy at the same time.


Slide 81:The back aches, though, they were only annoying. Luckily, Ein was there the whole time to make them better. “I’m so lucky to have an awesome husband like you, Ein.” He smiled at her as if to say ‘no, I’m the lucky one’, but she didn’t see it.


Slide 82:Edward continued in his search for aliens. Chloe-Chloe was only half, after all, and he wanted to take a ride in a space ship! Trying to find them during the day, though? Not such a brilliant idea. “Heyyyyy, where did the alien-alien with yellow hair and big plastic eyes go! Edward saw it!” “I’m right here, you imbecile! Stop looking in my windows!” “Edward didn’t mean to…”


Slide 83:As they did in college, Chloe and Ed went on many, many dates to keep each other happy. A lot of the time they went downtown… “Hello, my name is Joy and I will be your server this evening! Can I start you with some drinks?”


Slide 84:But most of the time? Most of the time they didn’t make it out of the garage.


Slide 85:Erin spent a lot of her time eating, and even more time talking. Talking to her food, that is, in her sleep. “Plumbob, spaghetti! Who burned you?! You taste awful.” And then she would snore, and her face would drop into the plate.


Slide 86:Planet grew up. She also peed on the floor a lot. “Planet-caaaat! See, Edward was right! Right, right! Kitty-babies are just like real babies, only real babies pee in one spot: their diapers! Edward wants a kitty diaper for you, Planet-cat!”


Slide 87:Ein kept working his butt off in order to reach the top of his career. He often stayed up late at night to study…


Slide 88:…But whether the reason for his hard work was his determination or the obnoxious noise of people “not trying to have babies” below his bedroom keeping him up, nobody knows.


Slide 89:Erin busied herself with decorating the baby’s nursery. Every time Ein brought home a bonus from work, she’d add something to the room.


Slide 90:Before long, Erin was in her last trimester, ready to pop at any moment. She was also very hungry (surprise!) and decided raiding the fridge was the best course of action to remedy that.


Slide 91:Ein found her there during one of the few times he took a break for studying. “Oh!” Erin said as she hastily stuffed the milk back into the fridge and turned to her husband. “You caught me,” she added with a sheepish grin. Ein smiled and went to give her a quick kiss.


Slide 92:“Plumbob, you must think I’m a pig,” Ein shook his head. “Either way, it won’t last much longer. The baby should be here soon.” Her husband nodded happily and moved his hand to her stomach. He felt a rather strenuous kick in response. “Heh, he or she is pretty strong, huh? I’m going to bed, you coming? Or are you going to study some more?” Ein shrugged. “That’s what I though, you workaholic. I’ll see you in a bit, then! Night, Ein!”


Slide 93:Twenty minutes later… “Ow…” Erin had jumped out of bed, terrified, when she’d felt a very, very sharp pain in her back. She clutched her stomach, and the pain only worsened. “Ow. OK, breathe. Hmmm…” She tried to calm herself down, but to no avail. Another sharp, and yet burning pain. She screamed, “EEEEEEEEEEEEIN!”


Slide 94:Ein dashed into the room to find Erin panting. He began to panic, and she saw it on his face. “Oh!” she said. “Don’t worry, I think the worst of it is—NEVERMIND! OH MY PLUMBOB! Fudging hell…” Ein danced back and forth, having absolutely no clue what to do. He was a doctor, but not that kind of doctor!


Slide 95:Erin’s eyes shot open. She grabbed her abdomen yet again, and almost instantly…


Slide 96:…she held a squirming, blonde-haired, green-eyed, adorable baby boy.


Slide 97:Ein let out a deep breath he’d unconsciously been holding. He pointed at the baby, and smiled widely. And then…


Slide 98:…Then, not knowing what possessed him, he jumped into his pajamas and got straight into bed, Planet by his side. “Oh, you’re just adorable. What are we going to call you little man? I think—OW,” Erin groaned.


Slide 99:She spun around, looking to hand her infant son to her husband. “Ein! You’ve got to be joking, are you seriously in bed right—OW—now? I don’t think…I don’t think I’m done….OUCH!” He was already snoring, and Erin was in too much pain to be very mad at him.


Slide 100:She placed the unnamed child on the floor. “Sorry, baby, you’re daddy is being useless right now, and Mommy…Mommy is…”


Slide 101:On the roof, Chloe lounged while Ed looked for her long-lost relatives. She was just about to pass out when he turned to her, looking concerned. “What, Ed?” “Chloe-Chloe…did you hear screaming?” “No…did you?” He listened again. Yes, that was definitely a scream, and it was coming from inside their house. “Edward thinks Erin-person is having the spawnlet! Come on, Chloe-Chloe!” “Er…you go ahead, I’ve got a weak stomach.” “Okie dokie!” Ed said as he ran towards the stairs.


Slide 102:Inside, not much had changed. “Aaaaaaugh, this hurts just as bad the second time around…EIN! Are you still not up?! OW! I thought you were a—nnnnnngh—Family person!” Ein yawned. She was right, and he was going to be in deep trouble later.


Slide 103:Ed made it into his brother’s bedroom just in time to see Erin swirl out another blonde baby, this time female with brown eyes. “…Why is Ein-twin-spawnlet on the floor? Edward does not think that is safe. Or sanitary, nope nope…” Erin looked at her husband. “Ein?” He nodded. “You’re in serious crap.” He pouted.


Slide 104:Cara Doran Patrick Doran And so in keeping with the Doran tradition of multiples, Erin and Ein were blessed with twins, a girl and a boy. Of course, this twin tradition skipped the third generation, but it was well made up for with the heir’s 10 sons. =D


Slide 105:Erin quickly forgave Ein for his “lapse in judgment” the night their twins were born. She knew he cared, she just guessed he was so overwhelmed he didn’t know what the heck he was doing. Things were happy at the Doran house and, (even though they would continue to be cautious) to Ed, Ein, Chloe, and Erin, the threat of the elves seemed like a long past bad dream. Oh, how incorrect they were.


Slide 106:Far away in the North Forest… “I still say its not my fault, Ioan! There’s got to be some weird…blockage…or something!” Saoirse shouted, wanting very much to throw her magic basin at the wall. “Whatever, cell phone wannabe. Why don’t you pull out the real thing and check to see how The Distraction is doing?”


Slide 107:Even elves are in on the 3G networks, didn’t you know? Saoirse hated having to resort to such trite human objects. She should be able to see how their various spies were doing! She had no problem with the ones in Belladonna, or Pleasantview…but the one in Strangetown, code name “The Distraction” was unreachable. Like she said, there seemed to be some sort of alien barrier on the area. She dialed the familiar number, and waited. As she waited, she recalled the night this particular spy was given her duty…


Slide 108:She was a young elf, and her name was Liadán. On first meeting Liadán, one would not immediately suspect her of having magical abilities. She was such a sweet girl and could not help but win over even the most unpleasant person. That was just it, though, that was her ability. One could not help but love Liadán. She would not allow it, and that is exactly why she’d been chosen for this particular job. The night she came to receive her orders from Saoirse and Iaon, Iaon was in a bad mood. Well, Ioan was almost always in a bad mood, but it was particularly bad that evening. He’d been ordered to kill a bunch of half-breeds ages ago, and he still hadn’t shot a single arrow. It was making him edgy. Saoirse was not exactly pleasant either, and the bubbly elf she was charged with was grating on her nerves, but as stated above…they both had to like Liadán. That bugged them. The younger female whined. “Guuuys, these clothes are totally lame, why can’t I just wear what I had on before? And they itch something awful.”


Slide 109:“You can’t exactly waltz into a human’s home wearing traditional Elvish clothing when you’re supposed to be impersonating another human, Liadán. Geez.” “Oh, right.” “Are you ready?”


Slide 110:“Yep! Begin the uglifying process, Saoirse!” Liadán said happily. She moved over to the wall and braced herself for the spell.


Slide 111:Saoirse concentrated very hard on the picture the Elders had provided her with. Fair skin, well Liadán already had that…blonde hair…no elf ears. She crouched down slightly and flicked her fingers at the other female.


Slide 112:“Heh! This sort of tickles. Wait, it’s supposed to tickle, right?” the elf asked as she was enveloped in sparkles.


Slide 114:“Well, how do I look?” Liadán asked once the process was complete. “Like an ugly human.” “Yes!”


Slide 115:“Hello? Saoirse, are you there or what? I don’t really have a lot of time, the General’s going to be home any minute.” Liadán’s voice on the other line brought Saoirse back to reality. “That’s fine, I just wanted to check in quickly.” “Well for one thing I miss my ears! I can hardly hear a thing anymore.”


Slide 116:“…Um, sorry. But how are things with that pesky General anyway? I can’t believe the Elders don’t approve of just killing him and everyone we’re after, but gah. ‘Blah blah blah, only after the blood traitors, blah blah’…it’s all nonsense. But whatever, how is it going?”


Slide 117:“Other than being half deaf, really great actually! The General is a gigantic pain what with all the cooking he expects me to do, but he’s REALLY good in bed!” “Ew, I really don’t need to hear about that. But I guess this means he’s accepted you’re Lyla?” “Oh yeah, they all totally buy it. AND they’re all really psyched because they think Lyla has changed into an actual good person instead of a major ho-bag.”


Slide 118:“That’s great…” “I haven’t seen any sign of the half-breeds, though. Sorry. I did find one Doran, a doctor working at the local hospital…but he’s just some old dude with crazy hair and a smiley face pin. No elf heritage in him whatsoever.” “I guess that’s OK, we’re already following a lead in Veronaville. One of the spies—”


Slide 119:“Lyla? Sweetheart, are you out here?”


Slide 120:“Damn it.” “What?” “Sorry, I have to go. He’s home. Bye.” Liadán hung up quickly. She tossed the phone in her pocket, and smoothed her dress.


Slide 121:“What are you doing out here, love muffin?” “Just making a few phone calls, the gardener forgot to weed around the cactus.” “Oooh…” Having his dead-ex-wife return to him had had a very good effect on the General. Having her return to him and not be a cheating bitch, well…that had had a VERY good affect. Buzz Grunt was in love all over again. And you know what they say, love blinds you. He hadn’t thought about hunting elves in days. This was why Liadán’s code name was “The Distraction”…and she was doing a very good job so far.


Slide 122:When Saoirse hit the end button, she sighed. So they still didn’t have much to go on in finding the Dorans. Maybe that lead in Veronaville would turn out to be something…


Slide 123:The end! Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and we will see you soon for Part 3. =D Credits: Wedding song: Come What May from Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge Reception song: 4ever by The Veronicas