I'll Be Dog-Gone (conc)

I'll Be Dog-Gone (conc)

SunAeryn -- *THUMP!*

was heard on the other end of the longboat. Everyone stopped eating and stared at each other.

"Did you hear that?" they asked each other.

"Yep" they all responded.

Rae pulled out Raegun "It's about frellin' time you pulled me out of there. Hey! What's with not checking out that stocking of mine?" He shouted at Rae.

"Shhhhh, we're going hunting." Rae whispered

"Frell! That's gonna leave a mark" Sun whispered. When she had her Prowler drop her, Midnight & Kimba off, she miss judged the distance she would have to drop to reach the longboat. Sun landed on her eema with a rather loud *thump*. That's the noise everyone else heard. They couldn't see Sunny so they had no idea she was back.

Sun checked her vest, to make sure Midnight & Kimba weren't hurt. They were still sleeping. "Good, you didn't get hurt." Sun said as she patted them gently.

"Identify yourself!" Sun felt the barral of Raegun at the bottom of her skull.

"Rae, you frellin' pain in the eema! It's me, Sun!" Sun said as she gently moved Raegun away from her head. "Thanks for the welcome back!" Sun said, picking up her pack and dusting herself off.

"What the frell?" Rae asked "How'd you get here?"

"My Prowler . I called it when I had to leave and I flew it back here. I just sent it back to the Mansion." Sun said, heading towards the bunkers.

"Huh?" Ragnar managed to get out.

"My Prowler is similar to WonderWoman's invisible jet." Sun offered.

"Oh, is that so."Ragnar replied

"Yes, she's a friend of mine. Now if you all don't mind. I'm rather tired and would like to get a little sleep before we take off on our next adventure." Sun added as she made her way past the others.

"She doesn't look good." Mouse commented.

"I noticed that too." Raegun added

"I'll get to the bottom of this." Rae started after Sun

"Maybe we should just let her be, for now." Jila cautioned, laying her hand on Rae.

Sun had not had a completely pleasant trip. She didn't want to talk about it to anyone, just yet. She hauled her pack down to an empty bunker, put Midnight & Kimba in their cage, covered it and crawled into the bed. She stared at the ceiling until she drifted off.

(Hey all, I'm back! :) I'll try to post again during the weekend. :) )

Chryse74 -- Carefully venturing out of her room

Chryse went to investigate the source of that very loud *THUMP* she heard earlier. Still wary of being near Christmasland, she slunk around the boat carefully. Looking around, she noted that the longboat was at sea again and quite a bit away from that dreaded abode of sugar plum fairies and flying reindeer. Sighing in relief, she noticed the exchange between and Rae and Sun and decided that it was ok to come out of hiding again.

"Hi guys! what's up? I really glad to see that you all safely made it out of Christmasland. That place really freaks me out. Wow, look at all the food! Pass me a plate."

RagnarRB -- Ragnar consulted the chart

he kept folded in his brest pocket. after a moment.

"We can likely be there in three four days if the weather holds. Actually it even falls in a arc that should take us back towards home but around Reality Land.

Going around that place always made him happy.

Raegun -- “Oh! Animal Planet!”

Raegun says happily. "I've always wanted to meet that Steve Irwin guy. He reminds me of this ex-zenetian-pirate we once knew. Rae, you remember her? Cute... What was her name?"

Raven-Kat -- Rae laughs

and says, "Hey, that reminds me!" She grabs Raegun and her bag and runs bellow-deck. She pounds on Sun's door. "Sunny!"

"Ho-ho-ho!" Rae calls.

"What did you call me?" Sunny demands, pulling her door open.

Rae snickers and holds up Sun's stocking. "Merry christmas." Tossing the stocking to Sunny, she runs back up to the deck and takes up her station in the crow's nest.

Kaybe0 -- Everyone’s spirits were lifted

at the thought of going home. And the animal planet sounded like a nice place to stop on the way. As much food as there was, it started dissapearing rapidly with the appetites of the Scooby gang who were in a party spirit. Chryse took out her flute, and started playing for them. To the amazment of the group, Pandora, Jila's fire lizard started humming in perfect pitch to the music. Spyral took his guitar out of his wing and played along. Ragnar smiled. Finally, a little peace on the boat. It has been a long trip.

IQ120 -- IQ was sitting near the front of .....

...boat is a lawn chair. He had just spent an hour making himself the perfect club sandwich. IQ took a bite out of it.

IQ was soaked. He walked over to the side of the boat. Then he saw what had splashed him.

"guys...come quick. It's Flipper!"

Raven-Kat -- Animal Planet here we come

A sleek form moves silently through the dark waters of the delta, nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding darkness. As a golden glow appears on the horizon, the form upsets a flock of water-birds, bobbing lazily in the current. They take wing, screeching angrily. Within the darkness, forms begin to stir high above the surface of the form & voices can be heard...

"Ah! Frell, Rae, you're laying on me! Get off!"

Snores can then be heard in the predawn darkness as, gradually in the ever-increasing light, the form begins to take on definition. It is a longboat, and it seems much out of place in this lush delta.

As dawn begins to break, a number of odd sights can be seen along the beach. A boy runs along the sand with his dog, running after the dolphin Flipper who had accompanied the group last night. Five cameramen on hands and knees follow a baby turtle across the sand. Farther along the shore, two khaki-clad figures crouch in a stand of bushes, their back ends totally exposed, but their front ends, presumably, concealed. A crocodile licks his lips as he watches from behind.

Sunlight on Rae's face pulls her awake, and she opens her eyes with a sigh. "Mornin' Gunnie." she grunts.

YAWN! "Morning, Rae."

"Mornin' Sweetie." Rae calls to the parrot still snoring on the mast above.

Sweetie is talking in his sleep ("She loves me... she loves me not") and ignores her.

"Raegun, reconnaissance report." Rae mutters, throwing her arms over her eyes. That damned African (or is it the damned Australian?) sun is far brighter and hotter than she is used to or comfortable with.

"No one on the boat is moving yet except us." Raegun reports after a moment. "Lots of life on shore, though. Awww..." Raegun says sadly.

"That bird just ate a baby turtle."

Rae considers this as she climbs to her feet and pulls on her dress jacket. "And I thought we'd be safe here..." she mutters in disgust, pulling off the jacket and changing into a pair of khaki shorts. "Where's my sunscreen?"

"In your ROOM." Raegun says. "You know, with your BED thingy."

"Stow it." Rae suggests, grabbing him and climbing down from the crow's nest. "Better warn Sunny about this damned heat whilst we're down under."

Kaybe0 -- Getting woke up early

by Honey, who she had snuck into her room last night, Kay hugged her puppy. "Well, my pet, it's back down with the others for you, for your breakfast." Throwing on her clothes, she heads down with Honey. Hearing the same splashing that IQ must have heard, she stops and looks over the rail. There he was. Flipper keeping pace with the boat. "Look Honey! It's Flipper!" said Kay excitedly watching one of her favorite life forms at play. Honey jumped on a crate and put her paws up on the rail to peek over into the water. Seeing the dolphin swimming, her tail started wagging, and she started barking. "Ok, my girl," said Kay grabbing her quickly. "The idea was to sneak you down with the others again. Not to announce to the entire boat that you got special privledge last night." Kay put Honey down with the others, and fed them all, and cleaned up the huge sand litter they had for the dogs. Going back up, she heard voices and saw Rae coming across the deck with her eyes half closed. Rae was looking at the shore and didn't notice Kay. Bumping into her, she said "Scuse me", and kept going. A few steps later she turned and said, "Hi Kay. Sorry. What are you doing up so early?" "I was watching Flipper.", said Kay. "Where have you been?" "What she was DOING was NOT sleeping in her bed like a normal person." said Raegun with some indignation. Hiding a smile, at the look Rae gave Raegun, Kay gazed over towards the shore they were approaching. "Wow, we are allready here. This is going to be fun." "No it won't, said Raegun with disgust. "They have cannibalism here." "It isn't cannibalism when one animal eats another." said Rae with a grin. "It's part of the food chain." "Well, just what level do I fall into the food chain?" asked Raegun with some hesitancy. "You fall in right under me, my pet." said Rae. "So watch yourself." Kay laughed and then pointed for Rae to see behind her. One the peir, Andre the seal was dancing with a little girl. Several dogs were coming up to see what was on the boat approaching them. One of them looked suspiciously like 'Old Yeller'. "But, I thought", said Kay with tears in her eyes at one of her favorite stories. "Not here", said Rae, her on voice soft. "Here, he will always live."

Raegun -- They get reruns here, too....

Raegun assured Kay gently. Rae was petting him like a lap-dog as he spoke. "It's always half-way through the movie, and they always get re-runs."

"It's a nice system." Rae says softly. "Mostly. The documentaries are a bit tougher, but dogs are pretty much universally well cared for." She points across the sand to where a black lab is barking a warning to the two Khahki-clad figures. "It's a good place for them. Plenty of room to run and lots to do. If we go further inland, there are sheep."

"To the north there are sled-dogs. And dog shows to the south."

"Everything any dog could ever want." Rae begins slathering on sun-screen. "I'm almost jealous."

"Yeah, like we're actually going to unload any dogs here." Raegun scoffs. "We have more now than we started with."

SunAeryn -- “Um, thanks, I think?!”

Sunny yells after Rae and Raegun.

Sun bent over to pick up the scattered contents of the stocking. She notices a rather small bundled item.

"Wonder what this is." Sun mumbles in the direction of Midnight & Kimba

*We hope it's something we can ride in! Not that we don't love you, but Sunny, there just isn't room in your vest for both of us and you.* Midnight & Kimba tell Sunny

Sun looks at her ferrets pals and laughs

"Hey, having the two of you wiggling around in my vest isn't a picnic for me." She shoots back.

Sun finishes picking up the stocking and it's contents. She unties the bundle and it's a pouch to carry Midnight & Kimba in.

"Cool." Sun mumbles, she's still not dealing well with what happened to her while she was away.

Sun picked up Midnight & Kimba, put them in the pouch and headed topside. Before she got to the door, she heard Rae mention something about the heat.

"Frellin' great!" Sun said, she took of the pouch, dug around in her pack for some not so dark clothing. "Did I even pack it?" Sun wondered as she started pulling out everything in the pack. Finally at the bottom of the pack, she found what she was looking for. Sun pulled out a off white linen outfit. "I hate the heat!" She mumbled as she changed into the cooler outfit. She then looked around the room for her sunscreen, grabbed it and headed topside.

*Hey, what about us? You just gonna leave us here?* Midnight & Kimba said from underneath a pile of clothes.

"Sorry." Sun said as she dug them out.

Topside, everyone was now awake and looking at Andre and Flipper swimming along side the longboat. Sun levetated herself to the look out where Rae was.

"Thanks for the warning about the heat and the sun." Sun said, not looking at Rae.

"You ok?" Raegun asked, while Rae was keeping watch.

"Fine." Sun replied, rather curtly.

Rae looked at Sun, slathering on sunscreen.

"Hey." Rae said, with a slight smile.

"Hey." Sun said, in a monotone

"Don't even try it. It's not going to work. I don't want to talk. Let's just get over to Animal Planet, and back to the Mansion. I know it's to much to hope for no problems...but let's just get this show on the road." Sun responded, not falling for the "Hey".

Juno Pup -- Juno and Mouse

go out on deck to check out the new area. Mouse stops and says to the pup, "I think you can get some exercise out here, if you want to try." Mouse knows that Juno hasn't been getting the exercise, or attention she deserves in the last couple weeks about the longboat. Mouse and the pup get into the dinghy and head for shore.

"Tell Ragnar we'll only be gone for a while..." Mouse yells to Rae who nods and finishes covering up with sunscreen.

Mouse and the pup make shore, and Mouse hauls the boat up. Juno takes off, and is reined in by Mouse who knows that it may not be safe for her to run here. They see a sign that says, "Sheep station" and Mouse follows it, anxious to see what a real Austrailian sheep station looks like. They follow the rise, and over it they see what look like a thousand acres of pens, pastureland, and a huge house and several barns. Walking up the path, they see a cowboy, or what passes for one here.

"G'day!" he says. "G'day" Mouse answers, and Juno barks. "Fine looking dog you've got there." he mentions. "Does she round up?" "Sheep?" Mouse asks. "Yeah - we're looking for roundup help." "She's a cattle dog originally, but..." Mouse starts until Juno suffenly takes off, jumps a fence, and joins the other dogs in their mission to roundup a huge flock of sheep. The dogs dart right and left, cutting off sheep and slowly herding them into another pastureland like a ballet. Mouse is amazed. Juno has always loved to run, but she looked like she was BORN to do this.

Mouse acommpanied the cowboy up to the house, and it turns out he's the owner of the station, not just a cowboy working on it. Juno comes up, exhaused, and lays at his feet. He calmly pets her, and she falls asleep.

Mouse stared at her for a long time, and started thinking. Maybe Juno would be better off here. Maybe she would be happier here. She decided to let Juno make the decision, and she started slowly for the door. Juno got up, and looked at her, walked over, liked her hand, and returned to the fireplace, at the feet of her new master. The owner promised he'd take the best care of her, and she would never want for attention, or exercise, or companionship, or love.

Mouse returned sadly to the dinghy, and sailed out to the longboat. She came on board, and went straight to her room. This was going to take a while, but it was the best thing for Juno.

(Really happened, people. I couldn't give her the exercise and attention she needed, and she started really letting me know she was unhappy. Fortunately, I found a great home for her, with two boys, and an older Rotty, so she'll always have someone to play with and attention, plus I can visit her. It really sucks, though, and I'm sure you all will miss hearing about her, but please, don't write her in anymore. It's hard enough as it is. Thanks. Love, Mouse)

Midnight and Kimba -- “You’re not going to do that are you?”

Sunny heard. Sunny had noticed Mouse and Juno heading over to the island. Sunny sensed that only one would come back...she knew how hard it was going to be for Mouse. Sunny pulled out Midnight & Kimba, looked at them

"As long as you two don't get into too much trouble, no, I'm not going to do that. But if, and I know you two, you cause a lot of trouble, yes, I will. Now, got that?" Sunny finished. She then put Midnight & Kimba back in the pouch.

'Mmmmm?'Rae wasn't paying attention, something else had caught her eye.

"Rae! I'm going to check on Mouse....call if you need me." Sunny said as she levitated back to the deck.

Sunny watched Mouse tying the boat back up.

Mouse just looked at Sunny, willing herself not to let her emotions show...she knows that Rae and Sunny think that they are a weakness.

"Hey" Sunny offered again

"Hey" Mouse answered, trying her best to sound like Aeryn

"Hey" Sunny responded, knowing that Mouse needed to talk.

"Sun, really, I..." Mouse started

"Come on...we've both had a rough time...let's go somewhere we can talk without anybody bothering us." Sunny offered

Mouse silently followed Sunny back to her room/bunk.

"Sorry about the mess, I couldn't find a cooler outfit, figures I'd pack it on the bottom." Sunny mumbled, as she remembered the state of her room.

"Doesn't matter, I can't see anyway." Mouse sniffled, tears pooling in her eyes.

Sunny shut and locked the door.

"Hey, I know that wasn't easy for you...but I know, eventually you'll realize it's the best thing for Juno." Sunny said, hoping to comfort Mouse, thinking she's failing miserably.

"Sunny, it is the best for her, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Mouse said, wiping the tears off.

"I know....what else can I do to help?" Sunny offered, not knowing what else to do.

"What happened to you? You looked so.....saddish when you came back." Mouse asked Sunny.

Sun sighed, did she really want to tell Mouse what happened? Sunny looked away...hoping that Mouse wouldn't notice her tears, knowing how everyone on the boat thought that Sunny & Rae, didn't show emotions.

"Hey, I won't tell." Mouse said, handing Sunny a tissue

Sunny grinned, through her tears, took the tissue, and started on her tale,

"I went back because I had to see my family. I found out where they were. While there....I found out that my brother was killed in an accident. I hadn't seen him in years...and now I won't get to tell him how I feel about him." Sunny finished.

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry, Sunny." Mouse said as she and Sunny shared a hug

"Tell you what, I'm here if you need me. Just don't let anyone know that we cried and hugged. Wouldn't want them to think I'd gotten to soft on them." Sunny offered as she and Mouse headed topside again...both feeling better that they shared a common bond now.

(Ok, in light of Mouse's revelation...for those of you that didn't know....when I was with my family at Christmas, we found out about two days before Christmas, that my half brother suddenly died. It's just to surreal for me. He barely found us two years ago...and now he's gone. Just wanted to fill you all in.)

Kaybe said, a little sadly for her friend. That is done. Juno is going to have a blast now. It is time to do what we came here to do. Find homes for all the dogs. Gathering the Scoobs, (she couldn't find Sunny or Mouse), she handed each of them a leash. Let's get these dogs to their new homes. Gathering the dogs together on the deck, and leaving Honey, Elvis, and Kitten in the hold, They prepared to go ashore with the dogs.

Mouse2000 -- Mouse heads back up

on deck with a new appreciation for Sunny. Upon seeing all the dogs and leashes, she suggests that they return to the sheep farm where Juno was to see if they would have any of the other dogs. Secretly, of course, Mouse wanted to check on Juno, but no one needed to know that.

Kaybe0 -- As it turned out

it was a great idea to check on Juno. Because two of the dogs whined when they got there, and it was agreed they could stay. This made everyone happy to know Juno would have friends there. The retriever, as it turned out, kept running back to watch Flipper. He would bark and Flipper would talk back to him. Porter agreed that the dog could stay. That left six dogs to still find homes for. Juno wagged her tail at seeing Mouse, and was very excited to show her all the new things she had there.

Mouse2000 -- After seeing Juno,

Mouse felt MUCH better about her decision. It was clear that Juno was happy at her new home. The crew got back into the longboat and decided to set sail back towards home.

"Ok, who's got the maps?" Mouse asked, looking at Ragnar.

Raven-Kat -- Rae patted Mouse’s shoulder

"I'm fine." Mouse told her.

Rae smiled reassuringly and produced the maps. "We've been all around this great big world." she said.

"And we've seen all kind of girls." Spyral sang from the old Beach Boy's songs.

Laughing, Rae unrolled the maps. "So where to next? Sitcom Land? History Channel? Game Show Network?"

Mouse2000 -- “I don’t know, Rae.....”

Mouse said with a shrug. "Maybe we should just head home. Should we take a vote?"

Raven-Kat -- “Yeah, a vote.”

Rae tells Mouse. Leaning forward, she whispers, "I honestly think most of the others have lost interest in our little quest anyway." More loudly, she adds, "I vote we go home. Before we pick up any more dogs. I think we have more than we started with..."

Chryse74 -- Well I don’t know guys

It's been a really fun voyage. I wouldn't mind continuing on for another island or two if everyone agrees. But I'll go with the majority vote.

Kaybe0 -- Considering for a moment

Kay replied, "Well, we really only have 6 dogs left. Not counting Honey. We could go on to find homes for them, or just go home, and find homes for them around the mansion. Granted they might be a lot for one person to take care of, but, not for 6 different people. Don't any of us have room for one of them? That way, we could go on home. It has been a long trip, and I know we would all love to see the mansion and our own beds again."

About that time, Ragnar spotted a ship off the right bow of the longboat. The conversation stopped as the Scoobs watched the boat get closer and closer. Not sure if it was a friend or foe, Rae 's hand tightened around her gun. But, as the ship came alongside them, they saw children playing on the deck. And women and men looking as curiously at them as they were doing. The people were dressed in what looked like pilgrim outfits.

"I say, sir," said a distinguished looking man to Ragnar when he was close enough to talk without shouting. "We are colonists looking for the Americas. "Can you stear us in the right direction?" Knowing the direction of Historical Land, Ragnar pointed, and told the captain the coordinates.

"Thankyou kindly sir." the captain said lifting his hat. "I say, those are fine dogs you have there. Wish we had thought to bring some with us for hunting and companionship for the little ones. Thought we were too full when our voyage started, but, now, we are several pounds lighter with the food we have eaten along the way."

The Scoobs looked at each other. Could this be the answer? Should they let the dogs go with these early settlers?

Chryse74 -- I say no

The early pilgrims really had a rough time. The dogs could be useful to them, but our dogs aren't used to all that much hardship. Sure, they could adapt pretty easily, but I don't think they would survive for too long. Maybe one or two of the more obedient or hunter type dogs, but not all of them.

Kaybe0 -- Agreeing that was a good point

the Scoobs waved the pilgrims on kindly, and went on with the vote to keep the rest of the dogs, or to continue on.

Mouse2000 -- The vote continues

and it's decided to turn towards home.

The longboat picks up a favorable wind and starts flying towards SciFi land.

Just as the sails begin to fill, a small outboat motorboat pulls up along side and the group hears a very familiar voice (to some of the Scoobies) say, "G'Day, mates! We hear you have some dogs you need to find good homes for!"

Mouse looks down to see Steve and Terry Irwin (the Crocodile Hunters) in the boat and invites them up.

Kaybe0 -- Kay turned quickly

at Steve Irwin's voice. Watching him and Terry was something she loved doing. Grinning from ear to ear, she

was certainly convinced that the dogs would be in great hands with the Irwins and their baby.

Mouse2000 -- The crew stayed up late

listening to the immensely entertaining stories from the Irwins. After a short discussion, it was decided that the Irwins would take the remaining dogs and put them to "work" at the animal park that they owned. Mostly the dogs would spend their days barking, playing with Bindi and Sue, and generally being happy dogs. Perfect.

With a wave, the Irwins set off with the dogs, and the longboat once again set off for home.

As the wind picked up, Mouse realized that their journey was coming to an end. They had visited strange, old and new places, had some wild adventures, picked up a few new animals, lost a few animals, and even lost a crewmate to his continuing journey, but they would never forget their trip. She would never forget it.

Kaybe0 -- Home at last

As the longboat pulled into dock, the Scoobs slowly took their bags and made their way to their own rooms for long showers and baths. Honey glad to be home bounced off to run and play. Kay was just about to collapse onto her bed, when she remembered what shape they left Ragnar's long boat in. Feeling guilty for leaving him to clean it up, she sighed and headed back down to help him. Laughing, she noticed the others had done the same thing. Ragnar looked surprised to see everyone returning, but, gladly put them to work. In a few hours the boat was spick and span. Finally Ragnar went to take a shower and relax in his hammock, and the others went to do the same.

Hours later, they were congregated in the ballroom, no one moving, snacks all in front of them, catching up on the Farscape episodes they had missed. Awww, the life of a Scoob.

JilaCosa -- The quiet was suddenly interrupted by....

the frantic pattering of tiny animal feet.

A yellow blur races across the coffee table deftly running the slolom(sp?) of the snack food bowls sitting there. Unfortunately the white blur that runs tight to the heels of the yellow blur Doesn't. The white blur crashes head long through the snack bowls throwing popcorn, pretzels, chips, and crackers all over the floor and the people sitting in the area.

Quicker than one would think for such a large person, Ragnar reaches out and snatches the white blur off it's feet. He holds the blur out at arms length and it dangles by the skin at the back of its neck.

"Reeeeooooooowwwwww" the blur says, all four paws swinging, trying to attack Ragnar's hand <<Let me go you big oaf! It's getting away!>> The blur it turns out is artickitten.

"Be nice, Ragnar." Jila says, not even taking her eyes off the tv screen, but knowing full well that Ragnar has kitten.

"I wouldn't be any other way with the little darling." Ragnar fibs. "And just what do you think you are doing?"

<<My toy! My toy!>> kitten points urgently toward the television.

Suddenly a little yellow Cartoon canary appears on the top of the television. It's Tweety!! (Tweety never was discovered aboard the longboat so he/she? [does anybody know?] was never returned home).

"What's Tweety doing here?"

"Is _That_ who we supposedly kidnapped?"

<<My Toy!!>> kitten made one last attempt to get free from Ragnar's hand but to no avail. He was just holding her too tight.

"So what do we do with Tweety now?" Jila asks as Kay gets up and gets Tweety.

"He's got to go back." Everybody nods as the obvious is stated. "He probably won't last too long here."

"If he's been with us since Cartoon Land," Mouse says, "then he'll undoubtedly be safe for a bit longer." All eyes turn toward kitten. "If we can keep him away from kitten."

<<Who Me??>> kitten mews innocently. <<I wouldn't harm a fly.>>

"I'll be taking the longboat out in another couple of days." Ragnar says, putting kitten on his lap and stroking her fur, trying to distract her. "I'll see if I can get Tweety back to Cartoon Land without getting myself arrested in the process."

"In the meantime," Kara places her hand out,palm side up, in front of Tweety, who joyfully hops right over. "Why don't I take you up to the Lodge on the roof garden and you can stay with Sweetiepie until Ragnar's ready to sail. That is, after FarScape."

With that settled, and the VCR on play again, the group sits back to watch their own FarScape Chain Reaction.