?Oh…! Why isn't he responding?" Chelsea soliloquized anxious. She was getting impatient.

"I feel guilty…" Lazlo said with a sigh.

Raj meanwhile shook the package in his hand hectically with its opening face down.

"I ran out of marshmallows!" He said panicked.

"I'm starting to think we made a mistake..." the monkey continued low voiced "I guess it's our fault that he's gone."

"Don't blame yourself." Chelsea said, even if she still didn't understand whatever gave them the idea to chain her brother to the heating. She was still sure they didn't mean to harm him.

"What matters now is that we find him."

"Right." Lazlo upheld his eyes.

'Don't worry Clam…we're coming.' He thought determined.

'…wonder how the others are coming along…'

'What am I even doing? Philip could be anywhere….he's a stray.' Mina thought doubting.

She actually had no idea where to go. But she also had no choice.

Mina was neither able to watch Joana crack, nor she could lead Philip to believe that they didn't care about him.

Suddenly an idea popped into her mind. Would he really…?

'…Worth the try.'

Gretchen sat there with tucked up knees. Her head was resting on her crossed arms on top of them.

She gazed into space with a grumpy face.

The reptile couldn't think straight. All the feelings, information and sensory input were blocking her head. She was still expecting him to jump to his feet any moment, saying and doing seemingly random things she wouldn't understand as usual. Tricking her again.

Gretchen peeked at Clam. The expression on her face changed from grouchy to concern.

Or was she hoping for that?

Why was she even sitting here on the forest floor next to him?

All she wanted was to take revenge on him…or was it?

The alligator heaved a heavy sigh, burying her head in her arms.

BEEP.

Gretchen raised her head.

She set her eyes on the cell phone, catching sight of something else lying in the grass in close vicinity.

Looked at more closely she found out that it was one of her gloves.

For her, there were only two ways. Either Clam was a kleptomaniac with a specific preference for gloves, or….

The reptilian turned her eyes towards the rhino. For a moment she couldn't tell which was more disturbing.

'He carried you…all the way here!' Her friends' voices echoed through her head. She knit her brows in anger, then in despair.

It wasn't that these…feelings were entirely new to her.

It had happened one or two times before. It never lasted for long. She'd never taken affection very seriously. To her it seemed kinda like pink goo. Sometimes it was more tenacious, sometimes less. But sooner or later it came off. And as such it didn't really matter to her.

It was a superficial thing.

One of them just seemed to fit her image back then. Or so she thought…

The other one was just a fad. A joyful pastime. A group thing.

But this…whatever it was, it was different… she'd never lost control before.

Clam was actually the first person that was undeterred by her roughness.

He almost seemed immune to it…

Gretchen didn't understand how, but in some way….he broke her.

And even though she was never going to admit it out loud – part of her was impressed.

Of course another part still figured him as the small, yellow weirdo from jelly bean cabin.

The alligator approached the rhino in a subtle manner. One could almost have thought she was worried about being watched.

Gretchen bent over Clam a tiny weeny bit. She set her eyes on him, creasing her face into a nearly pained expression.

The reptilian was afraid that this time head bumps wouldn't be enough to cure them.

She had to face the fact that even the sweetest pie could only cure the symptoms.

"Hey…what's that?" Lazlo wondered as he spotted something on the ground. He stopped to pick it up.

CAW!

"AEE!" Raj shrieked wincing, as he was face to face with a crow which was sitting on a branch.

Not realizing that his friend was standing right behind him, stepping back caused him to brush against Lazlo. He winced again.

"I knew that looked familiar! It's one of Gretchen's gloves!"

Raj gulped, shrinking back. He looked pale.

"So we're on the right track!" Lazlo exclaimed confident.

"Can we find Clam soon…? I don't think I can keep my nerves much longer…" Raj whimpered.

Chelsea was standing a few meters ahead of them. There was a worried expression on her face. She looked at her cell phone.

'…one last try…'

….

"Lazlo…"

"Yes Raj?"

"There's a ringing in my ears…" the elephant said slightly anxious, leaning against a tree.

"Funny….I hear it, too." Lazlo said wondering.

"It's not in your ears!" Chelsea exclaimed eagerly. She looked around, holding her phone in her hand "…Over there!" The rhino shouted, dashing through the thicket, which turned out to be a rather imprudent action.

"WHOOPS!" She uttered when she was missing a foothold, which caused her to fall downhill.

Chelsea ultimately belly-landed in the dirt with a THUD! ...Closely followed by Lazlo, Raj, a suitcase and her cell phone, which landed directly on her head. CLOCK!

"Uugh…" Chelsea moaned.

Gretchen in the meantime had startled so much at the thicket spitting out the trio that she'd jumped to her feet, staring at them in disbelief.

It was quite. There was only the noise of another suitcase, sliding down through the dirt slowly.

Raj's head was spinning. First thing he saw was Gretchen, holding one glove in her right hand, standing there in a mistakable pose – or for him, it was rather unmistakable if not clear – right next to his friend Clam, lying aground to cap it all.

"…You…" He started feebly "…you…MONSTER!" the elephant raised his voice outraged, pointing his shaking finger at her. Gretchen furrowed her brow as she realized that she was dealing with Raj and Lazlo.

"Watch your mouth, jabba!" the alligator snorted, shaking her fist to him.

"Clam!" Chelsea and Lazlo shouted in unison.

The rhinoceros girl got up quickly, throwing the two boys down as a result.

"What are you RETARDS doing here?!" Gretchen snubbed.

"The better question is what YOU aredoing here!" Raj retorted.

Meanwhile, Chelsea kneeled down next to her brother.

"Clam…?" The girl almost whispered with her voice accompanied by a slight urgency.

"Can you hear me…? It's Chelsea!"

"Clam, buddy!...Please wake up!" Lazlo begged his unconscious friend "What have you done to him!?" he shouted reproachfully pointing his finger at Gretchen.

"I didn't do ANYTHING!" She protested irritated.

Whatever made Clam pass out, she was certainly not going to let these idiots knock her down.

"You…didn't?" Lazlo asked in surprise. It seemed very strange to him that she was defending herself. After all, Gretchen was the most merciless person he knew. Why would she deny one of her misdeeds? She was normally proud of such things.

"…he just…passed out, ok?!" The reptilian said curtly in avoidance of questions, looking away in annoyance and embarrassment.

"Riiight!" Raj said in an ironical tone "he just fell down out of nowhere! SUUURE!" he seemed to have completely forgotten that he was terrified of Gretchen.

"Well actually Raj that's exactly what people do when they pass out…" Lazlo interposed.

"You don't BELIEVE her Lazlo? Don't be naive!"

'There must be a way to wake him…' Chelsea thought apprehensive. An idea flashed her mind.

"…Perhaps?" she soliloquized.

"Why don't you tell us what really happened?!" Raj said snidely, glaring at the reptilian.

Gretchen however tried to stifle her nervousness, which Raj mistook for evidence that she was lying.

"I already told you, DOPE, I didn't –!" She said red-cheeked, narrowing her eyes to slits, but was interrupted by him.

"I say she knocked him out! And WE came just in time to stop her from finishing her DARK DEED!"

"…GOAR…JUST SHUT-!" Gretchen growled furious.

"-I do not believe any – EEHHH!" Raj squealed when he saw the reptilian chucking the glove in her hand on the bottom, rolling up her fingers, heading his way.

"YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT, FATPACK!"

"Guys please! Can't we just-"Lazlo intervened in the conflict, positioning himself in front of the elephant.

"Outta my way, monkeypants!" the alligator growled, edging the monkey aside.

Gretchen collared the jittery elephant with one hand, while her other arm took a swing.

Raj squeezed his eyes shut in fear of the snarling alligator in front of his face.

"GOOSEBERRIES!"

Raj, Gretchen and Lazlo froze. The elephant dared to open his eyes a tiny bit.

"Clam!" Lazlo and Raj shouted joyful. The alligator just dropped the elephant like a hot stone, turning around.

Chelsea had a small phial in her hand and a big grin on her face.

Clam on the other hand just sat there, looking around with a wild look. He was surrounded by various things, including a water bottle and an air mask. The rhinoceros was very confused…and a little disappointed that there were no gooseberries.

"…confused…!" he uttered.

"…Sorry…" The young women said gentle ?You were unconscious. It was the only way to wake you up. " She ended the sentence with a sympathetic smile, putting his cap back on his head. Clam seemed to pause for a moment. Then he adjusted it, smiling contentedly.

"Buddy! You're awake!" Lazlo shouted relieved.

"You're – HICCUP – ALIVE!" Raj exclaimed, stepping up to Clam at a hurried pace, steering clear of the alligator, of course.

Gretchen rolled her eyes. She watched the two boys with a scornful look.

Feeling relieved that her brother was finally awake, the reptilian caught Chelsea's eye.

She looked at the girl who was standing there with her hands in her trouser pockets, staring into distance with a grouchy expression on her face.

Gretchen didn't even notice that someone approached her.

"Well…hey!" She started, only getting an irritated look from the alligator "I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself yet" she continued smiling "I'm Clam's sister, Chelsea."

What was she getting at? Showing her pity?

Gretchen narrowed her eyes to slits, staring at the women's outstretched hand.

"Listen sister, I don't need your com-"

"AHA!" Raj burst out all of the sudden "An INJURY!"

The elephant pointed his finger at Clam, or at his forehead to be more specific. There was a small bruise.

"I think we'd all like to know where THIS is coming from!" he said caustically, setting his eyes on Gretchen, who responded with a deep growl. By accident, her eyes met with Clam's.

She averted her eyes quickly, awkwardness was written in her face.

"Perhaps we should ask Clam instead!" Raj said reproachfully and faced his confused friend.

Clam felt his friends' eyes focused on him. It made him a little uncomfortable.

He noticed the press that radiated from his friend Raj. He also noticed the look on Gretchen's face, even though as usual he couldn't really tell what it meant…

"Uh… don't remember." Clam said, looking away.

Gretchen meanwhile upheld her eyes a little surprised and then looked away. The feeling which spread inside the reptilian had a bitter tinge.

"Steaming Sovran! She damaged his memory!" Raj shouted shocked.

Chelsea saw the sort of zoned-out, almost nostalgic expression on her brothers' face. She took a peek at the girl next to her.

"Well, I guess we'll never know then!" Chelsea shrugged it off, smiling "Let's get back to the car."

"What?! But…he might be bleeding internally!" Raj exclaimed indignantly "…Lazlo, say something!"

"Nah, I think he's fine…" the rhinoceros said.

"Well…I think everyone deserves a second chance." The monkey said "Even Gretchen." He ended with a smile.

"Pshaw!" It escaped her lips contemptuous, crossing her arms.

"You cannot be serious!"

Gretchen felt like a fish in the Sahara. She neither wanted nor needed their merci.

It was something else that bothered her, giving her an embittered expression.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Gretchen!" Chelsea said friendly "Oh, and don't worry about that scratch." She added with a wink and went over to her brother.

"Yeah, sure…" She replied eye-rolling, not really taking her talking seriously.

"Hey Gretchen…" Lazlo said, approaching her "I just wanted to say that we…"

"HMPH!"

The monkey looked at his friend Raj, standing behind him a little further away. He was looking down frowning with his arms crossed.

"er… I'm sorry that we accused you."

She was just looking away grimly.

"Oh, by the way! I found one of your gloves!" he held it out to her.

"Whatever…" Gretchen responded disparaging as she was rolling her eyes in annoyance and wrenched it out of his hand.

"Hey Lazlo, do you think you could carry this for me, please?" Chelsea asked politely, holding one of the suitcases out to him.

"Sure!" He said kindly, relieving her of it.

"And Raj, would you carry the other one?" She just thrust it into his hand, leaving a grim mien on his face "All set? Back to the car!" Chelsea just pushed the two boys back through the thicket as a matter of course.

Gretchen stood there, looking down. Her face showed an aggrieved expression.

Clam meanwhile caught sight of the glove she had thrown on the ground shortly before. He picked it up, holding it out to her with the casual grin on his face. Gretchen upheld her eyes a bit, looking at the pale hand of his.

"Why don't you get lost Clam?!" She said acerbic, looking down with her eyes narrowed to slits "Whatever do you want?" Gretchen still wasn't facing Clam. She had had enough emotional moments for one day. So much that it made her sick. Gretchen was angry with herself.

She wasn't even supposed to be here. His idiotic friends were right.

She should have just turned around and scrammed like the cold-blooded animal she was.

A very bitter taste was all she got from this experience.

The reptilian just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, trying to forget this wild-goose chase.

"…More nuzzles?"

Unsurprisingly, she couldn't tell what he meant. Besides she was so captured within her own thoughts and grudge that she didn't even fully register his answer.

"JUST BEAT IT!" Gretchen snorted, turning around "You'd better stay away from me!" she added with a lower voice.

Clam just stood there, still having this glove in his hand.

He was so irritated that he didn't even know how to react for a moment – notwithstanding that this wasn't uncommon.

The rhino knew that she was erratic. He also was often confused by that. But…?

He really had a feeling inside his chest like his heart was being strangled. It was painful.

He turned his head in the direction of where Chelsea and his friends went.

Gretchen stopped dead. A thought hit her like a hammer. Her eyes widened in shock.

'Nuzzles…?!'

Clam turned around to follow his friends. There was a sore expression on his face.

Gretchen clutched his hand on impulse, pulling him to her. She grabbed his face with both hands.

There was a very weird, knavish grin on her face.

The sudden change of events stunned him. He didn't like being held. Normally, he automatically convulsed.

The boy couldn't believe what was happening. He wasn't even sure what was happening.

All he could feel was the force of two lips, belonging to the very same girl that just told him to get lost, pressing against his own – and her hands in his face. His legs seemed to turn into jelly.

MMWAH!

Clam gazed at Gretchen cross-eyed with a bemused expression. His whole body felt warm and tingly.

It was actually a miracle that his legs didn't give way as she let go of him.

"…Now, you can beat it." Gretchen said, still with a knavish smirk on her face. She grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around and gave the rhino a comparatively gentle shove towards the direction of the thicket.

"Eh!" Raj panted "Why is this so heavy? You've put ROCKS in there, too?!" he said testy, facing Chelsea, who was walking a few feet behind them. Needless to say that he was in a bad mood as it was.

She just grinned and nodded. Raj looked away grumpily. On second thought, it wasn't that inconceivable.

"…Psst!...Lazlo!" Raj hissed.

"Yes Raj?" He looked at his friend.

"I think this might be just a distraction!...I mean, where's –"

"Oh, hey Clam!" Lazlo greeted his friend. Chelsea couldn't help snickering at the sight of her blushed brother. She didn't know what was between him and that girl. But he lied. She had recognized it by the look in his eyes, when he said that he couldn't remember what happened. And what she knew for sure was that her brother wouldn't tell a lie just like that.

"Eh! There you are!" Raj said with a mix of relief and reproach in his voice "EH! Could you carry this please?" he gasped, handing it over to his friend, who collapsed under the weight. FLOP!

"…Clam?"

"I still have this gooseberry aroma, if it helps." Chelsea said jesting.

"Look who's back!" Patsy shouted smugly.

Gretchen startled. How unfortunate. She was hoping she could just sneak past them unnoticed.

"We didn't expect you to scram like a chicken!" Nina said amused.

The alligator growled. She turned her head in their direction.

"Don't worry, Clam didn't show up."

RING!

"Oh, that's him!" Patsy said avidly "He says something intervened…and he's on the way home."

"That's funny…" Nina said, raising one eyebrow.

It actually was funny. Gretchen chuckled inadvertently. She was forcing herself not to grin.

Now to make matters worse she felt the urge to show them that she knew more than them.

Gretchen had to get away quickly or she would have given herself away.

"Never mindl!" Patsy warbled with a sigh "…Next time!" she smirked cheeky.

"Whatever!" Gretchen said annoyed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh um,"

"What now?!" the reptile groaned impatiently, turning back again.

"I think you scratched yourself with a branch or something." The mongoose said, pointing at her snout.

A flood of awkwardness inundated her. She blushed.

"Uh yeah, thanks!" Gretchen stammered and left. Nina and Patsy looked at each other quizzically.

Gretchen slammed the door shut, collapsing on her bed.

She lay there at full length, heaving a very deep sigh. The girl grinned like a Cheshire cat, before only seconds later, she groaned desperate and covered her eyes with her hand.

"What have I done?!"