Frankie watched the waves for some time, then shook her head. "What's the point of just watching?" she said to herself. "This is a beach, dang it. I want to swim!" A quick stop in the changing room followed, and a moment later she headed for the surf:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV16.jpg

She stayed in the water for over an hour, sometimes diving, sometimes riding the waves, often just floating quietly, letting the gentle current of the sea move her around aimlessly. Eventually she spied a group of children on the beach, all armed with shovels, digging all over the place. Curious, she got out of the water and approached them. "Whatcha doing?" she asked amiably.
"Digging for pirate treasure!" the kids exclaimed. "Wanna help?"
"Sure!" she laughed, getting into the spirit of things. Frankie grabbed a shovel and got to work:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV17.jpg

And in a short time she found her prize:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV18.jpg

She laughed again and decided to keep it. It would be a fun souvenir.
It was late in the afternoon at that point. Back at Foster's she'd be working on dinner now. Not on this day, though, no; she was going to kick back, relax, and watch the sun set. A number of chairs were set out for just that purpose; she headed for the nearest, lazily flopped ito it, and basked in the last rays of the day:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV19.jpg

She fell asleep for a short time. When she awoke the sun was gone for the day and her stomach was starting to growl. "Time to find dinner," she thought. There was a food stand on the Boardwalk for that, so she changed back into her everyday outfit, headed up the stairs, and ordered something called "Pineapple Surprise". Rather good, too, she discovered. She soon had company as well, a local woman named Tracy and another tourist, a teen by the name of Lainey:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV20.jpg

The topic of conversation was the recent crime wave. Sort of.
"Thieves on my island!" Tracy exclaimed. "So hard to believe. What is this world coming to?"
"Your getting upset over nothing," Lainey said, shaking her head.
"What happened, exactly?" Frankie asked. The last thing she wanted was someone burglarizing her hotel room.
"Nothing," said Lainey. "You'll see. Go ahead, Tracy, tell her what happened."
Tracy looked a little embarrassed as she spoke. "A child tried to steal a bicycle."
Frankie raised an eyebrow. "That's all??"
"See?" said Lainey. "Like I said, it's nothing."
"Today it's a bicycle, tommorrow it could be a car!" said Tracy. "And there's more, too." She lowered her voice and glanced around before continuing. "I've heard that the Unsavory Charlatan has been seen on the island."
"The who?" asked Frankie.
"The Unsavory Charlatan," Lainey said. "A notorious card shark and pickpocket:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV21.jpg

"He wanders around in disguise, looking for easy marks to charm and con. He prefers tourists, too; he got my dad the last time we came here." Lainey shook her head. "Keep your wits about you; he's pretty slick."
"Thanks, I will," Frankie said. Just what she needed; a con artist on the prowl. She smiled for a moment as Bendy and Bloo came to mind. The conversation turned to other topics for awhile, and Frankie paused to reflect for a moment:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV22.jpg

Unsavory Charlatan or not, she was having a great time. She was about to head for home when she spotted something on the beach; a man twirling a burning stick. This was something she had to check out. Back to the beach she went, and sure enough, there he was; an authentic native fire dancer:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV23.jpg

Frankie watched, mesmerized, as the man danced, spinning, twirling, tossing the fiery stick in the air and catching it without even looking. He never missed a beat, not even once.
"That was amazing!" She said when he was done. "I wish I could do that; we have nothing like that at home."
"Perhaps you can be the first," the man smiled. "You're the only one here right now. I have time to teach, if you have cash to pay. $75.00, and my art is your art. Shall we dance?"
Frankie stood there in wonderment for a moment:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV24.jpg

She smiled broadly and pulled out her wallet. "We shall dance," she said. He tossed her a stick. "Now, to begin with..."

Three hours later, Frankie was exhausted and smelled like soot as she headed back to her hotel:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV25.jpg

Wave watching, swimming, a beautiful sunset, new friends, exotic foods... and now she could call herself a Fire Dancer, too. It had been an amazing day.

She had no way to know that very soon, everything would change. Everything. And it would change with the utterance of a single word.

(To be continued...)

Cass, you're so good at cliff hangers, my goodness! 8D I think it would be amazing to see Frankie fire dance. As long as she's very, very careful, of course.

*sigh* I could sure use a vacation like that. Looking forward to the continuation. :frankiesmile:

I definitely concur with Lynnie; I look forward to the next episode. The bathing suit was a very nice touch; the other comments I will withold until I see my sailor buddies.:D

Oh, no! Is that the con-man disguised as a fire dancer? :macwor:

I wonder if that rock Frankie had found has something to do with the ghost captain's "Little Buddy".

Perhaps it's his "petrified pet". 8D

Very nice, Cass! :-* :-*

Okay, now I see where the eyebrows comment came into play I think. I quirked an eyebrow in consideration for about two seconds before saying to myself, "Frankie looks very pretty in that swimsuit and that's a very nice color on her." :frankiesmile:

Awesome installment, Cassini-- can't wait for more. :)

I may try to record her doing the fire dance when she gets home; at present I don't want to risk using the game camera, which adds additional stress to the system (not to mention the already frazzled Simmaster).

For the record, I chose that particular swimsuit because it was the closest match I had to the one she wore in Squeeze The Day. Accuracy is absolutely critical. Don't expect to see it again, though; I only used it this time because it was a beach story.

Foster's Valley - "A Single Word"

Tired but happy, Frankie hit the shower to get the smell of soot out of her hair and promptly went to bed:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV26.jpg

She dreamed of spinning sticks of fire, of white sands and blue waves. She also dreamed of the Valley, subconsciously wondering what was happening there while she was gone. She dreamed of snow falling at Foster's, and of Mr. Herriman complaining about having to shovel it while she lounged on the beach. She smiled at that as she slept.

And then the nightmare came.

It was always the same; she found herself in her old neighborhood, running frantically, desperately searching for something in dark fields and streets choked with fog, hearing a voice calling to her, begging her for help. The same nightmare she'd been having since she was a child. She opened her mouth to scream a name in anguish and loss-

-and woke up gasping for breath. Was she awake? She wasn't sure. It was unusually dark; something didn't feel right. Frankie stumbled out of bed to get a glass of water. As she passed the balcony door she saw something that caught her off guard; she dressed hurriedly and went out to stare at the sky in awe and wonder:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV27.jpg

She remembered seeing Saturn once before - the only memory she had from the time between leaving the Pacific Northwest and arriving in the Valley - and how it had scared the living hell out of her. It was different this time though; it seemed almost warm in an odd way. Frankie stared at the ringed planet awhile longer and finally made up her mind. "I'm still dreaming," she muttered to herself. She went back to bed and slept soundly for the rest of the night. She was never certain if it had been a dream or not.

The next morning she awoke refreshed and full of energy, ready to have some fun. After a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant she tracked down a tour guide:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV28.jpg

"Looking for adventure?" he smiled as Frankie approached.
"Sure am," she smiled back. "Whatcha got?"
"A little bit of everything. Parasailing, glass bottomed boats, helicopter-"
"A helicopter tour? Really?"
"Yep. On a clear day you can see the entire island at once." The guide looked at the sky and laughed. "And it's always clear. Next chopper arrives in ten minutes. Interested?"
Frankie grinned and reached for her wallet. Ten minutes later a helicopter landed in front of the hotel:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV29.jpg

And away she went.

Two hours later she was back, with a load of pictures and a story for everyone back home. She didn't have anything in particular planned at that point so she picked a direction at random and headed out again, stopping here and there for photographs:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV30.jpg

And souvenirs:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV31.jpg

And finally stopping for lunch and a chat with Damion Wade:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV32.jpg

The topic was once again the recent "crime wave".
"The Unsavory Charlatan struck again," Damion said. "Walked right up to John Reece, charmed the socks off him, and made off with his wallet before he knew what hit him."
"Sheesh, can't the police catch this guy?"
"John's the sheriff, so I'd have to say no."
Frankie burst out laughing. "Maybe he should stick to trying to catch that kid who steals bicycles."
Damion laughed, too. "Yeah, I heard about her. No more bicycles, though; now she's digging up people's lawns."
"What?" Frankie was both amused and confused. "Why on Earth would she do that?"
"Treasure, I'd say," said Damion. "The ancient civilization that used to live here left all sorts of stuff behind all over the island. Old maps, pottery, carvings, things like that. Some of it's valuable. Everybody here digs now and then, just to see if they get lucky."
"Huh. I tried; I found a rock." She laughed again, then grew serious. "What's the girl's story? Parents work and leaver her unsupervised?"
"No family, as far as I know. I've never met her. Ah, but this might interest you; I heard she mentioned something about Foster's. She might want to adopt one of your Imaginary Friends."
"Really?" Frankie hadn't expected that. "Wow. Maybe I should talk to her." She smiled. "Seems my work is never done, vacation or not. Who told you that she mentioned Foster's?"
"Tamara Kalson, another tourist. She's staying at your hotel."
"Okay, I'll look her up. And thanks!" It never ends, Frankie thought. She'd take care of the matter later; right now the sun was setting and she wanted a nap:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV33.jpg

It was a long nap, close to three hours. When Frankie awoke it was nearly 10:00 PM. "Time to figure this out," she said. She headed back to the hotel and tracked down Tamara Kalson who, as it turned out, was looking for her as well:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV34.jpg

"You're Frankie Foster, from that Imaginary Friend place, right?"
"Yes, that's me. Tamara Kalson, right?"
"Uh-huh. Guess we've been looking for each other."
"Yeah. I understand you talked with a girl who wants to adopt an Imaginary Friend?"
"Huh? Where'd you hear that?"
"Damion Wade. You didn't meet her, then?"
Tamara shook her head. "Damion's confused. I did meet her, but she doesn't want to adopt an Imaginary Friend; she is an Imaginary Friend."
Frankie was stunned; she hadn't expected this at all. "She is? Are you sure?"
"Very sure. And she definitely wanted to go to Foster's."
"Wow. Just... I need to talk to her. Did you get her name?"
"No, sorry."
"Can you describe her?"
"Sure. Child-sized, blondish hair with a lot of purple and blue streaks, blue antenna, slightly pointed ears, and big blue-green eyes. Dressed kind of like you, actually." Tamara's cell phone rang. "Excuse me, I've got to take this." Tamara went back into the hotel; behind her, Frankie stood in a state of shock and disbelief, with her hand on her chest, trying to steady herself as she whispered a single word:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV35.jpg

"Miri..."

(To be continued...)

*gasp* Frankie had an imaginary friend? Dare I say this gets more interesting with every chapter.

And that's an impressive view of Saturn. I wish it were closer to earth so we could see it like that on a regular basis. It's probably my favorite planet (I love the rings).

Keep it comin' Cass, I'm loving every word. :frankiesmile:

That view of Saturn is awesome indeed. It looks so realistic. :)

Could this "Miri" be a long-lost imaginary friend of Frankie's?

Whatever happens, it's getting really good. :frankiesmile:

Got me on edge, and I know where the name "Miri" came from:frankiesmile:

Wow, so Frankie does have an imaginary friend? :D Awesome!

This is based upon something Craig told you, you say? Interesting, I'm looking forward to seeing what develops. :frankiesmile:

The answer that you seek can be found below. The story you are reading is mine but it was inspired by what Craig McCracken told me at Comic-Con 2008. Exactly what he told me will be posted in the Frankie Discussion Thread fairly soon.

Foster's Valley - "The Search Begins"

"Miri... Miri..." Frankie whispered. The description Tamara had given her was a perfect match. Could it really be her, after all this time?
"Miri... Miri..." The whisper turned to a scream. "MIRI!!!" She ran to catch up with a very startled Tamara Kalson. "Tamara! Where did you last see her? Where? When? Tell me!"

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV36.jpg

"Whoa, calm down," Tamara responded. "I saw her at Whitesand Hot Springs, about noon yesterday. How do you know her name is Miri?"
"Because she's my Imaginary Friend!" Frankie called out as she raced away.

Frankie returned to the hotel two hours later, exhausted from tearing Whitesand Hot Springs apart, desperately searching for any signs of Miri, any clue as to where she had gone. Nothing. She went to bed both excited and upset, vowing to start searching again the moment the sun rose. So close, she thought; so many years without a sign, so many futile searches by her and Wilt and Madame Foster, and now out of the blue Miri turns up on this island... "I won't lose you," Frankie whispered as she drifted off to sleep. Her voice was tinged with steely resolve. "Not again. Not this time."

True to her word, she was awake at dawn. A fast shower was followed by an even faster breakfast. Where to start searching? Where could Miri be hiding? She needed some advice from one of the residents, someone who knew the island a lot better than she did. Seawater Beach Paradise was nearby; she decided to start there, where she soon ran into Jim Reeves:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV37.jpg

"Jim!" She called out. "Hey got a minute?"
"Of course," Jim replied. "This is about your missing Imaginary Friend, I presume?"
"Yes. How'd you know?"
"I stopped by the hotel with a delivery last night and spoke with Tamara. I missed you by only a few minutes."
"Oh. Look, I need to talk with someone who knows this place better than I do. You've lived here all your life, right?"
"True, but I travel frequently. Come; my friend Talin works with the archeological survey. He knows the island as well as anyone."
Frankie met Talin a few moments later and explained her problem to him.
"I've seen her a few times," Talin said. "She's been watching the archeologists dig, always from a distance, often hiding in the bushes. It's hard to approach her, no doubt because of the incident with the social worker."
"Huh? What incident?"
"It was a few days before you arrived. A social worker - I don't recall her name - tried to catch her and put her in foster care. Your Imaginary Friend bit her."
Frankie stared at Talin in wonder:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV38.jpg

"Miri bit her??" She almost laughed. "Yeah, I can see her doing that. She was occasionally a little feisty." She grew serious again. "Where could she be hiding, thought?"
Talin thought for a moment. "Have you tried the wreck of the Emerald Gale?"
"Never heard of it. There was a shipwreck here?"
"Yes. It's an old pirate vessel that beached itself here after a storm dragged it up from the seafloor several years ago. It's in pretty good shape, all things considered. We use it as a tourist attraction but there are a lot of places onboard where a child-sized Imaginary Friend could hide."
"I'll look everywhere I can, anywhere I have to. Where is it?"
"South End Beach, less than a mile from here."
Okay. Thanks so much, I really appreciate this!" Frankie smiled as she left.

Frankie arrived at the beach soon thereafter and sure enough, there was indeed a wrecked ship on the beach:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV39.jpg

"Sheesh, this thing is big," she muttered as she approached the centuries-old vessel:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV40.jpg

She thought it might not be a bad idea to get a look at the surrounding area, see if there were other places that Miri might be hiding. The rope ladder leading to the crow's nest wasn't easy to climb and it swayed back and forth as she ascended but eventually she made it to the top and began to survey the land:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV41.jpg

The view was spectacular, even moreso as the overcast skies cleared:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV42.jpg

But this wasn't what she was looking for. A beautiful view, sure, but it would have to wait for another day. Back down the swaying ladder she went and she began to search the ship for signs of her Imaginary Friend. From stem to stern she searched but found nothing. Had she missed a spot? Not that she could see. Only the captain's cabin was left:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV43.jpg

Into the darkness she went, exploring, searching... she heard a noise, turned, and a moment later everyone outside heard a loud shriek as Frankie ran out as fast as she could:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV44.jpg

"What happened? What's going on?" asked the other tourists, alarmed by her screaming. Frankie paused to catch her breath. She turned, pointing wild-eyed back towards the captain's cabin, and shuddered. One word crossed her lips:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV45.jpg

"Ghost."

(To be continued...)

Lol ghost pirate. 8D

Ooooooooh, a ghost. :o Getting good! Actually, it was always good. But it's still getting good! :frankiesmile:

The ghost captain appears... :wiltshock:

I wonder if he has something to do with Frankie"s imaginary friend.

Frankie had an imaginary friend? :terrconf:

Eek! A ghost!

Whoa, ghosts are scary. :macwor:

This is really good, Cass! I'm really enjoying this even more. :bloogrin:

My thanks, as always, to those who commented. It's much appreciated. (Insert smiling Frankie smilie here.)

Foster's Valley - "Her name Is Miri"

"Ghost? What ghost? I don't see any ghost," the other tourists lied as they looked at the ghost and then their watches. "My, it's getting late, I really need to have lunch/see my hairdresser/hide under my bed/get the hell out of here. See ya!" With that, 15 brave tourists beat a hasty retreat to anywhere else, leaving Frankie alone on the deck of the Emerald Gale. Alone with the ghost of the ship's long-dead captain.
"Oh, you're real heroes, all of you!" she shouted after the departing tourists. Ghost or no ghost, Miri or some sign of her might be down in the captain's quarters; nothing was going to stop her from finding out. With all the courage she could muster, Frankie turned and faced the ghost.
"Arrr," he said as she approached. To her surprise, he appeared to be smirking.
"Have you seen my Imaginary Friend?" Frankie asked nervously:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV46.jpg

The captain raised an eyebrow. "Your what?"
"My Imaginary Friend," she repeated.
The captain was silent for a moment, then continued. "I see the snack shop over yonder makes a very good pina colada."
"Huh? Waitaminute, I haven't been drinking! Look, when a child thinks of an Imaginary Friend..." and she repeated everything that CN had used as a premise for the series about Foster's.
"I see," the captain said. "You must be Frankie Foster, then, aye?"
"Yes. You know who I am? You must have talked to her! Captain, you've got to tell me what she said, tell me where she is, please!"
"And so I shall. Let it never be said that Captain Edward Dregg, Scourge of the Six seas, failed to aid a lady in distress!"
"Isn't it Seven Seas?"
"My map is old. Aye, I have the knowledge that you need, but first, we must sing!" With that, the captain whipped out an accordion:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV47.jpg

"Sing with me, lassie! Sing!" He began to sing.
Frankie just stood there, dumbfounded. She began to suspect that she was dealing with the ghost of a retard.
"Captain, I really don't have time-"
"Oh, come on, sing with me!" he said petulantly. "Miri did."
The captain actually looked sad. "Fine," said Frankie. The captain perked up, smiled, and began his song again, teaching her as he went. They sang together for a good twenty minutes until he was satisfied that she had it down pat.
"Thank you, miss Foster," he said when they'd finished. "May I say that you have a lovely voice."
"Thanks. You mind if I ask what the point was of all this?"
"How do you feel right now?"
"Confused."
"Exactly. You're not afraid of me anymore." He grew serious. "It gets very lonely here, you know, and when people are afraid of you it gets lonlier still. You and Miri are the first people I've talked to in some time. Even the undead long for companionship now and then. Do you understand what I'm talking about, lassie?"
"I do," Frankie replied sympathetically. "Lonliness is one of the reasons I created Miri."
"So she told me. Yes, she stayed here with me for about a month. Quite a charmer, I must say. Bit of a thief, too, always trying to snatch bicycles and such. She did that to try to get to Foster's, to try to find you, until I explained to her that this is an island, and a bicycle wouldn't help. After that she got ahold of a shovel and started tearing up people's yards and digging near where the archeologists are working."
"She's digging for treasure, isn't she?" said Frankie. "She's trying to find enough old coins and stuff to buy passage to the mainland!"
"Aye, that she is, but I don't know how far along she is. Have you made an offering at the old temple?"
"Huh?" What was Dregg talking about now? she wondered.
"The Temple of Jumbok IV. Have you made an offering?"
"No, and I don't think I have the time to, captain."
"You will, and you will be impressed by it's wisdom, although the answer to your question will be over your head."
"Riddles, captain?"
Captain Dregg smiled as he shrugged. "I'm a ghost; it's what I do. Now go talk to the man with the hat; he'll send you where you need to go. Aye, another riddle." He laughed.
Frankie laughed too as she turned to leave. "Thank you, Captain Dregg.":

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV48.jpg

"My pleasure, lassie." A moment later, Frankie was off the ship and back on the beach. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a man with a hat approached her:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV49.jpg

"Frankie Foster, right? You're the one looking for that kid with the antenna?"
"Yes, have you seen her?"
"Me? No. But my daughter did. Her name's Kim; she works at the food stand at Whitesand Hot Springs."
"Gotcha. And thanks!" Frankie hailed the next cab she saw and was on her way. She found Kim quickly:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV50.jpg

"Yes, she was here maybe four hours ago," Kim told her. "Waltzed in here with an antique bowl she dug up, offered to sell it to my boss, and they argued about the price for a half-hour. She wouldn't take anything less than $500.00.
"The price of a plane ticket," Frankie realized. "Did she get the $500?"
"She did, and took off like a rocket right after."
"Oh, no. When is the next flight to Foster's Valley, do you know?"
"The next is in two days, but if you're hoping to catch her, you're too late; the flight before that left two hours ago."
"DAMN!!!" So close, Frankie thought, so very close. "Alright, thanks!" Back to the hotel she raced; time to call in the cavalry:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV51.jpg

"Hello?" Madame Foster answered.
"Grandma? It's me, Frankie-" she heard a crash on the other end. "What was that?"
"Oh, nothing, Mac and Bloo came by to visit, that's just Bloo and Bendy playing cops and terro- er, robbers." Frankie heard Mac yell and the sound of running. "Mac and Berry are playing tag. Wilt? Would you please disarm Berry again? So, Frankie, how's the island? Comfy and quiet?"
"We'll talk about it when I get home."
"Looking forward to it. Dylan called, as did Samantha Bandrowsky; she had some questions for you about Imaginary Friends. That girl scares me."
"She scares everyone. Listen, grandma, I don't have time to explain everything but Miri's in the Valley! Her plane landed a little while ago; I need for you to to go to the airport and find her!"
There was a moment of silence. "Are the pina coladas good, dear?"
"I haven't been drinking! Sheesh! Grandma, she's there, I'm telling you! You've got to go find her!"
"You're serious? She's really here?
"Yes! Grandma, please-"
"Say no more, we're on our way! I'll call you when we have her. Mr Herriman! Wilt! To the bus!" With that she hung up and Frankie collapsed onto her bed, exhausted but exhilarated. After nearly 20 years, she'd finally found Miri. So long, hanging around that House, hoping she'd turn up, and now-
The phone rang soon thereafter but it wasn't Madame Foster or anyone else from the House.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Frankie, remember me?"
"All too well," was Frankie's annoyed reply:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV52.jpg

"Look, Dylan, you had your chance with me, and you blew it. I don't like you and I don't want to talk right now. I need to keep this line free, kapish?"
"Aw, don't be like that, hon," said Dylan:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV53.jpg

"I'm a changed guy, really!"
"Don't call me that," Frankie replied. "Don't call me hon, or babe, or sweetie, or anything. In fact, don't call me at all! I'm not interested in spending my time with a loser who thinks of me as 'property' and yells at children!"
"I know what I did that night but that was years ago. I'm great with kids now, seriously! As a matter of fact, I'm taking care of one right now. Poor thing was lost, wandering around the airport, so I took her in. Got her down in the basement. You want to meet her?"
Frankie was horrified:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV54.jpg

"Dylan, you son of a..." she said in a low voice. "If you hurt her in any way-"
"Frankie, Frankie, I would never do such a thing," Dylan said smoothly. "Besides, she's not even a kid, she's an Imaginary Friend, and like I told you I love Imaginary Friends. I think you ought to come by and pick her up; she said she wants to go to Foster's. Nice kid; I'm sure you'd like her. Did I mention her name?"
Frankie knew what Dylan was going to say next. Knowing didn't soften the blow at all as he continued:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV55.jpg

"Her name is Miri."

(To be continued...)

There she is! Aw, she's cute! Dylan'd better not hurt her!

Frankie was a loner when she was little? I'll be looking forward to that post in Frankie's thread to explain all this. What was Dylan doing at the airport? And do you think up all the names or does the game? Just curious, they're creative. :)

Haha, I liked Madame F on the phone, and telling Wilt to disarm Berry. She and Mac were playing "tag", huh? Poor Mac. :macwor: 8D

The ghost pirate was a jolly 'ol soul after all. :)

Dylan has Miri. He should know not to make Frankie mad. :frankiemad:

Dylan loves imaginary friends, eh? Riiiiiiight. Look at how happy Miri is.

Poor misguided Dylan. Something tells me that he's not about to boost his present popularity levels very far on this one...nice that the pirate ghost turned out to be a good guy, though.

Anyways, the plot, as they say, is indeed thickening. Be sure to keep on adding to it. :frankiesmile:

8D :cheesegrin:

Utterly brilliant, Cass. Your stories always excite/amuse/entertain me. I'm looking forward to the next chapter!! :frankiesmile:

Yay! More story! :bloogrin:

Nice twist. :frankiesmile:

This is so awesome... I'm getting really excited to read more... :smed:

"I know what her name is," Frankie snapped. "I named her. Since when do you stop to help lost children, Dylan? And what the hell were you doing at the airport, anyway?"
"A friend of mine needed a ride to the airport," Dylan explained. "You know Malcolm Landgraab? The rich guy who's the rightful heir to the Piano? That's him. I play golf with him every morning, you know. He needed a ride and called me. Yep, good ol' Malcolm. I'm moving up in the world!"
"In other words, you're his caddy and his chauffer."
A moment of silence followed. "Look, you want to pick up your kid or not?"
"Of course I do. And she's not my kid, she's my Imaginary Friend!"
"Whatever. I'll check the flight schedule so I'll know when to expect you; I'll keep Miri safe and sound until you get here."
"You'd better, or so help me, Dylan, I'll-"
"Calm down, Frankie, she'll be fine. I'll get dinner ready for her as soon as we hang up, okay?"
"Fine." Frankie began to calm down. Maybe this would work out okay after all. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Good. And when you arrive we can finish our date."
"WHAT?!?!" Frankie virtually exploded. "You can't be serious!"
"Sure I am. I mean c'mon, we never did finish that evening at Futurepoup three years ago. This is the perfect time to do it, don't you think?"
"You (several expletives deleted)... You're holding my Imaginary Friend hostage to make me date you? I don't believe this!"
"Trust me, you'll have a great time, really! Oh, and before you get any ideas, if I see that skinny red frog thing or the purple minotaur or any of the rest of your made-up pals poking around here, well, Miri doesn't know them, y'know? She might get scared and run away. You wouldn't want to lose her again like you did nearly twenty years ago now, would you?"
Frankie just stood there silently:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV56.jpg

"Dylan, please..." she said in a soft voice.
"See you tommorrow, hon. Oh, and wear something hot." With that he hung up.
Frankie stood quietly for a few minutes, totally at a loss for what to do. She'd known that Dylan was a jackass but holding Miri hostage to get a date... she had no words for anything that low. With nothing else to do she went down to the hotel lobby to sit and collect her thoughts. What was she to do? She was soon joined by Viola Kalson, who asked why she looked so upset. Frankie told her what Dylan was doing:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV57.jpg

"This is that Dylan guy from the episode with Orlando Bloo?" Viola asked.
"Yeah, that's... hold it, CN made an episode about that??" Frankie rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, what else did they embarrass me with?" Viola started to answer but Frankie waived her quiet. "Nevermind, I don't want to know. I've got to figure a way out of this. I've got to get Miri out of there without her or me getting hurt, and I do not want to give Dylan what we wants, but I don't know what else to do." There was a tear in her eye. "All I wanted was a quiet vacation..."
"Did you make an offering at the shrine yet?" Viola asked.
"What?"
"The Shrine of Jumbok IV. Did you make an offering? Some say they've gained insight into their troubles after doing so."
"Somehow I don't think tossing money into old ruins is going to do me any good. Excuse me, I need some air." Frankie left the lobby and headed outside. She wandered aimlessly for a time before it dawned on her; Captain Dregg had mentioned the Shrine too, hadn't he? With nowhere else to go and nothing to lose, she set out for the ruins:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV58.jpg

It was a long walk to the old ruins but they were easy enough to find; all she had to do was look for a swarm of archeologists. She interrupted two of them who were arguing over a shovel and who should dig where, asking where in the ruins was the shrine? They pointed, and a moment later Frankie saw the ancient Shrine of Jumbok IV:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV59.jpg

"Wow," she said breathlessly. There was nothing like this back home, nothing like it at all. She went in for a closer look:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV60.jpg

"Amazing," she thought. Yet she felt nothing; no sense of power, no presence of spirits, nothing. She tossed a coin into the fountain and waited. Still nothing; no insight, no sudden realisations, no signs from on high. Again a tear started to form in her eye as she felt like a fool. She'd wasted two hours getting here and accomplished nothing except to lose a quarter. Upset with herself and everything else, she turned to leave-
-and barely had time to duck as a shovel went flying over her head.
The two archeologists she'd asked for directions came running over to her. "Jeez, are you okay, lady? We're sorry! It was his fault-"
Frankie picked up the shovel and took a swing at them, rage burning in her eyes. The surprised archeologists beat a hasty retreat. Frankie stormed off, shovel in hand, back to the hotel, not stopping until she reached the front yard. She hurled the shovel away and sat down on the grass. She felt like she was losing her mind. Some vacation; out of nowhere Miri turned up after being missing for nearly twenty years, she chased all over the island trying desperately to reunite with her, only to have Dylan get ahold of her and demand a date in exchange for her release, and now she'd almost gotten seriously hurt by a shovel flying over her head-
-Over her head. "The answer may be over your head", Captain Dregg had said. Over her head. The shovel was the answer?? She got up and found it, stuck in the grass where it had landed point first. Frankie dug like a woman possessed:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV61.jpg

And she found a coin. "Great, the shrine gives refunds!" she laughed, a laugh tinged with the edge of madness. She stopped to look at it. It was an old coin, tarnished with dirt and age but clearly silver. One side had the picture of a building on it, the other the image of a woman. The faint lettering indicated that the woman was "Millicent, Duchess of Jarsay, 1789-1855". Meant nothing to her at first but then it hit her; Duchess. Now there was a head-scratcher; how could Duchess possibly fit into all this? Confused, Frankie dug a little deeper until she found a metal tube. One end was capped; it took her a lot of effort to unscrew it but in the end the cap came off, and for her efforts she found that she had discovered a map:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV62.jpg

"Mysterious Hut? What the hell?" This was getting more bewildering by the minute. It didn't sound too promising, this Mysterious Hut. But she was running out of time, running out of options. Dregg had said the answer would be over her head; the shovel had flown over her head and led her to the coin and the map. "Might as well see this through to the end," she said. Grimly, she read the old map and set out yet again:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV63.jpg

She passed by the old ruins on her way:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV64.jpg

And soon she was heading inland, towards the jungle. The undergrowth was dense, making it harder and harder to follow the directions on the map but still she pushed on, moving ever closer to her destination. A heavy fog rolled in, cold and clammy, but she refused to give up. Never give up, she told herself. In nearly twenty years she never had, never gave up hope that somehow, someday, she'd find Miri, that they'd be together again. True friends don't quit, and Frankie Foster was no quitter. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the jungle and the fog began to thin. In the distance she could see a hill, and on top of the hill there was a mysterious hut...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV65.jpg

Coming next: Frankie tells the story of her past.

(To be continued...)

More good stuff. Keep it up! :frankiesmile:

Mighty interesting. :)

This is exciting! :bloogrin:

Really neat! :frankiesmile:

This is great work Cass - more please!:frankiesmile:

So great, Cassini!

My thanks to those who commented. For those of you who have self-Sims in my game, please know that I have not forgotten about any of you and y'all will be in an upcoming story; in fact, due to circumstances in the game, one of you gave me an excuse to add another Foster's character. Stay tuned. In addition, a new expansion pack is going to be installed before much longer; this one has some features that will directly affect your self-Sims so I'll be asking for some input.

Also, please note that this was originally going to be a single post but I opted to divide it into two because I think it may run a little long, and you know how long-winded I can get when the subject is Frankie. :-*

Foster's Valley - "The Mysterious Hut"

"Wow", was Frankie's reaction. As it turned out, the Mysterious Hut and it's surroundings occupied a good-sized lot:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV66.jpg

Curious as to who or what might be inside, and hoping for something, anything, that might help her get Miri safely away from Dylan, Frankie headed up the stairs:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV67.jpg

As she got closer, she heard the sound of metal hitting metal, like a wrench hitting a pipe or some such thing. In she went, and discovered a man wearing a tribal mask and a native tunic; he was kneeling on the floor, trying to fix a dishwasher. Frankie didn't know what to make of the scene.
"Um, hello?" she said. No reaction.
"Excuse me, Mr...?" Still no reaction.
"Hey!" she yelled. That got a reaction. Startled, the man banged his head, yelped, and stood up. When he saw Frankie he greeted her:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV68.jpg

"My greetings, Miss. I'm sorry, but you've arrived at a very bad time; everything is broken. I'll be fixing things for the rest of the day." As if on cue, a hose underneath the dishwasher sprang a leak. The man sighed, muttered something about never shopping at Honest Al's Discount Appliances again, and got down on his knees and back to work. Frankie, sympathetic to his plight, found a mop and took care of the dishwasher's rapidly growing puddle. A moment later there was a large spark; the man jolted back and threw his hands up in despair. "I give up," he said. Frankie watched as he left the hut and collapsed onto a hammock. She felt bad for him; broken appliances were a familiar problem at Foster's. She wondered what Bendy was up to for a moment, then, almost instinctively, she got to work:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV69.jpg

It took hours and the TV gave her a good jolt but in the end, everything was fixed and working. She smiled, gave herself a pat on the back, and called to the man. "All set!" she said. "Everything's running again."
The man looked up from his hammock and came back in to look things over. "You fixed everything? Seriously?"
"It's no big deal," Frankie replied. "Mostly just old and worn, you know?"
"You're very good with tools, Miss...?"
"Frankie. I had a good teacher."
"Ah. Frankie from that cartoon, am I right?"
"Yeah, that's me. You've seen the show?"
"I watch it regularly, when the TV's working." She could tell he was smiling behind the mask. "Permit me to introduce myself; I am Watube, no last name. Make yourself at home while I prepare dinner; you must be starving."
"That I am," said Frankie as Watube headed for the kitchen. In a short time, a bowl of macaroni and cheese was sitting in front of her; simple fare but filling, which was just what she needed; she was famished:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...5/S03FFV70.jpg

"So, what brings you to my quiet little hut?" Watube asked.
"Well..." Frankie began. She gave him a complete rundown of what had happened since she arrived on the island.
"I see," Watube said when she was finished. After a moment of silence, he continued. "Now tell me about you."
"Huh? Why? There's not much to tell, really. You've seen the show, that's who I am. I cook, I clean, I shop and fix stuff, sometimes I do counciling or settle disputes. That's me."
"Not all of you," Watube said. "What happened before the show?"
Frankie raised an eyebrow. "You want my biography?"
"Yes. You see, I have something that will help you deal with Dylan, of that I have no doubt, but I do not give such things away casually. I must know the sort of person I am dealing with; I must be certain that you will not use what I have to offer in a frivolous or irresponsible manner. Therefore, I must know you. Who is Frankie Foster?"
Frankie thought it over for a moment, then began. "I was born on July 25th, 1984..."

Frankie's biography will be in my next post. :frankiesmile:

The thread is enshrouded in mystery! I'm looking forward to hearing Frankie's bio, pre-Foster's. Keep up the great work, Cass! :frankiesmile:

Oh man, right at the good part we have to wait EVEN LONGER. XDD

Curse you! 8D

I'd do it now but it's 4:15 in the morning, I'm exhausted, and I'd rather be fully rested when I write the next part.

I really haven't replied to this thread in a while, but I assure you, I'm still reading it.:P And, man, it's gettin' good!

Mmm... Mac and cheese. :P :cheesegrin:

I wanted to let y'all know that I am making progress on Frankie's bio. Unfortunately there's a lot of material to cover, some of which I'm trying to be sensitive about... although a sledgehammer approach would not be inappropriate, all things considered. :frankiemad: Also, some stuff will be left out, as it will be in the final episodes; nothing major, but I don't care to spoil anything if I don't have to.

On an unrelated matter, anyone who plays the game and creates their own Sims2pack files needs to know that since Bon Voyage was released, a high percentage of Sims2pack files created with the Body Shop program contain one or more extra package files; each such file is 6.64 MB in size and contains over 1500 resource nodes. These files are useless dead weight that serve no purpose. You'll need to use both SimPE and the Clean Installer to find, identify, and get rid of them.

One wonders what brokedness awaits us in the Sims 3. ::) :P