View Full Version : Fonziebirds Are Go
Chapter 1
Friends In High Places
Warren 'Potsie' Tracy lay on his bed and was remembering the day he left the airforce base for International Rescue.
They were the top two pilots and Potsie was now leaving to help out at home or something that was big as he was a top pilot and you could see he enjoyed his job! But Tommy Pearl, his roommate and close friend, didn't really mind as he would now be 'number one!' Tommy was always in Potsie's shadow and it was not just because Potsie was tougher, it was because Potsie had a personality that overwhelmed you when you met him! Tommy was slightly taller than Potsie was with dark brown hair like Potsie and a small scar by his eye that he got from a brawl at Arnold's drive-in he and Potsie got into one time! They both would say the other guy's started it and that they stopped it.
Potsie even remembered the first words Tommy said to him "Tracy, isn't that a girls name?" to which Potsie would reply "Pearl, isn't that what girls wear?" and that’s when they knew they would be great buddies.
Howard Tracy walked along the corridor of the airforce barracks and stopped at a room, just as he was about to knock on the door, it flung wide open. Potsie had been standing looking through the peephole waiting to surprise his dad since he saw the car pull up.
"Hey, Dad!" said Potsie with a smile on his face.
"Potsie, you do this every time and yet you're not bored of doing it yet, are you?" said Howard and he turned to Potsie's roommate and added "Nice to see you again, Tommy!"
"Hi, Mr T, how are you doing today?" he replied, Tommy was Potsie's roommate and best bud when it came to the airforce.
"I'm fine thank you, Tommy! How are you?" replied Howard talking to what was now a familiar face to him.
"I'm top of the world now that I'm top of the list, Mr T!" he said with a mile wide smile on his face that made Howard smile back.
"Now that I'm gone, Tommy! You're gonna have to make sure you don't get into any trouble as I won't be there to get you out of it!" Potsie said looking at Tommy straight in the eye.
"Like what? You always held me back, I can be free again!" he replied to his chaperone like a friend.
"Exactly!" replied Potsie as he picked up the luggage his father could not handle and left the room never to be seen or heard of for a long time.
"Potsie, Po-ts-ie, POTSIE!"
Potsie looked up to see Charles a.k.a 'Chachi' standing at his door.
"What?" He replied as he came back to reality.
"Dinner, you jerk! I'm surprised you didn't smell it, you usually beat me to the table!" Chachi said and looked straight at his brother and then headed toward the kitchen when he saw his brother had started to move.
Potsie slowly gathered himself together and headed to the kitchen he looked at his father, and his brothers Richard a.k.a 'Richie', Ralph and Chachi. Arthur a.k.a 'Fonzie' was up on Fonziebird 5 so wasn't joining them for dinner today.
"You alright, son?" said Howard to his second eldest son.
"Yeah, Dad, just thinking about the airforce and wandering what Pearl's up to!" he replied to his dad.
"Knowing Tommy, he'd be up to no good!" said Howard as he sat down at the table on which the dinner, prepared by the Tracy's housekeeper, Marion had been neatly laid.
They all sat down to dinner with Yorkshire puddings, carrots, Swede, mashed potato's, peas, Brussels sprouts and of course beef.
Richie went straight for the Brussels, he wanted to get them out the way with first and enjoy the rest of the meal. Ralph went for the Yorkshire puddings first as he liked them still crispy not soaked in gravy. Chachi rushed in and was scoffing down a bit of everything. Howard slowly tucked into the meat and took his time at eating, while Potsie was starting to cut up his food into sizeable portions so he could mix and match the tastes.
"Chachi, slow down or you'll get indigestion!" said Howard just before putting some food into his mouth.
"He's frightened the alarm'll go of and we'll get called away while he's eating!" said Richie with a piece food in his mouth.
Potsie had only just started to eat. "Enjoy your food, Chachi, don't rush it or you'll regret it later!" he told his brother.
'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP'
They all got up and rushed to see where they had been sent to this time.
"See there is a method to my madness!" exclaimed Chachi, as they had to leave most of their dinner behind.
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They arrived at the scene of a heavily damaged passenger ship in the middle of the ocean.
Fonziebirds 1, 2 with 4 and the rescue platform were sent and Fonzie monitored the situation from Fonziebird 5.
"Be careful down there, you guys!" said Fonzie's voice over the radio. "They said they hit something in the mayday message but looking at their position I think something hit them!" he finished.
Not only were the Fonziebirds on the scene but the Navy sent a ship out in case the passenger ship was too heavily damaged. Potsie could see it coming in the distance along with a couple of air force fighter jets.
Richie went into Thunderbird 4 and was dropped into the water to take a look at the damage, he manoeuvred round to the damaged side and could see a huge hole and started to relay what he saw back to three of his four brothers.
"Richard, we're going to have to stop using our names while the Navy are here, as they will be on the same communication line as us!" said Howard before his son had a chance to begin.
"There's a hole in the side of the ship! I guess by the looks of it something was rammed into the side, either that or a drill or something that could be used under water!" he said.
"How bad is the damage?" Potsie asked.
"Wait a minute, I'm just manoeuvring round to see into the hole itself!" said Richie as he moved Fonziebird 4 round. "Holy moly!" he exclaimed.
"What is it?" came from Howard, Fonzie and Potsie.
"I can see right through to the other side!" he said disbelieving his very own eyes.
"Whoa, what could do something like that?" said Fonzie.
"A torpedo!" this didn't come from one of the Fonziebirds but from one of the fighter Pilots who had just arrived on the scene.
"Fonziebird 1, scout the area and look out in case what ever did this is still here, Fonziebird 5, use the thermal imaging system and see if you can spot anything hiding that could do this! Fonziebird 4, prepare to be picked up, I don't want you in the water in harms way!" the orders came from Howard trying to cover all the angles of the situation.
"F.O.N.Z!" This came from Fonzie and Potsie but no reply came from Chachi.
"Fonziebird 4!" yelled Howard worrying and wandering why his second youngest had not answered his call. "Fonziebird 5, what do you see?" thinking maybe Fonzie could see if Richie was all right.
"I see him!" Came over the radio from Fonzie with a slight pause. "BUT HE AIN'T ALONE!"
Stay tuned chapter two is on its way!
Chapter 2
He's Not Alone
Richie had seen the submarine heading towards his position and decided to manoeuvre his way through the hole in the ship to the other side, he decided that radio silence was necessary for him to stay unseen or as safe as possible.
He wasn't sure if the small sub approaching was a good thing and he had no desires on being hit by what ever had made the hole he was moving through at that very moment.
As Richie emerged from the other side of the ship, the submarine had reached the side that the redhead had just moved away from and was monitoring the area looking for the small yellow Fonziebird submarine.
"Fonziebird 4 calling Fonziebird 2, please respond." Richie decided to break radio silence and try and get out of there.
"We hear you loud and clear, what took you so long, Rich?" asked Ralph with a worry starting to disappear from his face.
"I saw a submarine heading towards me and decided to move out of its way." answered Richie.
"If you come to the surface now, we'll get you out of the water." Ralph replied.
"Okay, surfacing now!" Richie replied as he began to move the small sub up to the surface.
Fonziebird 2 started to move into position to pick up the small Fonziebird submarine, as they did this they were unaware of the other submarine moving round to the front of the damaged ship and positioning itself to fire upon the Fonziebirds.
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Fonzie was watching all that was happening from Fonziebird 5 and had spotted the submarine moving to the front of the ship, he was not sure if they would fire upon Fonziebird 4 with his second youngest brother or Fonziebird 2 with his father and two of his younger brothers. He pondered and thought about it and finally decided to talk to his other younger brother Potsie in Fonziebird 1.
"Yo, Fonziebird 1, can you manoeuvre yourself to the back end of the ship facing inwards and get a 5 meter gap between you and the ship itself?" this was more of a order than a request from Fonzie.
"F.O.N.Z, Fonziebird 5." Potsie did so without question.
Fonzie had strategically placed Potsie facing the unknown submarine so, he was a greater threat than Fonziebirds 2 and 4 would be and this would help his father to pick up Fonziebird 4 and get Richie to safety. When Fonziebird 4 was safely aboard Fonziebird 2, they steadily moved away from the ship and could that the navy ship that was sent, was now heading over to pick up any survivors.
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"This is Fonziebird 5 calling the assisting fighter planes and the navy vessel." Fonzie paused for a breath before continuing. "I urge you to take extreme caution when approaching the damaged ship, there is a small submarine at the front of the ship and we can't confirm if it's cool or not!"
"Well, that just makes my trip all the worth while." this came from one of the fighter jets. When Potsie and Howard heard this voice, they both looked up and out of their windows, as they knew who they were talking to.
"You can talk, Pearl, I was watching a really good baseball game when we were called away!" this came from the second fighter jet.
"You and your baseball, Astin, will you ever learn that racing's a real mans sport?" replied Pearl to his partner's remark.
"So you haven't seen the nurses play baseball then? Because that’s a real sight!" Astin replied trying to tell all the interest he has for the sport and its players.
Potsie sat there in an almost stationary position and could not help but smile at the banter coming from these two pilots that reminded him of the good old days when he and Pearl were trying to sound like the know it all.
Potsie looked out of his window and saw Fonziebird 2 next to him and waved at his dad and brothers who were looking at him. He could see the look on his dad's face, that same look he saw every time Potsie and Pearl were together and Potsie knew, even though he was not close enough to see, that his father was shaking his head.
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In Fonziebird 2
"Was Potsie like this when he was in the air force, Dad?" asked Richie.
"Yes, he and Pearl over there were the top two pilots!" he replied filling in his three younger sons about their second older brother's past.
"Did Potsie like baseball?" asked Chachi with a distant look on his face picturing nurses playing baseball.
"What do you think?" said Richie.
"As I recall," Ralph butted in, "It was Pots who introduced us to that."
"I think he got a lot of tips from the nurses team!" laughed Richie.
"How did Fonzie get so good as well, then?" asked Chachi looking slightly confused.
"I don't think this is the time and the place to be discussing this, Boys, we've got a mission here, you know!" said Howard and with that they all took a seat ready for action.
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Alarms started to go off in all four of the aircraft, buzzing and beeping as well as multicoloured lights blinking on and off, something was wrong and they only had seconds to figure out what it was.
"The submarine's fired a missile!" this came from Fonzie as he could see what was happening from an overall view using the thermal imaging system.
All four of the aircraft moved their position and the missile shot out of the water, it headed toward Fonziebird 1 and was pretty fast, Potsie rolled his craft to the side and the missile narrowly missed his right wing and continued to go up into the air.
"That was a close call, Fonziebird 1." said Howard as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nothing I couldn't handle, Dad." he replied as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Nice manoeuvring, Daddy-O!" exclaimed Pearl "What speed can you get up to in that beauty?" he asked.
"15,000 miles an hour!" replied Potsie quite proud of his Fonziebird.
"Cool and what about the lean, green flying machine over there?" he replied seeming quite interested in these great aircraft in front of him.
"5700 miles an hour!" said Howard trying to make sure they didn't lapse into one of their old banters.
"And don't forget you’ve got an extra 300 tonnes of weight than mine so you are a bit slow on the start!" Potsie said this and knew his father would have a thing or two to say to him when they got home.
"Fonziebird 5, what's the situation with the submarine?" asked Howard not forgetting the reason they were there.
"The submarine's dived down and I ain't no longer able to..." there was a slight pause as his attention was drawn to something on the screen. "Track it." he finished.
"Why the slight pause in the sentence, son?" asked Howard as he knew something was bothering Fonzie up there.
"Erm....I think we got a problem.....Whoa..." Fonzie didn't finish his sentence as he frantically tried to double check what he was looking at.
"Fonz, what is it?" this came from both Howard and Potsie.
"THE MISSILE'S HEAT SEEKING AND IT'S HEADING BACK YOUR WAY!"
Chapter 3
It's Heading Back Your Way!
The two fighter jets moved out to the side as they saw the missile coming. They radioed over to their navy vessel that it was not yet safe for them to come and recover any people from the damaged ship below until they were sure the missile and it's owner were dealt with.
Fonziebird 2 slowly started to move out of range and saw Potsie hadn't moved yet.
"Fonziebird 1, the missile's heading for you, why aren't you moving?" Howard said this to his son.
"The later I move, the less chance it has of changing coarse and following me!" he replied as he obviously knew what he was doing.
"Can't argue with that!" Chachi said this with a smile knowing his brother was doing the intelligent thing.
"Fonziebird 2, I think it's best if you get as far away as you can, as you are a bigger target and are slow on the start when moving." Pearl said this knowing that the large green craft manoeuvred less like a cat and more like an elephant.
"I agree with him, you're not gonna be able to dodge this thing if it's heading right for you" Potsie added. He jerked Fonziebird 1 round to the left and watched the missile turn back.
"We've still got people to rescue down there we can't leave them." replied Howard not wanting to leave innocent people when the missile could strike.
"Damn it, Howard, listen to us, we know what we're talking about, this is what we're trained for." this came from Pearl trying to make sure he was listened to, as the last thing he wanted was to rescue the occupants of the green aircraft as well as the ship.
At this point, Potsie had rolled Fonziebird 1 3 times to the side to avoid the missile. He was liking the challenge this gave him as he could push Fonziebird 1 to her limit and not just sit and fire missiles or shots at it or even sit and watch the area like he had done so many times on so many missions before.
The missile followed Pearl up in the air as he tried to divert it away from the damaged ship, he slowed down a little to let it catch up and then he jerked his jet to the right and let it past.
Fonziebird 2 was now moving away from the danger zone and over to the navy vessel, so Howard had listened to Pearl and his son.
Astin let the missile follow him and he flew on a predetermined path. Fonziebird 1 dropped its cannon out from the undercarriage and began to fire at the missile, the missile dodged the rounds coming at it, as well as deflected shots of its hull. So not only was the missile heat seeking and intelligent it was also equipped with a self-defence system so it could carry out its job.
Astin, Pearl and Potsie were getting low on ideas as Astin turned and headed back towards his colleague and Fonziebird 1 the missile did not follow it had got a lock on Fonziebird 2.
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In Fonziebird 2
"Dad." said Ralph looking at his father.
"Yes, Ralph." he replied.
"Is it just me or is the heat seeking missile heading towards us?" he said as he pointed out of the window at the missile coming at them.
"You'd be right there, Ralph!" said Howard he began to move the large craft and move away from their position and the missile changed coarse and followed them. Howard turned on the communications and began to talk "This is Fonziebird 2, we've got a little situation here."
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Back outside
"Oh crap!" this came from both Potsie and Pearl as they saw the missile following a green shape in the distance.
"Any suggestions?" this came from Howard the pitch in his voice ever so slightly changing with every word.
"Can one of the fighter jets get in behind you and make the missile follow them and evade it like before?" this came from Fonzie who was still watching from above.
"We can try it," said Pearl and with that Astin moved over to attempt it.
Astin got over to Fonziebird 2 and looked behind it, he saw that the gap between the craft and the missile was indeed large enough and went to move in to the gap and hopefully take the lock from Fonziebird 2 to his own craft. As he moved in, the missile lost a piece of its outer casing and fired a shot at the jet and continued on its mission.
The shot hit the tail of the jet and Astin lost control as his systems started to go haywire. The shot did not destroy the tail but, attached itself to the tail and gave an electromagnetic pulse and disabled the systems of the jet. The jet spiralled out of control and Astin had to eject from the jet and the jet destroyed the navy vessels communications Ariel as it hit the water, Astin sailed down and hit the water as well and the navy vessel dispatched a small motor boat to collect him.
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"Well, I guess that didn't work then." said Howard trying to make his sons laugh.
"No crap, Sherlock!" exclaimed Chachi.
"CHACHI!" came the harsh tone of Howard's voice aimed at the comment just said. He turned away from the controls and gave a harsh look at his son. "I don't appreciate language like that at any time, from any of you." he sat and stared at his son and ignored the controls of Fonziebird 2 which were waving about.
"Dad, the controls!" this came from Ralph and then Richie joined in. "Dad, the controls! DAD!"
"Sorry, Dad." said Chachi looking scared of the reaction that his dad gave.
"That's better, Chachi." Howard said as he slowly spun round and took hold of the controls.
Potsie fired at the missile again hoping that this time it might work, but again its counter measures deflected the attack away. Howard told the boys to strap them selves into their seats and to get ready for the impact. He sped the ship up and then turned her to her side, as he knew that, that was their best and probably only chance of survival.
"Dad, what are you doing?" yelled Potsie.
"Well it looks like he's doing the only thing he can and that's...." Pearl didn't finish his sentence.
"Its suicide!" yelled Potsie.
"Don't worry, son, I built Fonziebird 2 and I know what she can take, she is able to take most of the missile." Howard said this as the missile got closer and closer.
"Dad, its gonna hit you in 10 seconds." This came from Fonzie tracking the missile as it enclosed.
"Okay, son." he replied.
Everyone closed their eyes; Chachi, Richie, Ralph, Fonzie, Potsie and Howard all closed their eyes and prayed for the best survival. Even with his eyes closed, Fonzie still counted it down.
"5.4.3.2.1...."
BOOM
Chapter 4
BOOM!
THUD!
Howard opened his eyes to see Pearl and a parachute sitting on his windscreen, he then blinked and shook his head as if to say he didn't believe what he was seeing. Pearl tapped on the window, smiled and waved at Howard.
"Pearl, what the hell are you doing on my windscreen?" exclaimed Howard.
Fonzie, Potsie, Chachi, Ralph and Richie all exhaled and opened their eyes, all Fonzie could see was a mass of colour on the Thermal imaging display and decided this was the perfect time to go to the bathroom. Potsie could see a mass of smoke and pieces of the fighter jet falling to the sea and he could also hear his father's voice on the radio so he knew all involved were alive and well. Chachi, Ralph and Richie could see a face against the window of Fonziebird 2 and they would have been dumb founded, shocked and silent if Tommy Pearl hadn't pressed his mouth against the window and started to pull faces at the boys.
"Hey, Mr T, I knew it was you as soon as I heard you say 'Son' to whoever was in Fonziebird 5." he began shouting through the window. "Oh and then when I heard the Potsmiester, I knew it was an all family business you had here and didn't want to give you away to the navy!"
"Lets get you inside then, Tommy!" said Howard with a hand on his head suppressing the headache he was going to get by seeing Tommy in person again.
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A long way down, at the bottom of the sea.
A large display screen had shown smoke that was now beginning to dissipate and all the people gathered around, smiling at what they thought was a victory, began to frown at the sight of an untouched green aircraft still in one piece, and they all went back to their stations.
"So, Howard, you have escaped my little trap." this came from an overweight dark haired man dressed in a white suit and had a mustache. "But mark my words, I'll be back and I will lay more and more traps for you and you won't have the back up of the airforce to save your lives." he finished his sentence and turned to a small man with a black suit and dark hair he waved his hand and he went over to the computer screen.
"A course for home, Sir?" he asked not looking away from the screen.
"No!" he said and paused to think. "Shadow the navy ship, I want to see where this friend of theirs comes from." he said as he swivelled in his chair and smiled a crooked smile.
"Of course, Sir! Course set." he said and plotted the coarse in on the computer and then smiled.
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Back in the air.
"Fonzie, are you okay up there, son?" asked Howard as he hadn't heard a peep from Fonzie, since the missile had hit.
"Yeah, I'm just waiting for the screen to clear so I can try and see that submarine for you." he replied having just got back from the bathroom.
"Can't you see anything yet?" said Chachi still firmly gripping the harness while sitting in his seat. "All the smoke's cleared up, down here."
"It doesn't matter if it's clear for you, as I am working on thermal imaging, Chach, and there's still a lot of heat left there after the explosion, which means I see nothin'." he paused and then added Chachi's real first name "Charles." He said this all in an annoyed and all-knowing voice.
"He sounds a bit annoyed up there." said Tommy standing next to Chachi who still hadn't moved from his seat.
"Yeah! Its that time of the month." butted in Richie.
"Any more bad comments about your brother and it'll be you up there on the next shift." proclaimed Howard knowing that being up in space on your own, not being able to see if everyone's Okay and what was happening was very stressful and frustrating on an individual.
"I still can't pick up the submarine on the imaging system it must have gone as soon as it fired the missile at you!" This came from Fonzie who checked the system a few times just to make sure. "Probably to make sure they weren't in the firing path if it changed course."
"We need to let the navy vessel know that they can pick up the survivors and tow the ship back to the harbour." began Howard talking to Tommy "I'll get Potsie to drop you back off at the airforce base and let you two catch up a little once we're finished here." He said this as he knew Potsie would want to talk to Tommy now that he knew someone else knew their identity it might be nice for him to talk about things he wouldn't tell his father or brothers.
Chapter 5
Catching Up
Tommy Pearl was dropped back of onto the navy vessel as soon as Howard was sure they could trust him not to blab their secret to the world. He was told that Potsie was aloud to the mainland for a couple of drinks to catch up on old times as long as they did not talk about the mission they had just done.
Tommy and Astin sat in Arnold's, Tommy wore a worn pair of jeans, brown boots and a pale blue shirt and he had put gel in his hair so it looked like Fonzie's and he sat in a booth near the bandstand.
Astin was slightly shorter than Tommy and had brown hair, it didn't look like, it was brushed or styled in any particular manner. He wore black boots, blue jeans and a tight black shirt and he sat facing Tommy. Astin was older than both Potsie and Tommy but smaller than them and had a character of his own, he loved woman and himself, the latter of which is shared by Tommy.
Tommy looked up as he saw a familiar figure walk through the door, Potsie was wearing a shiny blue shirt, that was a superb fit and showed his well kept physique, he wore tight dark coloured jeans and black steel toe capped boots. He decided to gel his hair up to perfection and he smiled as he walked over to his old friend.
They started of the evening with light conversation and a few sodas, a group of nurses sat over on a table and kept watching the Three Stooges like men as they laughed and drank. Scott ordered a round of drinks for the ladies as he knew that would smooth them up for later.
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Back on Tracy Island
"Can we trust this Pearl guy?" said Fonzie over the Vid COM.
"He's very much like your brother." a slight pause, he looked dead at Fonzie. "Fonzie, I trust him as much as I trust you boys!" replied Howard reassuring their secret was safe with Tommy.
"So not a lot then!" said Fonzie with a very rare wide grin on his face.
"Fonzie, why is it you can say the funniest things when none of your brothers are around to see it, none of them believe me when I say you make me laugh!" said Howard with a smile on his face.
"You see, Dad, I make you laugh and smile when no-one else is around and I do this because." another slight pause as he waited for his dad to look at him and so he could see his reaction straight of. "You look like you need it." Again, the wide grin was on his face.
"Are you saying I look depressed?" he asked his son.
"Oh, all the time." he smiled and then added. "Even more when Chachi's home from school."
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Back at Arnold's
Potsie was now dancing to 'Devil or Angel' by the Clovers with one of the nurses, he held her close and danced slow with the music. She was at the perfect height for Scott to rest his chin on her head as they swayed from side to side and back and forth to the music. Potsie looked into the eyes of the dark haired nurse and smiled, she smiled back, she then stopped dead in her tracks and she stepped backward as she placed one hand on her mouth and then bolted for the women's restroom.
Tommy sat at the bar and watched as one of the nurses danced and almost held up Astin while the opposite was happening with Potsie. He sat and drunk another soda and continued to throw side-glances at the waitress as she refilled his glass from time to time.
Astin was now sitting on the floor, obviously the soda had taken over his legs. He sat and looked at the surrounding area and started to look at some brightly coloured materiel, he sat rubbing the material that was so enchanting like a child with a new toy. He received a slap on the face from the girl standing by him when, she had realised he was looking up her skirt.
"Do you think we should rescue him?" Potsie said as he stood by Tommy at their booth.
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Back on Tracy Island
Chachi had just got out of the bath and all he had around him was a towel, he headed towards his room when his dad called him into the living room.
"You bellowed!" said Chachi as he stood in the doorway still dripping wet.
He looked into the room and saw Ralph and Richie were sitting on the couch opposite his father. Chachi walked over and sat on the couch in between Richie and Ralph, he then ran his hand roughly through his hair letting the beads of water splash his two brothers as they sat next to him. They in return both slapped him on his bare back hard enough to cause pain, but light enough for their father not to scorn them.
"I wanted to gather you three together, to check and see if you were alright after the incident earlier on." began Howard as he looked at his three youngest sons.
"We're fine, Dad!!!" chimed in all three of them.
"Oh really." he said and then sipped his cup of coffee, he then looked at Chachi. "How long was it before you left your seat?"
"Urm, about 30 minutes, why?" he said as he fiddled with his towel.
"Richard, where did you disappear to when we docked in the silo?" he said as he switched his power stare from Chachi to Richie.
"The bathroom, I had to pee!" He said, trying to avoid the power stare of Howard C. Tracy.
"And, Ralph!" he said and he gain switched his stare, from Richie onto Ralph. "Is it just me or did it sound like the piano needed tuning when you sat and played it this afternoon?"
"Definitely needed tuning!" he said with a smug grin thinking he had gotten the perfect answer.
"Tune itself while you were playing did it?" Howard said, as he sipped his tea again, but keeping his eyes fixed on his son.
"Oh yes it did, you see it’s a magic piano." said Ralph.
Howard put his cup down and placed a hand on Richie's knee and Ralph's knee and looked at the three of them. "I know you boys put a lot of yourselves into this job, but I need to know that you're okay and that I knew what was best in that particular situation. I need to know if you trust me and that I didn't...."
"Scare the crap out of us!" said Richie cutting in.
"RICHARD!" Howard shouted.
"Sorry, but you did. When you let go of the controls and lectured Chachi, I thought you had lost it. You then manoeuvred us in front of the missile and we were scared, Dad!" Richie said this with concern and worry in his voice.
"Sure we're scared at the time but we will get over it like we always do!" said Chachi, he then got up to dry off as he was getting a little cold.
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Back at Arnold's
Potsie and Tommy were dancing to Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley which was playing at the moment, Astin was still sat on the floor but was trying his best, his arms thrown about in the air every now and again but not in time with the others. To the words 'Everybody on the whole cell block Was dancing to the jailhouse rock', Potsie and Tommy turned to each other and were dancing with each other like a young couple and then they would turn out again for the 'Let's rock' part. They went back in again like a couple for 'Number 47 said to numer 3 "You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see"' Potsie was thinking that his dad would go ballistic once he found out that Potsie acted this nuts.
Potsie couldn't believe how much fun he was having, he had missed all of this by being at home with his dad the whole time and was never able to go out and feel like a man his own age, like he did when he was in the airforce and he never did that anymore. Suddenly as the next song came on he and Tommy stormed the empty stage, the song was the "Sea Of Heartbreak" and he knew that Tommy would act like a big girls blouse if he had to act like a girl. Next you had Skinny Jim' and well, let's just say a rock n roll combo decided to join him as it did look like fun.
At chucking out time, Tommy kissed the waitress after he had been apologising for Astin barfing across the entire exit floor and walked over to Potsie, who was leaning against the wall. Tommy could not tell if it was just Potsie being himself or that he needed holding up against the wall.
"Good evening, Warren, are you having a lovely time?"
"Who said that?" said Potsie not seeing anyone but him and his pals in the street.
"An old friend of yours!" replied the voice as a figure stepped out into the light from the wall.
"NO!" said Potsie as he realised who it was.
"He's got a mustache!" said Astin who was looking up from the ground.
Chapter 6
He's Got A Mustache
Potsie, Astin and Tommy were in a cell in the corner of a large room; people walked past doing their jobs holding papers and clipboards. The Candy Man sat in a swivel chair rubbing his chin with glee ready to send a message to an old friend of his. Sticky was sitting at his console tapping in figures and words that to the normal eye made no sense but to him this was his second language. Eugene, a big beefy guy dressed in black, stood on a walkway at the back of the room watching every little thing that went on, like a hawk looking for its prey.
"Hello, Howard, my old friend, how are you this evening?" said the Candy Man as a face appeared on the large viewer at the front of the room.
"What the hell do you want?" said Howard peering back through the screen.
"Are you missing anyone this evening?" said the Candy Man smiling like a Cheshire cat.
"That’s none of your business!" replied Howard with a puzzled expression on his face.
The Candy Man turned his head in to the direction of the cell and Howard looked, he saw his son and the two pilots in the cell, Astin looked like hell and Tommy and Potsie were hardly standing, they obviously gave a good fight before being captured.
"POTSIE!" yelled Howard.
"Oh man, it’s my old man, I hope he doesn't see I'm being a butthole!" whispered Potsie to Tommy.
"Hey, Mr T, how are you this fine evening?" said Tommy while waving at the screen, he said it in a Steve McQueen-ish voice as he truly had no idea where he was.
"If you would like to see your son again, come ALONE to the docks by the airbase in 1 hour!" said the Candy Man.
"Don't worry about me, Dad, I'll be fine!" Potsie paused as he had fallen backwards. "Who the heck moved the wall?" finished Potsie and with that, the screen was turned off.
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Back on Tracy Island
Chachi, Richie and Ralph ran into the office and Howard had Fonzie on the Vid COM in Fonziebird 5.
"Dad, you look worried, what's up?" said Ralph as he saw the worry in his father's face.
"The Candy Man's got Potsie, Tommy Pearl and Astin held captive." he said, he paused for a moment and then added. "By the looks of it, they have had the crap kicked out of them and I think Tommy and your brother are suffering from a slight concussion!"
"Crap, I mean, whoa!" said Fonzie.
"Crap and whoa indeed!" added Howard.
"What do you want us to do, Dad?" said Chachi ignoring the fact that his dad and Fonzie both swore which never happens to them.
"I've got to meet him alone in an hour if I want to see Potsie again!" said Howard.
"Well, I'll watch you from up here, Dad and I'm sure we can do something about this and you ain't going by yourself." said Fonzie almost taking command of the situation.
"I have to go by myself." he insisted.
"I don't give a damn, you are NOT going alone and that is final, dig it?" This was an order and the boys looked very surprised but listened as Fonzie took control of the situation and started barking orders to them knowing that their father was way to worried about Potsie's condition to use his brain.
------------------------------
Back at the Candy Man's secret hideout
As they sat in the cell, Astin had his hands covering his mouth as he felt a little bit sick, Tommy covered his eyes as the room had started spinning. Potsie sat and covered his ears to make sure he couldn't here the horrid voice of the Candy Man, as in his 'I feel like a drunk' state, he started to sound like Lex Luthor from the Superman TV series.
The door to the cell was opened and a trolley was pushed in, Potsie looked up and saw a small man with a long white lab coat. Under that lab coat, he had the very same Henchman's uniform that Eugene and so many others wore around them. He placed a plate of food and a bottle of water in front of each of them and smiled at Potsie as their eyes met. Potsie smiled back and streched his left leg as the plate was placed in front of him; Sticky went red in the cheeks and was about to say something when...
"Stieger, I need your opinion on this simulation I'm running!" Sticky said.
Tommy snorted and said "Rod Stieger, ha ha!"
"Weiner!" he said as he kicked over Tommy's bottle of water and then left the cell.
"I think you hurt his feelings, Tommy!" said Potsie to his cellmate.
"What feelings? He's a Henchman for the fat guy if you haven't noticed!" he said back.
"I think you should be politically correct that you're right as he clearly works for the Candy Man!" said Potsie clearly.
"You never change, do you, buddy?" stated Tommy.
"What do you mean I haven't changed? Changed into what? These are the only clothes I brought with me!" said Potsie looking very confused.
"Well, back in the days of you and me." started Tommy but Potsie suddenly cut him off.
"We were never a couple and I'm not gay!" said Potsie totally getting the wrong end of the stick and waving his finger at Tommy.
"No, you moron, when you were in the airforce! Anyway, you'd go for anything in a skirt when you got to." finished Tommy looking at his plate of food.
"This isn't a kid, Tommy, it's a guy shorter than us." said Potsie as he tried to figure out how to open the bottle of water that sat in front of him.
Tommy started to shake his head as he put it back into his hands; he then started to hum Sea Of Heartbreak that he had been singing earlier. Astin lay back and as his legs flung forward the plate of food flew against the bars and made a tremendous mess on the floor. Potsie was still trying to figure out how to drink from the bottle of water, he hadn't noticed that, he only had to pull the top up to make it work.
-------------------------------------
Back on Tracy Island
Al aided, he would take over from Fonzie in Fonziebird 5 so that they had all the hands they needed, but Fonzie insisted that they did not have the time for the exchange to happen before Howard had his meeting.
It was decided Howard would take Fonziebird 1 and then land in a special place close to the meeting and then walk the rest of the way. Al was in charge of monitoring Howard and had put a small undetectable device on Howard's person to make sure that he could keep an eye on him. Fonzie would keep a lock on him using the technology available to him on Fonziebird 5 and then tell the others if he saw something. Richie, Ralph and Chachi would be close by in Fonziebird 2 to see what was going on and be ready if Fonzie or Al felt that Howard was in trouble or being moved.
"Okay, people, do you guys know what you're supposed to do?" said Fonzie.
"Yes, Fonzie!" this came from everyone except Al.
"Yo, Al, do you know what you are in charge of?" said Fonzie trying to make sure the plan would go off with out a hitch.
"Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep." Al liked the idea of him being relied on in extreme situations, even though he was very capable of doing what was needed and well, he just liked it.
Chapter 7
Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep
Howard stood at the agreed meeting place and was looking around; he was also fidgeting as he waited. Out of all the things in the world that he feared, the loss of another loved one would be the worst and most damaging to happen to him. Potsie was the one who helped him through the hard times and helped in bringing up his other sons, all of the boys looked up to Potsie and he thought he would probably be the same again if anything happened to him.
Fonzie knew exactly what his dad was thinking, as he out of all of the Tracy boys saw the connection formed between Potsie and his dad, he saw how Scott grew up in a very short time and looked after his brothers and their dad. Fonzie knew that his dad and the whole family in fact, would not be the same close family they are today without the commitment Potsie gave to his family and dad that made them what they are.
Al did exactly as Fonzie told him to as he knew that Howard wasn't in the position to be giving out orders and the next usually in command was Potsie who obviously was not there to be giving out the orders, well naturally Fonzie was a bit older. Al was aware of the fact Fonzie rarely took command of situations and that was due to the fact that he was either in Fonziebird 5 or that Howard, Potsie or even both of them were always around to take command of the situation.
Fonzie noticed a few heat patterns closing in on his father's position, he watched carefully and made sure he knew how many there were and from which direction they came in. He kept a close eye on his father and was ready to update the others, but he would not say anything too soon, as he knew how edgy his brothers could get especially when both their father and Potsie were concerned.
Howard stood looking at the Candy Man square on, he stood in a tall and wide stance, which showed, he meant business and would do what ever he could for his son. The Candy Man had Sticky and Eugene at his sides, they were both looking for something to do as they were trained to do damage and not stand around like dolls or statues, like they did happen to do for most of their days. The only difference with this smaller henchman was that he actually looked like he had a brain cell, this meant he was more likely to be a problem then the usual henchman would be.
--------------------------------------------
Back in the cell
"Hey, Potsie!" said Tommy.
"What?" replied Potsie in a frustrated voice, he was not really frustrated with Tommy he was actually frustrated with the water bottle in his hand.
"What's it like being you?" asked Tommy in a deep but curious voice.
"Fun, exciting, challenging and dangerous and sometimes all at once." he replied knowing exactly what he meant, but probably confusing his old flight buddy.
"OKay!" replied Tommy not quite knowing what Potsie meant, but he knew that in Potsie's state he should not ask for an explanation, as this would only confuse him even more.
"Hey, Tommy." said Potsie.
"Yeah" he replied.
"What's it like being, you know, how is things, with, well, are you bored with out me around?" finished Potsie as he finally remembered what he had set out to say.
Tommy turned to look at his old buddy and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Potsie was looking straight at him wide eyed, as if they were about to have a staring match. "Well life was boring for a while, then I realised that I didn't need you to have fun, I just needed a soda!" he said as he still had Potsie staring at him.
Potsie looked at his plate of food and noticed that there was knife on the plate, he picked it up and moved a little closer to the bars. He looked around to see if anyone was looking and then he begun to saw the bars with the knife, he was still way too drunk to realise that the knife would have no real effect on the bars.
Tommy and Potsie both looked up from what they were doing, when they saw the Candy Man re-enter the room, with Howard Tracy in tow. Howard was almost thrown into the cell by the Henchwoman who threw a smile across to Potsie; she smiled back at her making her cheeks go a warm colour. She closed and locked the door to the cell and walked over to a chair and put her lab coat back on, she then walked over to Sticky and went about her work again.
Howard looked at the three boy's in the cell and saw Astin was asleep, Tommy was attempting to eat the slop laid in front of him and Potsie was sitting very close to the bars. He stared for a second and then stepped backwards. "You're all sodaholics, aren't you?" he said in a loud and very disappointed voice.
-----------------------------------------------
Up in Fonziebird 5
Al told Fonzie a message was coming through from the Candy Man and told him to route it through to him so that he could relay a message to the others from the other view screen he had available.
"Hello, as you may know by now I have your brother Warren, two of his companions and your Father!" said the Candy Man looking rather pleased.
"What do you want, a medal?" asked Fonzie knowing he was the one in charge and he had to gain control of the situation.
"Well!" the Candy Man said he paused as he thought about the fact that he had the two arrogant Tracy men in his possession, he was not expecting that reply especially from Arthur 'Fonzie' Tracy, he thought Fonzie was the sensible one in the family.
"Come on, I haven't got all day here, you know! Well, actually I do but that ain't the point." he said trying to be more heartless than his father or brother would have been to make it look like he was the one in control of the whole situation.
"I want control of the whole Fonziebird facility!" exclaimed the Candy Man.
"What do you expect me to do about it, I'm stuck up here and get left out all the time, so I can't help you! Sorry, Fatso!" Fonzie turned of the communication and spoke to his brothers for a minute while he let the hood think that he really didn’t care.
He told his brothers the exact location of the building that the Candy Man was in and gave them orders as quick as he could as the communication was bleeping, letting Fonzie know the Candy Man was trying to get through again.
Fonzie switched the communication on again and decided to speak before the hood had a chance to. "What you again, what do you want?" he then stared at the screen with a hard look he had seen Potsie use before.
"I want control of the Fonziebirds or I will kill your brother and your father, Arthur!" said the Candy Man looking sternly back through the screen.
"I tell you what, Candy Man. You lose weight and then I'll talk to ya!" Fonzie again turned the communication off and wiped his forehead, being cold was really hard work and he did not know how long he could keep it up for.
"Yo, guys, how you doing? I'm running out of nasty things to say and I don't know if the Candy Man's actually buying this heartless routine of mine?" he said.
"I wish, I was there to see the look on his face! Fonz, I envy you man!" said Chachi knowing how it made him smile to make the bad guys squirm.
"We're just about to enter the building now, Fonz, so we need you to hold on for a bit longer and not to communicate with us for a while!" said Ralph.
"Okay, guys be careful and I'll see you in a while!" he said hoping that he would see them in a while.
Fonzie sat down and held in his hand a newly warmed up cup of tea, he switched on the bleeping communications button and stared at the Candy Man. He smiled as he had a strange idea on how to throw the Candy Man's attention of balance "Well, bless my soul, what's wrong with me?" he sung this in his best Elvis Presley voice.
Chapter 8
"All Shook Up"
Fonzie actually surprised himself when he said those magic words and was so pleased with the confused look he had received from the Candy Man that he continued to enjoy this new skill. The only reason he was being cold and harsh was to help mask the advance of his brothers on the facility that the Candy Man held some of his family in.
"Arthur Tracy, this is a side of you I have never seen before, if I didn't know you any better, I would think you were stalling!" said the Candy Man finally catching on at what Fonzie was doing.
"My fat friend, the fact is you don't know me, do you and what the hell would I know about stalling. I mean, I spend most of my life up here, all alone and read books, looking at photos of chicks, eat, drink and be merry and apart from that I have hardly any human interaction so, I think your talking a load of crap!" he said starting to put some truth into what he was saying.
"Talking a load of crap about what, Arthur, you're not making any sense, which means you are stalling!" the Candy Man said this and signalled across to the young henchwoman Lauren who was standing by Sticky.
"You ain’t not going to kill my father or brother, because you’re like a woman your all talk and no action!" he replied back, he was certainly running out of things to say.
"That’s because you don't know the right woman, Fonz!" said Potsie as he was half dragged by Lauren to the side of the Candy Man.
The Candy Man turned to face Potsie and looked at him realising that he was still fairly over his head and thinking maybe this was the worst time and way to be kidnapping a Tracy brother. Potsie was obviously too over his head to get any sense out of, Howard was the one in charge so maybe he shouldn't have captured him and he was beginning to feel that Fonzie was suffering from space dementure.
"Well maybe if I was not stuck up here all the time, when you keep going out on the razz, I would meet the right woman!" he said starting up an argument with his brother.
"Its your own fault you said 'I'll be fine in Fonziebird 5' and that you liked the stars, I just think its your way of disowning us!" said Potsie knowing what type of reply he would get.
"I didn't see anyone else volunteering to go up here, do you, I like to see how long you could last up here with out complaining and maybe I would get to fly around in that rocket of yours" said Fonzie knowing Potsie was very protective of Fonziebird 1.
"It’s not a rocket and you are not touching my baby!"
"I bet you love Fonziebird 1 more than you love me or woman for that fact!"
"I'll show you how much I love woman!" with that, Potsie grabbed Lauren who stood next to him and pressed his lips against hers.
Everyone in the room as well as Fonzie up in his Fonziebird stood in silence throughout the entire 2-minute embrace between Potsie and Lauren.
"See."
"Just because you kiss a girl, doesn't mean you love her and I bet if you had to choose between your Fonziebird and your chick I know what would come first." he said feeling proud of his words. He noticed in the background his brothers had entered the room and started to round up some of the henchmen so he knew he had to hold the Candy Man's attention now more then ever.
"I think you don't know me as well as you should do, my dear brother."
"So if I was to fire upon Fonziebird 1 now you wouldn't mind, I think otherwise."
"I didn't know you could think well done, Arthur, you get a gold star!"
"Stars ain't gold, you mron, whoa, I seem to have a weapons lock on Fonziebird one." he smiled at the look of horror on his brother's face.
Fonzie could see that his brothers were now unlocking the cage in which his father and Potsie's pals were being held. 'Weapons lock on Fonziebird 1' chimed the computer aboard Fonziebird 5; Potsie's jaw dropped 'Should I fire Arthur?' asked the computer. Fonzie looked at his brother and was waiting for an apology.
"Are you nuts?" Potsie asked in disbelief at what was going on already was seen in his face and heard in his voice.
Fonzie looked at his console and pressed a button 'Weapons fired!' Fonzie sat back and folded his arms waiting for Potsie to start losing it.
"No, you jerk, don't you dare. Fonz, I'm warning you, stop it now!" Potsie was turning red with every word.
"What are you gonna do about it, you know without Fonziebird 1 ,you're useless!"
"That’s it!" Potsie got very angry and Lauren was thrown to the ground. Eugene tried to hold Potsie back but was knocked through a glass map that was in the room and he crashed down to the ground, Chachi and Astin tackled him and both were able to put him in the cage. Sticky was about to go help when Richie and Ralph attacked him from behind and tied him up and put him in the cage and out of the way.
The Candy Man saw what was going on and threw Tommy clean across the room while Howard tried to tackle him from behind and was not successful so he to was thrown across the room and fell on top of Tommy. Potsie was attacking the view screen with Fonzie's image in it as he had really lost his temper and possibly the plot.
Astin ran up and caught hold of Lauren who was just about to tackle Potsie, he pulled her across the room and she joined her fellow workers in the cage.
Ralph and Richie went for the Candy Man but were both thrown in to the heap of heroes in the corner of the room which now was getting big, Tommy was feeling the worst of it being on the bottom of the pile.
Fonzie was finally able to get Potsie to notice, what was going on in the room around and Potsie decided to go for the Candy Man, the Candy Man motioned as if to throw him against the wall like he had done to the others. When nothing happened, he realised he was getting weak and wasn't able to stop Potsie who was now heading toward him like a bat out of hell.
Chapter 9- Like A Bat Out Of hell!
As Potsie hit the Candy Man, they both flew across the room and the Hood hit his head as they landed on the floor, the Candy Man was knocked out as Potsie laid into him.
Howard had to pull Potsie off of the hood and was having a little trouble so he called Ralph over to help him as well and after a lot of pulling force they eventually got Potsie away from the battered mess that would normally be the Candy Man.
Richie walked over the screen were he could see his brother, Fonzie had a bemused and happy look on his face.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Fonz?" asked Richie.
"Ah, No, not really! The TV's busted so I gotta keep myself occupied, you know the drill!" answered Fonzie.
"I am gonna get you, you know that don't you, Fonz?" hollered Potsie from across the room.
"Well what ya gonna do? I'm up here and you are down there!" Fonzie said this with a smile on his face, as he knew the next chance Potsie would have to get up there, he would be calmer.
"Fonzie, don't taunt your brother when he's like this!" said Howard.
"Sorry, Dad, I'm just so bored up here!" he replied.
"I know how you feel bro I get bored when I am up there!" said Richie.
"You are up here at the most 2 hours when you drop me off or are swapping me and someone else over!" said Fonzie.
"Well that’s enough for me, Fonz." said Richie with a cheeky grin.
"Figures, I always thought you were the boring one, who couldn't read books or do anything constructive!" It was Fonzie's turn for the cheeky grin.
"Oh really, Fonz, the reason you spend so much time up there is you're afraid to socialise with normal people." said Richie.
"Ha, you just called yourself nutso!" Fonzie sat there laughing to himself, getting louder and louder as time passed by.
"No that is not what I meant!" He grew inpatient as he saw Fonzie laugh. "Dad, he's twisting my words again!"
"Fonzie, stop it! Don't make me come and get you!" Howard said this with half a smile on his face as he knew Fonzie did not have the chance very often to get one better than the others.
"Sorry, Dad!" Fonzie sat back and took a bite of his sandwich.
Howard looked around the room, trying to figure out what he could do, he turned to each one of his sons looking for an idea to spark from one of their eyes. Suddenly he stopped at Fonzie as he saw him still was in hyper and mischievous mood, he smiled and went over to find out what his son had planned.
So he gathered up the useful sons he had and set about this plan of Fonzie's. When they had finished he decided that it would be best for Tommy and Astin to come home with them. Howard wanted to debrief them when they were sober and able to remember things as well as have the ability to stand up which none of the three intoxicated ones could do at the moment. Howard also decided to take anything considered useful from the Candy Man so that a thing like this could never happen again.
Back on Tracy Island
Howard, Richie, Ralph, Chachi and Al sat in the kitchen eating fried eggs that had been set out for them; Potsie wandered in and began to eat with them. Potsie looked at his brothers as they looked at him he had no idea what they were looking at.
"What? Is there something wrong with my hair?" he said.
"Do you remember anything about last night?" asked Richie.
"No, so it must have been a good night, reminds me of the days when I was in the force, I would go out for a soda and then wake up with some one next to me!" he said with a smile.
"Chachi, can you wake up our guests and let them know breakfast is ready!" said Howard.
"Sure, Dad!" he replied and skipped out of the room.
"What guests?" Potsie paused and then thought of something that was bothering him. "How did I get home last night?"
"Long story, Son, I will wait until our guests are with you and I'll fill you all in on the 'fun' you had last night!" replied Howard.
Astin and Tommy arrived in the room looking a lot worse than Potsie did; Potsie always had a habit of having too much sodas. Tommy looked at the fried eggs and turned around ready to walk out the room but was stopped by look of amusement from Potsie's youngest brother and wanted to show he was strong as he was after all in the air force. Astin just stood there wandering who the hell these people were and what he was doing in this strange place, the last thing he remembered was looking at a nice pair of legs.
Howard gathered them all together and started to fill them in on what they all obviously could not remember from the night before. Potsie had flashes of beating up the hood and wanting to kick Fonzie but got a little confused, Chachi had to explain and clear things up for him. Astin could not get the picture of a lovely pair of legs out of his head and Tommy; well he remembered a guy with a mustache and lots of people dressed in black but hardly anything else. The only question left on Potsie's lips when they had finished the debriefing was a simple question.
"What happened to the Candy Man and his little band of un-merry men?"
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