I LIVE! Yes, it's me again, with an apparently much anticipated chapter. This is the plot twist chapter, so to speak, so be ready. Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Signs and Saucers

Journal Log: September 6

Renovations to the tree-houses are complete and I am in the process of making an emergency stockpile of food and supplies in case a storm hits the island. Coconuts and bananas will only sustain me for so long even if the supply is plentiful. At some point, I will need show some backbone and hunt for protein. I think fish is a good first step. I have not seen any other animals, however, not even Darwin. Perhaps they sense 'him' inside me. Points for animal intuition, I guess.

'He' came out the other day, but only for a little bit. I had stubbed my toe on a rock in the sand. It doesn't take much to provoke him, it seems. After smashing the rock into rubble, he subsided. I fear that he will one day take out his rage on the tree-houses and I will have to start over from scratch…

"Who's Darwin?" Libby asked from the pile of furs that she and Tesla were lying on.

"There was monkey that liked to hang around us when Jimmy and I were on the island together," Cindy explained, looking over from the top of the journal she was reading aloud. "I wasn't too fond of it at first, but it turned out to be really friendly, so we decided to give it a name. Jimmy came up with 'Darwin'. He could have quite the weird sense of humor sometimes." She smirked as she turned the page and began reading aloud again.

Journal Log: Year 2, March 18

I found a wild dog in the jungle this morning. She had twisted her leg between a crook in a tree's roots and had broken it. She's in the tree-house now, recuperating. If I play my cards right, I could tame this dog and have her with me when I'm hunting. I just have to make sure that 'he' doesn't scare her away.

Yesterday, I finally completed the electricity generator and set it up underneath the waterfall. This opens the door for so many other things I could create for myself.

Journal Log: Year 2, June 21

Big news! I found a huge deposit of silicon today! I can make some computer components from this! Looks like this was the perfect island for exile.

"This is gonna take forever!" Sheen complained. "There's like eight of those journals!"

"Aren't you the least big curious what he's been doing here this whole time?" Cindy argued. "And besides, maybe there might be a clue in here about where he could be when he's not at the tree-house."

"Just skip to the last book then!" Sheen whined.

"If it'll keep you quiet, then fine!" Cindy growled, snatching the last book from the shelf and opening it to a random page.

Journal Log, Year 4, April 9

'He' took over again. I had been going around looking at my animal traps and found that not one of them had caught anything. This was all it took to give him leverage. He took out his rage on the jungle, which was bad enough, but he also destroyed…

"Oh no…" Cindy whispered, her eyes wide. Without another word, she ran out of the tree-house, jumped off the porch, and began flying across the beach. The book fluttered its pages in her wake until they landed on the page she had been reading from.

"…he also destroyed our tree."

Cindy's heart was clamped tight in her throat as she flew above the sand, scanning the edge of the jungle for something she hoped she wouldn't find. But find it she did, and as she plummeted to the sand next to it small tears started to collect at the edges of her eyes. With a thud she landed, making a small crater of sand.

It was just as the journal had said. This small part of the jungle had been torn apart recently. Ground that did not normally get a lot of sunlight was filled with green undergrowth, which almost hid the sad forms of fallen palm trees. She looked down sadly at the one before her. Even after five years, she could still see the heart carved into its bark and the letters 'J/C Forever'. Gingerly, she put her hand on the carving, tracing some of the letters with her fingers.

It took the rest of the gang several minutes to find her. Libby cautiously approached her crouching form while the boys hung back, clearly uncomfortable about the situation. Softly, Libby knelt beside her best friend and held out the brown-backed journal.

"I'm fine," Cindy said forcibly, taking the book. She wiped her eyes with one hand. "Thanks," she added with a softer tone.

"No problem, girl. You know I'm always here for ya," Libby replied, hugging Cindy with one arm.

"I just can't help thinking that this symbolizes something. Look, even Jimmy thought so." She opened up the journal again.

He took out his rage on the jungle, which was bad enough, but he also destroyed our tree. Usually I'm not one to be superstitious, but maybe this incident further illustrates why I cannot go back to Retroville. Not only does this monster hurt my friends, but even the memories I have of them are tainted with his anger. After living with the monster for so many years it is becoming harder to recall happy moments with my friends and family. I do not know why he destroyed the tree, however. He seems to like Cindy, for some reason.

After I discovered the tree when I first arrived on the island, I remember how the monster seemed so docile for a while. It seems he knew that Cindy had carved it. I fear now that he has destroyed it, his anger will escalate even further.

"Come on, girl!" Libby comforted. "You know all that isn't true. I'm sure that as soon as he sees us, he'll beg us to take him home."

"I'm not so sure," Cindy countered, looking back at the fallen palm tree. She was silent for a moment, and then got up from the sand. "But we've got a mission to complete," she said. "And besides," she thought to herself. "I've got an antidote. He'll come back then."

The boys ran to join the girls once they realized the drama was over. "Can't we just skip to the last entry?" Sheen whined. "I don't care if Jimmy made a water purifimacation thingy or where the best hunting spots are."

"Fine," Cindy agreed, flipping to the last page.

Journal Log: June 3, Year 5

This evening I decided to take a walk on the beach with Tesla and I found what appears to be a spaceship on the opposite side of the island. I did not get very close, but I could tell that it had landed only recently. It must have come while I was checking on the electricity generator at the waterfall because I did not see or hear it land. I do not know what kind of alien is aboard. I will investigate more thoroughly tomorrow. Since they landed here and not in the downtown of some city, I'm cautiously hoping that they are friendly beings. They might even require my assistance.

"That's the last entry," Cindy said, shutting the book, her eyes traveling around to look at each of her friends in turn.

"Wouldn't the BTSO guys notice if a spaceship was on the other side of the island?" Libby asked.

"Maybe the aliens left already," Carl shrugged.

Cindy gasped. "And what if they took Jimmy with them?" She started to rise up in the air. "Come on!" she ordered. "We've gotta check it out."

Realizing the urgency of the matter, the rest of the gang shot up in the air, leaving a small dust cloud in their wake. They skirted the beach, looking for any sign that a spaceship had landed recently. They saw nothing.

"This is bad, guys," Cindy worried. "If Jimmy's been kidnapped by those aliens, we'll never be able to find out where he is!"

"Maybe we'll find a clue in the sand," Libby said, leading the way back towards the ground. Suddenly, they all felt the air around them become heavy.

"Whoa! Does anyone else feel this?" Sheen yelled, waving his hands around him.

"Feels like a force field of some kind," Cindy reasoned. "Looks like the aliens haven't left after all. I think we can pass though, so let's go."

As they continued to float towards the ground, there was another surprise. The heavy atmosphere fell away and suddenly the beach was not empty anymore. A saucer-shaped spaceship materialized on the sand, supported by three thin metallic stilts. It was leaning to the side slightly with a gaping hole where it was lower, its edges peeling away in rolls. There were no signs of life, but two plastic lawn chairs had been set up near the tide, facing the horizon.

"A short-range invisibility generator…" Cindy commented. She squinted at the spaceship "Wait a minute…"

"Everyone, hide!" she barked, leading the way to the tree line where they took cover in the underbrush.

"What's the deal, Cindy?" Libby questioned, whispering harshly. "No one's around."

"That's Grandma Tater's spaceship," Cindy answered, pointing at the metal saucer. "You guys would barely remember her, seeing as you were drooling zombies when you first saw her."

"You mean that creepy old lady from the League of Villains?" Carl asked.

"Exactly," Cindy confirmed. "We have to be careful. Judging by that hole, I'd say Jimmy's already given her a warm welcome. Or more precisely, that orange monster has."

"That must be where all the smoke was coming from that the BTSO had picked up," Libby rationalized.

"But where are they now?" Cindy wondered, scanning the surrounding beach for life signs. Suddenly, two Grandma Taters started climbing down the saucer's lowered staircase, heading towards the lawn chairs.

"There are more than one?" Libby whispered anxiously.

"Yeah, and they all look exactly same," Cindy said.

"I can't hear what they're sayin'." Sheen complained, trying to lean closer.

"Hello. Super hearing." Cindy smirked, pointing to her own ear. "Just concentrate on them and it should work."

The Taters had settled into the lawn chairs and were admiring the shimmering ocean.

"…such a clever boy, isn't he?"

"Oh, he's brighter than the Algerian Lights, deary! Now that we have that brute side of him under control, he's just as happy as clam to help repair the ship."

"I'm in not much of a hurry to leave, to tell you the truth. This island is such a lovely vacation spot."

"Well deary, I don't see why we couldn't stay for a while longer. I'm sure the boy would be happy to help us relax. Oh deary!"

A familiar silhouette appeared in the saucer's doorway. In the brush, the gang gasped in shock. Jimmy walked steadily down the metal stairs, a ridiculous smile plastered on his face. In the five years since his disappearance, he had gotten much taller and there was a faint sign of stubble around his orange face. His clothes had apparently been replaced, however, because he was wearing a skin-tight space suit and a pink, frilly apron stained with oil.

Jimmy finally came to stand between the two Grandma Taters. "Yes, Grandma?"

Dun-dun-duuun! Wasn't expecting that, now were you? I admit the scene about the palm tree was a bit cheesy and fluffy, but that's probably cause I've had it planned out almost since I started this fanfic, so keep that in mind. See you in a couple months, probably!