Welcome back everyone. I hope you enjoyed the prior chapter. Mackenzie is letting her guard down more and more, and her reactions are becoming less and less violent and threatening because of Roderick's influence, in just a short time, and his genuine interest in her without there being the ulterior motive of fearing her involved. As for her actual feelings towards the boy, that's debatable, and will more than likely remain a bit ambiguous. Can her feelings towards the boy be considered romantic in nature or could it just be true adoration for this boy giving her positive attention? It's up to you readers to make your own interpretations.

That aside, as you can see, Roderick still has a few kinks to work out in this plan of his. The bottom line is that he wants everyone to meet up and have a good time together at the Secret Spot, but with Sam's help, he's certain he can pull it off. For this chapter, he meets up with Sam, and the two start trying to get this plan into action. Otto, Ray, and Tito also appear in this chapter. Other than that, there's nothing else I can say, really, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Oh, it also took me a while to update this story because of a time issue. Not only for myself, mind you, but for this story's continuity. Roderick's plan will be heavily reliant on time for it to fully work and I hadn't decided on the time I want each party to arrive at the Secret Spot. Either way, you'll see what I mean in later chapters. Oh, and another reason it took a while was due to the fact that I couldn't think of a chapter title. Always the case, eh? lol

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Rocket Power series or franchise. Klasky-Csupo has (had?) that honor, and as a reminder, here are the ages of the characters once again:

Oswald "Otto" Rocket: 16
Regina "Reggie" Rocket: 17
Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez: 16
Sammy "Stonewall" Dullard: 16
Lars "Whompinator" Rodriguez: 19
Roderick "Rod" Vandenack: 13
Mackenzie "Mack" Duncan: 12

Chapter 22: "I forgive ya, Squid! No sweat!" Otto's Compassion…

After walking Mackenzie to her house, which was empty at the time, and exchanging phone numbers, much to the girl's surprise, he decided to head back up to the Pier. He wasn't in the mood to head home quite yet, despite the fact that it was entering the early evening. He was hoping to run into Otto or any of the others. It had been a nice day, after all, so there was no need to stay cooped up all day. Once arriving, he caught sight of a certain blonde-haired boy, who looked like he was in the process of going home.

"Hey, Roderick," the boy called as he rushed up to him, "where've you been all day?"

"Oh, just hanging around, but never mind that. How's it going?"

"I'm okay, but I have some good news," the boy announced proudly. "I talked with Twister, and we're cool again, and according to Sherry, Rocket Girl isn't upset with me anymore either."

"Dude, that's awesome! So, the only one left is Ottoman, and then we have to convince him to get on good terms with you, Twister, and sis." Realizing what he'd said, it sounded like it'd take a lot of work, but he brushed it off and continued. "Not to worry, though, Sam. I do have a plan, but you'll have to piss off Twister and Reggie again."

Sam's eyes went wide, as he nearly screamed out, "What?! Why would I do something like that?" he asked in perplexity.

"Just kidding bro, but you will have to play 'Benedict Squid', as Otto called it." Roderick explained his plan to him about tricking all of them together while their guards were down. If Sam acted to be on both sides, and get on good terms with both parties, then he could be the bait to lure them all in.

Sam's look grew slightly panicky. He thought of how all three would react and go aggro on him if he did go "Benedict Squid", but also realized that it was worth a try. As he'd told Sherry, he was determined to get the three friends back on good terms since they had so much history and how it was worth it to salvage that as opposed to throwing it away over something so frivolous. He was quiet for a few more moments, Roderick giving him an anxious, hopeful look. "Well," he finally said, "that is a bit sneaky, and interesting, but where can we gather that's pretty much neutral territory?"

"The Secret Spot!"

"The Secret Spot?" Roderick nodded eagerly with a big smile. Sam scratched his head, trying to recall when he, or the others, had even told him about it. "How do you know about the Secret Spot? I don't remember mentioning it to you. I guess Twist or Otto did, right?"

"Nope, but I did go there today and it was incredible!"

"By yourself?"

He grinned sheepishly and scratched his nose. "Nah, but I had some pleasant company. She helped me. A nice girl once you get to know her."

This caused the stout blonde to scratch his head again, only in slight confusion. Who was this girl? 'Rod has a secret girlfriend?'

"So, ready to get this plan into action bro?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. I'm in." He wanted to ask about the girl, but figured since Roderick hadn't volunteered the information, then it wasn't meant for him to know about it. Besides, the bigger priority was getting Otto and the others back on speaking terms again. "So, I'll have to side with Otto and you'll trick everyone into going, since no one's actually tweaked at you. By doing so, we'll be stuck in a situation where they'll have no choice but to communicate and talk out their issues."

.

"Exactly!"

"I wonder if Otto's over at Madtown. I haven't been there at all today. I just finished hanging with Sherry a while ago. She had to run back home and I was about to too," he explained. "I was talking to Tito about some things."

"That's the other part of my plan. I wanted to ask Uncle Ray and Tito if they could help me out. I'll catch you later, okay? You try looking for Ottoman."

"Roger!"

After everything was set, Rod headed to the Shack, while Sam went over to Madtown. He figured Otto was probably there; when wasn't he? He looked out at the beautiful, serene ocean, but the waves were flat, and had been that way all day from what he'd noticed earlier that afternoon. When the surfing was lame, Otto would usually spend it at Madtown. Once arriving, he saw quite a few tourists skating the bowl and grinding the rail. On the pipe, he saw Otto. Some onlookers were admiring his skill, but to Sam something seemed off. Otto didn't look like he was having fun or reveling in the attention and praise the tourists were giving him. He wasn't even wearing his shades. His skating style even seemed more aggressive than usual. Something was definitely bothering Ottoman, as far as the usually observant blonde was concerned.

Sam rushed to the pipe, just as Otto had stepped down, about to hit the bowl, when he heard the boy call loudly, "Ottoman!"

The dread-haired boy saw Sam rushing towards him. He gave him a sour look, about to take off.

"No, Otto, wait!" He shuddered after noticing the scowl he was wearing, but something else also caught his attention about his face. 'Whoa…that's one nasty-looking bruise.'

"Why should I?"

While catching his breath, he told him, "I wanted to apologize. You were right."

Otto dug a finger into his ear, wondering if he'd heard the math and science whiz correctly. "What?"

His breath fully caught, he repeated, "I said you were right; especially since I agreed with you from the beginning…I just didn't want to fully admit it. Rocket Girl and Twister have been ditching us a lot more lately."

Otto narrowed his eyes as he stared Sam down. He placed a finger on his chin, becoming slightly suspicious of the blonde. As he rubbed it, he asked, "Why the sudden change?"

"They totally blew me off!" Sam scoffed in annoyance. "We were supposed to all meet up this evening at the Shack, but they bailed and ditched us just to go on a date somewhere! When I confronted them about it, they used my own words against me! They were going on and on about needing 'alone time', so I was like, 'forget about it' and for them to have their 'alone time'."

"See, they're nothing but kooks…ditching their friends….to make out or do all that stupid…mushy…stuff…" the boy trailed off as events from earlier flooded his mind. His face burrowed up in anger. If he saw Twister again, he'd give him more than a black eye this time.

Sam ignored Otto's sudden look of anger, but kept his composure and continued on with his ruse, making sure he kept his facts straight. "I was talking and hanging with Roderick. I showed him the Secret Spot. He wants to go there tomorrow for a late afternoon surf session and to camp out on the beach. Even he reluctantly agreed that it would be better if we didn't include Twister and Reggie so that they could have their alone time. He even said that it would be better since, 'Twist and sis want to do couple stuff'."

Otto's suspicious scowl turned to that of a cheerful smile. "You know what Squid, that's the best idea I've heard all week! I'm definitely in! Just have to check in with Raymundo."

"That's great, Ottoman. Let's go tell him that you're in. He should be up at the Shack."

With that set, the two headed towards the Shore Shack. Once getting there, all they saw were customers, no sign of Roderick. The place wasn't as crowded as it had been in previous days, but business was still quite handsome. The two boys made their way over to the currently vacant counter and took a seat.

"Hey kids," Ray greeted in a cheery voice. "I thought you were heading home, Sam," Ray finished up slowly, taking notice of Otto.

"I was, but I ran into Roderick and then Otto. Where is Rod anyway? He said he was going to be here."

"Oh, he headed home. I guess he tired himself out. He mentioned that he wanted to do a surf session and camp out with you all tomorrow."

"Yeah, it'll be awesome," Otto chimed in. "Can I go, Raymundo?"

"I don't see why not. Just have a good time, but Rocket Boy…are you feeling okay?"

"What d'ya mean? I feel great! I get to hang with my best bros tomorrow for surfing and camping!"

"Well, for one, you're not wearing your shades. I rarely ever see you without them, and you have a bruise on your face."

Sam was glad that Ray was asking all of the questions, so that he could observe the boy and maybe analyze his actions.

"I-I fell, that's all," he insisted while shifting uneasily in his seat and scratching the back of his head. "I was out on the pipe, and I wasn't paying attention while showing off for the shoobies. You know how that is. I gotta give the fans what they want," he laughed lamely. "I lost my balance, and fell and broke my glasses. It's all good, though," he coolly asserted with the wave of his hand. "I can pick up another pair later. I didn't feel like going all the way back home for my other shades."

'Hm, just like Rocket Girl. Well, it's obvious to me that he's lying. Otto doesn't even sound all that convincing to me, no matter how much he's trying to play it off. He's bruised, Twister looked awful, and Rocket Girl is injured. I'm still not sure about Rocket Girl, but Twister and Otto must've had a fight earlier today. It's the only thing that makes sense…but that still doesn't explain Reggie…unless, maybe…yeah, that has to be it! I know for a fact that neither Otto nor Twister would ever hit Reggie! If my fighting theory is correct, maybe she tried to break the two up and got harmed in the process. What Twister said earlier actually makes sense now. Otto must've accidentally hit Reggie somehow during their scuffle!'

Before Ray could comment on his son's suspicious story, he heard a Hawaiian voice call, "Order up, bruddah." Tito walked up with two orders in-hand. He took notice of Sam and Otto. "Ah, welcome back Sammy. Twice in one-" He stopped abruptly when he saw Sam shaking his head. Ray's response was vague, but he was worried that Tito would let on that he was there for the majority of the afternoon, which would indicate that he lied about being at the Secret Spot earlier. Tito was definitely going to question the stout blonde later. "Erm…so what brings you by?"

"The kids want to go camping tomorrow," Ray answered as he took the two plates. He left the three and headed to the customers who'd ordered the two Hula Burger combos.

"Yeah, sounds like that'll be fun," Tito told them. He sighed, slight envy in his voice. "I wish I could go out camping and surfing for the day, but too many customers."

"Yeah, how do you and dad deal with all these shoobie kooks."

"With a lot of skill and practice," he told them with a jolly laugh. The man stopped laughing abruptly as he fully took notice of Otto. "Lil' Otto cuz, what happened?"

Otto sighed and exasperatingly retold the same story he had for his father. Tito listened on with a lot of skepticism. He found the story just as fishy as Sam had. 'Maybe he did fall…but, it doesn't feel right.'

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't even hurt. Oh, Tito, could I get some fries and a shake before I head back out?"

"Sure thing cuz."

Tito returned to the back while Ray retook his place after busing a table. He still didn't like the look of Otto's bruise, but also figured that he shouldn't fully pry. He trusted the boy, and after what had happened in previous weeks. After his apology, Otto had been disturbingly nice to Ray. Ray figured it was just his way of saying, "I'm sorry." He would help out around the house more and even offer to help out at the Shack or the surf shop. Ray definitely didn't want to rock the boat and keep the current peace. Besides, he could always confront the boy later on in a more private setting.

A short while, as well as a few more customers, later, Tito returned with Otto's fries. Sam, at this point, waved them off and headed home, anxious to get in touch with Roderick. On the way, he kept telling himself to remain positive, for Roderick's sake anyway…