Author's Note - Sorry, again, for the long wait. We have no excuses; sue us. (Well, not really, 'cause we're broke.)

Aaaand now, our fabulous reviewers! Ta-daaaa!

Kurissyma san Tybalt- Whoo! Thank you for reviewing us once again. We'd be more than happy to share our cheesecake with you.

ChestnutBrumby- (Chestnut was the name of Bubble's hamster...xD) We worship the ground you walk on for leaving us three fantastic reviews. Yes, we're somewhat insane but it's alll the rage these days. Can't say we thought about Tidus in pajamas, but I'm sure he'd look stunning. xD

Ellie0223- Yayyy pathetic flirting! We all know flirting only makes you look stupid, but those are the moments we live for. And live to write about. Thank you once again for the lovely review!

Somebody's Dreamer- (For some reason, your username reminds me of 'Over the Rainbow' from the Wizard of Oz -Bubbles) Whee! A new reviewer! Everyone loves pajamas, especially the cute ones with the footsies. xDD

Lower your eyes to the text below this line.

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"What should I bring?" Yuna asked loudly, staring at the racks of clothes (arranged by color) in her walk-in closet.

"Does it really matter?" Paine called back.

"Well of course it does!" Rikku yelled in reply, frantically searching for slippers that would match her pajamas. "We've got to impress them, don't we?"

Paine paused and stuck her head into Yuna's bedroom. "What'd she say?"

Yuna's house was one of the nicest on her block and had two stories filled with fancy furniture, the look-but-don't-touch vases, and the garage sale items that Yuna just had to buy. The second floor had the bedrooms three in a row, with Yuna's in the middle. The bedrooms on either side were technically guest rooms that Paine and Rikku happened to have all of their clothes in - Paine on Yuna's left, and Rikku on the right.

"Yuna," Paine said while glaring at the distracted summoner. "What did Rikku just say?"

"Wha?" She spun around, holding two identical tank-tops in different colors. "Umm… I don't know, think it was important?"

"Probably not." Paine chuckled and went back to sorting through her various leather outfits.

"So… what're you wearing to impress Baralai?" Rikku yelled down to Paine.

"It's none of your business," Paine mumbled, though she continued looking for the 'right' outfit.

Rikku shouted loudly, "What'd you say?"

Yuna smirked and called through the doorway, "Uh, I don't know… something about your face?"

Rikku dropped the color-coordinated slipper-pajama combo on her bed and ran down the hallway to Paine's room. "WHAT'D YOU SAY ABOUT MY FACE?"

She blinked and looked up at the Al-Bhed. "What're you talking about? Stop embarrassing yourself."

"Well fiiiine. But I won't let you off so easily next time." Rikku squinted her eyes and gave a small glare as she slunk back in the hall to her room.

"...Right."

Ten minutes passed with the hustle of the girls as they ran around to gather their things.

"You guys, do you think I forgot anything?" Paine shouted.

"Be sure to pack your thong!" Rikku said excitedly, browsing through her own collection of lace and satin goodness.

"Wait, what'd you say?" Paine was getting frustrated with the yelling nonsense.

Yuna, who had heard Rikku's comment clearly, laughed nervously before shouting out, "She said to pack your brush, so you don't have to share!"

"...Oh. Thanks."

-Tidus' house-

Baralai made his way into the basement to the laundry area, where he pulled fresh towels out of the dryer for use in the pool. He assumed since it was so hot outside, that everyone would enjoy hanging out in the crystal-clear water of Tidus' inground pool. Maybe only half because of the heat, but half the mental picture they guys were all getting of the girls in bikinis playing chicken; either one. And since neither Tidus or Gippal were going to prepare for the Marco-Polo-water-volleyball-chicken-playing bonanza, Baralai took the initiative to do it.

As he walked back upstairs and towards the deck in the backyard, he began to drift mentally. I wonder if Paine will even agree to come to this. I mean, if she does come it might only be because her friends forced her to. I want her to have fun.

... Does Paine even have fun? If she does, she can sure hide it. But I would want her to show happiness. I love her smile... wait, I've never seen her smile.. But I'm sure it's fabulous!

Tidus was on the computer, downloading music - legally of course - and fishing through an old box of CDs. He blatantly ignored the Mozart CD labeled 'Baralai' and had no comment on the Care Bear soundtrack labeled 'Gippal'.

After looking through another box containing a mix of 50's music, heavy metal, spanish salsa, reggae, children's sing-along songs, and classic italian love songs, Tidus mumbled to himself, "We can't play any of this stuff!" Frustrated, he shoved the box back into the corner and went back to look through the reasonable options.

The only CDs he would remotely consider playing were The Rolling Igneous Rocks, The Red Hot Mustard Beans, Justin Treepond, Gaa Gaa Guys, and The Fully Clothed Men. He stacked them up and carried them over by the stereo, which he would set up by the pool... eventually. He waved to Baralai and headed back inside, plopping down on the couch with a sigh. I can't be so forward with Yuna this time... gotta be cool. Calm. Collected. Like Gippal.

As if on cue, Gippal raced into the room, waving his arms frantically. "I'M OUT OF HAIR GEL! I can't let Rikku see me like this! One side of my head is gelled and the other looks like an ungroomed poodle due for a haircut!"

...wait, no, never mind. "Why should you care what Rikku thinks of you? I thought you didn't care about her."

"Well, she's hot. Hot girls gotta see hot guys."

"And you're a hot guy?" Tidus asked jokingly.

Gippal narrowed his eyes. "Do not mock the hotness," he retorted, making hand gestures at his godliness.

Leaving Tidus on the couch, he went to the coat closet to examine his fabulous hat selection. I can't leave the house with my hair looking like this! Not only would my ego drop about five notches, but I'd be a negative three on the manliness scale. Can't let that happen, now can I?

He glanced past the beanies and baseball hats - not enough coverage for the hair. "It's gonna take more than a baseball cap to tame this mess!" he yelled into the closet. He arrived at last year's ski mask collection and picked one, slamming it onto his head.

Quickly, Gippal walked to the nearest CVS store and scanned the shelves for his favorite hair gel. Examining the different brand names available, he was blissfully unaware that fellow shoppers were beginning to whisper amongst themselves. He just ignored it.

He finally discovered the brand he had been looking for and snatched it. Three isles over, four feet to the right, and near the magazine rack, someone began talking to the cashier about the mysterious shopper wearing a ski mask.

Gippal hesitated, picking up another of his favorite kinds of gel and weighing them in his hands. "Hmm… do I use the 'Super' or the Nuclear'?" Nearby security guards eyed him suspiciously from behind a convenient Venus razor display. They glanced between each other nervously, speculating the secret code of 'nuclear'. Gippal, however, was oblivious. "This one sticks better, but this one has a better hold…" he muttered, glancing from one to the other.

The security guards were almost positive he was planning to rob and then bomb the place.

Gippal picked one and placed the rejected bottle back on the shelf, remembering that Tidus' little sleepover shindig was almost going to start. "Gotta check out; the clock is ticking."

Taking this as a sign the bomb timer had been set, the security guards moved in. They lunged for the suspected criminal and Gippal found himself among several overweight men in uniform.

One of the guards forced Gippal to his feet. "We're charging you with the following felonies: suspected thievery and attempted terrorism."

"But I was just getting hair gel!" Gippal pleaded, desperate to keep his hair crisis on the down-low.

"That's what they all say, kid."

One of the fatter men took off his sunglasses and spoke up. "I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to take off the mask."

Gippal turned white… not that they could see it. "Well I don't know if that's a very good idea..."

"Hey! I'll be callin' the shots around here, boy!" The officer poked him in the chest. "Now we're going to ask you again… Take off the mask." By now there was a small crowd of shoppers watching the scene anxiously.

"Really, this isn't necessary…"

"TAKE OFF THE MASK!"

The news had arrived in a rush, camera men setting up and the newscasters looking at themselves, ready to get the real story. They began filming in order to get every piece of the juicy report.

Gippal looked around furiously for an escape, but unfortunately there was a big fat security guard blocking the exit.

"If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Take it off or we'll be forced to use extreme measures." The officer nodded to someone and a powerful-looking man came in… holding a medieval flail (one of those spikey balls on the chain… on the stick… yeah. That one.) and several other torture instruments.

Gippal paused for a moment. "… Is that even legal?"

"… uuh…" The police looked around at each other, and a few coughed nervously.

The reporters looked around frantically and flailed their arms in the 'cut' motion. "Cut the film!" they whispered with urgency. The camera men glanced at one another and quietly answered, "We're live!"

"You idiots!" the reporter quietly yelled through a cheesy smile. The camera was still rolling, after all. Those ratings gotta stay up.

"… Do I get my one phone call?" Gippal questioned. He was going to call Rikku: maybe being a bad boy would win her over.

"No. And enough distractions!" Fed up with this funny business, and the game of 'Twenty Questions', he reached over and pulled off the ski mask with force.

The crowd gasped. A random woman screamed. A shout of 'my leg!' was heard. An eighty-year old woman screeched, "Holy shit!"

Gippal was so ashamed.

"… I guess you'll, uh, be needing this." The officer handed him the hair gel and the ski mask. "Go ahead and put that back on, son."

Another policeman on the force looked to the man with the medival flail and said, "We won't be needing your services anymore."

The guy's face fell. "Oh darnit." He dragged his spikey ball and cart of assorted weapons out the door. A little boy ran up to it and grabbed one of the torturous items. "Mommy, I want this one!"

His mother looked at him with an angry expression. "Put that down, Billy! It has germs on it!" She could care less about the fact that it would kill someone.

Gippal paid for his gel and walked out of the store, still followed by numerous reporters.

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He arrived back at the house, with his hair looking once again normal and beautiful. He could hear the pounding stereo and a girl squealing, so he headed out back by the pool. He ripped open the porch french doors with a cocky grin, expecting everyone to swoon over his fixed hair - or at least acknowledge his grand entrance.

Gippal got nothing.

Tidus was in the corner of the yard, grilling hot dogs and hamburgers for the rest of them. Paine was standing nearby, leering at him to make sure he cooked her hot dog just the way she liked it - burned to a crisp. It was practically Baked Alaska in hot dog form.

By the pool, Baralai was checking the chlorine levels with Rikku staring over his shoulder. She was mesmerized by the sample of water changing color as he added the special dye.

Yuna was in a bikini in a lounge chair, sunning herself, holding one of the big silver tanning screens. She looked over to Gippal and waved, pushing her sunglasses up into her hair.

He walked over to her and sat in the lounge chair next to her own. "Hey, when did you three get here?" he asked casually, as if he hadn't just been nearly arrested and/or tortured.

"Um, about a half hour ago, maybe. We would've gotten here earlier, but by the time we'd packed everything up, it was already past noon."

Rikku bounced over and added, "Yeah! Then we had to unload everything once we got here too."

"How much did you… bring?" Gippal asked in a worried tone.

"Oh, you know, we brought the necessities…" Yuna began. Rikku interrupted, "…and enough to last us three months. Y'know, incase a nuclear bomb hit the city and we couldn't leave the house."

"Oh yes, because that sort of thing happens alllll the tiiiiime." Gippal shook his head while smiling. Tidus could be heard in the background yelling, "Grub's on!"

They all grabbed either a burger or a hot dog - Paine's was pure black - and settled around the pool, dipping in their feet. There was silence while everyone ate their meal, debating whether the food was good or not. After all, Tidus had been the cook.

The silence ensued until Rikku broke it by saying, "OHHH! Did anyone watch the news this morning?"

"Pfft, I was watching Spongebob," Gippal proudly announced.

Silence.

"Dude, he's my idol."

Tidus added in, "Larry's my man. He's strong, good-looking, and a ladies' man."

"…Are you implying something?" Baralai asked slowly.

Tidus blinked and didn't reply.

"ANYWAY!" Rikku interrupted, annoyed that they had stolen her spotlight. "A whale blew up in a city in Japan today."

Everyone looked up from their food, looking startled - or in Tidus' case, excited.

She continued, "Yeah, the Japanese pulled the carcass up the street, and they were in the middle of the city when its' intestines decayed so much that they actually exploded INSIDE THE WHALE!" At this point, she began to use hand gestures, her face alight with glee. "And then a hole was ripped in the whale's side because of the force of it, and intestines and blood went all over peoples' cars, and there was this whole big news report on it, and people got PICTURES!" She paused. "I wish I had some," she added as an afterthought.

"Do you MIND? God, we're trying to eat here!" Gippal said in disgust.

Baralai looked rather green, almost ready to hurl.

Yuna was plugging her ears and yelling loudly, "LA LA LA LA LA!" over and over.

Paine looked around at all of them, completely unfazed, and took another chunk out of her burnt hot dog.

Tidus looked as excited as Rikku. "HOW FAR DID THE INTESTINES FLY?" he shouted.

"Halfway up the next street!" she replied enthusiastically.

"Why don't we just get on to go-karting like we planned? That place next to Poobies' Pub is still open," Paine suggested.

"Isn't that the strip joint downtown?" Baralai asked. Everyone stopped and stared. Tidus' mouth was wide open and a piece of hot dog fell out into the pool.

Pointedly ignoring Baralai's question, Gippal asked, "When did we plan go-karting?"

"When you were at the store." Paine surveyed the group and asked, "Well? Are we going, then?"

Five minutes later, the group had assembled in the driveway around Gippal's Lamborghini. Rikku was amazed at how the wing-style doors opened when Gippal pressed the button on the remote.

"It's… beautiful…!" she gasped with a fake sob.

"I know… I picked it out myself." He began to stroke the hood proudly and said, "It's my baby."

There was a very long pause where everyone stared blankly at him. A bird flew slowly overhead and after what seemed like ten minutes, someone gave an awkward cough.

"Should we just go?" Yuna asked tentatively. "You guys can take this car, and us girls can go in my SUV."

Tidus examined her car for a minute before asking, "Is that a Ford Escape?"

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "Yes…"

Gippal smirked and declared, "Foreign cars are better!"

They piled into their designated vehicles and began driving toward the go-kart place. In Yuna's SUV, Paine was in the passenger seat, quickly flipping through the radio stations.

Click. Have I told you lately...? Click. YOU'RE A MOTHER BEEEEEEP. Click. Get it shawty, get it... Click. Rock the boat - don't rock... Click. Won't you take me to funky town...? Click. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent -

"CHANGE IT BACK!" Rikku suddenly shouted.

"This one?" Paine asked, flipping back to 'Get it Shawty'.

"NO, THE OTHER ONE!"

Have I told you lately that I love you?

"Baaack... back... farther back... farther back..." Rikku, getting annoyed at Paine's obvious lack of radio-changing skills, lunged between the two front seats and slammed her finger on the Channel 6 button. The song was slowly fading out and the radio talk-show host began, "Well, that was 'Funky Town', the smash hit from the 80s for all you old-school folks out there."

Yuna was attempting to move the SUV back into the correct lane and ignore the several middle fingers being pointed at her from various cars. She'd accidentally swerved into oncoming traffic because Rikku had bumped her when she lunged.

"-.- Aww, I missed it. Paine, you don't do it right!" Rikku declared.

"Do what?"

"Change radio stations."

Paine, ignoring the jerky motions the car was making, raised an eyebrow. "What, Rikku, is there a technique?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes, in fact, there is," she said confidently. "You press the button and pause... pause... pause... and hit the next button, pause, pause, pause... There's a minimum of three seconds and a maximum of five seconds, depending on what's on."

"...You have no life, do you?"

Rikku chose not to answer.

They soon arrived at the go-karting place, parking next to Gippal's car.

Rikku got out of the SUV and asked angrily, "How'd you get here before us?!"

"I have style. I know the shortcuts," Gippal replied.

Paine raised an eyebrow. "There are no shortcuts."

"Maybe they just got all the green lights," Yuna said with a shrug.

"And left all the red ones FOR US!" Rikku yelled, making a fist and waving it in Gippal's face.

"It's not our fault you obey the speed limits!" Tidus chimed in.

"So you admit that you don't?" Paine asked cooly.

"AHA! A confession!" A passing overweight cop ran over and slapped a ticket into Tidus' hand, grinning triumphantly. "Next time, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEED!"

As the cop waddled away, Tidus handed the ticket over to Gippal and said, "Here ya go!" with a goofy smile.

The group went through the gate and waited by a pop machine while Yuna bought the tokens. When she returned, she handed out the tokens and said, "Let's go karting! Get it? We're going karting... on go-karts!"

There was a long silence before Baralai laughed loudly. "I get it now!"

He received several stares from passerby, and they headed towards the waiting go-karts. They were lined up in two rows, all different colors. Yuna immediately hopped into a pink one, and Tidus sat in the kart next to her. He looked up to see a fuming Rikku staring down at him.

"Um... can I help you?"

"You're in my car!" Rikku replied angrily.

"...No I'm not."

"BUT I WANNA BE NEXT TO YUNIE!" she shouted in his ear.

"WELL I WANNA BE IN THE FRONT!" Gippal yelled out of nowhere.

"WELL NO ONE'S STOPPING YOU!" Rikku screamed at him.

He blinked. "Oh, okay," he said, and got into the front most car.

Rikku turned back to Tidus and glared menacingly down at him. "MOOOOVE NOW, BUSTER!"

Gippal yelled from up front, "There's a seat right next to me, babe," while gesturing to the seat of the kart next to him.

Tidus jumped out of his kart and scampered up the row. He plopped down in the kart Gippal and grinned at him. "Hey there, Gippal honey."

Gippal rolled his eyes. "Not you, idiot."

Rikku, meanwhile, yelled, "SCORE!" and sat in the kart next to Yuna.

Paine didn't give a crap where she sat, so she just went in a kart next to some random guy.

Baralai was stuck next to a five-year-old who was repeatedly picking his nose.

The worker guy was standing in the middle of the track, holding his checkered flags in the air.

As a voice came over the announcement system to tell them all the rules, Yuna said cheerfully, "Let's just have a friendly race!"

-lap five-

"PEDAL TO THE METAL!"

Tidus screamed the racing phrase as he swerved around the corner, cutting off Gippal, who promptly honked his horn. A machina hand shot out of his steering wheel and gave Tidus the finger, saying in a robotic voice, "Ha. Haha. Ha." Every time Gippal honked the horn, the machina hand would appear, insulting anyone who passed him.

In third place was Paine, who was cruising along with a blank expression. Another person began to pass her, and her blank expression immediately changed to a game face. She pressed a convenient red button next to the steering wheel and metal spikes popped out of her wheels. The driver next to her had no chance to get away before she moved close enough to shred his tires. He spun out of control in circles, screaming like a little girl, and broke through the fence onto the highway. Cars honked, beeped, and swerved to avoid him. His high-pitched scream shattered windshields everywhere.

In fourth place, Yuna's knuckles were white from her grip on the steering wheel, sweat pouring down her face. The five-year-old pulled up next to her. Yuna glared at him, proceeding to ram into his kart and speed ahead of him. Before the five-year-old had time to recover his mom yelled cheerfully from the sidelines, "Smile, Billy!" He attempted to act natural, smiling at the camera, but the flash was just too much for him on top of being rammed. He was blinded by the light and swerved uncontrollably, crashing on accident into Baralai.

Baralai had been rolling along, pretending he was actually driving on a real road - he was even using bike turn signals. He was completely innocent when the five-year-old attacked.

Rikku barely missed the Baralai/little-kid collision. She didn't even look back - casualties weren't her problem. Her big problem was that she was dead last.

"Hey, Rikku!" Tidus said as he passed her, a lap ahead already and on his sixth and final round of the track.

She grit her teeth and flipped open a panel by the steering wheel (these are some souped-up go-karts). She grinned at the button labeled 'nitro boost' and slammed her finger on it. Jets of flames shot out from her go-kart's muffler as she sped down the track, leaving big black marks on the pavement. She finished her fifth lap, passing Paine - her speed ripped the silver spikes off the warrior's wheels - and catching up with Tidus and Gippal. Rikku pulled ahead, cackling like a maniac. "YOU LOSE, SUCKERS!"

She failed to realize that her car, as a result of the nitro boost, was pooping out. The finish line was five feet away when the kart screeched to a halt, its engine dying.

Tidus and Gippal exchanged glances. "WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE!" Tidus yelled, a manic grin on his face. Gippal pulled even with him, sharing the same creepy grin. Every few seconds they took a quick glance at each other to make sure the other person wasn't ahead.

Rikku paniked. She kept trying to throw her body forward to inch the kart closer to the finish line. Tidus and Gippal were closing in on her, and Rikku didn't have time to waste. She jumped out of her car and started pushing it, glancing over her shoulder at the guys' progress.

With one last burst of energy, Rikku shoved the kart over the finish line and collapsed onto the track as everyone who had survived the chaotic race drove past. She stood and, realizing she'd won the race, she began to do her victory dance. A bored-looking worker came over and handed her a glass trophy.

She stared at it, glancing between the trophy and her friends. Gippal and Tidus were trying to look unimpressed, Yuna seemed modestly happy for her cousin, Paine still had the blank expression, and Baralai was practicing his parallel-parking, happy to be alive.

Rikku grinned at them all and shouted, "IN YOUR FACE!"

Smash.

In her moment of glory, Rikku had raised the trophy over her head and brought it crashing down like a football touchdown.

"-.- Aww, poopie."

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Author's Note - Hope you liked it. Even though we took so long, we like it, at least. xD

It was...somewhat eventful. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?!

Now wait while we come up with a catchy 'you better review' phrase.

Wait...for...it... -light bulb turns on-

Pleeeease review, or we'll enter you in the most unpleasant go-kart race of your young life. And if you're lucky you'll get the one with the evil machina hand.

-The Talking Cave