Skimble: That author's in a really good mood today... better watch out!

Misto: Noted. What's got her so excited anyway?

Kelo: (walks in with a pizza box and the TV guide) Angel and Buffy crossover!

Vicky: Come again?

Misto: The big ratings grabber of November! Angel goes back to Sunnydale and Buffy then follows him to LA.

Skimble: And you're going to want to parody that too...

Kelo: Actually, no. But now that you mention it---

Tugger: Can we get back to the present and my glorious guest shot if that's alright with you guys?

Misto, Victoria and Skimble have set up a crime fighting buisness of their own since we last saw them, (which I will admit, is moving quite quickly.. but anyway!). Through some prodding, Vicky managed to convince Misto that they should charge for his services....

"What kind of a message does this send-- Hi! Here, let me save you from the evils that appear from the underworld. Cash or credit?" Misto complained as he came up from his dark brooding place more commonly referred to as the basement.

"Well, how else are we supposed to get some revenue? Plus, this way we avoid the plot inconsistancy of how we afford luxuries such as a fresh supply of slaying weapons each week..." Vicky explained as she retrieved the mail.

"But charging people for saving their lives..?" Misto wined some more.

"Welcome to the 90's, man. Enjoy your stay." Skimble said as he came in and sat down at the desk.

So, they help those in need---

Cats: FOR A SMALL FEE!

Now that we know all the important background stuff that was convieniently skipped to save space, we move foreward. Cut to yet another dark alleyway with yet another young queen fleeing for her life from the evils of the night. Just when she thinks she is safe, her deranged and semi-stalker boyfriend comes up from behind to beat her senseless with a wet noodle..

Misto: Huh?

Kelo: We were fresh out of menacing weapons...

Skimble: (raises an eyebrow) Okay... I'll just back away ever so slowly.

As he is about to slap her silly with soggy spagetti (try saying *that* five times fast), Misto appears to save the day once more.

"Who're you??" the stalker cat asked in typical 'Stand in Cat about to get his tail kicked' fashion.

"Your worst nightmare..." Misto replied eerilly and then proceeded to kick the Spagetti Nazi into next Wednesday, which capped off a regular day at the office for Misto. As he comforted the queen, a familiar figure kneeled down to look really stealthy as he lurked in the shadows.

Tugger: Yippee... I come all this way to hide in the shrubbery.

"Hey look, my old pal Mistoffelees.." Tugger muttered under his breath. "Just wait until you see what I have in store for you this time, mate..."

Tugger: MATE? I'm a brit too? Why is it that I was the last one to find out about this?

Munku: All I can think to say is, welcome to the fraternity!

The next evening Misto and gang are hanging around in the office looking like they're doing really important stuff, (cuz sittin' around playing ping-pong with the file folders really doesn't instill confidence in potential customers).

"Vicky?" Skimble asked anxiously.

"What?" she responded with annoyance.

"Could you stop shredding papers now? That was my coat you just put through the machine."

"Oh." she looked at the bits of leather. "Sorry about that. Here... you can have it back." Vicky scooped the pieces into an envelope and handed it to Skimble.

"Gee. Thanks. Glue anyone?"

Just then a familiar face from Junkyard entered the office. It was Plato, Jemima's boyfriend with a surprise for Misto.

Misto: Is this 'surprise' a good thing or bad?

Skimble: Dunno... my big concern is why we're bringing over these characters. Are we doing so badly that we have to stoop to the oldest primetime-television-spinoff trick in the book: crossovers by characters from the parent series?

Kelo: Don't underestimate the power of stooping... It saved Laverne and Shirley!

All: Who?

Kelo: Happy Days spinoff? MAN! Don't you ever watch Nick at Nite?

Vicky: I usually sleep at night.

Kelo: Just forget I ever said anything, 'k?

He'd come to deliver a little something from Electra that would make it so Misto could go out in the sunlight and do all sorts of other things that pollicles couldn't do according to the storyline. It was instructionless for the most part except for an itsy bitsy little label on the bottom written in one of those dead languages. Thankfully, since Misto was such an expert at anal retentive stuff, (like knowing a thousand dead languages) they were able to translate it in no time at all.

"Made in Tiwan." Misto translated.

Not that one! Check other side! said the bodyless, omnipotent author voice.

Misto flipped it over and nodded. "Much better. Um... it says all the stuff that we covered in the narrative, plus some other really cool stuff about proper use of 'the thing'-- 'Surgeon General's Warning: Do not set 'the thing' on fire or use as a hat because of it's highly combustable nature. Also, do not attempt to injest said thing---' This is really dumb stuff."

A brief description of 'the thing' is that it functions to quickly fill in plot holes with lame excuses and then move on really fast before the viewers know what hit 'em. Needless to say, most every script writer this side of JunkYard wished he had one.

Lec: (points to Kel) Including this one.

"So, why did Lec want me to have it?" Misto asked as he took the 'we're too busy to think up a real name or describe it so we'll just keep referring to it as "the thing"' thing from Plato.

"Well, our fic series is pretty well established now, and since you guys are just getting started, Lec figured you guys would have less experience with covering up your plot holes."

Jemi: Whoa! Confused! Were you insulting us 'Electra' folks or yourself?

Kelo: That's the beauty of it.... both or whichever one you prefer! Whaddya think of the new double-bladed humor? (silence) Hello?

Plato, having done his duties as 'crossover cat' left and popped back into the mind of Mooky where he came from, leaving our characters to figure out what to do with their new 'the thing'. While Skimble and Vicky were excited about the idea of getting to act in scenes that were well lit and not have to explain themselves, Misto was upset that he could loose his dark and moody mystique...

Misto: Whoo-hoo! No mo-ore dark-ness! No mo-ore dark-ness!

AHEM! Was VERY UPSET that he could loose his dark and moody mystique!

Misto: Party pooper.

Tugger: Eh, Kelo... I hate to complain here, but where do I come into this fic?

Kelo: Hang on and you'll see.

Of course this wouldn't be much of an eppie without some conflict, now would it? So, the part that Plato neglected to mention was who found the thing in the first place-- Tugger. He had wanted to get Bomb back with him, and in order to do it he had to come up with a good reason to bring her back on the series. Not finding one, he decided he needed 'the thing' to just bring her back on one day and never have to go to the trouble of explaining why or how she came back. So he followed Plato the whole way to get back 'the thing'.

Cut to an isolated dark alleyway where Tugger is scheming to retrieve the device.

"I'm gonna get that thing back if I have to rip a thousand holes in the plot to have it in my hands again!" Tugger said, albeit a wee bit muffled under his shoebox... but he said it anyway. To get off to a rip roaring start as the special crossover guest star, he decided there would be two things he would have to do... One, feed off of someone to show that he was even there, (as the sight of a cat with it's blood drained tends to do) and seccondly... SING!

(to the tune of "Ghostbusters")

Tugger:
When there's somethin' strange

In the storyline...

What ya gonna use?

THE PLOT DISRUPTER!

If the script says 'climb',

But you're afraid of heights.

What'll make it right?

THE PLOT BUSTER!

It may change the flow

From fast to slow...

But with this little thing it'll all be cool!

Kelo: Alright, I can tell when someone's enjoying their song a wee bit too much..(cuts the music)

Tugger: (doing a little dance even after the music stops) Da-da Da-da-da! Da-da Da-da-da!

Kelo: Hey Michael Catsson! Done now?

Misto decides that he doesn't want to use 'the thing', (Okay... bring back you're sick little minds from wherever the heck they just went to at the mention of that sentance!). He hides it, and no surprise, is visited by Tugger very shortly thereafter.

"So we're into being the enterprising buisnesscat, now are we?" Tugger asked as he came up on Misto. "You really have to get yourself something resembling a life."

The two get into a little fight that a PG rating won't cover, so in the constant good taste that these Buffy/Angel parodies have, we'll just let you know that it happened and move merrilly along...

Demi: Good taste.... whatever you say. *cough* Not! *cough*

Kelo: Heard that, Dem.

So they fight, bleed and move on while we turn our backs and whistle a happy tune. A little while later, Misto has healed thanks to those remarkable Pollicle abilities we're revealing as we go along. He researches the history of this little 'thing' and discovers many interesting things.

"What's up?" Skimble asked as he and Vicky finally showed up in this thing again.

"I've been reading my favorite book, 'Obscure Little Known Facts Book, handilly compiled for the on-the-go Pollicle parody series with limited HTML doc to use as a plot filler.'

"Cool! I had one of those once... only I got bored reading it." Vicky replied dryly.

"How far did you get?"

"I finished the title and needed a break. Never got around to finishing the thing though..."

Cori: Kel joke at 1:00!!

Tugger: Uh, Cori... it's 5:04.

Cori: Literal minded *beep*

Kel: The sensorship Cat is also always watching.

Cori: Dang.

So Misto read from 'the book with a really long title that takes too long to type'. He explained that 'the thing' had been handed down through the generations of 'Powers that Be' in both TV and Movies to shade over little plot inconsistancies, (or, worst case scenario.... holes wide enough to drive a Mack Truck through).

"It's more famous works include the mysteriously vanishing 'Chuck' on Happy Days and the incredible-shape-shifting Klingons in Star Trek." Misto read.

Cetera: Who the heck was Chuck?

Jemi: Better question... WHAT THE HECK WAS HAPPY DAYS?

Kel: Again I kick myself for bringing up a show no one in this generation would remember unless they watch excessive Nick at Nite as I do. When will I learn?

While Misto and gang discussed classic TV shows with the author, Tugger had hatched a plan to get back 'the thing'. He was naturally a little down after his last attempt to retrieve it failed, but with a little singing and dancing and mocking of his former chum, everything was right with the world once more.

Misto: Not that I'm complaining, but why does he get all the songs in this section?

Kel: He had 'sexy entrance envy' of you, Misto... so I evened everything out by giving him the songs.

Misto: Tugger thinks I'm sexy?

Tugger: KEL!

Misto: Eeeewww!!!!! I'm gonna have to bathe myself for a week to get this new and overwhelming feeling of slime off my fur!!! GROSSNESS!

Tugger: I'll have to thank you for this later, Kel. IN PRIVATE!

Kel: Uh-oh...

*cringes* Tugger began to sing as this author searched out a place to hide in.....

(to the tune of "King Tut" by Steve Martin & The Toot Uncommons)

Backup Pollicles: (Tumblebrutus, Admetus, Asparagus, Exotica, Cassandra doing a funky little shuffle step in a cute little kick line type thing)
BIG WUSS!

BIG WUSS!

Tugger:
Well when he was a polli,

I never thought I'd see...

Backups Again: BIG WUSS!

Tugger:
This vicious pal of mine

Would someday come to be

Backups Once More: BIG WUSS!

Tugger:
A mamby-pamby looser!

Backups Continue: What a dud!

Tugger:
A real time-for-snoozer!

All:
Born somewhere we don't know...

Cuz he's older than Disco...

Yessir born somewhere we don't know

Tugger:
And he's an A-Class wierdo!

All: BIG WUSS!

Tugger: Great song, Kel... you're forgiven. I now feel completely cleansed.

Misto: Not like that song really requires any ACTUAL singing ability.... or even something referred to as talent.

Kel: Hey! Steve Martin won a Grammy for it!

Misto: And they wonder what's wrong with the world today.

Exotica: Hey! You didn't have to sing and dance the stupid background stuff, 'k?

Kel: I sense an urgent need for a break here before things get really ugly.