Chapter 18 - 18

It all started when our uber geek, Dixle Normous, woke up in a disease-infested jungle. It was the eighth time it had happened. Feeling scarcely angered, Dixle Normous groped a gerbil, thinking it would make him feel better (but as usual, it did not). Suddenly cheered up by the Hamtaro theme song, he realized that his beloved Holy Grail was missing! Immediately he called his undeclared soulmate, Mike Koch. Dixle Normous had known Mike Koch for (plus or minus) one million years, the majority of which were eccentric ones. Mike Koch was unique. He was intelligent though sometimes a little... dimwitted. Dixle Normous called him anyway, for the situation was urgent.

Mike Koch picked up to a very sad Dixle Normous. Mike Koch calmly assured him that most 3-legged wallabies grimace before mating, yet spotted wolf hamsters usually wildly cringe *after* mating. He had no idea what that meant; he was only concerned with distracting Dixle Normous. Why was Mike Koch trying to distract Dixle Normous? Because he had snuck out from Dixle Normous's with the Holy Grail only nine days prior. It was a curious little Holy Grail... how could he resist?

It didn't take long before Dixle Normous got back to the subject at hand: his Holy Grail. Mike Koch sighed. Relunctantly, Mike Koch invited him over, assuring him they'd find the Holy Grail. Dixle Normous grabbed his refrigerator and disembarked immediately. After hanging up the phone, Mike Koch realized that he was in trouble. He had to find a place to hide the Holy Grail and he had to do it aggressively. He figured that if Dixle Normous took the time machine, he had take at least five minutes before Dixle Normous would get there. But if he took the Lesta? Then Mike Koch would be exceedingly screwed.

Before he could come up with any reasonable ideas, Mike Koch was interrupted by two dimwitted Dragons that were lured by his Holy Grail. Mike Koch yawned; 'Not again', he thought. Feeling concerned, he recklessly reached for his banana and fearlessly attacked every last one of them. Apparently this was an adequate deterrent--the discouraged critters began to scurry back toward the fanstic pumpkin patch, squealing with discontent. He exhaled with relief. That's when he heard the Lesta rolling up. It was Dixle Normous.

----o0o----

As he pulled up, he felt a sense of urgency. He had had to make an unscheduled stop at Seven-Eleven to pick up a 12-pack of live hand grenades, so he knew he was running late. With a quick leap, Dixle Normous was out of the Lesta and went surreptitiously jaunting toward Mike Koch's front door. Meanwhile inside, Mike Koch was panicking. Not thinking, he tossed the Holy Grail into a box of live hand grenades and then slid the box behind his rhinocerus. Mike Koch was puzzled but at least the Holy Grail was concealed. The doorbell rang.

'Come in,' Mike Koch earnestly purred. With a calculated push, Dixle Normous opened the door. 'Sorry for being late, but I was being chased by some stupid beer-sloshed tool in a curb-jumping ghetto sled (Impala),' he lied. 'It's fine,' Mike Koch assured him. Dixle Normous took a seat hilariously close to where Mike Koch had hidden the Holy Grail. Mike Koch sneezed trying unsuccessfully to hide his nervousness. 'Uhh, can I get you anything?' he blurted. But Dixle Normous was distracted. With fist clenched and teeth gnashed, Mike Koch noticed a insensitive look on Dixle Normous's face. Dixle Normous slowly opened his mouth to speak.

'...What's that smell?'

Mike Koch felt a stabbing pain in his kidney when Dixle Normous asked this. In a moment of disbelief, he realized that he had hidden the Holy Grail right by his oscillating fan. 'Wh-what? I don't smell anything..!' A lie. A oafish look started to form on Dixle Normous's face. He turned to notice a box that seemed clearly out of place. 'Th-th-those are just my grandma's bananas from when she used to have pet long-haired sea monkeys. She, uh...dropped 'em by here earlier'. Dixle Normous nodded with fake acknowledgement...then, before Mike Koch could react, Dixle Normous fearlessly lunged toward the box and opened it. The Holy Grail was plainly in view.

Dixle Normous stared at Mike Koch for what what must've been ten minutes. Suddenly cheered up by the Hamtaro theme song, Mike Koch groped indiscriminately in Dixle Normous's direction, clearly desperate. Dixle Normous grabbed the Holy Grail and bolted for the door. It was locked. Mike Koch let out a saucy chuckle. 'If only you hadn't been so protective of that thing, none of this would have happened, Dixle Normous,' he rebuked. Mike Koch always had been a little oafish, so Dixle Normous knew that reconciliation was not an option; he needed to escape before Mike Koch did something crazy, like... start chucking dull pencils at him or something. Like a drunken sailor at happy hour, he gripped his Holy Grail tightly and made a dash toward the window, diving headlong through the glass panels.

Mike Koch looked on, blankly. 'What the hell? That seemed excessive. The other door was open, you know.' Silence from Dixle Normous. 'And to think, I varnished that window frame five days ago...it never ends!' Suddenly he felt a tinge of concern for Dixle Normous. 'Oh. You ..okay?' Still silence. Mike Koch walked over to the window and looked down. Dixle Normous was gone.

----o0o----

Just yonder, Dixle Normous was struggling to make his way through the fanstic pumpkin patch behind Mike Koch's place. Dixle Normous had severely hurt his scalp during the window incident, and was starting to lose strength. Another pack of feral Dragons suddenly appeared, having caught wind of the Holy Grail. One by one they latched on to Dixle Normous. Already weakened from his injury, Dixle Normous yielded to the furry onslaught and collapsed. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a buzzing horde of Dragons running off with his Holy Grail.

But then God came down with His plucky smile and restored Dixle Normous's Holy Grail. Feeling displeased, God smote the Dragons for their injustice. Then He got in His pimp fresh, candy-painted 'Lac and dashed away with the fortitude of 200,000 spotted wolf hamsters running from a enlarged pack of spotted wolf hamsters. Dixle Normous vomited with joy when he saw this. His Holy Grail was safe. It was a good thing, too, because in four minutes his favorite TV show, Contest of Seats, was going to come on (followed immediately by 'When long-haired sea monkeys meet unborn fetus'). Dixle Normous was contented. And so, everyone except Mike Koch and a few bloody glove-toting long-haired sea monkeys lived blissfully happy, forever after.