NixRangers Chapter One, Cold Macaroni, and a Crunch Wrapper The concert ended with thunderous applause, and the boys all smiled shyly, basking in the glow of their fans attentions. "Thanks, guys. Thanks a bunch!". It was Aaron that addressed the crowd cheerfully, a wide smile plastered across his face. "We'll be in the lobby in ten minutes to met all you guys and sign your stuff!". A loud cheer erupted in the room, and the fans poured into the lobby quicker than a Jenny Craig teamster to a buffet table. "Whew, that was rough," BJ remarked, sidling up to Aaron and handing him a glass of water. "Definately one of our more energetic performances,". Aaron nodded, taking the glass of water and chugging it down enthusiastically. "I think this is going to leave a bruise!". Aaron and BJ turned to see Joel gazing intently into a mirror, a distraught look on his face. "That little bugger got me good!". Yeah, the little bugger had. Midway through the performance, some ten-year- old boy had decided it would be a funny thing to chuck the tootsie pop he'd been eating at the guys. He'd had quite an arm. Midway through *Mile*, Joel had been struck straight in the eye with the sugery-sweet, and nearly knocked unconsious in the process. "Oh, you'll be fine," BJ laughed. "Think of it this way- when you go home, you can tell your girlfriend you were beaten up by a little boy!. Aaron laughed too, and Joel glared at him, annoyed. "Oh, it's okay Joel. I was just kidding!" he placed a comforting hand on Joel's shoulder. "Oh, sorry. Am I hurting you?". More laughter errupted, and Joel sighed, shrugging BJ's hand off his shoulder. "I hope that's still funny when *you're in Hell*", Joel bit back. He nodded his head across the stage towards Tony, who stood intently reading what looked to be a very worn peice of paper. "What's with him?". "Don't know," BJ shrugged. "Hey, Tones, what's up?". Across the stage, Tony looked up, surprised. "Hey, you guys, look what I was tossed,". He extended his hand and revealed the piece of paper he'd been reading. It was a Crunch wrapper. Worn, and torn at the corner. "Oooh, what's it say?" BJ laughed, grabbing it. "No wait, let me guess... It's another one of those 'Tony I want to have your baby' jobs, isn't it?". Tony shook his head, his face pale. "Guys, it looks like we have a new case,". Bj unfolded the used Crunch wrapper, and read what was written in harsh, black ink. *NixRangers, I've got your little freind, Amanda. If you want to see her alive again, Don't call the police. Don't call anyone. I'll get back to you. The Black Pearl* *** "This doesn't make any sence,". Aaron read the note for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and scratched his head. "How do they know who we are? And why did they kidnap Amanda?". "They didn't even spell 'friend' right," Tony pouted. He held his teddy bear in his arms tightly, as he'd been doing ever since he'd returned to the hotel room. It was his stress companion, and he certainly was stressed. "That's not important," BJ sighed, running his hand through his hair. "What's important is that we find Amanda, and return her to her kingdom in the Land of Macaroni,". "BJ's right," Joel agreed with a pert nod. He winced slightly at the motion, and sat down. His eye had turned an interesting shade of purpley-bluey- black pain, and it more-or-less hurt him to do anything that involved his head. "It's not helping at all if we just sit here and whine. We've got to think of something,". "Well, it's not as if we can call the police," Tony pointed out, "or anyone for that matter. Remember what the note said," "I know, I know," Joel sighed. "But we've got to do something. I can't stand not being able to do anything!". "But we can do something!". BJ stood up. "We are the NixRangers, are we not? It's not as if we're helpless!". "And what are we gonna do there?" Aaron demanded. "We can't help her if we don't even know were she is,". "Oh yeah,". BJ sat down and cradled his head in his hands in dismay. "I forgot,". It was at that moment, where nothing could have been worse, that the phone rang. "'llo?" Aaron answered the phone quickly, forcing a bit of cheerfulness in his voice should it be a fan, or someone else who wasn't supposed to know the guys were in trouble. "NixRanger Lemur," an evil voice laughed. "You don't sound too saddened by the loss of your friend,". The voice was female, that's all Aaron could tell Quickly, he hit the speakerphone button for the benifit of the other guys, and gestured for them to come, bring them to his side in seconds. "Why, you evil witch! Were is she? What have you done to her?". Tony's voice was loud, and filled with anger. "AH! NixRanger Panda. I take this to mean you are *all* listening," the evil person paused. "She's fine- for now." The evil voice cackled in their ears, and they all winced. "If you want to see her alive again, you'll do as I say. Now, I trust you haven't contacted the police,". "No, no we haven't,". It was BJ who spoke this time. "Good, that's good. Keep it that way. Now, I'll keep in touch. When I call again, I expect you to do everything I ask. If you do, the Princess will live to see another day. Do you understand?". Aaron nodded sullenly. "Yes,". "Good. Keep it that way,". The EVIL person on the other extension hung up, leaving STREETNiX in silence. "What'll we do now?" Joel demanded, throwing himself on a nearby bed. "We're screwed- royally,". "Not quite," BJ mused. "What if we got someone to help us?" "BJ, you *are* a big, dumb moose, you know that? We can't talk to ANYONE, remember?" "No, wait, I think I know what he's talking about!" Tony sat up quickly, tossing his bear in a heap on his bed. "That.... witch, whoever she is, asked us if we'd called the police! That means she's not keeping tabs on us!" "Exactly," BJ confirmed. "We could have someone help us find her. As long as she doesn't find out...". He trailed off. There was a long silence, and Tony spoke. "I know who could help us....". *** STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER TWO!!!!! LYLS, CARRIE