Fonziebirds: Wipe Out

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 1- The Call

All was peaceful on Tracy Island. The stars were bright in the black sheet of night. Not a sound interrupted the boys slumber until…

"POTSIE, RALPH!?! WE'VE HAD A CALL." yelled the voice of Howard Jefferson Tracy and both Warren Scott Tracy a.k.a. 'Potsie and Ralph Virgil Tracy. Yawning and stretching' they grumpily made their way into the lounge. Their hair was ruffled and they were both wearing their striped pyjamas. Ralph had one hand to his head.

"Okay, boys. Here's the situation…" Howard explained everything to the tired pair who looked as if they hadn't heard a word.

"Right, yeah. Better get going." Potsie said wearily.

Ralph groaned "Can I grab an aspirin before I go, Dad? I've got a hell of a headache."

"Certainly, Ralph, you're okay to go on the mission right?" asked Howard looking worried.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Fonziebirds 1 and 2 were returning from the mission. By now at Tracy Island, dawn was breaking and the Sun was beginning to glow over the horizon, the orange light reflecting off the sea water. Potsie was talking to Ralph over the radio about the mission. The crafts were flying close together over the water.

"That was a bit too close for comfort that time, Ralph. I thought we weren't gonna make it!"

Ralph just nodded in agreement and replied "Yeah, yeah…close one."

"How's your head feeling now?"

"Fine, fine." he replied, wearily. Everything around him was beginning to go blurry and he found it hard to keep his eyes open.

Richard Gordon Tracy a.k.a 'Richie' had just got up. He was in his bathrobe running his fingers through his ruffled hair. Yawning, he asked his dad, who was at his desk "Rescue mission, Dad?"

"You guessed it. Another early morning one," Potsie's voice came over the radio. "We're about 15 minutes from home, Dad."

"Good then we can all catch up on some sleep."

15 minutes? Ralph thought as the controls became increasingly blurry. I dunno if I can keep awake that long. Fonziebird 1 was not far behind him, but that wasn't much of a comfort. Who saves International Rescue when they're in trouble? Ralph's head began to droop. I'm not gonna make it…I'm not gonna make it!


"Ralph, what's wrong? Pull up!!" Potsie yelled over the radio. He received no reply, so without hesitating, he contacted base. "Dad! Something's wrong…Ralph's taking a nosedive, for no apparent reason!"

"What?!?" Howard called back in horror. "And he's not replying."

Ralph's head was resting on the wheel which was forcing the craft to plummet towards the sea.

"I don't get it, he was flying level a minute ago," Potsie decided to try again. "Ralph? For Pete's sake – PULL UP!"

Ralph's eyes began to open at this last command and he realised the situation he was in. Grabbing the wheel tightly with both hands, he was able to get the craft up in time. Potsie's voice sounded relieved, but confused. "Ralph, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just fell asleep I guess…"

"Fell asleep?!?" Potsie echoed with disbelief. "You've never fallen asleep while flying before!"

"I don't know what’s wrong with me…"

"Are you alright, Ralph?" Howard sounded worried. Richie was looking more worried than anyone.

"Fine. Just…a bit…tired." His head began to droop again.

"It's not far to base, Ralph, just stay awake for a few minutes longer!"

"Few minutes longer." Ralph repeated to himself. He was suffering from deja vu now. I'm sure I've been in a similar situation before… He thought to himself.

Back at base, with the panic over, Howard was at his desk with Ralph and Potsie in front of him. Potsie was sitting on a chair to one side but Ralph was made to face his father dead on.

"You should have told us you felt drowsy. You could have died!" Richie was looking flushed. He was standing behind his father who looked like he was about to explode.

"Was it anything to do with your headache?" Howard asked Ralph.

"No, that disappeared while we were on the mission." he replied feebly.

"Well, maybe it was the aspirin…although I doubt that," Gordon felt his heart skip a beat. "You shouldn't have gone on the mission if you-"

"Shut up! It was me!" Richie yelled causing Ralph to bolt upright and all heads in the room to turn to Richie, who looked guilty and embarrassed.

"What? You fell asleep at the controls, Richard?" Howard said, raising an eyebrow. Richie's head dropped to face the floor.

"I…I…switched the aspirins with knock-out pills…but I didn't-"

"YOU DID WHAT?!?" Howard yelled.

Potsie stared at his brother, shocked. "Ralph took a nosedive because of you, Rich! He could have been KILLED! What did you think you were DOING?"

Richie's mouth was moving but no sound came out. "I don't believe it, Rich." Potsie snapped at him.

"I didn't mean for something like this to happen…" he murmured in his defence. "I'm sorry…"

"I think you should be apologising to Ralph-" Howard yelled. Without turning round, he continued. "When he wakes up, that is…"

Sure enough, Ralph had fallen asleep on the floor. Potsie slapped his forehead in despair. "Not again!"

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 2- Richie's Vacation

Later in the afternoon, when Ralph had slept off the effect of the pills, he went to sit with the others outside. Richie still felt bad about his practical joke, that had gone so badly wrong. Potsie found the whole episode funny, despite Ralph's near-death experience, which he seemed to have so frequently. Arthur John Tracy a.k.a 'Fonzie' had heard all about it from Potsie and found it equally funny.

"That was a great idea, Rich." Fonzie teased.

"Yeah, he worked out better than you expected, I'll bet!" Potsie grinned.

Richie began to go red again. "Very funny, guys, laugh it off." he said, grumpily.

"Hey look on the bright side, Rich," Fonzie said. "You were bored, right? Well…that caused some excitement!" Both he and Potsie burst out laughing.

"Hey, guys, keep it down, would you? I'm trying to read." Ralph's voice came from a deckchair further away.

"Sorry, Ralph, we didn't realise you were there," Fonzie replied. "What are you reading anyway?"

"It's about a big surfing competition in California." Ralph said and Richie's eyes lit up.

"Surfing?" he echoed, looking interested.

Ralph peered over the top of the magazine. "Yeah, they're on once a year. All the best surfers try out." he said.

Richie smiled but looking at his expression, Potsie said "Don't even think about it, Rich, Dad won't let you go, not after that prank!"

Richie's smile disappeared but he looked determined and left up the villa steps. "Hey, where are you going?" Potsie asked as he and Fonzie followed.

"Sure. I don't see why not," Howard replied at Potsie's question. Both his and Fonzie's mouths dropped open in surprise. "I know how much you like surfing…and we don't really get big waves here! Besides, you're bored here, you’re not often needed on missions…go ahead!"

"Great! I'll go pack." Richie said grinning and looking at his older brothers shocked expressions. When Richie had left, Potsie couldn't help but ask "Why'd you let him go, Dad? He almost got Ralph killed this morning!"

"Yes, because he was bored. I don't want anymore of my sons being put in danger!" Howard laughed and carried on reading his book. Potsie and Fonzie looked at each other and left, still looking puzzled.

The next day, Richie was ready to leave in the small jet with his luggage piled in the back.

"Alright, Richard, you're clear for take off and I shouldn't need to tell you that-"

Howard was interrupted by Richie. "I know, I mustn't let it slip that I'm from the International Rescue organisation, blah blah blah."

"Okay then, off you go and be careful!" With that, Richie flew off, happy to be away from the island for a while, even if it was just a few days.

When he arrived in California, as always, it was very sunny. The palm trees stood high over the American streets which were full of girls skating in bikinis and expensive convertibles speeding along the roads. The water was sapphire blue and matched the cloudless sky and his own eyes. Richie wasted no time and left for the beach as soon as he'd checked into the hotel. He found a nice spot on the sand and watched the waves curl, carrying surfers, many of which fell in clumsily. The ones that stayed on were graceful, skilled surfers that had obviously had a great deal of experience. Golly gee, they're good, Richie thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by a pair of lifeguards nearby who were having an argument. Richie sat up to listen.

"I haven't had a break in 4 hours!" one said.

"Well, I gotta meet my girlfriend at the mall, she's getting real angry because I don't spend enough time with her." the other said.

"We can't leave the post unguarded!"

"Yeah, I know but-"

"Can I help?" Richie asked as he ran up to the two lifeguards. One was wearing red shorts and had sun-streaked blond hair and the other had similar shorts and light brown hair. Both looked like fit swimmers.

"Can you swim well?" the blond one asked.

"Like a fish." Richie grinned.

"Okay," the one with light brown hair passed him the lifeguard equipment. "We'll be back in an hour." he said to Richie.

"Don't let anyone drown!" the other one laughed.

Almost an hour had passed when Richie heard someone shout for help. Jumping down from his post, he grabbed the float and leapt into the sea with speed and agility. Everyone back at base knew he was an incredible swimmer since he always challenged them to races and overlapped them constantly.

It was a little girl who was in trouble, about 9 years old. She was too far out to sea to be swimming at her age. Richie got to her in a flash and helped her back to shore. She was out of breath but Richie stood over her breathing normally.

"Are you okay now? You shouldn't be swimming that far out." Richie told her.

"I'm okay, I'll be more careful next time." she smiled feebly, still trembling and he smiled back. Just then the lifeguards returned, the blond one had a girl on his arm and the other was chewing on a baguette.

"Good job, Red." said the blond one looking impressed.

"Yer, an' fanks fer lookim afer ma ros'." the other said with a mouthful of baguette. They took back the stuff and patted him on the back. Another voice came from behind Richie. "You never get a break do you?"

No, it can't be him… Richie thought. He turned around to face the owner of the voice. A guy with brown hair and crystal blue eyes was stood there with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. "Fred? What are you doing here?" Richie asked, looking shocked. "Hi, Fred. How have you been? Long time no see."

Frederick Troy Tempest a.k.a 'Fred' said smiling "Missed me and is this a vacation?"

Richie asked looking displeased and uncomfortable. "Yep, Commander Garrity let me have a few days off, first time in 5 years. I'll bet you're here for the surfing championships?"

Fred was looking distinctly smug. "How'd you-yeah…I guess."

"Me too, oh and the girls in their bikinis." Richie frowned. Why him? Why here? Richie had never liked Fred's egotistical attitude and it looked as if he hadn't changed a bit.

"How's Kim?" Richie asked desperate to change the subject before Fred became competitive again. But he'd hit a nerve mentioning her because the WASP aquanaut suddenly grew very tense.

"Fine," he replied quickly and sharply, his smug smile disappearing in an instant. "Well, I really need to be off, got stuff to do." Fred murmured as he walked off swiftly across the sand. Yep, hasn't changed a bit.

Richie had signed up for the championships and was relaxing to watch some TV. He put his feet up and started to watch the news. Typical disasters had hit the state, crimes and murders etc. Following the news was the weather. Richie was on the verge of falling asleep by this time. But then he heard an ominous forecast.

"And a big storm is due here, spreading across…" the weatherman droned, waving a hand across a map of California. "So I advise you all to stay indoors."

"Oh man," Richie looked disgruntled. "That's the day of the competition! It'll have to be postponed." he grumbled to himself and lay back down on the sofa.

The next day, he went out onto the beach again. This time looking a great deal less pleased. Fred spotted him lying on the sand and walked over. Richie saw him coming and pretended to be asleep, shutting his eyes behind his shades. But it didn't work.

"Hey, Rich! Shouldn't you be practising?" Fred was leaning on his own board.

"Haven't you heard? There's going to be a storm tomorrow. The competition'll have to be postponed."

"Yeah, I heard. It'll make it all the more interesting." Fred grinned.

Richie sat up quickly and slipped his sunglasses to the tip of his nose. "What do you mean?"

"The competition's still on, just with different rules." Looking at Richie's puzzled expression, he continued "Whoever can stay on their board will automatically win, if anyone does manage it. Anyway, it's gonna be one heck of a storm."

Did he take stupid pills this morning or something? Richie thought to himself. Fred was obviously trying to prove his bravery and manliness as always… "Well then I'm not taking part." Richie said bluntly, laying back down and replacing his shades over his eyes.

"'Cause you're a chicken."

"No, just 'cause I think you're nuts." Richie was not about to be pressured into risking his life for the sake of a competition but Fred was determined.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun-"

"Fun?" Richie echoed, raising both eyebrows.

"You've always wanted to beat me at something haven't you? Ever since we first met." Fred taunted him. Richie looked away, how could he forget that? "But let’s not slip into a flashback." Fred said.

"Look Troy. Do what you want but I'm not gonna get myself killed just to prove something." Richie said.

Fred was taken aback by this outburst but quickly regained his cool. "Fine, I guess I'll go get some practise in before the big day." With that, he left towards the sea leaving Richie baffled and angry at his stupidity. Worried he decided to contact base…

"What's the problem, Richard?" the familiar voice belonging to his father came over the radio.

"Well, Dad, there's going to be a major storm here tomorrow-"

"That's the day of the competition, isn't it, Richard?" Howard asked sounding concerned but wary. "So they're postponing it, right?"

"No…" Richie's reply was cautious.

"Don't even think about-" Howard stated.

"Yeah, I know, I'm not even considering it, Dad but some mad people are gonna do it." Richie said and then, there was a brief silence.

"They can go out and kill themselves then." Howard replied with a sigh.

"But-" Richie started to protest but his father interrupted.

"You won't be able to change their minds, trust me. Just stay indoors and keep safe."

"Okay, Dad. Signing off." Richie said realising his father was right. Richie hated to admit it but there was nothing he could do.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 3- Some Poeple Can Be Really Stupid

The night was peaceful and the sky was clear but Richie had a distinct uneasiness about the whole thing. Somehow he knew it was the calm before the storm, and the weatherman was right. He couldn't sleep. Rolling around in his bed he started to get horrid thoughts about the following day. His fears were magnified by the darkness. Getting out of bed, he drew a curtain far enough to peer out at the beautiful starlit sky and watch the waves foam and break. He sighed and sat back down on his bed.

"Maybe it'll be a clear day…" he murmured, looking on the positive side. Feeling better, he lay back on his pillow. Exhausted, he pulled the blanket over himself and hugged it tightly.

He woke up early next morning realising he'd forgotten to shut the curtain the night before. He got up without hesitating and opened the curtain more. A large amount of sunshine burst through the window causing Richie to cover his eyes. When he'd adjusted to the light, he looked outside. The streets were buzzing with excited people. Checking his watch, he found it was only 6:45am. He staggered to the closet anyway to get changed. I guess the weatherman was wrong this time… thought Richie still felt uneasy about it.

Making his way towards the beach, he was surprised to see the blond lifeguard he’d met the other day running up to him.

"Hi, remember me?" he asked brightly.

"You're up early!" Richie smiled.

"I guess…"

"Well, I won't stay out too long today, one heck of a storm this afternoon." Richie said and the lifeguard followed his gaze towards the clear blue sky.

"I know what you're thinking, clear sky – doesn't look too ominous. But I can tell ya, some of the worst storms have been on the brightest of days."

"Yeah." Richie was looking distant.

"Take my advice, kiddo. Stay in where it's safe. Don't be like these loonies." the lifeguard indicated towards a group of well-tanned young surfers carrying their boards and chatting amongst themselves. In the crowd, Richie could just make out Fred taking a swig of lemonade and leaning on his surfboard.

"My buddy's in the crowd somewhere, Ryan, who you met the other day. He won't listen to me."

Richie nodded. "I know what you mean."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention my name in all the frenzy. I'm Tom but my friends call me T-bone."

Richie looked at him confused. "Long story…"

"I'm Richard but my friends call me eihter Richie or Rich."

Richie smiled and Tom smiled back. "Well it's nice to meet you again, Rich."

Signs of the storm were approaching. The blue sky was turning to steel grey and a strong wind had appeared from nowhere. The red flag was hoisted by Tom to warn everyone off the beach. A roll of thunder rumbled after a quick flash of lightning. T-bone stood next to Richie with his arms crossed, watching the sky.

"This is what separates the men from the boys." Tom and Richie overheard someone in the group say.

"Yeah, more like what separates the living with the idiots," T-bone commented slitting his eyes. "I won't hang around here if I was you. I have to stay and keep guard. Don't know what I'll do if and when someone does get in trouble. No-one can swim in these conditions…"

In minutes, the storm was getting wild. The wind was tearing off branches of the trees, the waves were getting bigger by the second and people standing on the pier were struggling to stay standing. The rain fell hard, beating on the faces of the surfers making it almost impossible to see. Over the roar of the wind, T-bone and Richie could just about hear someone in the group yell "This is one serious storm. I don't think it's a good idea to go ahead with this!"

There were signs of agreement from the crowd and they headed back towards the land. But one person stayed. Richie felt his heart sink. "Fred, you idiot," Richie was muttering. "What are you doing?"

"You don't think he'll try it do you?" T-bone asked him. He got no reply.

"Look, Fred – there's no chance you'll make it! It's too dangerous!" The crowd had stopped and was watching Fred. Just what he needed – an audience. Smiling, he grabbed his board and jumped in.

"Fred!!!" Richie tried to stop him but it was no good. The crowd gasped and watched carefully as Fred got out further. Richie had gritted his teeth and was clenching and unclenching his fist in worry and anger. When Fred was out far enough, he got on his board and stood triumphantly on it. The crowd started to cheer but Richie and T-bone just stood transfixed. Lightning shot from the sky followed by a clap of thunder not long after. This distracted Fred temporarily and caused him to lose control. A wave with incredible force threw him like a rag doll at some large sharp rocks. His board had hit a neighbouring rock. Fred had been knocked out in an instant and was lying on the cold, wet rock. The whole crowd gasped and stared with open mouths. T-bone looked agitated but Richie looked determined. He ran to the end of the pier and dived into the forceful waves. Richie was overwhelmed by the incredible power of the waves that took him from side to side, spraying his face with salty water and trying to stop him from reaching the unconscious aquanaut. T-bone watched from the pier feeling powerless and guilty that he hadn't tried to stop Richie, he'd left without warning and he didn't have a chance. A huge wave was approaching Richie so he quickly dived underwater and for what seemed like minutes he didn't resurface. For this time, T-bone held his breath as did Richie. The water was cold and salty forcing Richie to keep his eyes tightly shut as he seemed to sink further under the meniscus. He struggled back to the surface kicking wildly and reaching for the air with an outstretched arm. When he resurfaced, T-bone breathed out and sighed with relief. Fighting the waves once again, Richie swam with the float trailing behind him. At last he reached Fred who looked okay apart from a bump on his head. Richie climbed on the rock using all his strength to pull himself up. The rocks were slippery meaning he had to take great care. Cheers came from the pier but he wasn't listening. He grabbed Fred's limp form and was about to make his way back down to the water when a wave about 10 metres high stood before him. He stood there, helpless, with his eyes wide in horror. The cheers changed to gasps as the wave reached its full height and swept Richie and Fred off the rock with little effort. Both aquanauts were submerged in the cold, grey water and a streak of fork lightning lit up the sky and reflected off the water.

Below the surface, Richie knew if he lost Fred, he'd be dead for sure so he had to keep a strong grip on him. If Richie let go of him though, he'd have a much stronger chance of surviving. He realised this as he was plunging deeper and deeper but forced the idea out of his head. He kicked with all his might pulling Fred along behind him with one arm. He used his vacant arm to reach for the rock they’d fallen near. His hand shot out of the water and gripped the stone surface. T-bone had given up hope but was amazed and delighted when he saw Richie pulling himself up dragging Fred with him. It was easier going with the strong tide and Richie was able to get back to shore with WASP's top aquanaut looking dishevelled and limp. By the time he'd reached the beach, he was exhausted and lay on the beach panting. T-bone was sprinting over to help Fred. The rain was still beating down hard. The crowd hurried down to the beach, partly to help and partly out of curiosity. Fred was just coming around and Richie was beginning to get his breath back. When Fred opened his eyes, T-bone was kneeling over him asking "You feel alright? Anything broken?" Fred looked from side to side before answering "Fine, apart from a bump on the head. Nothing broken, I think."

"Like wow, that was brave!" someone said from the crowd.

"Yeah, and incredibly stupid!" T-bone added. Richie sat up looking extremely tired and more wet than anyone else.

"And let me guess, it was him who saved me?" Fred indicated to Richie.

Members of the crowd nodded.

"Cool." Fred muttered. If Richie hadn't been so out of breath, he would have said something then. Suddenly, a guy with a camera hanging round his neck came running up waving one hand in the air enthusiastically.

"I saw the whole thing! Amazing, exciting, dangerous…It would make a great scoop! I can see the headline now – Strong Swimmer Saves Suicidal Surfer. Can I have a few pictures please?"

Before Richie could answer, the reporter grabbed his camera from around his neck and was sticking the lens in Richie's face.

"Smile! Let's have a picture with the guy that almost drowned – yeah you!" Fred was not enjoying this. In regular circumstances, he'd be lapping it up – to him a photo shoot was the perfect way to show the world how great he was. But he looked like a mess and worst of all, he'd been saved by his rival.

He grumbled quietly. Richie was enjoying it either. Dad'll go mad if he sees this! he thought.

Next day back at base, they'd just received the daily post. Potsie was eager to check his stocks so he whipped up the newspaper. He read the headline to himself quietly and glanced at the picture on the front. His eyes widened. It couldn't be…

"I don't believe it…I just don't believe it!" Potsie said as Ralph was sitting nearby.

"They haven't dropped again, have they, Pots?"

"I'm not talking about the stocks, Ralph…take a look at this!" Potsie handed Ralph the newspaper.

"Is that?-Dad'll go crazy!"

"About what, Son?" Howard said as Ralph froze.

"Well?" Howard said putting down his mug of coffee and crossing his arms.

Richie decided he ought to contact base and tell his father what had happened before the newspapers did.

"Base from-"

"Richie! You're all over the front page!"

"Oh, you saw…"

"Yes. You know full well that we all have to keep a low profile! And you've made headline news!! And it's a very crappy headline too."

"I didn't-"

"I don't want to hear it! Well, I'm glad to see no-one died and you managed to save him but you could have avoided the reporters."

"Sorry, Dad." Richie said as he knew it was pointless arguing with his dad.

"Alright, Richard, enjoy the rest of your trip. Signing off." Richie dropped the radio on his bed and decided to go back to the beach and grab a hot dog.

The storm had cleared and luckily, there wasn't too much damage and no-one was killed or badly injured. The sand was littered with leaves and broken branches though. Richie walked along the sand with hot dog in hand, his surfboard occupying the other arm. Suddenly, he heard his name being called. "Rich! Rich! Remember me?"

It was Ryan. He was running towards Richie waving an arm.

"Hi, Ryan. What's up?"

"That was great how you saved that guy yesterday, really brave! I would never have tried swimming in those conditions. So you gonna sign up for the surfing championships?"

Richie's eyes lit up. "They're back on?"

"Yeah. This Saturday. This time without a storm and waves three-storeys high. I've gotta go and guard my post so I'll see you around."

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 4- Psycho Girl

The queue for the sign-up list was fairly long but Richie didn't mind until he saw who was on the end of it. Does he follow me or something? Richie thought and Fred was thinking something similar.

"Rich, I never thanked you." Fred muttered between gritted teeth.

"No problem, Fred, anytime." Richie said without meaning it at all. Behind the desk was a guy wearing black shorts and a baggy t-shirt with a girl wearing a bright pink bikini. The guy looked rather unfriendly and said nothing to anyone who signed up.

The girl smiled sweetly and said "Good luck" or "Hope you do well" to everyone. Fred brightened at the sight of the girl and nudged Richie who rolled his eyes in response. When it got to Fred's turn, he gave her a famous Hollywood smile but she took no notice and just said "Good luck" to him.

Looking disgruntled, he moved out of the way. Richie was next. She smiled at him and said "I know you'll do well…" Richie grinned.

"Thanks." he replied looking at Fred in the corner of his eye. Fred was flabbergasted.

I'm more good looking than he is!! he thought as he glared at Richie. But Richie wasn't looking at Fred, he was looking at the scary guy behind the desk who appeared to be giving him an evil glare. Richie looked away quickly and went to find Ryan and T-bone.

Half an hour later, Richie found Ryan, who was looking around worriedly. He brightened at the sight of Richie.

"Hey, hero! Everyone's talking about ya! By the way, have you seen T-bone? The last time I saw him was when he was signing up for the competition."

Richie shook his head and said "I haven't seen him but have you gone to sign up yet?"

"Yeah, why?" Ryan replied.

"Do you know that guy behind the desk?"

"Not very well, he's a bit of a weird character…bit shifty, if you know what I mean. I'm a bit worried about T-bone, he was meant to relieve me of my shift an hour ago, he's not normally late…"

"Well, if I find him, I'll let you know." Richie said as he left.

In the early evening, Richie returned to find Ryan still at his post. "You haven't found him, huh?" Richie asked the drowsy looking guy.

"Nope. And it's not like him to just leave me on my own to guard the post."

A guy with bleach-blond hair wearing a pair of blue trunks and a baggy white t-shirt came up to them saying "Hey, Ryan! Have you seen Jonny?"

"Jonny's gone missing too?" Ryan replied.

"Yeah, no luck finding T-bone?"

"Nope." Ryan said bluntly gazing along the beach.

"Who's Jonny?" Richie asked.

"Just a friend…Great surfer though, one of the best here…"

"Yep. Everyone wants to be him, he's the one that gets all the chicks." said the bleach-blond.

"He's Danny," Ryan explained. "You know Rich, don't you, Dan?"

"Who doesn't?" Danny replied. Richie looked at the ground and blushed.

The next morning, Richie returned to the beach in search of T-bone and Ryan. But to his surprise, he found neither. First T-bone, then Jonny, now Ryan too…

Richie heard someone weeping quietly. Turning around, he saw a girl he recognised.

Where have I seen her before? he asked himself.

Then he remembered. "Hey, aren't you T-bone's girlfriend?" he asked, approaching her slowly.

"Yeah," she sniffed. "He's gone missing, then Jonny disappeared, then Ryan and now-"

"Now-?"

"Danny too…" Richie crossed his arms and thought What have they all got in common?

"Are Danny and Jonny lifeguards too?" he asked.

"Nope, just good surfer friends." she replied, weakly. Richie didn't want to mention it but her mascara was beginning to run. Then, he had a thought.

"Surfers?"

"Yeah, some of the best surfers in the area."

"Thanks for the information. And don't worry, we'll find them." she smiled in response and wiped her eyes. As he walked away, back to the hotel to radio base, he caught a glimpse of Fred from a distance. Fred saw Richie and slitted his eyes. Was that an evil grin appearing on his face? Richie banished the thought from his head immediately. Surely he's not that vain and stupid? Richie thought.

On the way to the hotel, Richie had a change of thought. He suddenly realised that if he told his father what was going on he wouldn't be allowed to enter the championships saying it was too dangerous.

I'll just have to work it out and deal with it myself, Richie thought of all the people he'd seen that were into surfing. He came to the conclusion that it had to be someone who would desperately want to win the competition. Fred but it can't be… Richie thoguth before saying "I've gotta go talk to him."

Heading back the way, he came he went to search for Fred. But when he got there, Fred had disappeared. He sighed. Silently, he was praying Fred had nothing to do with this. Maybe I should go talk to Dad.

This time, Richie had brought his comwatch since he wasn't intending on going in the water that day. Pressing a button on his comwatch and sneaking into the shadows, Richie tried to contact his dad. "Richie to base, come in please." Richie whispered not wanting to be overheard.

"Yes, Richard? What's the problem?"

"Well, it's just that people have been disappearing-" Richie was cut off by someone shoving something in his face muffling him. He couldn't yell or scream, he couldn't turn around to face the attacker. He inhaled sharply as he was in desperate need of oxygen but this caused him to pass out on the sand. The last thing he heard before completely blacking out was a laugh – a high-pitched evil laugh.

"What’s happened, Dad?" Potsie asked as he noted Howard's worried expression.

"He was saying something about people disappearing," Howard was muttering half to himself. Jolting into action, he said aloud "Potsie, Ralph, I want you to head to California, NOW."

"Yes, sir." they both said in unison, heading to their Fonziebirds swiftly. Howard buried his face in his hands. He could be in serious danger, he thought ominously. But sending Potsie and Ralph could put them in danger too, he realised. Sighing, he stared at the portraits of the three sons.

Richie woke up with only a small headache but feeling very confused. Looking around dazedly, he was able to work out that he was rather high up and worse, his hands and feet were tightly bound with strong ropes. And after another moment, he realised that someone was there with him.

"Well, it took you long enough to wake up," a female voice said from the left of him. Richie moved his head slowly to see who was speaking. It was a girl with blonde hair wearing a skimpy pink bikini. "I thought you weren't going to ever come around. And it's so much more fun when you can watch them squirm."

"You…you did this?" Richie asked still feeling a little dizzy and not processing the situation fully. "Why? Who-?"

"You don't remember me?" she said grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her directly in the face. He jerked his head away as it came to him.

"Where are the others?" he asked her drowzily. "And why would you go through all this effort? What are you gonna do to me?"

"Ah, finally a question I'd like to answer, I was wondering when you were going to ask that." A smile of utter glee came across her face. She'd obviously set this up carefully.

"Down there is a group of very hungry and vicious sharks," she grinned pointing at the water beneath him. "The only thing between you and the sharks is a fraying rope."

Looking up, Richie could see the bad condition of the rope. "It won't hold you for much more than a few minutes, that is, if they don't jump up and eat you like a fish catching its bait." In his mind, Richie was starting to panic, he'd never liked sharks. But he decided to act calm.

"Now I know how a maggot feels." he said bluntly. She threw her head back and laughed out loud while lowering Richie closer to the miniscus of the water below.

"Your pathetic jokes won't save you now or your swimming skills. Besides, a maggot would have more of a chance to survive than you. Well, I'd better be off, I would stay and watch you get torn to shreds by my little friends here but I hate gory things, it puts me off my food."

With that, she left Richie, suspended above the sharks, which he could now see, gliding through the clear water under his feet, which slid past their grey bodies silently. "What a way to go…" Richie muttered to himself.

"The co-ordinates are G49N342. Did you get that, Potsie?" Chachi asked over the radio in Fonziebird1.

"Yeah, thanks, Chach. Just as well there are tracking devices on our watches."

"Okay, Potsie, good luck, signing off." Chachi said.

"G49…N342," Potsie repeated to himself. "Looks like he's at the aquarium…That's weird…"

"What's new, Pots?" Ralph's voice came over the radio.

"Well, I don't know, Ralph, it looks as if Rich's at the aquarium but what would he be doing there?"

"I don't know, Rich but I doubt at 12:30am, it's to see the seals and sealions."

Meanwhile in an abandoned factory far from anywhere.

"You're probably wondering what I'm going to do to you all." said the girl to the group of chained surfers. T-bone, Ryan and Jonny were all bound to the wall in the dimly-lit room.

"Actually, yeah. Since you mention it-" Ryan said bluntly. She looked at him, unimpressed. "Well, I guess Rich was lucky."

T-bone raised his head at the mention of Richie.

"Him too?" he asked huskily. "Why was he lucky?"

She laughed evilly "He had a quick death. Not a way I'd like to go though…Not exactly an elegant way to leave the world – eaten alive by sharks," A smile of satisfaction spread across her face. The others grimaced. Ryan and T-bone turned away in disgust and despair. "Yup, he's fish food."

"Sharks are mammals actually." Jonny corrected her. The girl walked over to him irritated.

"Same difference," she said spitefully, staring him in the face. Jonny spat on her since he was unable to move his arms or legs. She slapped him across the face unhappy that he was so calm about the situation. He was meant to be begging to be let go. He smiled at the fact that he'd gotten on her nerves. "Stop your smirking, you're in no position to be making fun of me."

She had her hands on her hips standing to full height over him. "Right, I've had enough, I'm gonna to leave you all to die now. This place is highly flammable so if you're lucky, you'll burn quick." They looked at each other limply leaning against the wall they were bound to.

"Okay, we don't know who or what we're going to meet when we get in there, Ralph so wed better be careful." Potsie said to his brother as they approached the aquarium.

Richie's rope was starting to give way and the sharks were swimming beneath him gnashing their teeth hungrily. Just as he was giving up all hope of surviving, Potsie and Ralph burst through the door. Richie's eyes lit up.

"Potsie! Ralph! Up here!!" he yelled. They spotted him and ran towards the structure where the sharks were normally fed from. They climbed up and looked at Richie's situation.

"Ralph – the rope's gonna snap at any moment!" Potsie exclaimed pointing to the extremely weak-looking rope that was suspending Gordon above the shark pool.

"Pots, here, take one of these," Ralph said handing Potsie a gun. "Tranquilizers."

They both shot darts at the five sharks in the pool. It took about 2 minutes to get the first four but the last one was too quick for them.

"Guys! Hurry!" Richie shouted looking up at the fraying rope. Ralph could see it splitting. In desperation, Ralph threw down his tranquilizer gun and as Richie fell, still tied up, he hurled himself into the air. In mid-air, Ralph was reaching out for Richie and he would have caught him and they would have landed to safety but just then the remaining shark leapt out of the water and caught Ralph around the middle in it's mouth, like a dog catching its ball, Potsie looked on in horror as the great sea creature dived underneath the water with Ralph lodged helplessly between its jaws. He didn't have time to scream before plunging into the pool. Suddenly coming to his senses, Potsie pointed the gun straight praying that he'd hit on target this time. Last dart too.

Underneath the water, Ralph was struggling to get himself free. He felt the teeth digging into his stomach and winced as best he could. In the rush, he hadn't had time to take a breath in and he was running short of oxygen fast. After a second of utter panic and desperation struggling underwater, he felt the grip of the shark become lighter. Potsie's dart had found its place in the side of the shark but he was still lodged between the jaws of the great creature. Ralph pried open the jaws as Potsie peered into the water trying to work out whether he'd hit it or not, Ralph managed to release himself. He reached for the surface now desperate for air. When he resurfaced, he gulped in air and Potsie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ralph, are you okay?" Potsie asked looking very concerned and putting down the empty tranquilizer gun.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay."

"Well then go help Rich, quick. I don't know how long the tranquilizer is gonna last!" Potsie yelled.

"F.O.N.Z but I won't worry, I think it'll last a couple of hours at least." Ralph said before diving into the water again to retrieve Richie. Potsie didn't look so confident but his line of thought was quickly changed when he saw a trail of red where Ralph had just been.

Looks like he's hurt… Potsie thought.

A few seconds later, Ralph resurfaced with Richie who spluttered and coughed a bit. Potsie went to help them out of the pool when he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

"Ralph, hurry and get out of the water NOW!" Potsie yelled and one of the sharks had woken up already and was unhappy at missing its meal. It swam towards the pair as Ralph swam with Richie trailing behind who he was dragging along with his left hand. Potsie sat helplessly as he watched the gap between Ralph and Richie and the shark got smaller and smaller. He gritted his teeth. They reached the edge of the water and Potsie hauled them out with all his strength as the shark opened its jaws to sink it's teeth into them.

Ralph lay on the side, panting heavily. He turned onto his front to reveal huge bite marks on his stomach.

He groaned "Marion's gonna kill me when we get home, I've stained my uniform. Blood'll never come out!"

Potsie smiled weakly and they both untied Richie who suddenly had a thought.

"We've gotta find the others!" he exclaimed to Potsie and Ralph.

"Others?" Potsie asked looking confused.

"T-bone, Ryan, Danny and Jonny."

"Do you know where they are?" Ralph asked.

Richie hesitated. "No. But I'm guessing it's the same girl who tried to kill me."

Potsie chuckled "A girl did this to you?"

"Hey!" Richie exclaimed.

"Anyways," Ralph said before they got into an argument. "How are you intending on finding these guys if you don't have a clue where they are?"

Just then, a familiar voice came over Potsie and Ralph's comwatches.

"Did you find him yet, boys?" Howard asked them sounding concerned.

"Yeah, Dad, he's okay now." Potsie answered for them.

"Good, then I want you to head to the following co-ordinates. Sounds like trouble. Not far from where you are now actually."

"It could be linked then." Ralph pointed out.

"Yes, so, Richard – I recommend you stay low- for obvious reasons." Howard said in a patronizing tone.

"Got it." Richie replied.

"We don't know exactly what's going on. They're only transmitting so we can't contact them." Howard said.

"Okay, Dad, we're on our way." Potsie said as they left and got into their crafts.

"Just as I thought – abandoned building." Ralph said to Richie who was dripping in the backseat, just as wet as him.

"Yeah," said Richie as he came closer to the windscreen to get a better view.

"But we didn't think it would be on fire!" Ralph frowned. Smoke was pouring out of the windows of the shabby looking building.

The surfers inside were coughing and choking with the amount of smoke in the room they were trapped in.

"You sure your radio watch isn't working?" T-bone said, coughing, to Ryan.

"Well, nobody's answering, I guess it's busted!" Ryan choked back.

"If the smoke doesn't kill us, the flames will," Jonny groaned miserably noting the fire trying to get through the steel door. "Either way, we're done for. We're in the middle of nowhere. No-one knows we're here."

"Shut up, Jonny." Ryan grumbled weakly.

"What do we do?" T-bone asked no one in particular.

"Pots, we don't have the fire-fighting gear with us! How are we gonna save them?" Ralph asked his brother in despair.

"I guess we're just gonna have to find a way without the equipment." Potsie told Ralph.

By Howard's order, Richie had to stay in Fonziebird 2 so he wouldn't be recognised. Ralph and Potsie made their way into the factory shielding their eyes with their sleeves.

Ralph coughed "There's so much smoke, it's impossible to see."

"Shh, I think I hear them." Potsie said pricking up an ear to listen. Ralph strained his ears to see if he could hear them too.

"That must be them!" he exclaimed heading towards the source of the sound. They found the room the surfers were trapped in but it was behind a thick steel door. It was locked with a metal bar. Potsie and Ralph gripped it with both hands and on the count of three they managed to dislodge it. Potsie grabbed the door handle then immediately let go.

"Damnit," he exclaimed. "It's hot!"

Ralph rolled his eyes and covered his hand with his sleeve and opened the door as Potsie caressed his burnt hand. They entered the room and looked around at the trapped group.

"Oh my God! It's International Rescue," Ryan exclaimed. "But how did you-?"

"We've gotta get you guys outta here!" Potsie interrupted him looking worried.

"These chains are tough, Potsie." Ralph said as he tried to get T-bone free.

"Yeah, I know." Potsie replied also finding difficulty in releasing a surfer. The smoke was getting thicker by the minute.

"I’ve got an idea but you might not like it," Ralph said. "It might be our only chance."

"What is it?" Potsie asked.

"We could shoot the chains off." Ralph said bluntly.

Potsie sighed. "I guess we don’t have any other choice." Both he and Ralph grabbed their guns out of their hoisters and aimed carefully.

"Just stay still, don't panic." Potsie said, lining up the shot. Ryan looked distinctly worried but did as he was told. He shut his eyes and a second later a shot rang out. Looking to his left, he found one hand was free. This was repeated until everyone was completely free.

"Okay, let's get outta here!" Potsie suggested without hesitation. They all followed as Potsie led the way out of the smoking building. When they got out, they saw Richie standing in front of them.

"Rich? You're okay!" T-bone exclaimed.

"Yeah, thanks to these guys." Richie smiled. Potise and Ralph smiled too.

"Where's Danny?" Richie asked looking concerned. Ryan, T-bone and Jonny frowned and sighed.

"Susie shot him." Ryan replied with a lump appearing in his throat. Richie's heart sank.

"I should have suspected it was her when T-bone went missing," Jonny said. "Why didn't she just-?"

"She's a psycho. We have to find her before she does any more damage." Richie said to the others. Turning to Ralph and Potsie, Richie asked them "Do you think you could help us?"

"Sure, this girl sounds really dangerous." Ralph said.

Susie was speeding off down the highway in her red Mercedes convertible with the roof down. A smile was spread across her face, of satisfaction and madness. The wind was blowing through her hair. She let out a sigh of contentment.

"That was fun." she said to herself.

"Psycho…" a mysterious voice said. She looked around and couldn't see anyone.

"Wh-who's there?" Susie asked.

"Psycho…" the voice repeated.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"You…" said the voice and Susie trembled. "You killed me."

"Who are you?!?" she asked in desperation.

"Don't you recognise my voice?" asked the voice.

Suddenly, it came to her. "Danny?"

"Yes…"

"What are you going to do to me? Wait, ghosts aren't real! This is just my imagination." she said aloud. Suddenly, a transparent figure appeared beside her.

"You've got a pretty vivid imagination then…" said the ghost as she gasped in horror and lost control of the car.

"I guess she's long gone, Guys." Richie told Ralph in Fonziebird2 and Potsie over the radio.

"Sorry, Rich, there's nothing more we can do," Ralph told him. "I'll drop you off back at your hotel. You gonna be alright on your own? Need any help just use your watch."

Richie looked down at his wrist. The watch had no display or lights flickering.

"Uhh, Ralph, I think the watch must have broken when I was in the pool." said Richie as Ralph looked down at his own watch. It was broken as well.

"I think we need to get more waterproof watches," Ralph smiled. "Well, I guess you're on your own. Be careful, you won't be able to call us out if you get in trouble."

"Yeah, thanks, Ralph. Hey, why don't you stay for the championships?"

"You think Dad'd really let us stay?" Ralph asked him looking doubtful.

"Well, he let Rich go to California and if we say, we don't think it's safe to leave him on his own with a psycho running around." Potsie said over the radio.

"Do you always listen in to our conversations, Potsie?" Ralph asked, not expecting an answer.

"So what do you think?" Richie asked his brothers.

"Worth a try!" Ralph replied.

[Race's Girl]

Chapter 5- Wipe Out

"Dad's going soft." Potsie said as he and Ralph waited for the championships to start. They had changed into more suitable clothing.

Richie was waiting with Fred, both were holding their surfboards. "Where have you been? You weren't at the beach yesterday. Come to think of it, neither were those dumb lifeguards you always hang out with." Fred asked, looking suspicious.

Richie summarised the story for him, including the fact that the homicidal maniac was Susie from the sign-up desk.

"No wonder she was nice to you, she was intending to kill you!!" Fred laughed.

"You don't seem in anyway concerned at the fact that I was almost eaten by sharks and the girl who did this is still on the loose." Richie said. Fred didn't get the chance to reply as the referee stepped in front of the line of surfers and went through the rules.

"Hope your surfing has improved since you were in WASP." Fred whispered.

"You're just jealous 'cause no-one tried to kill you." Richie whispered back smiling.

The competitors set off on the blow of a whistle. The waves were at the perfect height for surfing. When they were out far enough a large wave came. They were all up on their boards in an instant, with careful balance stood on their boards. The wave curled and swept the surfers along at a speed. The more confident surfers were gliding along, standing tall on their boards, cutting through the water with elegance and speed. Richie was among them surfing next to Fred who was looking very determined but coy at the same time. Richie saw a couple of people fall in out of the corner of his eye.

On the beach, Ralph and Potsie were transfixed.

"Hey, Pots – did that guy push them in, or did they just lose their balance?" Ralph asked.

"I don't know, Ralph, they're too far to see."

Another pair fell in, this time closer to Fred and Richie.

I don't think they lost their balance on their own… Richie thought.

The guy next to Fred fell off and this time, Richie could clearly see that he was pushed. When he fell in, Richie could see who had pushed the guy, it was the same man who was at the sign-up desk, sitting next to Susie, wearing the same thing and with the same beady eyes. Richie could see him lunging towards him, ready to knock him off. Thinking quickly, Richie crouched on his board. He didn't have time to stop himself and accidentally leant over Richie and knocked Fred off, who was on the other side of him. He almost lost his balance because he was expecting Richie to be there.

Knowing he was heading for a similar fate as the others, Richie quickly cut away from the man.

Ralph and Potsie could clearly see what was going on now as they were more in view by this point.

Richie's speed had increased and the wind was blowing through his hair. The other guy gritted his teeth as he came from behind. Just when Richie thought he'd got away from him, he felt a force from behind him, pushing him forwards. He lost his balance but didn't fall off completely. His board was slippery though and he fell forwards. He gripped the board with his hands and did a graceful handstand. Much to the amazement of the crowd, who stared in awe, along with Potsie and Ralph. This irritated the guy. Only a couple of people were remaining on their boards, T-bone and Ryan. They were approaching fast. They nodded to one another and went on either side of the beady-eyed guy. They both flashed him a smile before grabbing him by both arms and hurling him in. Both lifeguards laughed and did a high five. Richie was quickly approaching the beach now and could see both of his brothers on the sand, laughing. Before reaching the shore, Richie did a few tricks, not just to impress the crowd, but also to make Fred even more mad than he was already.

The trophy was huge, shiny and gold. His name was inscribed on the small plaque beneath the main cup. It was so heavy, he had to carry it by both handles as he went back to the hotel with Potsie and Ralph either side of him, complimenting him on his surfing skills.

"Thanks, guys." Richie said as he blushed.

"RICH! Wait up!!" a familiar voice called, it was Ryan. All three turned around. Potsie and Ralph exchanged glances.

"That was absolutely amazing!" T-bone said who was also running up.

"Hi, guys! I couldn't have done it without you. I can't believe that guy, I'm surprised he wasn't disqualified." Richie replied.

"Oh yeah and we thought you might want to see this." said Ryan handing him a newspaper. Richie looked at the front page. There was a picture of a mangled red car. Richie skimmed across the page reading the small newspaper text.

"Susie Warren? Is that-?" asked Richie. Ryan and T-bone nodded.

"That's the girl alright." said T-bone.

Potsie and Ralph peered at the page too.

"Unbelievable." Potsie said shaking his head.

"Girl dies in mysterious crash on highway." Ralph read aloud.

Back at base, Richie and Potsie were relaying the whole story to Howard. Ralph had been sent to the sick room with a firm scold from his father who was not happy that Ralph insisted on staying to watch Richie compete with holes in his stomach. When the story was finished, Howard lay back in his chair and said "Incredible. And quite ironic."

"Do you think she killed herself, Dad?" Potsie asked.

"I don't know, Potsie, it's a possibility. She sounds like she was mad enough. It might have been from guilt, I suppose." Howard replied. Ralph came in and sat down.

"I find it funny that you happened to get Ralph almost killed twice in one week, Rich. New record, I believe." Potsie smiled. Ralph put a hand to his now bandaged stomach.

"Well, I hope you boys have had enough excitement for a while. Especially you, Richard." said Howard.

Richie laughed "Oh yeah, I won't be complaining about being bored for a long time!"

THE END