the bus had driven into the warped space and time field left by the time-machine building and exploded....bits of metal and chairs and even bits of john went flying all over the place....the crisp packet he had been holding flew out of his unattached hand and into the space-time warp, the PhD bugs off to start a new adventure....

Released from John's hand (a great relief, that boy had a serious BO problem) the bugs travelled gently through space and time, unravelling into their alternative forms as they went; Snakes grew back her red hair and reclaimed her top hat, Sapsucker's magnificent beard re-emerged for all to admire, and Sassy's forked tail popped back out in a flash.

Gradually everything slowed down, and the avatars-formerly-known-as-bugs (AFKABs) found themselves in a new place, blissfully devoid of santa, carlos, and the damned omnibus. They had only one concern, where was little Jemima?

Little did these small creatures realise, however, that the world they had been transported to was far behind the present. They had traveled years, centuries even, back in time. Back to a time when humans didn't exist. Humans like Jemima.

Lost in this new, strange world, the AFKAB gang began exploring. Eager to discover their whereabouts, they set out to find someone, something, that could explain to them where they had so suddely appeared...

The AFKABs looked around. The landscape was bare and desolate, not a sign of life. All of a sudden they heard a noise so familiar that they didn’t immediately realise how out of place it was – the distant sound of an ageing diesel engine. At the horizon they could just about make out a yellow blob. It was coming closer and closer. Eventually they saw what it was: a yellow American school bus. The omni-bus. It came to a stop next to them and the door opened. The driver beckoned them in. They stared open-mouthed - it was Jemima.

‘Jump it, chaps. You’ll have to wait a long time for the next bus,’ she said cheerfully.

they all got aboard and waited for the bus to get going, but Jemima wouldn't pull away.

"what are we waiting for?" said PhD Bug

"that" said Jemima, cupping her ear.

All the AFKABs listened carefully, they could hear deafening repetative thuds getting louder and louder. They waited and suddenly two huge legs hoved into the view through the windscreen. Green giant legs, and the being seemed to be wearing huge wooden clogs! They peered upwards, it was a troll! But why was a troll wearing clogs??

After much discussion on the matter - and papers presented by each of the AFKAB's at a seminar organised by Jemima in the school bus toilet, they came to the conclusion that this, probably norwegian troll had come down through europe (including holland - thereby getting clogs) and had arrived here, in this desolate region.

The troll screamed "a caelo usque ad centrum"

the AFKABs in unison cried "WTF? what does that mean?"

"FEE FI FO FLUBS, I SMELL THE SMELL OF PHD BUGS!" bellowed the enormous troll.

"Oh no!" shrieked the AFKABs, as they scurried towards the doors and windows in a bid to flee the impending doom of the Omni Bus. The troll acted quickly -- sweeping its foot into the air, it brought its enormous clog crashing down onto the bus, crushing it like a child would a soda can.

The flattened omni bus was now wrapped about the troll's clog, its contact with the floor evoking a satisfying robotic CARUNCH-CARUNCH sound.

The troll walked about gleefully, CARUNCH-CARUNCH, CARUNCH-CARUNCH, then put on its best robocop voice: "Dead or alive, you're coming with me!"

"Serve the public trust, Protect the innocent, Uphold the law!" the troll continued, laughing uncontrollably.

"Astala-vista, baby!" declared the troll triumphantly in its best Terminator voice.

The novelty shortly wore off as the troll noticed a strange smell. Looking down at the flattened remains of the omni bus, a viscous yellow fluid was seen oozing out, leaving a glistening trail over the landscape.

"Beeltejuice??" exclaimed the troll.

"Beetlejuice!" wailed a voice from the unflattened edge of the Omni Bus.

But soon the wailing came not only from the remains of the omni-bus, but also from the clever clogs. Unfortunately the clever clogs had not read the recent paper by G. Enius entitled ‘Effect of Beetlejuice on clogs, clever or otherwise.’ in the International Journal of Unusual Footwear. If they had read the paper, they would not have been surprised by the transformation which was now taking place.

First small tufts of pink fluff were appearing on the tips of the clogs, which were beginning to soften and change shape. The pink fluff grew and spread all over the clogs. In no time (well, almost no time) the clever clogs had changed into a pair of fluffy pink slippers.

======= Date Modified 26 Nov 2009 20:37:47 =======
And the moment the transformation hapened, G. Enius, who was sitting by a lazy fire somewhere in the North got vibes that more empirical evidence had accummulated for his paper. He rushed over to the battered omnibus, picked up the pink slippers, and had his research assistant drown them in the special fluid they use in labs to make things into museum displays. Then, he used his other fantastic discovery to scoop up the yellowed juice and transform it back into its original form - all over the world newspapers celebrated this great use of scientific energy for human well being, the avatars were back hale and hearty, and not only that, they had all been given a special helping of amorentia (the elixir of immortality). Once the celebrations were over they looked around at each other and decided to make a plan, on what they would do next, now that the whole bus-clogs-slipper episode was over once and for all, and also now that the immortal, irreplaceable Professor G. Enius was helping them in their journeys, from unknown destinations over the globe...