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The MadHouse is full of life today! Everyone is rushing around with a task to do. Even I have something to do! Wanna know why? It's Lotti's birthday and we're throwing her a party! And I'm sure Ryan has some surprises up his sleeves that even we don't know about. This is going to be interesting. We were busy decorating the MadHouse for Lotti before she came home from her traditional "birthday shopping spree." We all know that means she went to buy more video games. Thank God. We need all the time we can get.
My job was to hang the "Happy Birthday" banner. I had Joe and Omega help me. Yeah, this wasn't' getting done anytime soon. Especially since Joe was in charge of hanging the banner and Omega had to write it out. I walked into the living room and saw Joe laughing while looking at what Omega wrote. Oh, dear...
"All right, guys. What did you do now?" I ask, afraid to look at the disaster before me.
"Man, we've gotta hang this up! She's gonna love it!" Joe laughed.
I finally get a good look at the banner and I face-palm.
Happy Birthday! Hope you have a "Lotti Fun!"
"Damn it, Omega! That pun doesn't even make sense!" I groaned. He just shrugged at me. "I'm sure she'll get a chuckle out of it. Maybe I'll have the task of making the banner for your birthday in two weeks," he smirked.
"No, thank you. I'm having a nice, quiet birthday. I'm getting a new game console and I'm gonna game all day. I'm not a party person." I said. Joe jumped around me and wrapped a green streamer around my body, and then stuck a black bow on my forehead. "What the hell, Joe?!"
"You're her birthday present now." he chuckled. Omega quickly took a picture with his phone before I ripped the streamer off and slapped him on the head. After the shenanigans, we've finally worked together to get the banner up. The reaction for that was gonna be a sight to see.
I went into the kitchen to see how the cake making was going. It was Azriella and Fallz who were in charge of the cake making. And Layne was helping, too. And by helping, I'm sure he was just eating bits and pieces of the cake.
"How's the cake coming along?" I ask, ducking as a flying wooden spoon almost hits me in the face. "Whoa! Azi, is this you?!"
She chuckles as the spoon lands in the bowl with the cake mixture in it. "Aw, come on! You can't have cake baking without a little magic!" She points at the spoon and it starts stirring the cake mix by itself.
"Yeah, that's called being lazy." I chuckle.
Fallz shows me her 3DS screen, which has the Cooking Mama version of a strawberry cake on it. "It's gonna look like this when we're done."
"Uh, Fallz? You do realize that's a video game picture, right? And the steps to making a cake in that game aren't entirely accurate to real life?" Layne pointed out.
"DON'T CRUSH MY DREAMS!" Fallz hugged her 3DS with rage as Layne cowered in fear.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure slowly popped out from behind Layne, which made him scream again and run away. It was Jess, holding an axe. It had a bow on it and had a tag that said, "to the birthday girl. Your first weapon to use as an adult. Enjoy. - Jess <3 " on it.
"She can use this to cut the cake if she wants...And she can cut other things, too. Shall I demonstrate?" Jess asked creepily. I start to shove Jess out the kitchen, as you do. "Out, out, out! You give that to her later. I don't even know why you think that's an acceptable gift!" I exclaim.
"Why not? When you turn 18, the adult life can be tough. Her new friend here will make sure her first year into adulthood is a smooth one. Though, it won't be smooth when this cracks into people's-"
"OUT!" I yell and I give her one final shove out the kitchen doors. We're just getting ready and there's chaos happening! Only in the MadHouse...
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Moments later, the cake is ready! (I do mean 'moments.' Azriella kinda sped up the process.) I opened the oven and took it out of the oven while wearing my green oven mitts. I slowly stood up and put it on the kitchen counter. Immediately, Omega and the Ninja Monkey rushed over and hovered over the cake. And I'm sure they didn't want to help decorate it.
"Ah-ah-ah! Guys, back away! We didn't even decorate it yet!" I push them away from the cake as Azriella used her magic to gather the decorating tools to the counter.
"Aw, come on! Just one taste? You never know what crazy things the MadHouse can add to a cake!" Omega said. I wasn't falling for that.
"You know, Omega. This cake is missing something." Joe told him with a smirk on his face.
"What's that?"
"BANANAS!!" Joe stuck 18 peeled bananas into the cake. Azriella, Fallz and I looked in horror. Omega doubled over in laughter.
"Damn it, Joe! What have you done?! The cake is ruined now!" I exclaimed.
"See? This is why we can't have nice things." Fallz shook her head as she looked at a pissed off Cooking Mama on her 3DS. Her eyes were aflame as she shook her fists in anger, which means "you done fucked up now."
"Sooo...does this mean you don't want the cake anymore?" Joe asked us.
I groaned. "Well, I don't think Lotti wants bananas in her birthday cake, genius."
"Plus that cake looks a little small for the whole MadHouse," Azriella added.
"Great! Hey, Omega! Free cake!" Joe exclaimed as he grabbed the cake from the counter. But, it was still hot. And we never told him that. So, it wasn't a surprise when he picked it up, screamed about how hot it was and then dropped it on the floor. Bananas and all.
Azriella groaned in frustration and summoned her enchanted weapon. It glowed, ready for use as she glared at the two troublemaker Vagabonds. "Get out...And leave us to make our cake in peace. Or I'll get Jess here and make you leave. And you don't want two crazy weapon wielding Vagabonds in here." she threatened.
"Fine. I can take a hint. I know when a Ninja Monkey isn't welcome to help bake banana cakes." Joe huffed mockingly and walked away. Omega was shaking his head in amusement and followed behind him.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Well, we have no cake now."
"But, we still have enough ingredients for another cake! And if we have enough, I think I can make one big enough for the whole MadHouse. I'm gonna need some concentration for it, though. It'll take me a while. And some energy. Got any snacks for me?" Azriella says.
I groan and point in the direction of my bedroom. "You know where my bedroom is. There's a bag of Cheetos, unopened, on my bed. Will that cover it?"
She nods with glee. "Oh, perfect! Be right back!" She waves and disappears. Well, we have one problem settled. For now. TV has lied to me. It's not a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake.
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I remembered that Cheryl had the job of gathering the birthday gifts and stacking them neatly by her door. With some help from Azriella, we were able to make an arch to go around her door. And gravity had no effect should she take one out to open it. That cost me a bag of gummy worms. And people keep wondering why I keep having to go back to the store.
She was with the MadHouse ghost and Zinnia, a MadHouse member whom we discovered is pretty cool. They can be shy at times, but we're working on getting them to open up more. And what better way to do it than to help with a birthday celebration!
I knocked on Cheryl's bedroom door and Cheryl opened it, a big smile on her face. "Hey, Tabby! We're almost done collecting the gifts!" she says as I walk in the room. I see purple gift box with black skulls all over it. Gee, I wonder who that's from...
"So, how did you die, anyway?" Zinnia asked looking up at a floating Ghost Ray. He had a pink bow on his head and 2 party hats on his person resembling- Okay. I'm gonna move on now.
"I've never told anyone how I died. Don't like bringing it up, y'know? No me gusta. But, I died in a blaze of glory and that's all that matters. Yo, Cheryl! Something is missing from my birthday suit! Wanna help your BFF out?" Ghost Ray asked.
Cheryl chuckled and handed him a fresh rose to put on his suit. The Caretaker Flora allowed this, because Ryan mainly grows roses there to make him happy. As long as there is a MadHouse ghost, there will be roses for days!
Zinnia giggled at how silly Ghost Ray looked. I have to admit. I tried to hold back a giggle or two, but this was too funny to miss.
"Wow, Ray. You look ready to party." I smiled. Ghost Ray floated to me and gave me a high 5.
"Hey! You know it, Katz! I'm always ready to party! Like my party look?" He walked down an invisible runway and did some stylish poses while Cheryl and Zinnia pretended to be photographers and took pictures. I face-palmed and chuckled. "You look amazing. Lotti is going to love it."
He floated back to Zinnia and "sat" down next to them. "Man, organizing these presents was too much work. I'm tired. Can we stop?"
"Work?! Ray, you've done nothing but point at each gift and spoil what's inside!" Zinnia exclaimed.
"Aw, come on! It's such a hard job. By the way, that one has a VR Headset and console in it. Spoilers." the MadHouse Ghost pointed at a box with MLP gift wrapping.
"Damn it, Ray!" I rolled my eyes. "Stop using your ghostly x-ray vision powers. That's cheating."
Ghost Ray rolled his eyes, and pulled out his 3DS to ignore us by playing video games. What else is new? Seconds later, there was a knock on the door. Cheryl got up to answer it. It was Omega, holding a birthday gift. It was oddly shaped with 2 blue bows on the top.
"I am here to drop off my gift. Can't wait to do this again in 2 weeks." he smirked, looking at me.
"Oh, brother. I already know what your gift is. I don't want it." I chuckle.
"Aw, come on! Don't you trust me? Hmm? I'm your friend! Your friend who only wants to give you the gift of laughter."
"No!" I grab the gift from him and stick out my tongue. "Yo, Tuxedo Ghost! Wanna tell me what's in here? W-Wait, never mind. For this one, I want it to be a surprise."
"Surprise? All right. I won't tell you that he got her a-"
"RAY NO!" Zinnia tackled him to the ground, but the MadHouse ghost just floated away and out the room while Zinnia looked up in shock. "I've just tried to tackle a ghost. Why?"
"You're in the MadHouse, that's why." Omega chuckled.
Cheryl helped them up and added the gift to the present arch around Lotti's door. She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out to see what notification she got. "Guys! I got a text from Lotti!" she exclaimed, rushing back into her room.
"What's it say?" I ask.
Yo, Cheryl! I'm coming back to the MadHouse to chill with my new video game friends. We're gonna have a nice birthday in my room. Have a Diet Coke and snacks ready. I'm hungry! L8erz - Lotti
Cheryl grins with excitement. "Diet Coke and snacks? Oh, Lotti. We're gonna have a lot more than that for you..."
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There was a hush in the MadHouse living room. Not a soul could be heard; it was all quiet. The front doors opened with a THUD and there stood the birthday girl herself, Lotti. She was carrying a fair amount of bags from her shopping trip. She looked happy to be back, but confused by the darkness.
"Hello? Guys? Where is everyone? You'd better not be drinking all the Diet Coke without me! My hands are full! Someone turn the lights on; I can't see shit!" Lotti said, looking around, the quiet room echoing her cries.
Just then, with a magical flourish, the lights all came on to reveal...A SURPRISE PARTY! And all the members of MadHouse jumping out of hiding, shouting "SURPRISE!! Happy Birthday, Lotti!"
Lotti dropped her bags, mixed with surprise and happiness. "Wow! A surprise party? For me? I didn't want a big deal made out of this, but man, I'm glad you didn't listen." she chuckled and walked deeper into the room. She was then tackled with hugs, smiles, pats on the back and handshakes, all while being congratulated on being an adult.
"Happy Birthday!" Cheryl tackled her with a hug and a party hat for her to wear on her head. "Welcome to adulthood. May it treat you well."
"She's already bought rated R video games. I think she likes it so far." I chuckle.
"Dude, it felt sooo good to buy these games. And I was gonna marathon them all, but I didn't expect this! Wow! And this is all for me?" Lotti asks as I give her a hug.
"Yep. The MadHouse worked together to get this house ready for you. I promise you it was filled with chaos." I chuckled as Lotti was being pulled away by Joe and Omega.
"Lotti! Lotti! Look at the sign we've made you." Joe exclaimed, pointing at the pun-heavy banner they've made and hung up for her. Lotti looked up and then looked down while face-palming.
"Really, guys? Wow, that's bad. But, eh, it's cool." Lotti chuckled as she gave them both a hug. And then slapped Omega across the face.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Omega rubbed his cheek.
"I'm the Birthday Girl. I can do whatever the fuck I want." she smirked and kept walking around the crowd of MadHouse residents.
Azriella appeared in front of her with a small, black box in hand. "Happy Birthday, Lotti. My present for you isn't as grand as the others, but here you go." she gave it to Lotti with a smile.
Lotti accepted the box and opened it to reveal a watch with a gold 'V' on it, shaped like lightning bolts connecting to each other. "Wow. This is great! Thank you so much, Azi! It's beautiful. Love the lightning flourish." she winked and chuckled.
Azriella nodded. "I am glad. You enjoy your party, okay? I'm putting the finishing touches on your cake. Bye bye for now!" She waved and disappeared.
Lotti walked over to where Cheryl and Ghost Ray were hanging out. Those two were hard to separate sometimes. "Yo, guys. Next year, I'm gonna get Azriella to teach me magic stuff. It's gonna be fun times."
Zinnia walked over, holding a chocolate donut they got from the food table. "Lotti, I've heard about the things you've done to keep people out of your room. Are you sure that you learning magic is a wise idea?"
"Just make lots of roses and achievements appear and I'm good, b-day girl." the MadHouse ghost shrugged. "By the way, I made this outfit just for you. And for myself, because I look so damn good in it. What do you think?"
Lotti burst out laughing at the sight of his birthday suit. "Ray! Why do you look like Madonna?! That has to be the funniest thing I've ever seen today!"
Ghost Ray floated proudly, hands on hips and a smile on his face. "And my birthday present has been delivered. I am awesome. Yay me!" Cheryl gave him a high 5 which then dissolved into some secret handshake they've made up. It lasted about 20 seconds.
"Uhh...That was awesome and all sorts of confusing at the same time." Zinnia stated. I think they spoke for the rest of the MadHouse.
"All in good time, Z. You will soon understand the awesomeness that is this handshake." he smirked. "Would you like a hug instead?"
"Hey! I get my birthday hugs first!" Lotti extended her arms as Ghost Ray chuckled and floated down to her. He then gave her a nice, ghostly hug.
"So, how was your first one, huh? Was it good for you?" he joked.
"Ray, you're silly. But, yeah. It's one of the things I was kinda hoping would happen today. So, thank you! I love my hug." Lotti smiled as they let go. She turned around to see Cheryl holding her phone out as a camera.
"That was sweet. I got a picture of it." she smiled.
Lotti looked around as if she was missing something. I walked up to her with a can of Pepsi in one hand and a can of Diet Coke in the other. She took the Diet Coke. Big surprise.
"Have you seen Ryan, Tabby? I haven't seen him yet." Lotti asked me as she opened her can of soda. "I hope you have more of these, by the way."
"Don't worry. The Diet Coke fridge is filled up. And I don't know. He said he was planning something for you, but I have no idea what it is." I shrugged.
"RYAN! Get your Mad King, cracked crown wearing ass down here and celebrate my birthday with me! How dare you miss this awesome party fun?! You know what? I'm gonna drink all the Diet Coke, so you can't have any!" she yelled playfully.
Suddenly, we heard loud footsteps slowly making their way down the stairs. It was Ryan, in full Mad King attire. He had a smirk on his face and a gift in his hands. The party fell into a hush.
"Well, well. I heard that Ms. Lightning called for me. How rude of me to miss such an important party for such an amazing Vagabond. My sincerest apologies, my Mad Princess. Please, come here and accept this gift."
I saw Fallz take out her phone and started filming this. Please do. I need a reference to how I want this to play out on my birthday. I mean, wot?
Lotti grinned and rushed up the stairs to meet Ryan halfway. He got down on a knee and presented his gift to her.
"Happy Birthday, Lotti. My special Vagabond bolt of lightning. You've made me whisper your name into the ears of someone I've slained. With a chainsaw, no less. It was pretty awesome. But, now, I want you to whisper a special birthday gift you'd like into my ear."
Oh, my God. Can this PLEASE happen for me?! I watched as Lotti thought about it for a second. Then, she gasped lightly and whispered something into his ear. Even with my perfect pitch ears, or Cheryl's super ears, we couldn't make out what it was. But, she looked super excited. And that was not good...
As Lotti's whispering finished, the Mad King let out a chuckle. "I see. Okay. It shall be done, my dear. But for now, enjoy this present I've prepared for you. It took me a while, which explains the lateness."
"You're fashionably late, man! Don't worry about it. I know kilts take a while to adjust getting into." Ghost Ray said, pulling the crown over Ryan's eyes. The MadHouse laughed at the ghost/Mad King bonding. It was cute at times. Ryan adjusted his crown and spoke again. "I hope you enjoy it today, and each day to come, Lotti."
Lotti carefully took her gift and opened it. She looked inside to see a golden tiara, with the same crack as Ryan's crown, and a ring and necklace set to match, also in gold. She gasped and I think I saw some tears starting to form.
"May I?" the Mad King asked, taking the tiara in his hands. Lotti bowed her head as Ryan slowly placed the tiara on it. It sparkled in the sun as she stood back up. She was a true Mad Princess now.
"Oh, my God. This is amazing. Do I look amazing?"
"No." Omega said, then chuckled. "Nah. I'm kidding. You look great, Lotti. Hey, Ryan? I get a crown for my birthday, right? And Joe gets one with bananas on it." He gestured to Joe, swinging from the chandeliers. Again.
"Shut up! You're ruining my special moment here! The nerve of some people..." Lotti groaned as Ryan shook his head.
"He shall make a very nice sparring partner when I teach you how to fight with swords."
"WHAT?!" Omega exclaimed.
"It seems that I've spoiled the surprise. Oh, well. And I have one more gift for you, Charlotte-Anne." Ryan smiled. "I'd like to give you a hug. A special hug from the Mad King. Come here, birthday girl." He held out his arms and Lotti ran in for a hug. She embraced him as he gave her probably the best hug she's ever received. The rest of the MadHouse cheered and applauded.
Lotti had the biggest smile on her face and didn't want to let go. Unfortunately for her, Ryan slowly let go and they separated. "Happy Birthday. And on your journey into adulthood, just know that I will be there to help you. If anyone gets in the way of you achieving to be the best Vagabond you can be, you let me know. And they will pay. That's my promise to you." He took off his crown and flung it at the chandelier the Ninja Monkey was swinging on. It fell down and Joe fell down with it. The crown turned around and flew back into his hands. "And that was the second surprise. I apologize, Joe. The Birthday Girl has spoken."
Azriella appeared and used her magic to repair the chandelier and prop it back up to its proper place on the ceiling. Joe looked all sorts of confused, and in pain. Someone give that man a banana!
"You're back! Is the cake ready?" Cheryl asked, as Azriella wiped some flour off her face.
"Yep. And the mods are bringing them in right now! Come in, guys!" Azriella called out.
"Them?" Zinnia's eyes widen as she saw what the MadHouse Witch meant.
The MadHouse mods helped to bring the many cakes over to the table set up. The long cakes had icing spelling out, one word per cake:
HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY VAGABOND LIGHTNING FLOURISH!
And each cake had 3 candles on it, adding up to 18.
"All right, guys. 1...2...3..." Azriella counted down, and we all started to sing.
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you ("you belong in a zoo," sang Joe before Cheryl elbowed him in the stomach.)
Happy Birthday, dear Lotti
Happy Birthday to you!
The MadHouse cheered and applauded as the candles were lit.
Omega cleared his throat and started clapping his hands and singing. "Skip around the room, skip around the room, I won't stop singing 'till you skip around the room! Skip around the room..."
Lotti smirked. "Oh, I'll skip around the room, all right." She jumped down the stairs, ready to kill. Omega slowly backed away and he ran around the room, laughing while Lotti was chasing him.
"All right, all right! Let's get these candles blown out before the cakes melt." I chuckle, enjoying this chase scene, but also hungry for cake.
Lotti ran by the cakes, eyes closed (so she was making her wish) and blew out all the candles while still chasing Omega. "There! Wish! Cake! Eat! Must kill now!" Either the wind blew out the candles or she did. Ah, well. Time for cake! Yay!
"Cheryl, you can have my slice." Ghost Ray said bluntly.
The Mad King clapped his hands twice and we all turned to him. The chase stopped too, which made me sad. But, we all knew it would happen again soon. "My friends, I would like to propose a toast." He held out his hand and a Diet Coke can flew through the air and landed in his opened hand. How can he do that with Diet Coke now?!
We all held our Diet Coke cans up. Well, I had a Pepsi can. The daggers I got from Jess and Lotti made me shiver. Omega just shook his head at me.
"To Lotti. May she have an amazing birthday and many more to come in the future. The life of being an adult is a hard one. But, with the help of the MadHouse, her friends and family, and the help of a certain Mad King, she will persevere and rise to the top to achieve her dreams! We are here for you, my dear Charlotte-Anne. And we have all the faith in the world for you. And we have all the Diet Coke here for you, too. Trust me. I know about your little addiction." he chuckled and motioned for her back to go back his side. Lotti gladly accepted and ran to him, Diet Coke can in hand.
"Care to break open a nice, cold can of Diet Coke with me? Here's to you, Lotti." They clinked cans and opened it together. They both took a nice sip together. Fallz took her pictures and we all opened our cans of soda after that.
"TO LOTTI!" we cheered.
"This has to be the best birthday ever." Lotti smiled as Ryan ruffled her hair.
"I'm glad." he smiled.
"Sooo...this is not happening in two weeks. No surprises. Just a nice, quiet birthday for me." I said, drinking some of my Pepsi.
"Oh, you wanna bet?" Omega chuckled evilly at me.
Welp. August 20th was going to be interesting.
But for now, this is Lotti's day and she's gonna party hard with the MadHouse. All night. Welp. I'm not getting any sleep.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOTTI!