It's Not Aliens This Time - Chapter 1

The sun was shining brightly in LazyTown, and another fun-filled day was taking place. Sportacus was playing a game of soccer with Stephanie, Trixie, Stingy, Ziggy, and -- after a bit of convincing -- Pixel too. The day was like any else, except today, something peculiar was happening on the outskirts of the town.

The ground shook, causing everyone to freeze at their game. They all shared bewildered looks, and before Sportacus could even speak, the shaking was over.

"What was that?" he asked, thinking out loud.

"Sportacus, look over there!" Stephanie yelled, pointing to the outskirts of the town.

On the outskirts, a strange and whimsical structure seemed to appear out of nowhere, with a Sphinx model on its canopy below the red front door, and a sign on it's rooftop with neon letters reading "PEE-WEE".

Sportacus and the kids approached this mysterious house, curiosity piqued.

Meanwhile, inside the Playhouse, Pee-wee Herman was having his usual fun-filled morning. He was finishing up the last of his breakfast of cereal and having a debate about whether bean sprouts looked like hair with his best friend and trusty robot assistant, Conky 3000.

"B-bean sprouts look nothing like -- like hair, Pee-wee." Conky stated.

"Yes, they do!" Pee-wee replied, with a mouthful of cereal. "Miss Yvonne brought some over in a bag, and I thought she was going to make a small wig out of it."

"A wig? Th-that's impossible. It wouldn't hold."

Pee-wee went to say something in response, but suddenly, the Playhouse seemed to shake and jolt. "Well, that's new." he said, looking from Conky to around the Playhouse. Everything seemed fine, nothing seemed out of place.

"What just happened?" Chairry asked with concern, while Clocky, Mr. Window, the flowers, and the other denizens of the Playhouse seemed equally bewildered.

"I don't know, but it feels like --" Pee-wee trailed off for a minute, a stunned expression on his face. "It feels like that time the Playhouse got taken to space."

Everyone gasped.

"Oh, not again!" Chairry exclaimed. "I don't want to be forced to make friends with another mean alien!"

Pee-wee hurriedly got up from his chair and ran to the door. "Let's see what's going on!" he shouted, his curiosity getting the better of him. He opened the door to find Sportacus and the kids standing outside, looking just as surprised as he was.

"What in the world is going on here?" Pee-wee asked, still looking a little shaken from the mysterious shaking.

"We don't know," Sportacus replied, "but we felt it before this," Sportacus gestures to the Playhouse, "even popped up. We came to investigate, and we found your house. I'm Sportacus." he extended his hand for a shake.

"Pee-wee Herman," Pee-wee introduced himself, shaking Sportacus's hand. "And this is my friend Chairry." he gestured to the chair beside him.

"Nice to meet you both."

There was an awkward silence before Pee-wee spoke again. "Last time anything like this happened, my Playhouse went into space."

Sportacus and the rest of the LazyTown gang shared a look of disbelief. "Space?"

Pee-wee nodded. "Yeah, space. An alien named Zyzzybalubah took us into space and tried to force us to be his friends. It... wasn't a good time."

Sportacus and the LazyTown gang listened to Pee-wee's story with wide eyes. Strange things happened sometimes in and around LazyTown, but they had never heard of anything quite as bizarre as being abducted by an alien and taken to space.

"I don't think we have to worry about space aliens this time, Pee-wee," Sportacus reassured him. "But we do need to figure out what caused that shaking earlier. Maybe it was an earthquake, or maybe something else entirely."

Pee-wee nodded in agreement. "Let's investigate together! Maybe we'll find something fun along the way."

* * *

Meanwhile, Miss Yvonne, Darcie, and Cowboy Curtis were heading to the Playhouse. They were wrapped up in a conversation about Pee-wee's mean, nosy neighbor, Mrs. Steve, and hadn't even noticed something was amiss.

A moment later, Miss Yvonne was the first to notice, stopping in her tracks. "Guys... where's the Playhouse?" she asked, staring at where the Playhouse usually was, now an empty space.

Darcie and Cowboy Curtis looked up in shock, noticing the same empty space where the Playhouse used to be.

"What the heck?" Darcie exclaimed, her heart racing in her chest. If the Playhouse was gone without a trace, then that meant her beloved was as well. "Where could it have gone?"

Cowboy Curtis looked around cautiously, feeling like he was in the middle of a sci-fi movie. "Maybe it was abducted by aliens," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Darcie didn't find it funny. She was getting more and more anxious by the second. "Maybe Mrs. Steve knows? I mean, she knows everything else going on, and has been known to snoop in the Playhouse when Pee-wee's not around."

Miss Yvonne put a comforting hand on Darcie's shoulder. "Let's go ask her, then," she said, leading the way to Mrs. Steve's house.

As they walked, Cowboy Curtis couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. He kept looking around him, as if searching for something he couldn't see. "Do you guys feel that?" he asked, his eyes darting around.

"Feel what?" Darcie asked, worried.

"I don't know. Like... like the air is thicker or something. Like we're in a different place."

Miss Yvonne and Darcie exchanged a look, both feeling the same unsettling sensation. They hurried their pace, and soon arrived at Mrs. Steve's house.

Without even bothering to knock, they burst into the house, interrupting Mrs. Steve's favorite soap opera. She looked up, annoyed, but then her face lit up with glee upon seeing her visitors.

"Well, well, well. What brings you lovely ladies and gentleman over to my humble abode?" she asked, with a sly smile.

Darcie didn't bother with pleasantries. "Mrs. Steve, have you seen Pee-wee or the Playhouse?"

Mrs. Steve's smile faded a little. "I haven't seen Pee-wee in a while, no. And as for the Playhouse, I assumed it was still where it always is. Why do you ask?"

Darcie looked at her, unable to hide her worry. "The Playhouse is gone. Look for yourself."

Mrs. Steve went over to her window, and peeked out. Sure enough, she saw the same sight that her three friends had. "Oh my." She turned back to face them, a curious expression on her face. "Well, this is certainly strange. I can't say I know where it went, unfortunately."

The four of them were quiet, thinking. Darcie nervously chewed on her nails, trying to think of something, anything, to figure out what was going on.

"Oh! I know!" Miss Yvonne exclaimed after a moment. "We can ask Captain Carl! He knows a thing or two about strange happenings."

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