“I have a great idea,” Akele said to Ricky the next day.
    “How many times do I have to tell you, Akele,” Ricky said with a sigh, “lickable wallpaper can only work for Willy Wonka. I mean, he didn't have to worry about dogs and cats, and all that hair, and--”
    “Not that great idea,” Akele cut in, then quietly added, “But it would work, I'm telling you. Anyway, why don't we use the Illusion Stick to build ourselves a little fun tonight.”
    “Now, about that lickable wallpaper. I think if you find some way--”
    “I know you heard me. What's so wrong about that?”    
    “It's not a toy, that's what's wrong with it.”
    “It's not a toy, he says,” Akele said to, well, no one off to Ricky's right, then turned back to him and said, “You have a memory problem, huh? Forget about last night already?”
    Ricky started whistling, not wanting to admit Akele was right.
    “About the breakdancing lizard?”
    Ricky kept whistling.
    “And the purple, cowboy-hat-wearing elephant?”
    He walked over and picked up Akele's cup. “Sure this is just pink lemonade in this cup, girl?”
    “And the talking tree?”
    “That tree was your fault, Akele,” Ricky yelled.
    “So, now you know what I'm talking about, eh? So why can't we? I need a reason.”
    “Or what?”
    “Or this!” With that, Akele grabbed Ricky by the head and began rubbing her knuckles on the top of his head hard and fast, a move known worldwide as the “Atomic Noogies.”
    “OK, OK, enough! Fine, but whatever happens is all on you, girlfriend.”
    “Yeah, yeah, I'm sooooo scared.”
    Ricky went and got the Illusion Stick from its new home, a few inches from his bed, between it and his night table. “Here goes nothing.”
    And he pointed the stick.

    Ricky and Akele opened their eyes and looked around them, and it looked to them like they got exactly what Ricky had said.
    Nothing.
    Nothing but pitch black all around them.
    “Where are you, Ricky?,” Akele asked.
    “I'm right next to you.”
    “Who are you talking to?”
    “I know you're talking to me, goof-off.”
    “What?”
    “What?”
    “Huh?”
    Both kids got real quiet, real quick as they began looking around as if they could see who was talking much less their own hands in front of their faces.
    “Are you there? Hee-hee-hee.”
    “That isn't funny, Ricky.”
    “I'm not laughing, Akele.”
    “Oh, why not? It's funny!”
    Both kids screamed and began to run. They got exactly five blind steps each before crashing into each other and hitting the ground in a tangled heap. On came the lights.
    “Ow, my head,” Ricky groaned. “Now you turn on the lights?”
    “What is that, Ricky?,” Akele asked, feeling a bump on her forehead.
    In front of the bruised up duo stood a goat. But not on four legs. No, it was up on its back legs. And wearing a tie. But no shirt. It's “horns,” if you could call the little brownish knobs on its head horns, were right on its forehead.It flashed its wide blue-green eyes and said, in a high, bird-like voice, “Are you gonna tell me who you are, or should I go through this whole list of names 'til I get the right ones?” With a poof of smoke, a list three feet high popped onto its left hoof.
    “I'm Ricky and this is Akele, and who are you?”
    “My name is, well, let's see what it will be today.” Two poofs, one taking the list out of its hand...er, hoof and the other putting a spinning wheel off to its right. On its face was eight names, four boys' names, four girls', all beginning with “A.”
    “You don't know if you're a boy or a girl?,” Akele asked. 
    “Depends on the name, my friend,” it said, “but that's not the hard part."
    “What's the hard part?,” asked Ricky.
    “Coming up with eight names starting with 'Z.' Hee-hee.” Both kids groaned as it said, “Here we go!,” and spun the wheel.
    It landed on ALEX.
    “Oh, no,” it said.
    “What?,” both kids asked.
    “Now I don't know what to be.” On its head, long red hair came down one half of its head in pretty curls with blue bows. The other side was close-cut and blond. A pajama-like outfit popped on it, one half with pink hearts, the other green camoflauge.
    “I hate it when that happens. Oh, well, let's go.”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Akele yelled, “Go where?”
    “Hey, ask him,” Alex said, pointing at Ricky, “he said, 'Here goes nothing.'”
    Ricky shook his head and said, “Next time, ask for just what I want to see, got it, thanks.”
    They fell in a line behind Alex, who was singing a song, every other line with a deep voice or a high voice. It sounded like a squeaky, rusty gate, and grated on Akele's nerves real quick.
    “Pick a voice and stick with it, will ya?,” she yelled after about twenty seconds of this.
    “Well, excuuuuuuse me!!,” Alex yelled, “You've ever been both a boy and a girl?” Akele started to say something, but Alex threw its hand up. “Shush! We're here!”
    Ricky looked weirded out. “We're where?”
    “The Slides!”
    “What slides?,” Akele asked, “There's nothing here?”
    “Five...four...three...two...,” Alex said in a deep voice.
    “Oh, boy, now what?,” Ricky said.
    “Bing!,” Alex squeaked, and down they went, fast, on a long, yellow slide. Long is too little a word for this slide. Try enormous, really big, huge, whatever, but whatever you call it, it was real fast.
    “Oh, look there!,” Alex said.
    “What? Where?,” both said.
    “Too late. Oooh, that's cool, look over there!”
    “Where?”
    “My bad, too late again. WHOA! Straight ahead!”
    “What?”
    “Dang, guys, are your eyes open, or what?,” Alex said, then laughed, “Just kidding that time.” Only Ricky quickly grabbing Akele's swinging hand kept Alex from getting slapped. 
    “Wait a minute!,” Ricky said, “Isn't this supposed to be an illusion?”
    “Yeah, so?,” Alex replied.
    “So, how are we sliding on it?”
    Ricky said this right at the top of a big hill. This turned out to be really bad timing, because the slide disappeared.
    “You just had to open your big mouth, huh?,” Akele said as they hung in mid-air.
    “Well,” Ricky said, “at least we're not--”
    Down they all went and hit the ground fairly hard.
    “--falling.”
    “What now?,” Akele said.
    Alex said, “Let's go this way,” pointing right. Neither Ricky or Akele was surprised when it went left instead, and just followed Alex again.
    “Ooooh, here comes my favorite part,” it said after a few steps.
    “What's it going to be?,” Ricky asked.
    “I don't know,” Alex said, shrugging its shoulders, “but that's why I like it!”
    None of them liked running into something that felt like a brick wall, but couldn't be seen. For the second time in the last few minutes, they were stunned and on their butts on the ground.
    A big happy face, looking just like all the other smiley faces you've ever seen, but about the size of a house, was now in front of them.
    “Wow! Where'd you come from?,” Alex asked.
    “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!,” it replied.
    “Hello,” Akele said, “how are you?”
    “Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!,” was what it had to say.
    “What's so funny?,” Ricky yelled.
    “Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!,” it laughed and now all three of them were getting ticked.
    “Where are we? And if you laugh, I'll give you a--”
    The smiley face cut Akele off. “Knuckle sammich! Whoo, you gotta temper, eh? You ever laugh, little one?”
    “OK, OK, OK, enough,” Alex said, “I'm getting a headache.”
    “Probably those curls weighing one side of your head down,” the smiley said. “When you getting' the other side done?”
    “Are you going to be any help?,” Ricky yelled.
    “Help?,” it said. “Oh, fine, you've got no sense of humor. Walk around me and you'll see what's next.”
    They looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and walked around the left side of the huge smiley face.
    Then, they screamed and ran out just as quickly.
    “Oh, I guess I should've told you not to go left. That's the 'Big Scary Puppet Room.' Ah-ha-ha-ha--”
    “SHUT UP!,” they all yelled.
    “Touchy, touchy.”
    They now tried the right side, and saw a wide stretch of green grass.
    “If you ask me, you're going the bor--”
    “Well,” Alex snapped to cut the smiley off, “no one did ask, but thanks anywho. Off we go, kids, off we go.
    They walked on without a word for quite a while before anyone felt like saying anything. When the silence was broken, it was Akele with a few good questions.
    “Do you know where you're going?”
    “Nope,” Alex said, now trying out his high voice.
    “Do you care?”
    “Nope,” it said, now deeper.
    “Do you know anything?”
    “Sure do,” it said, “My name is Alex, today, at least, it is, his name is Ricky, and he's much too quiet, and your name is Akele, and you're much too loud, so together, you'd talk in a normal volume. The cheetah is the fastest land mammal, you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need, and that's about it. What do you know?”
    “I'm sorry I asked,” Akele groaned.
    “So am I,” said a deep, rumbling voice, which made all three of them group together in one shaking blob.
    “Who are you?,” Ricky said.
    “My friends call me Rocky. You can call me Mr. Hardheart, and you're in my valley, so I'll ask all the questions. Will you get off one another?,” he snapped, and they did, Akele having to threaten to bite Alex to get it to let her go.
    “Where are you, Mr. Big Shot?,” Akele yelled.
    “No need to yell, Big Mouth, I'm right behind you.”
    They snapped around and were shocked to be at eye level with this creature's knees. It took a long look up to see the rest of Rocky Hardheart, and the three almost wished they didn't. He was totally made of rock, with a few puffs of green moss poking out here and there, including some that formed a beard around his mouth. He leaned down to face them and said, “What are you doing here?”
    “Why don't your lips move?”
    “I don't know. I think a better question is why do yours move so much?”
    “Can't anyone pick on me for something other than talking a lot?”
    Both Alex and Rocky answered “Nope” at the same time.
    “Where is your voice coming from if your lips don't move?,” Ricky asked.
    “Come closer,” Rocky said, “and I'll whisper it in your ear.” 
    “I don't think I want to”
    “I don't bite,” he said, “heck, little man, I can't bite. Just come here.”
    Ricky did, taking little steps, and he cupped his ear when Rocky bent down to him. At the last second, though, he turned his ear towards Ricky's.“MY VOICE COMES OUT OF MY EAR!,” he screamed, and Ricky flew backwards a few feet. “NOW GET OUT OF MY VALLEY!”
    All three of them ran away from Rocky Hardheart, as anyone with even a little bit of sense would, but sometimes, even when you don't want to, you'll listen to something you're scared of.
    “THE OTHER WAY, DORKS!,” Rocky yelled, and they stopped like they were frozen. Rocky shook his head, groaned, and said, “You're going to make me chase you, aren't you? OK, ready or not, here I come!” 
    He began to run, big, clunky, high steps, and the ground rattled and shook from the heavy beating it was taking because of it. It didn't help the frozen three any that the giant rock was running at them.
    “Shouldn't we move?,” Ricky said, “That guy would crush us and it wouldn't even leave a mark.”
    “On what?,” Alex, the ruler of the stupid question, asked, “His foot or the ground?”
    “Either or.”
    “That's it! Move it!,” Akele said, snapping out of it, and they did, right towards the slowly moving but heavy-hitting Rocky Hardheart. Several times as they ran, they had to move to keep from getting squashed. 
    Finally, Rocky got tired and sat down with a loud THUMP on the ground. “Thanks,” he said, sounding worn out, “now I've got to take a nap and my day is shot. Jerks.”
    “What a grouch,” Ricky said, “He needs to take a nap.”

    “So, let's run down the list here, guys,” Akele said, “We've been scared by a stranger in a dark room, slid down a fast slide and had it go away from under us, fell many times, ran into a smart-aleck smiley face, and nearly got squashed by a rock man. What else could possibly happen?”
    “I don't know,” Alex said, “remember, he's the one who said--”
    “I know, dog gone it, I know, I blew it,” Ricky yelled, “but you started it, Akele.”
    “Me?,” she said, pointing at herself.
    “Yep. 'Oh, come on, Ricky, build us some fun.'”
    “I'll give you something to build on,” Akele said, having had enough, and it took Alex stepping between them to keep a fight from breaking out.
    “If you two would just chill out one sec,” it said, “maybe things will get better. Maybe you're seeing bad things happen because your attitudes stink.”
    Both Ricky and Akele looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders.
    Akele said, “I guess I was wrong to yell at you.”
    Ricky said, “I guess I was wrong not to say just what I wanted.”
    Alex said, “I guess I was wrong about looking good in pink.” When both kids looked strangely at it, it said, “What? I thought I would've, that's all.”
    “Never mind that,” Ricky said, “now what do we do?”
    “Think happy thoughts, for starters,” Alex said.
    Both kids closed their eyes and thought of something they'd like to see or do that they couldn't in the real world.
    “OK, anybody got a coin so we know which way to go?” Ricky did have a penny, and he went to hand it to Alex. “You're gonna have to flip it, remember?”
    “Oh, right,” he said, then flipped it, caught it, and then turned his hand over and slapped it on top of his other hand.
    “Don't show it yet,” Alex said, “Akele, heads or tails?”
    “Tails.”
    Ricky uncovered the coin. It was heads.
    “OK, Ricky, we're headed towards your thought first, and it's that way,” it said, pointing right. The kids went left.
    “Where are you going?,” Alex yelled after a few steps.
    “You pointed right,” Akele said.
    “And that means 'go left' back home, huh?”
    Both kids shook their heads and ran to catch up with Alex.
    After a few minutes of walking, they came to a ivy-covered brick wall, which had in it a gold-painted door.
    “Well, now we find out a few things,” Alex said.
    “Like what?,” Ricky asked.
    “Well, we find out if you're in a better mood, what you wanted to do, and something even more important.”
    “What's that?,” Akele asked.
    “Which one's weirder,” Alex said, and opened the door.
    Inside was another dark room, but this time it was speckled with little spots of light and a small moon off in the distance.
    “Ah, space,” Akele said, “what a surprise.” She didn't sound surprised at all.
    At least, not until the spaceships firing laser beams at each other showed up. Then she, and both of the others ran for cover. Of course, it being outer space, there was nothing to hide behind.
    “Oh, great, now what?,” Alex yelled. “I thought you were in a better mood!”
    “I was, just wait a sec.”
    A loud, deep voice startled them again.
    “In a time of great war over the planet Zalkor, the two great armies of the Morloz and Kansyl people would see no way to make peace, and many were hurt. The people of Zalkor cried out for a hero. And he answered...”
    “Captain Ricky to the rescue!”
    “Hey, that's...,” Alex said.
    “Me! This is so cool!”
    “Shhh!,” Akele cut in, “They're talking...uh, you're talking.”
    “Morloz! Kansyl! Let's come together and bring peace back to your homelands!”
    The Morloz leader spoke to the Kansyl leader for a few moments, then decided on a plan of action.
    “Yes, we agree that we should come together,” the Morloz leader said.
    “That's right, we should...to get rid of you, Captain Ricky!,” the Kansyl leader finished.
    All of the ships came together in one group and turned to face the hero.
    “Uh-oh,” both Rickys said, “Now what?”
    Akele said, “What else can you do? You have to fight!”
    “Wait a minute,” Captain Ricky said, “What's Captain Akele doing there? Who's watching the base?”
    “He heard me?,” she asked, confused.
    “Uh, right, Captain,” Alex said, “you can't hear her over your radio?”
    “Oh, yeah, right,” Captain Ricky said, a little sheepishly, “So, let's see what we can do. Time for a systems check. Lasers? Check! Missiles? Check! Thrusters? Check!”
    “A big laser beam coming right at you!,” Alex yelled.
    “That's not on the list...AAAAAAHHHH!!!”
    Captain Ricky just barely dodged the laser, and an angry look came over his face. “No one stops my systems check! Prepare to fight!” 
    And with that, he rushed right at them. And, it seemed he took Ricky, Akele and Alex along for the ride, as they started flying right at the enemy ships, too.
    “AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!,” they all yelled.
    They swerved left hard and had to look at their feet to make sure they weren't on fire from the laser beam flying under them.
    They swerved right hard and they all hugged their knees to their chests to avoid having a missile run into their legs.
    And they leaned WAY back trying to keep from getting burned by the exploding ships that Captain Ricky was taking out left and right.
    “Check this out,” Captain Ricky yelled, “BARREL ROLL!”
    And they all spun, head over heels, three times to the right, firing and destroying ships, then three times left doing the same thing.
    At the end there was only three ships left, the leaders of the Morloz and Kansyl and Captain Ricky.
    “What will happen next? Stay tuned!,” the deep voice said.
    Akele slapped Ricky on the arm. “What was that for?,” Ricky asked.
    “A commercial in your illusion? Don't we see this enough back home?”
    “Friends,” a voice said, “are you tired?”
    All three of them looked at each other. “Not really,” they all said.
    “OK,” it replied, “well, are you hungry?”
    “No,” they all said.
    “Are you caught up in an illusion, watching and being part of a large space battle while wondering why there's a commercial on?”
    “Yes, that's right,” Ricky said, sounding annoyed.
    “Just checking,” the voice said, and a picture of Captain Ricky was back on, tapping his fingers on the controls of his ship.
    “Are you done now?,” he said.
    “Yes,” Ricky replied.
    “Then, let's go.” 
    And off he went again right at the two ships still left. In the blink of an eye, it was over, and Captain Ricky, once again, won the day. They flew down to the ground of the planet Zalkor, where two-foot-tall furballs of all colors came out and cheered for their hero.
    “Another job well done, Captain Ricky,” the lead furball said.
    “Thank you, Bob,” he said, then turned to the three and said, “You've got another stop to make. Walk through that door right there.” He pointed to his right, and another golden door appeared.
    Akele tried to open the door, but, of course, couldn't touch it, then, on a whim, stuck her head in it. It went through. They heard her yell, “Yes! It's just what I wanted!,” and watched her run the rest of her body through the door.
    Alex ran to the door and opened it. “We better catch up,” it said, “Thank you, uh, furballs!”
    They started running at them.
    “They want a hug!,” it said and stretched its arms wide.
    “I don't think—,” Ricky started before the furballs picked Alex up and threw him through the open door.
    “--they want to hug.”

    Ricky walked in and helped Alex out of the wall it had its head stuck in. 
    “Touchy little furballs, aren't they?,” it said, shaking its head to get dust out of its curls.
    “Maybe you shouldn't call them that,” Ricky said. “Let's go catch up with Akele.”
    “Oh, man, I bet it's going to be one of those,” Alex groaned.
    “One of those what?”
    “One of those girly, fancy rooms with enough pink to make My Little Pony want to barf, and flowers, and...”
    Alex was stopped by a loud voice screaming, “Are you ready?,” and a crowd screaming back, “Oh, yeah!”
    Both Alex and Ricky's jaws dropped to the floor when they saw the screaming, arena-sized crowd all around them, the spotlights drifting over them, and the huge metal towers with all sorts of wires and lights hanging on them.
    “I didn't hear that too well,” the voice, now very familiar to Ricky, yelled, “I said, are...you...ready?!”
    The crowd really yelled this time, so loud it drowned out Ricky telling Alex, “That's Akele!”
    “Hey, Ricky,” Alex yelled, shaking Ricky's shirtsleeve, “that sounds like Akele, doesn't it?” Ricky just rolled his eyes and nodded.
    “Well, then, let's get busy!” The lights came on full blast, the crowd got even louder, and there Akele was, in a floor-length trench coat, dark sunglasses, and a very stylish red dress.
    And she started singing.
    Alex shook Ricky again. “Did you know she could do that?”
    “No, I didn't,” a stunned Ricky replied, then smiled, because he was really happy for his friend. “I know she always wanted to, though.”
    Akele started with an upbeat song that had the crowd jumping, yelling and dancing, and her next song didn't let them rest, either, with a pounding dance beat that shook the walls.
    Then she pulled up a stool and sat down. A woman, dressed a lot like Akele was and holding a guitar, came on stage also and sat down next to her.
    “OK, I want to slow it down just a little now,” she said, and took off her sunglasses, “and I'm sending this one out to two great friends, Ricky and Alex.”
    The woman's hands began flying over the guitar strings, making a soft, sweet melody. After a few moments, Akele joined her by singing:

    The pictures that we see everyday
    Aren't always what's really there.
    It's something sometimes we want to see
    Even with reality in the way
    It won't stop my daydreams
    Or living the life I want to lead
    The pictures are telling me
    It is what it should be

    It's no illusion that you're beside me
    It's no accident in the end
    Because as great as my pictures are
    They're colored by you, my friend

    Akele stood up and walked to the edge of the stage as all around her, people were holding up lighters to show how much the song was touching them. She looked around and smiled, then began to sing again:

    Nowhere but my mind can I see 
    Things no words I have can tell you
    Even now, standing her on the stage of life
    Nothing I can say will do
    But with you at my side
    And my future in front of me
    Both the pictures and the reality are fine

    When she went back to the chorus (It's no illusion that you're beside me...), she waved her right arm back and forth with the music in the air, and the crowd did the same. 
    She had a huge smile on her face, and so did Ricky and Alex.
    She finished the song with her arms outstretched, as if letting an ocean wave crash over her, and the crowd noise did just that. Then the golden door appeared again off to her right.
    “Thank you! Thank you! You were so great to me! Ricky, Alex, come on up and take a bow with me!”
    They did, and Alex walked them towards the door. “Thank you,” it said.
    “Thank us? For what?,” Ricky asked.
    “For letting me come along. My name may change tomorrow,” it said with a wink, “but I won't forget you two.” Alex pulled the Illusion Stick out of the bag on its back, where it was the whole trip, and handed it back to Ricky. “Time to go home...OH, NO, NOT AG---”
    The furballs had found Alex, screaming “We're not furballs!” as they carried him off.
    Ricky and Akele laughed and smiled, then Ricky tapped the stick on the stage...

    ...and they were back home.
    “That was great, Ricky,” Akele said, “Thank you.”
    “Anytime.”
    “No, no, no.”
    “What do you mean? You wouldn't want to do that again?”
    Akele gave Ricky a weird look and walked away.
    Ricky shook his head and said, “I know, ask for what I want, I got it, I got it.”