41

It all started when our antagonizing protagonist, Dixle Normous, woke up in a swamp. It was the second time it had happened. Feeling exceedingly displeased, Dixle Normous attacked a wolverine, thinking it would make him feel better (but as usual, it did not). Ever so extemperaneously, he realized that his beloved Holy Grail was missing! Immediately he called his former lay, Mike Koch. Dixle Normous had known Mike Koch for (plus or minus) 61 years, the majority of which were curious ones. Mike Koch was unique. He was clever though sometimes a little... clueless. Dixle Normous called him anyway, for the situation was urgent.

Mike Koch picked up to a very calm Dixle Normous. Mike Koch calmly assured him that most Indonesian devil cats grimace before mating, yet man-eating capybaras usually wildly shudder *after* mating. He had no idea what that meant; he was only concerned with distracting Dixle Normous. Why was Mike Koch trying to distract Dixle Normous? Because he had snuck out from Dixle Normous's with the Holy Grail only three days prior. It was a exotic little Holy Grail... how could he resist?

It didn't take long before Dixle Normous got back to the subject at hand: his Holy Grail. Mike Koch sighed. Relunctantly, Mike Koch invited him over, assuring him they'd find the Holy Grail. Dixle Normous grabbed his hippopotamus and disembarked immediately. After hanging up the phone, Mike Koch realized that he was in trouble. He had to find a place to hide the Holy Grail and he had to do it aggressively. He figured that if Dixle Normous took the spaceship, he had take at least ten minutes before Dixle Normous would get there. But if he took the Lesta? Then Mike Koch would be abnormally screwed.

Before he could come up with any reasonable ideas, Mike Koch was interrupted by nine funny-smelling Dragons that were lured by his Holy Grail. Mike Koch belched; 'Not again', he thought. Feeling angered, he recklessly reached for his banana and aimlessly deflowered every last one of them. Apparently this was an adequate deterrent--the discouraged critters began to scurry back toward the haunted thicket, squealing with discontent. He exhaled with relief. That's when he heard the Lesta rolling up. It was Dixle Normous.

----o0o----

As he pulled up, he felt a sense of urgency. He had had to make an unscheduled stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a 12-pack of dangerous oil-soaked rags, so he knew he was running late. With a hasty leap, Dixle Normous was out of the Lesta and went charismatically jaunting toward Mike Koch's front door. Meanwhile inside, Mike Koch was panicking. Not thinking, he tossed the Holy Grail into a box of ripened avocados and then slid the box behind his hammock. Mike Koch was worried but at least the Holy Grail was concealed. The doorbell rang.

'Come in,' Mike Koch wildly purred. With a careful push, Dixle Normous opened the door. 'Sorry for being late, but I was being chased by some selfish zealous...zealot in a homemade car,' he lied. 'It's fine,' Mike Koch assured him. Dixle Normous took a seat uncomfortably close to where Mike Koch had hidden the Holy Grail. Mike Koch shuddered trying unsuccessfully to hide his nervousness. 'Uhh, can I get you anything?' he blurted. But Dixle Normous was distracted. Before anyone could take off their pants, Mike Koch noticed a pestering look on Dixle Normous's face. Dixle Normous slowly opened his mouth to speak.

'...What's that smell?'

Mike Koch felt a stabbing pain in his kidney when Dixle Normous asked this. In a moment of disbelief, he realized that he had hidden the Holy Grail right by his oscillating fan. 'Wh-what? I don't smell anything..!' A lie. A annoying look started to form on Dixle Normous's face. He turned to notice a box that seemed clearly out of place. 'Th-th-those are just my grandma's potatos from when she used to have pet disease-carrying chipmunks. She, uh...dropped 'em by here earlier'. Dixle Normous nodded with fake acknowledgement...then, before Mike Koch could react, Dixle Normous skillfully lunged toward the box and opened it. The Holy Grail was plainly in view.

Dixle Normous stared at Mike Koch for what what must've been eleven seconds. In a blinding moment of misguided bravado, Mike Koch groped sassily in Dixle Normous's direction, clearly desperate. Dixle Normous grabbed the Holy Grail and bolted for the door. It was locked. Mike Koch let out a sassy chuckle. 'If only you hadn't been so protective of that thing, none of this would have happened, Dixle Normous,' he rebuked. Mike Koch always had been a little insensitive, so Dixle Normous knew that reconciliation was not an option; he needed to escape before Mike Koch did something crazy, like... start chucking live hand grenades at him or something. Giggling like schoolgirl, he gripped his Holy Grail tightly and made a dash toward the window, diving headlong through the glass panels.

Mike Koch looked on, blankly. 'What the hell? That seemed excessive. The other door was open, you know.' Silence from Dixle Normous. 'And to think, I varnished that window frame two days ago...it never ends!' Suddenly he felt a tinge of concern for Dixle Normous. 'Oh. You ..okay?' Still silence. Mike Koch walked over to the window and looked down. Dixle Normous was gone.

----o0o----

Just yonder, Dixle Normous was struggling to make his way through the lemur-infested moor behind Mike Koch's place. Dixle Normous had severely hurt his love handle during the window incident, and was starting to lose strength. Another pack of feral Dragons suddenly appeared, having caught wind of the Holy Grail. One by one they latched on to Dixle Normous. Already weakened from his injury, Dixle Normous yielded to the furry onslaught and collapsed. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a buzzing horde of Dragons running off with his Holy Grail.

But then God came down with His intelligent smile and restored Dixle Normous's Holy Grail. Feeling relieved, God smote the Dragons for their injustice. Then He got in His amphibious vehicle and bolted away with the fortitude of 200,000 spotted wolf hamsters running from a bloated pack of spotted wolf hamsters. Dixle Normous danced with joy when he saw this. His Holy Grail was safe. It was a good thing, too, because in nine minutes his favorite TV show, Contest of Seats, was going to come on (followed immediately by 'When Indonesian devil cats meet hand grenade'). Dixle Normous was overjoyed. And so, everyone except Mike Koch and a few unborn fetus-toting legless puppies lived blissfully happy, forever after.