Chapter 5.7 of The Absolutely Crazy Matriarchy

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2. Previously in The Absolutely Crazy Matriarchy: ...Corinna was delighted when her belly first 'popped'. She'd all too recently been afraid she'd never give birth to these children. She was a touch less reluctant to change into her bland maternity clothes this time around....

3. ...In a shower of confetti Rin caught her son; he looked an awful lot like his father, but he had inherited Bella's flattened nose. Rin tweaked said feature, earning a shrieking giggle from Justin....

4. ...Rin looked at her two children proudly, then looked over at her mother. Her face fell slightly. "What's the matter, Rin?" Bella said worriedly. "Can you imagine all the nappies we'll have to change?" wailed Rin. Bella chuckled. "We'll manage, honey."...

5. ...The guests started arriving, including Tempe who was back temporarily from the Bachelor Challenge. She 'accidentally' ran into Fire. No hard feelings, Tempe? "Plenty, thank you. And what's this about a fourth wall? I'm away five minutes and you let the place fall to pieces?" At least your sister's still alive, pointed out Fire frostily. And we thought you might benefit from meeting people who are not your immediate family. "I don't like people who aren't my immediate family!" So you don't like Frank at all. "I... er... never said that..."...

6. ...Justin was always watched, however. His great-great-great grandmother always kept a close eye on him. "Such a driven boy. Such potential... Such a shame."... *** And now we return to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

7. One fine morning at Simself HQ, Veronaville, Fire Eternal was flipping lazily through her grimoire, noting the odd smiting spell here and there. She was, however, interrupted by another of the Simselves. "Fire?" What is it, Lucy?

8. "Fire, we've been wondering..." Spill, Lucy. I haven't got all day. "What in the name of BoolProp are you going to do with that jumped-up hussy Veronica Smith?" asked Lucy in a rush.

9. Fire smacked her forehead. I knew there was something I'd forgotten. Could you round up Cee and Lark? I need to brief you guys. "Um, sure." Looking slightly bemused, Lucy wandered off to find the others.

10. Once everyone was assembled in the library, Fire got started. Right, we all know that Agent Smith is a serious problem. Lark snorted. "In that she's a homicidal maniac whose allegiance lies with another homicidal maniac, yes. Otherwise, she's quite cuddly." Fire rolled her eyes. Anyway, we have to deal with her. And I have a plan. "Is this plan in any way related to her total humiliation and demise?" Cee was still irritated that Veronica had had the nerve to drug a pregnant woman.

11. Fire's face split into an uncharacteristically evil grin. Oh, undoubtedly. Lark, I need you to go talk to Wakko. Lucy, Cee, we have some plotting to do.

12. "Hellooooo, nurse!" "Hiya, Wakko. Want a lovely, huge leg of lamb?" "You know I do!" *om nom nom*

13. "So why the bribery?" "Wakko, I have a favour to ask you." "Ask away, Crazy Nurse." "We have a problem Sim who will need dealing with." "Is this one going to be stinky like the last one*?" "Probably not so much." "Count me in. Mmmm, SimFlesh." Lark grinned and headed back inside, where Fire was loading the Chandler's lot. *Wakko's last documented victim was Garrett Surilie, from charris' Regacy. He thoroughly deserved it.

14. The Chandler twins were watching some Saturday morning cartoons when Fire looked in on them. "You'd think that the guy on this show would learn that stargazing gets you abducted by aliens." James chuckled. "Maybe he wants to get abducted." "Who'd be crazy enough to want that?" "Justin?" "Well, that goes without saying..." "Why are we talking about me?" asked Justin as he walked in.

15. "We aren't," lied Suze. "We're talking about our birthday." "Oh yeah, that's coming soon, isn't it?" "Uh-huh. We get bigger and smarter and we can go to college!" "And talk to pretty girls like you were yesterday," said James wistfully. Justin went red. "I think Suze will be more interested in the pretty boys." "Nuh-uh. Boys have cooties."

16. Justin had been attracted to a girl in his class, but she wasn't even remotely interested in him. "Justin, you're a great guy and all, but I used to date your uncle. This is a little too weird for me."

17. "Um. That went... well." "It did not. What kind of a son of a Romance Sim are you? That was pathetic." "Mum, I would appreciate it if you did not spy on me while I am attempting to win over members of the opposite sex." "I was not spying. I was reading the paper." "Since when do you read anything other than romance novels?" "Since my son started becoming interested in girls and I need to act inconspicuous when I spy on him."

18. Desperate in the way only teenage boys can be, Justin turned to a more alternative method of dating. "Well, dearie, what do you like in a woman?" "Um, well, I like it if they're breathing. Oh, and coherent's a plus." "I sense I'm not going to have any trouble with this one."

19. *SMACK* "I do not get paid enough for this. The dogs I can handle. Even the crazy people at Simself HQ with the talking cowplant and the werewolf I can handle. But this?"

20. However, Renee (as her name turned out to be) was slightly mollified when she clapped eyes on her date. Needless to say, the date went well.

21. "D'awwww, she sent me a card!"

22. Rin went all-out again for the twins' birthday. The playground was temporarily shifted and balloons and tables were set up out by the Legacy wall for a festive, if slightly macabre, scene.

23. The guests assembled and James started the festivities by blowing out his candles. He mused briefly on what to wish for, then decided and was soon enveloped by sparkles.

24. There were cheers and appaluse from all the guests as he twirled into teenagehood. Meanwhile, his sister was sulking. "How come he gets to grow up first? I was born first!"

25. Fire made an odd noise that sounded like a badly-stifled giggle when she saw James' choice of transition clothes. "Nice going, little brother. Thongs and shorts in autumn." James grinned. "I think I better change soon." James rolled Family/Pleasure, with a LTW to reach his Golden Anniversary.

26. Impatient, Suze coughed as she stood in front of her cake. "My turn, twin."

27. Briefly she made her wish and did the sparkledance.

28. "Hey! I'm curvy!" "You are not leaving the house in that, young lady!" "Mum, look at what you wear." "I know, I just always wanted to say that." Suze rolled Popularity/Fortune, with a LTW to become a Celebrity Chef. Can do.

29. With birthday candles blown out and cakes scoffed, Rin implemeted the next phase of her 'keep the guests entertained' plan. "Five bucks says it blows up in her face," muttered Justin. Bet. Fire chuckled, and snapped her fingers as Rin lit the sparkler.

30. "Not fair!" exclaimed Justin as the sparkler lit up with a beautiful and dazzling display of pyrotechnics. That'll learn you to gamble with a clicky-person's avatar in this dimension.

31. Rin pulled Suze aside during the party. "Hey, Suze?" "What is it, Mum?" "You saw that witch earlier, yes?" "Yeah. Never seen her before. Who is she?" "She's Veronaville's high witch. I want you to get to know her." "Why?" "Honey, at the moment we're pretty vulnerable. With a witch in the family, we're at least slightly safer. I think you'd make a good witch." "That an insult?" "Of course not, honey. Please... just give this your best shot?" "All right. Do I get to zap Justin?" "No zapping your brothers." "Awww."

32. Unfortunately, the party got a little raucous and the police eventually intervened and shut it down. Framming Sim-cops. They shut it down while it was still a 'Snoozer' and now Rin's devastated that she threw a bad birthday party.

33. Suze, of course, headed straight for the local clothes store so she could get out of the fairly unflattering outfit she'd transitioned into.

34. She did, however, have an ulterior motive for the trip.

35. Tiring of her long hair, Suze stole a pair of scissors from the kitchen and hacked away, leaving herself with an almost-neat bob with bangs. She also dipped into her mother's cosmetics cupboard and painted her eyelids and lips. She almost felt like an adult at last.

36. James' hair had grown long, and he didn't bother to borrow the scissors as his sister had. He liked his hair long, anyway. Maybe some girls would like it long, too.

37. Next day, Suze spoke to the High Witch of Light whom her mother had introduced her to the previous night. "Are you sure you can tread the path of light, young one?" "Well, it was Mum's idea. But I like the idea of being able to stop time and teleport and stuff." "You do know it takes years of study to reach the level of freezing time?" "Meh, whatever." "Very well. You shall join the Sisterhood... but beware the temptation of the darkness." Suze tilted her head. "When did this conversation become a fortune cookie?"

38. The High Witch sighed and pulled out her wand, then began waving it in a complex pattern and muttering an archaic incantation. "Are you done yet?" "Patience, young Chandler. Magic takes time." "...You done now ?" "You have much to learn."

39. "Okay, whoa. Sparkly. Kinda tingles, too."

40. "Wow, that packed a lotta punch. I feel... good. Powerful." "Are you ready to learn your first spell, young Chandler?" "Am I ever." "Repeat after me, then. Beautificus Locus !"

41. " Beautificus Locus !"

42. "Oh, awesome. I could so get used to this."

43. "Here you go, honey. Your great-grandmother's cauldron and grimoire. Nobody else can use them; you might as well." "Thanks, Mum. Wonder what she wrote in the grimoire..." "No idea. I tried to read it once... it bit my hand. I don't think spellbooks appreciate mere mortals."

44. "I am so very proud of you, kiddo." "Can I zap Justin? Just once?" "Nope. Sorry." "Aww. Oh well, I'd better get back into my usual threads. This robe is nice, but a bit old-fashioned."

45. And so, Suze began to study magic on top of school and her job. Determined to reach her great-grandmother's skill level (but not so much her glowiness), she spent hours at a time researching spells in the old grimoire she had been left.

46. The playground that RIn had set up for her children continued to be their haven, but in different ways. Justin, Suze and James used it as a hangout spot, preferring to keep their discussions away from their mother. "...and then she kissed me! It was totally awesome. How's your love life going, Suze?"

47. "Pretty good. There's this blond guy at the clothes store who keeps eyeing me up whenever I go in. I think I might ask him out soon. How about you, twin?"

48. "Um, yeah, not so good."

49. Truth be told, James had had no luck with the ladies whatsoever. His awkwardness led him to finally giving up and retreating to his room to study.

50. Suze giggled. "Twin, you gotta get out there, y'know? There's plenty of girls in the 'hood... there's even one willing enough to go out with Juss." "Hey!" "It's not so bad, sis."

51. "At least I have the fish." "Oh, the fish. Of course, because it's so easy to make out with a fish." "Zip it, Suze."

52. "Well, I don't know about you two males, but I have a date tonight." "I thought you hadn't asked Mr. Blond Clerk out yet." "I can be very persuasive."

53. Suze got up, narrowly missed smacking her head on the toughened plastic of the roof, and slid down the central pole. Her brothers soon followed.

54. Suze's persuasiveness worked and she was soon flying off to her first date with Remington. "This has got to be the coolest thing about being a witch."

55. Once at Londoste, Suze slipped straight into 'teenage heartbreaker' mode. "Has anyone told you that you have really pretty eyes, Remington?" "Um... no... wow..." "You do. They're all dark and brown. Like chocolate." "Chocolate? Really? Uh..." Suze giggled internally. Rendering boys incoherent was fun .

56. So persuasive was Suze that she managed to get her first kiss from Remington.

57. The date went so well, in fact, that Remington ended up leaving Suze a telescope identical to the one her brother used nightly. Ka-ching.

58. Justin kept up his stargazing, and one night was taken completely by surprise by a visit from his long-dead anscestress. "Boo!" "Agh!" "Hee hee. I never get tired of scaring the spit out of my descendants."

59. "That. Was. AWESOME." Being a Knowledge Sim, Justin was hardly perturbed by the encounter.

60. One Wednesday afternoon, Suze was fighting her way through her Biology homework when she had a relevation. "Y'know what, Juss? This bites." "Yeah, it kinda does." "How about we just go to university?" "What, now?" "Why not now? We've got a ton of scholarships. We could do it." "Okay, we better talk to James when he gets back from work."

61. "James, me'n Suze have decided to go to uni." "And leave me behind?" "No, twin. You're coming with us!"

62. "But... but I haven't even had my first kiss yet!" "So what? There's plenty of girls at college." "I guess so..." "It's not an easy step, twin, but we can't stick around here forever."

63. "What about you two? Justin has a girlfriend, and you have a boyfriend." "Renee's coming with us." Justin pointed out. "Then what about Remington?" "I like Remington, but I want to find someone at college. I can't get married or anything; you know the rules." James sat in thought for a brief minute. Then a smile spread across his face. "Let's do it."

64. It was James who made the call to the taxi service, in the end. "Yeah, can I have a taxi for three to 50 Pearl Road, Veronaville?" ... "Destination? Oh, Sim State University." ... "Yes, I'm sure it's not Riverblossom Hills Asylum."

65. And so the Chandlers finally reached Sim State, complete with awful wardrobe choices. "Look out, Sim State: the Chandlers are back in action!" "Dibs on the hot tub!" "Don't we have a placeholder to get rid of?" "Nuh-uh. Fire told me it was already taken care of."

66. Said placeholder was in the kitchen, rubbing her hands with glee. "Heh heh heh. The Chandler brats are here, heh. I just know the Commander will be contacting me shortly with our next plan for their demise..." The doorbell rang. "Oh, BoolProp, can't a girl have a moment to herself to plot?"

67. Veronica answered the door and was shocked to find the Commander on the doorstep. "Commander! I was expecting a call, not a house-" "Enough chit-chat, Agent Smith. We have things to discuss." The Commander barged past Veronica into the Greek House's loungeroom.

68. Veronica followed the commander. "So, Commander, how are we going to deal with the Chandler brats? I know our last plan was less than successful, but I'm sure this time I can..." The Commander held up her hand for silence, then her mouth quirked into a grin. "We won't be dealing with the Chandler brats. We'll be dealing with YOU." She reached up and tugged off her beret and glasses, and shook out her long dark hair.

69. Veronica yelped as Fire scrubbed a hand through her already-messy ponytail, then waved cheerily. It's amazing what one can do with a few accessories and a digital voice enhancer, isn't it?[/b}

70. Veronica took a step back, speechless. She had been discovered by the Simselves. Like a terrified animal, Veronica sighted on the exit behind Fire and started running towards it.

71. "Ah-ah-ah. Not so fast, Veronica Smith." Fire whipped her wand out of a pocket in the cargo pants and quickly muttered a spell.

72. Veronica hit the ground pretty fast.

73. The Chandlers entered the room when they heard the thump. Suze nudged Veronica with the toe of her new combat boots. "Out cold. Good job, Fire." Thanks. I'm just glad she bought it. The siblings glared down at the poisonous blonde's prone form.

74. "So what are you going to do with her now?" Fire grinned unpleasantly. Let's just say she won't be enjoying herself. For a century or two, anyway. That's the end of Chapter 5.7, and the end of generation five's leadership. After a short interlude in which we will learn what exactly is in store for Veronica, we will resume with Chapter 6.1. Thanks for reading!