Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 01:12:05 -0400 From: Eric McCann Subject: ERICA: Tape This is for the "Erica Challenge" (hey, I had to do *SOMETHING* for someone who almost has my name... or do I almost have hers?) What is it? Another of those early late nite thoughts... how DO those FK characters feel about being on videotape? The characters (who will be thoroughly embarrassed) are the property of the FK crew, of course. The stories are mine, and I'm sure they're thankful for that. --- Scene - the FK crew, trapped on videotape. This particular videotape has "Last Knight," AtA, Francesca, and a few other eps on it. It's set at the end of Last Knight (for now.) LaCroix finds himself stuck with a large wooden post hovering over Nick's body, unable to move. Nick, Nat, etc are also stuck. "Well, this is a fine mess." "Hey, I promised I'd stay with Natalie forever. Now, I can." "But the shelf life of videotape is what, a couple of years?" "I guess we'll just have to hope to get transferred to laserdisk, than." Then, from the floor: "Uh, guys? I can't move." "Neither can we, Nat." "But I've REALLY got to go." "Well, you should have thought of that before. You'll have to hold it until the tape's erased." Suddenly, the floor shifts to become a wall. Amazingly, nothing's fallen off the walls/floor/ceiling. "What's happening?" "I do believe we're beign taken out of the VCR." "I think I'm going to be sick..." At this point, LaCroix and Nick are stickign out of the wall, and Nat is vertical. Next thing we know, LaCroix is putting the stake down, Nick is getting up, etc. LaCroix's "Life is a Peach" speech (the peach speech? =] ) suddenly becomes the hcaep a si efiL speech, read by a hyperactive chipmunk. Natalie's friend comes back to life (at least she gets to say hi again) as does Tracy, Urs, Vachon, even Screed. They find themselves off camera, at the beginning of "Fever," and start doing the whole thing over again. (Three weeks later.) Slight changes have taken place. Off camera, Nick and Nat start mouthing the "Life is a Peach" speech while LaCroix says it. The look on Nick's face during the "wavy" parts of FK has changed, since he realizes the camera has caught him at the end of one of these mouthings. laCroix thinks he's feeling a little fuzzy, and questions his resolution. Apparently, so does the owner of the tape. During one of the commercial breaks (they have to get up sometime), Nick calls LaCroix and Natalie over, and looks over the edge (don't ask "of what.") "Do you see it?" "See what?" "Down there... just below us, past the clock." Nat looks, and gasps. "Why, it's US! But how?" "We're beign copied! Nat, do you know what this means?" Natalie looks up, not wanting to have her thoughts proven wrong, but excited... "Do you mean..." "Yes!" and Nick catches her up in his arms. "We really WILL be together forever!" "I hate to break up this precious moment, but the commercials ARE ending." LaCroix points to the screen. "There's that 1-900-Im-Bored number coming up... that blonde REALLY gets to be annoying. Positions, people." And they go back to the episodes with new hope, and renewed vigor, ad terminum tapius. (OK, so the last word isn't latin, but I'm sure it would be had the Romans invented VCR's.)