If it weren't for caffeine, I'd have no personality whatsoever!

2. Hello readers and welcome to the Monstrosity Legacy. It's been a while, hasn't it? Ah well, today I have a special four parter for you all in one day. Last time in the Monstrosity Legacy our family was adjusting to their new home in Strangetown. Kevin met a girl, Chandler moved to college, Ezra, June, and Andy were living in an apartment on Twikkii Island, Brendan and Hailey transitioned to elders, and we also saw Lee and Cindy taking over Ajay's home.

3. ~-~-~ One Week Earlier ”I know it's not convenient, but you need to be here..."

4. "Yes, I have considered other options, and yes, I do think you're the best choice... Are you denying that you are? ... I didn't think so... Look, I know it's not easy... but we need you... Yes! ... Of course... Okay... Okay... Really? ... All right, okay... I'll help you pack... Yes I'm sure!"

5. ~-~-~ "Do you hear me? I'm talking to you, Across the water, across the deep blue ocean, Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying," "Boy I hear you in my dreams, I feel you whisperacross the sea, I keep you with me in my heart, You make it easier when life gets hard,"

6. "Oh! Look at the time!" Lydia jumped at the stop button on the karaoke machine, "I gotta go." Chandler sucked his teeth, "But you'll be back soon, right? It's not a long cheerleading competition, right? Like a week maybe?" "I already told you, Chandler. I don't know how long it's going to be. But I'll see you soon! And don't forget to practice! You keep messing up that part at the end-" Lydia lectured until she ran out of hearing range.

7. Chandler collapsed onto a bench right next to the karaoke machine and watched the sunrise. He took a deep, slow breath then let it out just as slowly.

8. He stared at the greek house in front of him that had creatively been named The Hut and pondered it for a moment. How many other times had someone left the former residents he didn't know. He scratched the back of his neck and realized he was missing Lydia already. After all, she was his best friend. Chandler felt something in the air change. Change was coming, he could feel it.

9. ~-~-~ It was dawn on a Tuesday at the Ronstrosity household. Kevin walked outside and joined his father for a session of fishing. Curiosity got the better of Brendan and he questioned his son, "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for school?" Kevin took a moment to bait his hook, then hesitated before answering.

10. "I'm not going," he confessed. "And why not? You can't just skip school," Brendan countered. Kevin let his eyes drop to his feet them looked out at his hook in the middle of the pond, "I'm leaving for college in two hours."

11. This caught Brendan by surprise, "Are you now?" He asked as he reeled in a bass.

12. Kevin nodded and there was silence for a moment. Brendan contemplated making a metaphor about comparing Kevin to the fish he just caught, but couldn't think of anything clever and dropped the idea.

13. "Come here," he finally said to his son, then wrapped his arms around him. "Um, dad?" "Yes?" "Esther's coming with me." Brendan laughed in approval, "Good."

14. A few minutes later Esther arrived, "Hi! Just finished my paper route. Didn't even go home to change or anything. You called the cab, right?" "I did," Kevin hugged his girlfriend, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" "I'm more ready than you are," Esther nodded confidently.

15. ~-~-~ Kevin and Esther arrived at their dorm. Like so many others, they decided to try dorm living for a semester before moving into The Hut.

16. They wasted no time getting to know their fellow dormies. Before they knew it, they had enough friends to found a Greek house right in the dorm.

17. "So, Kevin," one of the dormies started one morning, "I hear you're into blondes." "Uh- I-" Kevin stuttered. "Let's say you and I meet some of my friends downtown this weekend and have a bit of fun," she flashed him a sleazy smile. "I don't think-"

18. "His girlfriend would like that very much," Esther finished for him as she sat down in front of her plate of pancakes, "I know I would hate it if I were to 'unknowingly' go out with a guy if he had a girlfriend. I would just feel so guilty," Esther pointed a look at the girl that wasn't necessarily scathing, but wasn't too kind, either.

19. The dormie's eyes fell and she quickly finished her plate before stalking off.

20. "You better watch yourself, boy. I'm going to have to start beating those girls off with sticks," Esther smiled.

21. "Do you really think she was serious?" Kevin shivered, "Could you even imagine me considering a floozy like her?" Esther laughed, "I think you'd probably die before you touched her with a ten-foot pole."

22. They weren't the nicest couple, but in the whole dorm they were certainly the most serious. A rumor went around that they had been engaged since they were kids, but it was quickly squashed when people realized neither one was wearing a ring.

23. ~-~-~ "Kevin Ronstrosity!" Chandler and Daniel chanted as they rushed him into the bathroom.

24. "Is this all really necessary, you guys?" Kevin laughed. "Are you kidding?" Chandler beamed, "Since we don't throw any toga parties, this is our only chance to wear these things. You think we'd give it up?"

25. "I'm sure you could think of some other opportunity if you tried hard enough, Chandler," Kevin mocked his older brother, then turned to Daniel to say something, but they were interrupted by one of the dormies, who had been planning on using the bathroom for it's intended purpose. "Oh, uh... My bad," he said, before scurrying off to the other bathroom. "Sooo..." Kevin said awkwardly, ”Why are we in the bathroom?"

26. "Chandler!" Esther shouted at her boyfriend's brother, "I get an automatic in, don't I?" Chandler laughed, "Esther, I just finished telling your brother that nobody gets an automatic in. Not if you're a sibling of a member, not if you're the girlfriend of a member… Heck! Not even Shrimp could get in on a whim if she wanted."

27. "I will hurt you," Esther said simply.

28. Chandler pulled an awkward face, "You'd hurt someone if they didn't let you in a Greek house?" "I would." "Doesn't that seem kind of-" "Do you really want to finish that sentence?" "No, not really."

29. Daniel and Chandler finally ran outside and cheered, a sign that Esther and Kevin had both been accepted into The Hut as full fledged members and could move in whenever they pleased.

30. ~-~-~ Back at The Hut, Chandler decided it was time for a serious conversation with Daniel. "We need to get you out of this place."

31. "What are you on about, Chandler?" "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You only leave this place to go to class. We've got to get you a girlfriend or something," Chandler laughed. "I'm not-” "Come on, it'll be fun.” "Where would we-” "We'll got to the Wasteland Lounge, it's right over there.” "But how are we-” "Daniel, you can go a whole hour with out studying. Come on!” "Oh, all right!" He threw his arms up in a gesture of surrender.

32. ~-~-~ "Two here," Chandler said to the bartender. "I don't know about this-" "Daniel, look, you're going to relax whether you like it or not,” He paused and scanned the room, “Hey, see that girl at the end of the bar? She's checking you out. Do something."

33. Daniel turned and finger-gunned the girl, "'Eeeey." Chandler put a hand to his head, "Oi. Okay, not exactly. Try being a bit more subtle."

34. "Face it, Chandler, I'm no good at this. I'm just, I'm not going to get over Cherry," he sighed. Chandler tried to figure out who Cherry was, but found himself having difficulty thinking of anything that might be what he was talking about. He finally gave up, "Cherry?" Daniel sighed, "I don't-," then, as if changing his mind, "She's my ex. We'd been together forever it seemed like."

35. "I didn't-" "I know you didn't. Look, let's just get out of here, okay?" Daniel turned to get up. "Hey, you're not getting off the hook so easily," Chandler said when his drink arrived.

36. "But how am I supposed to-" "See that girl up there on stage?" ”Chandler-" "She was checking you out." "So was the girl at the end of the bar-" Chandler groaned, “Look, just go, I don't know, go tip her or something."

37. Daniel sighed, stood up and made his way across the room and onto the stage. He hesitated momentarily, then sat down at the drum set and started playing a beat to try and impress this girl.

38. However, when he went to talk to her after they finished, she was on her feet and leaving. Daniel couldn't help but wonder if this was going to be a trend.

39. As Chandler got up to scold Daniel he noticed a familiar face at the end of the bar where the girl Daniel tried to flirt with once sat.

40. "Ethan?" Chandler approached his cousin, "That you?" Ethan looked up, uninterested, "Yeah," making the realization that it was his cousin that had approached him, he added, "Hey Chandler."

41. "So what are you doing here? I thought you, Tiffany, Ava, and Emily were going to college back home? Did Aunt Sarah and Uncle Aldric ship you guys out here?” Chandler inquired. Ethan stared for a moment, then answered, ”Nah, mom thought it'd be a good idea if Tiff and I transferred over here. She says the curriculum is better and we'd get to spend more time with our family, which is, supposedly, a good thing."

42. "That's cool," Chandler nodded, then pulled out his cell phone, "Here, what's your number so we can stay in contact? Maybe You and tiff could apply to join The Hut, even," Chandler shrugged. "Yeah, maybe," Ethan said as he put his number in Chandler's phone, "See you around," and with that, Ethan made his way to the exit. Chandler shrugged, then sat back down at the bar, ordered a drink, and made conversation with the girl who rejected Daniel a few minutes ago.

43. ~-~-~ Back at the Ronstrosity household, Brendan and Hailey decided it was time to adopt a new cat. They adopted Baxter as a mate for Tinsel. To say they pampered him would not be an understatement.

44. However they pampered him with reason. In a matter of minutes he was working on the next generation of kittens for the Ronstrosity cat line.

45. ~-~-~ That night Skylar was sitting with Gearston at the dinner table, munching away at a grilled cheese sandwich as per usual. "Little Miss, may I question how your schooling has been going?" Gearston asked in his normal robotic voice. If you listened closely, it almost sounded like there was a hint of curiosity in it.

46. "Um, sure," Skylar shrugged, "It's going well," she paused for a moment, "But I have a question." "And what would that be, Little Miss?" Gearston placed his one-eyed gaze on her and brought his sandwich up to his metallic mouth.

47. "Um... Why... Why aren't there any other alien kids?" Gearstonfroze and took a moment to process her question. He, of course, knew the answer, but he wasn't sure he should be the one to answer it, ”Perhaps that question would best be answered by your father."

48. "Why can't you tell me, Gearston?” Skylar rolled her eyes amiably at her robot friend. "I do not think it would be appropriate for me to answer without first consulting one of your parents."

49. With a sigh, Skylar turned back to her sandwich, "Okay. If you say so." Realizing he may have hurt her feelings, Gearston quickly tried a change of subject, "I believe your birthday is tomorrow, Little Miss."

50. ~-~-~ And it was. Considering how shy Skylar was, Hailey, Brendan, and Gearston decided it would probably be best not to throw a party. They only invited Chandler and Kevin. "Chandler!" Hailey greeted her son. "Hey mom, how've you been?"

51. "Tah, it's not important how I've been. How have you been? You haven't been around to visit since our birthday!" She looked him over, "Ah, you've gotten so big. I bet those girls are just all over you, aren't they?" "Well-" "Have you been seeing any one, Chandler? You know I'm ready for grandchildren." Chandler smiled and his face flushed slightly, but Hailey didn't notice, "I've kind of been seeing this one girl-" "Oh, you've got to tell me all about her! Wait, not right now, here comes your brother!" While Hailey rushed off to greet her youngest son, Chandler migrated inside to greet his dad.

52. After everyone was reacquainted, they all moved to the kitchen for drinks, "And so Esther and I decided we'd move in after exams."

53. Hailey smiled at the mention of The Hut. Her boys were growing up, it seemed. "Haha, yeah, you realize there's only one double bed in the house, and that belongs to Daniel, right?" Chandler teased and the family laughed.

54. "Fair enough, it's not like we're at that stage yet," Kevin smirked. Brendan took a sip of his drink at the mention of the word 'yet.'

55. "Skylar, would you like to blow your candles out now?" Hailey asked her daughter. "Sure," Skylar hopped off Gearston's feet and walked to her cake.

56. "Um..." She stared at the cake for a moment and tried to think of a wish. “Happy birthday to you,”

57. She looked over her shoulder at her loving family and smiled, she didn't have much to wish for. “Happy birthday to you,”

58. “Happy birthday, dear Skylar,” I wish to always keep my family safe,she thought and blew out the candles. “Happy birthday to you!” Everyone erupted into cheers as the last candle flickered out.

59. And before everyone's eyes, she sprouted into a lovely young lady. She said nothing, but inspected herself, she finally smiled, "I think we need to go clothes shopping."

60. After the cake was eaten, Chandler decided to stick around and hang out in the hot tub. Nobody objected; college could be very stressful on a guy. "Mind if I join you?" He looked up as Skylar entered the room. "Not at all."

61. Skylar stepped into the hot tub without another word. Her brother looked at her, "Wow, you've grown." "Yeah, that happens," Skylar agreed, closed her eyes, and relaxed into the bubbly water.

62. She felt Chandler's gaze on her still and she opened her eyes to look at him, "What?"

63. "How's school been?" He asked, concern laced in his voice.

64. Why does everyone keep asking that?"I don't know. Fine, I guess. Why?" She shrugged. "Nobody bothers you?" Chandler asked, almost in amazement. Skylarlooked uncomfortable, "No."

65. "Come on, Sky, people made fun of me forbelievingin aliens and all that 'nonsense.'" Chandler said, making finger quotes when he said "nonsense," "How do you expect me to believe that?"

66. Sky looked at him, ”Oh, that?” Sky smiled, “I don’t let it bother me. I mean, no, I don’t have that many friends, but there’s that Morris guy. You know, the Curious Brothers’ kid? And there’s Bottom Summerdream. She seems to get that I’m not different.” “Summerdream… Aren’t they from Veronaville?” Chandler asked. “Yeah, but I go to Sim City Prep. Kids go there from all over. We even have a guy from Twikkii Island.” “Ah,” Chandler nodded. After that the conversation started to wrap up and Chandler eventually left for The Hut, promising Skylar he’d be back to check on how her garden’s doing soon.

67. ~-~-~ The next morning Chandler was back at The Hut. He checked his mail and found a pink card that had been sprayed with a sweet smelling perfume. He took a big whiff and his immediate thought was,Lydia. Just then his cell phone rang.

68. He picked up without looking at the caller ID, "Hello?" "Hi Chandler!" Meredith, the girl from the bar the other night, was on the other line and was full of excitement, "Did you get my letter?" "Your-?" Chandler's brow furrowed, then he examined the pink envelope in his hand. That's when he recognized the hand writing. He ignored the feeling like someone punched him in the gut, of course Lydia hadn't sent him a pink letter smelling of perfume, "Yeah, I did. I was just about to read it, actually.” So he did and found an invitation to dinner that night. After agreeing on a time, Chandler hung up and headed off for class.

69. ~-~-~ It was around midnight the next day when Chandler returned from his date and found Daniel on the computer.

70. Chandler said nothing and waited until he got off to finally ask, "So who were you IMing?" Daniel looked up, feigning surprise, "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about."

71. "Come on, Daniel, I saw you," Chandler said. Daniel sighed, "I wasn't IMing a girl, so don't get your hopes up. He was an old friend back home. We were just catching up." "Daniel, I really think-"

72. Daniel's face froze over and Chandler stopped talking, "Okay, I won't mention it," they stood awkwardly for a moment. "We're still pulling an all-nighter tonight, right?" Chandler asked bluntly. It was the night before the day before exams and they were going to pull an all-nighter, spend all their awake-time tomorrow studying, then hit the sack early for a good night's sleep before exams. "Yeah, I guess so," Daniel shrugged. "So do you want to-” "No.” "You didn't even know what I was going to-” "Yes I did-” "And what was-” "You were going to ask me to help you with one of your duets.” "So will you-” "No.” "Please?" Daniel sighed and gave in, "Okay, but I'm not singing the 'Lucky' one." Chandler considered for a moment, "Fair enough."

73. "Live my life around a picture, Taken when we met," "Spending all of my time chasing your silhouette," "For all we go through," "I don't want to change you," "Cause my mind's running in reverse trying not to forget, Who we were, Where it's at," "Here we go," "Here we go,"

74. ~-~-~ The day after exams Kevin and Esther arrived on the scene, "Hey, Kevin." "Hey Daniel, how's it going?" Kevin and Daniel were off on their small talk while Esther decided to go look around.

75. "White with red accents? Ugh. And what is with these doors? Were they trying for a futuristic look and failed? And what's with that ceiling light? It doesn't match the color scheme at all," Esther mumbled to herself as she trekked up the stairs into The Hut, making further notes to herself as she looked around.

76. Once she finished she entered the common room to find all the boys catching up around the table. With a groan she began, "This place is designed absolutely horribly! I'm not living here until it's redecorated. And please, it's not like we don't have the money," Esther ranted.

77. “This floor plan is just ridiculous! I mean, ONE bedroom for the four of us? I don’t think so. And no stairs? What if one of the ladders BREAK? What then?” "She thinks she’s an interior designer," Kevin explained to Daniel and Chandler, "I expected she'd want to tear this ‘god awful’ place down." Chandler and Daniel nodded.

78. "That could actually be kind of fun," Daniel said, "I mean, I could look over the finances, Chandler could look at the schematics, and Kevin, you could make sure your girlfriend doesn't decorate the whole house with pink frills. After all, this whole house is an inconvenient layout-" "And it's pretty small-” "And I think it could use an update. This main room seems kind of feminine-” "Maybe we could find room for a pool table-” "New sound system-” "Lots of lights-” "Our own bedrooms-"

79. Esther, who had still been ranting shouted, "All of you need to be outside RIGHT NOW. Grab anything you want to keep because otherwise I'm chucking it all!" The boys scampered around the house and grabbed all their essentials then hurried out of the house and deposited their treasures on the sidewalk in a pile. Then began removing all their furniture.

80. ~-~-~ Dear Mom, College life is going nicely. Ethan and I just passed our last freshman exam and are now officially sophomores. I don't think Ethan likes the fact that he's not a semester ahead of me, like he would have been had we not transferred over here.

81. However, he doesn't complain about studying. We've formed a little study group in our dorm, consisting of himself, myself, and this one girl who's name I always forget. I call her spiky-haired girl. (Not to her face, but that's how I think of her)

82. Don't tell any one I said this, but I think Ethan kind of likes her. Shocking, right? I didn't even know that Ethan had an interest in anyone but himself, but I suppose I've been wrong before.

83. The girl in our study group isn't the only socializing we've had, don't worry. I've made friends with most of the dorm... I wish I could say the same for Ethan, but you know what he's like.

84. Ethan and I seem to be in agreement that we always get hoodwinked into cleaning the bathrooms and other various parts of the dorm. If we even leave the dorm for an hour to go get coffee around the corner it's a mess.

85. I know you're worried about our money troubles, but don't be. Ethan and I are both smart when it comes to money, and you know that. But feel free to keep sending us some!

86. All in all, we miss you and dad and all that good stuff. Love you lots, don't do anything I wouldn't, yaddayadda. Tell dad I say hi! Love, Tiff

87. P.S. You totally spoiled Ethan and I with your home cooking. We can't even be bothered to look at the stuff the dorm kitchen prepares. We've learned to fend on our own. Thanks for that awesome recipe for lobster thermion, by the way. It's great with a side of mashed potatoes, don't you know?

88. Send. Tiffany let out a sigh of relief as she saw the letter go through to her mom. One less thing to worry about.

89. ~-~-~ "So are you boys ready for this level of awesome?" Esther put her hands on her hips and looked down at her audience.

90. "I think so," Kevin turned to face Chandler and Daniel, "What about you two?" "Well, we stayed in our budget of 40,000 simoleans, so I think we should be good," Daniel shrugged. "I guess it looks stable," Chandler smiled mischievously, "Okay."

91. Esther cleared her throat, then said aloud, "Follow." The boys did as commanded.

92. "Um, Esther?" "Yeah Chandler?"

93. "Doesn't this place feel kind of..."

94. "I don't know..."

95. "Maybe a little..."

96. "Just a tiny bit..."

97. “Bare?”

98. Esther laughed nervously, "Um... Yeah, about that..." Chandler lifted an eyebrow, this was the first time Esther hadn't been right out and honest with anyone, so far as he'd seen. He was curious. "Umm... You know how Daniel said we were still in our budget?"

99. “It’s more like… Ikinda ran out of money.” Chandler blinked at her with wide eyes. “The construction’s safe!” She blurted as he looked nervously at the ceiling, ”I mean, it’s not an issue like that," Esther waved dismissively, her usual confidence returning, "I just didn't get to add everything I would have liked to. You remember you guys were talking about a pool table? Well, I couldn't afford one," Esther's face looked annoyed for a second, "I didn't skip out on anything essential. There's two bathrooms, three bedrooms, a kitchen, and, fortunately for you, I didn't forget the karaoke machine out on the porch. Happy?"

100. "I didn’t mean-" Chandler began, but was interrupted by his brother. "This place looks fantastic Esther! I can't wait to see what else you have planned, once we all have our money from passing exams," he smiled at her. Esther smiled, "Itispretty nice, isn't it? Not too feminine or masculine."

101. After his little confrontation with Esther, Chandler wasted no time in calling up Meredith and inviting her over for a little session of karaoke. "Here, let's try this song," Chandler picked one that he'd just recently found.

102. "I woke up and you were gone, I found your clothes lining the hall, I hit the light, and found you sleeping on the floor,"

103. "I freaked out, you hid away, I saw the light of a new day, I was so blind, I missed you heading for the door,” Chandler winced a little when Meredith sang the last line. Her pitch was a bit off.

104. "I'm a puppet on your hand, I'm the strings that come unwound, Kiss my lips and I swear I'll fall apart, I took everything you are, and I wished upon a star, And you were there, and you filled my lonely heart,"

105. "And maybe I was wrong, I read your no-note, and wro-wrote this song, Or maybe I'm a chi-child in disguise?” Meredith stumbled over her words and shied away when Chandler made a large sweeping gesture. She quickly hit the stop button and the music faded away.

106. "I'm sorry, I just... I guess I'm not-" Meredith shrugged shyly. "It's okay," Chandler smiled at her, "It's okay. It's not a problem," He realized he was trying to convince himself more than her, "You'll get the hang of it," he slipped his arms around her and gave her a big kiss.

107. "Oof!" Esther giggled as Kevin half-hugged, half-tackled her. “Love you!” --- So that wraps up this chapter. The next installment should be up in a matter of minutes. Songs: Lucky – Jason Mraz & ColbieCalait Who We Are – Lifehouse Unwound – The Real You