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Disclaimer: I swear to you I am not the one that stole the characters. /gently pushing characters under bed with foot/ Really! It wasn't me! They belong to you, Steve and Craig! I swear I didn't steal them!

Note:
Response to Mickey's Words Challenge

Author’s Note: I didn’t use all the words. The ones that I did use are in bold. Reposted this because I couldn’t remember why I bothered to take it down in the first place. Meh.

Summary: Broots overhears something after hours that he shouldn’t, and winds up in a predicament he could never imagine!

After Hours
by: chopsticks
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Broots nervously wound his way through The Centre hallways, trying to avoid his actual destination: Mr. Lyle's office. He hated being in The Centre after hours because the place was like a graveyard at that time. Sure, there was the random janitor and a few stray employees working late, but otherwise the place was completely deserted.

After fifteen minutes of aimless wandering, he found himself outside the door to Mr. Lyle’s office. Typical. The place he wanted to avoid was the place where he ended up. Life’s like that for him.

He was just about to open the door when he heard voices emanating from within the room. Surely Mr. Lyle wasn’t still here! He thought the man had gone home already. All Broots needed to do was drop off a file that Miss Parker wanted her twin to see, and that would be it. It was a simple in and out kind of job, the kind he liked.

Mr. Lyle spoke again inside the room, and Broots leaned in closer to better hear the dialogue.

"You’re trying to tempt me!" Mr. Lyle said, laughing slightly. Broots simply brushed the sound off as an echo or Lyle clearing his throat. There’s no way the cannibal was laughing.

"I know that temptation will be your undoing. . ." a female voice replied huskily. Broots pulled away in shock, his mouth falling wide open. Mr. Lyle had a woman in there with him?

"Oh my God!" Broots whispered to himself, backing away and up against the wall. His body made a thump sound when he hit it, and quiet murmuring of voices from within stopped. He instantly wanted to sink into the floor and disappear, or at least to get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, his legs wouldn’t cooperate and he remained rooted in place.

The door slowly opened and a female head poked out, instantly spotting Broots and his retro clothes.

"Oh! I thought I heard someone out here!" the woman said. Broots could swear that he recognized her from some place, though he didn’t know where.

"Who is it?" Lyle called, opening the door further and peering out. "Mr. Broots?" he questioned, sticking a piece of fudge in his mouth. Broots simply stared wide-eyed at them, too scared to even move slightly.

"Is he all right?" the woman questioned, turning to look at Lyle.

"I’m sure he’s fine. He does this sometimes. Give him a bit, he’ll come out of it," Lyle responded, handing the woman a glass of brandy he had been holding.

"Are you sure? He looks. . .catatonic," the woman replied, sipping the brandy. Lyle sighed and maneuvered his way past the woman and stood in front of Broots. He waved a hand in front of the man’s face several times until Broots snapped out of it.

"Mr. Broots, are you back with us?"

"Um, yes. Sorry. I’ll just be going. . ."

"What’s that in your hand?"

Broots glanced down and realized he still had the file in his hand. "Um, this is for you. . ."

"Ah, good," Lyle turned on his heel and headed back to the office, but then stopped and turned back to Broots. "Mr. Broots?" he queried, stopping the balding man in his tracks.

"Y-yes?"

"How old is your daughter?" Broots instantly paled at this question and felt his protective side take over.

"Twelve. Why?"

"Well, then I think we have something she might like!" Lyle responded cheerfully, ushering the woman inside and following behind. Broots followed nervously, wondering what on Earth Lyle and his companion could have to offer his daughter.

When he stepped inside, he got his answer. There, sitting on the desk staring at him, were two stuffed animals. One was Scooby-Doo and the other was one he had never seen before. The woman noticed his questioning gaze directed at the other strange creature.

"It’s a Moken."

"A what?" Broots questioned, turning his gaze back to the woman.

"A little creature with pointed ears and an evil smile that generally likes to torture characters. It’s a muse to most writers, and a stuffed animal for children," Lyle answered, leaning against his desk and picking up the blue Moken. He tossed the blue furball at Broots, who managed to catch it. He held it up for inspection and noted the pointed ears and grin that was plastered on the creature’s face.

Broots looked back up in time to see Scooby-Doo come flying at him, and he almost caught it in time. He bent over to retrieve the fallen dog and then quickly turned to leave. This was just too weird for him.

"Thank you," he mumbled loud enough for Lyle to hear at the door, then quickly scurried out.

Once he was out in the hall, he ran down the hall back to his hole in the Tech Lab, gathered his things, and went home. There was no way he was ever going to stay after hours at The Centre ever again!

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the end.

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