Or Damn That Cocoa!

Egon Spengler was upset. No, make that full-fledged angry. Here he was, stuck alone in the firehouse, nursing a recently broken wrist and there was no chocolate for cocoa! Egon was a man of few pleasures and he considered himself fair in nature, but when it came to his twinkies and cocoa, he could be downright possessive!

Thoughts on as to who the chocolate eating culprit could have been were swirling in his mind. Could it have been Janine? No, she had today off and hadn't been seen since yesterday. Could it have been Winston? No, not him either. He wasn't the type of person who'd do that. Slimer hated the taste of the bittersweet chocolate, after gulping one bar, he made an exaggerated show of gagging and 'dying'.

That left Ray and Peter. Egon knew it had to be one of them. Those two sugar junkies would nibble on anything semi-sweet, including his chocolate! He was sure Ray wouldn't do anything *this* scandalous. Peter, on the other hand, would...

"Oh, Venkman! If I ever discover that you're responsible for the consumption of my chocolate, I will create an experiment with *your* name on it!" he muttered.

Just to be sure, he ransacked the bare cupboards of the kitchen one last time. In the cabinet over the stove, he found a box of Swiss Miss. He stared longingly at the steaming cup of cocoa, complete with tiny marshmallows that were starting to melt...

He wanted a cup of cocoa desperately. He actually considered drinking the Swiss Miss. How long would it take, one minute? All he really needed was the hot water to boil. Sure it looked delicious on the box, but it was *instant* cocoa! The bane of his existence! Who in the world (or right mind for that matter!) would get any joy from slurping down this toxic sludge masked as cocoa? Not him!

He snorted and tossed the box over his shoulder. It clabbered against the bottom cabinets and slid to the floor.

"Well, I've never!" a voice behind him stated.

Egon whirled around with the small pan in his hand. What he saw made his eyes grow twice their allowed size. The little Swiss Miss had jumped from the box! In her dainty hands was a large cup of steaming cocoa. He bet that it was the fake cocoa they panned off as the real thing.

The tiny maiden's cheeks puffed out in anger. "You think my cocoa is bad?!" she asked.

Egon blinked twice before answering. "Bad would not be the word I would chose to describe it."

Uh-oh, that did it. The little eyes grew large in anger as she flung the cup of cocoa at him. "I'll make you drink those words!"

He ducked the flying cup and noticed that it splattered against the wall into a puddle of orange goop. "Couldn't we talk this out rationally?"

"Why should I talk to you, after you called *my* cocoa bad. You have no idea who I am, buddy! I'm Swiss Miss! My cocoa is enjoyed by kids all over the world!" She planted her little hands on her small hips and thrusted her chest out in pride.

Egon tried his best to not laugh, but he was failing miserably. "If you can find me a bit of bittersweet chocolate, I can show you whose cocoa is better."

Swiss Miss cocked one fair eyebrow. "All right, blondie. If your cocoa is better, I leave with no arguments. But if I win, you have to drink my cocoa for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

He placed a look of mock horror on his face. "Fine."

The two cocoa enthusiasts busied themselves with the preparation of their cocoa. Egon took extra time to make sure the chocolate was turning nicely before adding his milk. He scoffed when he saw Swiss Miss start to boil a pot of water.

Minutes later, armed with mugs of cocoa, the two sat down at the table. Considering how small Swiss Miss was, she had to hop onto the table. They glared at one another while Egon switched the mugs. The blue one was his cocoa, the purple one, Swiss Miss.

"You first, blondie," she ordered, glaring at him.

"No, by all means. Ladies first," he said.

She glared at him for a second longer before sniffing at the cup. Hmm, smelled nice. It was nice and hot too, just the right temperature to get snugly. She took a test snip. It tasted *way* better than that stuff she called cocoa. Gingerly she sipped at the cup, each snip was turning into a large gulp as she tried to suck all the cocoa from the mug through the tiny straw.

When she was done, her tummy was round and full. Her cheeks were full and rosy and she felt like she was ready to settle down with a good book. When she opened her eyes and saw Egon watching her with a grin on his face, she realized that she'd lost.

"You cheated! You cheated me!" she screamed, stomping around on the table.

"I did no such thing. You clearly enjoyed the cocoa," he said shrugging. "I believe that means I win."

"Oh no it doesn't!" she wailed.

Suddenly Egon noticed that the temperature in the room jumped. Everything around him was in flames!

He opened his mouth to scream over the sadistic cackling of Swiss Miss. Flames licked around his face, burning away at his air. Swiss Miss only laughed harder, pointing and bending over in fits of laughter.

He clawed at the table, knocking the mug to the floor. The last thing he remembered was the look on Swiss Miss' face.

* * * *

"Fire... fire... burning!" Egon muttered in his sleep.

Winston peered over his book and watched as Egon started thrashing about on the couch. Ever since they returned from the hospital, he was feverish and sleeping in spurts.

"Time to wake sleeping beauty up again," Winston grumbled. He reached over and shook Egon, taking care not to hurt his damaged wrist.

"FIRE!" Egon screamed again and kicked out, connecting with Winston's thigh. Winston grunted and shoved Egon into a sitting position.

He tapped Egon's cheeks lightly, bringing him back into consciousness. "Winston?" Egon asked. "What happened?"

"You were dreaming again. This time about fire," Winston said, rubbing his aching leg.

Egon peered over his glasses and turned slightly red. "Did I do that? I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. What were you dreaming about?" Winston asked.

Egon pushed his damp hair away from his forehead. "I can't remember."

Winston sighed. Next time he was leaving the baby-sitting to the others. "Since you're up, I was going to make some cocoa. Want some?"

The blue eyes widened in horror. "What kind?"

Winston shrugged as he got up. "Some Swiss Miss I bought. I can't make cocoa like you."

The last thing Winston saw was the blanket fluttering to the ground as Egon stampeded out of the TV lounge.

"What did I say?" Winston questioned as he scratched his head in confusion.

The End.