During the second day of our power outage, Kate and Rachel's adventure reached a climax and an inevitable end.
Wardrobe:
Anna: blue jeans and red polo
Kate: purple skirt, pink blouse, purple bandana headband and neck scarf
Rachel: navy blue skirt, blouse, kerchief, and neck scarf
Sara: blue jeans, green polo, brown bandana headscarf
Paul: blue jeans and Green Bay Packers t-shirt
John: black shorts (in 50 degree weather?!), red t-shirt
James: blue jeans, red t-shirt
Eric: blue jeans and green t-shirt
Kate and RAchel had a new goal in mind, though. Today, they had the ambitious goal of taking down all six of their siblings, something quite difficult if you ask me. They set off with confidence, nevertheless. Once again, their first target was Sara; it wasn't because she was easy, but rather she'd blab, so Sara quickly found herself with arms and elbows tied behind her back and gagged with socks and tape. She was led over to a chair where her knees, thighs, and ankles were each fastened to the chair followed by lashing her arms, torso, and waist to the chair, ceasing any motion she may have planned. Rachel blindfolded her with a white bandana, and they moved on after leaving her in the den. She let out a loud "Mmmmmhhh!" as they left.
Kate walked into James and Eric's room, where James was reading by the daylight streaming in.
"Hi, James, care for a game?"
"After last night, I doubt it. If I say yes, I'm going to be tied up; if I say no, I'm a coward. Let me save you the trouble," James said as he
walked to the foot of the bed and sat down, "Finish me off."
"That was... unexpected... Rachel?"
"It was different, at least," Rachel responded to her dumbfounded sister.
Kate bound James upper body while Rachel took his lower body. He was soon fastened to the bed framing. Kate shoved a sock in his mouth and cleave gagged him with a red bandana, which Rachel followed up with five layers of duct tape.
"I don't think he's moving, Kate."
"Nope. Let's find Anna and see if we can put the pounce on her again."
Anna was coming up the stairs at that moment and found herself with a sister on either side.
"What do you two want?" Anna asked sternly.
"A friend in distress," Kate responded.
"Forget it. I'm not bothering with that right now. I'm busy. Ask again later."
"OK, then... we'll let you be. Rachel?"
"Let's go to Paul and John's room."
Amazingly, John was in Paul and John's room, as Paul and Eric were cleaning up the fallen branches in the yard. John was a much more... willing(?)... victim, as he accepted his capture and found himself tied just like James. John, though, was in a better humor.
"These ties which bind me remind me of my third-grade teacher."
"How so?" Rachel asked.
"They're not something you want."
"That's not funny."
"If you were me, it would be."
"Huh?"
"Forget it."
Those were John's last words before a sock and tape gagged him. Rachel and Kate again ran into Anna.
"This doesn't bode well," Anna said.
"Only if you're willing," Kate responded.
"Let me bring this to mom first."
"Fine."
Five minutes later, Anna was back in her room, faced with a grim fate. She knew the outcome, and it was well-worth being tied for it. Rachel again took the legs while Kate took the torso. Even without being tied to furniture, Anna was pretty much helpless.
"Pretty effective. You're good at this."
"Practice makes perfect," Rachel quipped.
"Practicing on what?"
"You."
"Oh..."
"Open wide!" Kate said as she shoved the sock in Anna's mouth and cinched it with a purple bandana cleave gag. Rachel followed it up with several layers of tape and a pink bandana blindfold. The last step in Anna's incarceration was a rope running from her ankles to her chest rope, effectively hogtying her.
Underneath the gag, Anna was smiling knowing what was to come.
Rachel and Kate entered the hallway and found Paul waiting for them, apparently done with the branch cleanup.
"Beat down!" Paul shouted, and Kate and Rachel took off down the stairs into the living room, but Paul didn't follow.
Meanwhile, Paul executed Anna's plan to perfection, and he and Eric soon followed.
"We're coming to find you!" Paul announced.
"Quick, Rachel, to the maze!" Kate said as she headed down the stairs with flashlights in hand with Paul and Eric in pursuit with their own torches (for you British readers

)
In the maze, there were many routes to take, so two people could easily escape. Rachel and Kate were hidden in a corner where light revealed nothing. Their dark colors helped them disappear, especially amongst a maze of navy blue and purple bins and brown cardboard boxes. Paul and Eric searched, and Rachel and Kate could see the three lights shining around the room.
"They're going that way," Kate whispered and pointing toward the four lights, and she led Rachel away in another direction whereby they were able to escape the maze, but coming up the stairs Rachel and Kate ran into John and Sara.
"Eeeek! How did you-- mmmph!" Kate said as Paul came up behind her and wrapped one arm around her torso and gagged her with his other hand while Anna did the same to Rachel.
"Victory for Bowser and the Koopa Kids!" Paul shouted triumphantly, letting Kate speak.
"But how did you guys?"
"While you were busy with Anna, Eric sneaked in and untied James. After I scared you down the stairs, he untied Anna, and I rescued John. Sara was freed after you went upstairs."
"But who?"
"I did," Anna said, "After last night, I knew you and Rachel here would go on a reign of terror, so I ended it all by enlisting Bowser's help."
"It was well coordinated."
"The time I spent doing the other task was so that I was productive while also giving Eric time to free James. We even coordinated, see?"
"Huh?"
"Paul is wearing green and yellow like Bowser, and the rest of us are wearing red and green. like Koopas!"
"Wow, well that was well- mmmph!"
"Now for your prizes!" Paul said, as he reclamped his hand on Kate's mouth while she squirmed a little, "Onward and upward!"
In the living room, Rachel and Kate got their 'prizes.' Their ties were identical: hands bound with arms folded in square pattern with hand touching opposite elbow, ropes fastening arms above and blow breasts and to the waist. Sara and Anna bound their sisters above and below the knees UNDER their skirts and tied their ankles. Further roping hogtied them.
"Since you found coordinating your colors important so as to disappear in the dark!" Anna said as she shoved a sock in Kate's mouth, cleave gagged her with a purple bandana, wrapped her mouth in 7 layers of tape, and blindfolded her with a purple bandana while Sara did the same to Rachel with navy blue bandanas. All Kate and Rachel could do was squirm and mew under the gags.
"We wear jeans, unlike you, so I think Sara and I would be much better cowboy gangsters then you! Real cowboys wear jeans!" Anna followed up.
"Let's!" Paul said as they proceeded to put their helpless sisters through 20 minutes of tickling as they helpless tried to thrash and scream while only muted laughter came out. Tickling wasn't common in our house, but in this case it was well-deserved.
Thus, the "Cowboy Gangsters" in this incarnation were squashed.
Stories to come in the (hopefully) near future: "Paul's Birthday," "Anna's Boyfriend," and "Happy Anniversary," the latter two of which are most likely to come within a reasonable time frame.
I rite on a tabblit, so speling errurs will hap pin free quintly.