Dr. Octavius listened intently as Danielle related the story about the boy who disappeared from her house under mysterious circumstances.

"And you believe he may have gone to another universe?" Dr. Octavius asked as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That certainly is possible. Although I must say, whoever this fellow is, he sounds like a real rude customer to just ditch out on you like that. Are you sure you want to go looking for him?"

"Well, I'd like to know what happened to him," she said. "I'm honestly worried. And he was pretty cute. And I've always wanted to travel to another universe."

"Your timing is impeccable, young lady," Dr. Octavius said. "It just so happens I was about to take an excursion to Quartzwater City. You're welcome to join me, if you'd like, although you'd better put this on." He handed her a bright red and orange Hawaiian shirt.

"What's this for?" Danielle asked. "And what's Quartzwater City?"

"I doubt I could do it much justice with an explanation," Dr. Octavius said. "No, you'd better just come see it for yourself. What did you say this fellow's name was again?"

"Zeke," Danielle said as she buttoned the Hawaiian shirt over her blouse.

"I knew a Zeke once," Dr. Octavius said thoughtfully. "Very troubled young man. Not a very good track record for showing up to work either. Tends to go AWOL frequently. But that's neither here nor there. You clearly have no interest in him. Your Zeke is undoubtedly somebody else all together. Let's see, you're also going to want to carry a handy supply of floss."

"I am?" Danielle said. "Is gingivitis a big concern in this other universe?"

"Oh, heavens no," Dr. Octavius said. "They cured that in Quartzwater City years ago. One simply has to rub muskrat oil all over their gums and it's not a problem over there. I tried to market the cure here once, but apparently it doesn't work so well in this universe."

There was another knock at the door and Sarah poked her head in. "Hey uncle Oscar. Is Maurice here?"

Maurice jerked his head up and let out a loud bawk.

"What did you do to Maurice?" Sarah said with a sigh.

"Nothing serious, I merely swapped his mind with Pauline the chicken here. By the way, Sarah, I'd like you to meet Danielle. She's going to accompany me to Quartwater City to chase after some strange boy she met. It's really quite romantic, although with the infinite number of universes he might have disappeared to, the odds of finding him in Quartzwater City are quite slim. Infinitesimal really. Even if he did somehow end up there, it's a pretty big place and I doubt you'd just randomly run into him. On top of that, this fellow is most likely dead. I'd say the chances of you actually successfully connecting with this boy are somewhere between slim and none. But I really do wish you the best of luck."

"Don't listen to him," Sarah said. "I, for one, believe true love finds a way. Isn't that right, Maurice honey bunny?"

Maurice replied with a squawk and then began pecking at his own back.

"Could you please switch Maurice back to his body?" Sarah asked.

"I was hoping to take them over to Quartzwater City. I'm really quite anxious to talk to Pauline, actually. I'd love to hear her thoughts on inhabiting a hominid body."

"All right, why don't you take them over there and have your talk. I'll come with you guys. I can help Danielle here find her man. It's easier to navigate Quartzwater City if you have a guide."

"Gosh, that's super nice of you," Danielle said.

"I'm a romantic at heart," Sarah shrugged. "I'd like to see you get your happy ending. Everyone deserves one. Plus, I do enjoy visiting over there sometimes. It's a nice break from the daily routines over here. But uncle Oscar, will you promise to bring Maurice right back here and return him to normal? Our wedding is coming up really soon and I'm already kind of freaking out about it."

"Aw, you're getting married?" Danielle asked. "Congratulations! That's so exciting."

"Fear not, Sarah. I'll have Maurice back to himself in no time. You won't even notice anything's happened at all. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"