*NOTE* I was bored, and was just sitting at my computer typing and erasing, typing and erasing. And then I started writing this -- and I'm not quite sure what I think of it yet. My sister was laughing quite hysterically when she read this, but of course, 'twas late at night. So, you tell me what you think. I haven't finished it, but plan to. It'll just be a short story, not a novel. *END NOTE*

Talia watched an invasion of door mats walk through the door, looking solemn as they walked down, down, down the hallway to the kitchen. Talia looked on in amazement, her bright blue eyes widening as she watched them. Blue, green, pink, yellow and red mats were all rolling in procession down the hallway. Trying to catch hold of one, Talia felt a great sting on her hand,
"Ouch!" she cried, "it bit me!"
She backed away from the creepy mats and watched on in awe.
"Come here Matty, matty matty!" She called after a blue mat rolled by her. The mat just smiled and looked up at her,
"The names Bendon. Mat Bendon."
Talia stared in awe, her mouth hanging open.
"M-m-mat Bendon?" she shrieked "like, my Matt Bendon -- who died last year? Turned into a door mat?"
The mat bowed his face down and Talia could be sure she saw a tear roll down it's rugged cheek,
"I once had a girlfriend. Talia Ditz." the Mat sighed, "but that's all over now. She's gone -- or more like, I've gone. Into the new world of Mats."
"But I'm Talia Ditz!" She shouted in wonderment. "Don't you recognize me?" she whimpered,
"Of course I do baby." Mat looked up with that smirk only Matt Bendon ever did.
"Maaaatt!" She cried, and fell to the floor, passed out. Mat sighed and shook his head,
"She was always the stupid one. How is she going to help me if she's fainted?" he ranted on and on about her stupidity, until she suddenly stirred,
"Matt Bendon! Matt Bendon!" she cried in a high pitched fan-girl voice, "my one and only honey! My Maaaatt!" She screamed. Matt sighed, trying to stay calm, thinking,
How did I ever fall in love with such a ditz?
"Talia. Listen. To. Me. Don't freak out! I need help -- I need to convert back to a human again." He paused, looking into her eyes, "But I need your help!"
Talia stopped her shrieking "Wha-what'd you say?" her eyes were as big as saucers.
"I said that I need to convert to a human again. But I need your help to do so." he raised one eyebrow and smiled at her, "your the only one, Talia baby."
"Ohhhh!" she sighed dreamily, "he called me baby!" she fainted again.
Matt sighed and paced the room,
"What a fool I was to pick such a fool!" he repeated over and over, "alas, what a fool I was!" His mind wandered back to the day he'd met her,
He was a young fool then. Desperate for a girlfriend -- all the other boys had one. He had met her in school, during lunch break.
"Hi." he had said awkwardly
"Hey Matt Bendon!!" she had shrieked. Why didn't I notice then?
"Um, can I sit here, and eat?" Matt had asked,
"Why sure, Matty! Please sit by me, Matty. Pretty please!" She had had the biggest cheesiest smile on her face. Matt took a seat across from her.
"So, what do you like to do?" he asked, smiling awkwardly at all the attention she was getting him.
"Oh, I like to climb trees and shoot snakes, tromp through woods and play airsoft!" She smiled, nodding her pretty blonde head up and down. Matt's smile broadened,
"You really like all that guy stuff?" he asked in amazement.
"Yuppers!" she shrieked.
"Wow! I love all that stuff too!" He leaned in closer, "Do you have a boyfriend yet?"
"No!" she shouted, then even louder, "but will you be my boyfriend, Matt? Please?!" She had shrieked so loud that Matt covered his ears,
"Uh.." he stuttered, "I'd love to!"
Talia jumped up, shrieking and screaming, and jumped on top of the table, and screamed to everyone that Matt Bendon was her boyfriend.
"College wasn't much better..." he muttered out loud,
"What was that Matty?" Talia asked, having just awoken,
"Oh. Uh, I was just thinking is all."
"Anyways, Matty, how am I supposed to help you become a human again? I mean -- this is crazy! My Matt turning into a door Mat!" she shrieked and fell to the floor laughing her head off.
"It isn't funny!" he said.
"What was that?" Talia stopped laughing,
"I said: It isn't funny!" This time he shouted quite loudly. "Do you see all those mats that gathered in the kitchen? They were people once. They had good lives. They had girlfriends or boyfriends once. They once had a lovely life, and now they are all door mats with hardly a chance to become human again!"
Talia scratched her head and then said in a high pitched voice,
"Oh! How dreadful! How can I help?"
"You have to come back with me to Issel, Land of the Mats and other such things."
"Go where?" she shrieked with laughter. "Land of the Mats and other such things!"
Matt turned to go and collect the other mats to leave. Then Talia touched his Ruggy hand,
"No, I'll go with you." she said, a tear trickling down her cheek. "You must understand this is crazy hard on me -- to see you turned into a mat. You were..." she stopped and buried her face in her hands, "you were the best person I've ever known!" She started shrieking and tears fell down until there was quite a big puddle of tears around her.
"Now, now." Matt said soothingly, "there's no need to make such a fuss! We best get going now." He led the sobbing Talia into the kitchen where all the other mat's were assembled, whispering to each other. She saw a lonely mat in the corner, sobbing it's little stitches out.
Poor things! She thought, going over to the lonely mat and rubbing it.
"Talia. Here's what you must do to get us and you to the land of Issell," Matt continued, "roll every one of us up and put us in the center of the room, then sit on top of us and shout To ISSELL!!"
Talia nodded her head thoughtfully and burst out laughing,
"Me?! Me roll every one of you up? Why there must be at least two hundred of you!"
"You'll have to do it anyways, that is, if you love me!" Matt said.
"Oh fine. Whatever!" and she started rolling up the mat's, one by one, until,
"Two hundred and fifty-six!" she shouted out loud, when they were all rolled up and in the center of the room. Sitting atop the mat's she shrieked at the top of her voice,
"To ISSELL!!"
She immediately felt a strange feeling, it felt as if all the wind were being knocked out of her, as she went up, up, up through the roof and into the sky. After what seemed like hours, Talia and the mat's made a smooth landing onto grass. The grass was velvety feeling, and it made one wish to go to sleep as soon as they touched it, which is just what Talia began to do, until she heard a muffled scream from one of the mat's,
"Aren't you going to unroll us?"
Talia sat up and sighed, now do it all over again, except the opposite way. When she had finished, she was too wide awake and used to the soft, velvety grass that she was ready to be on her way to Issell.
"Well, let's be going now!" said Matt, and he must have thought himself very bold looking as he marched forward, but Talia thought he looked ridiculous,
"Oh stop it Matt!" She said, laughing until the tears came to her eyes,
"Stop what?" Matt asked, clearly ignorant to how silly he looked.
"You look quite silly, Matt. Marching around. It's just different when your a mat, you look ridiculous now!" And she burst out laughing again, until she fell to the ground, and tears began pouring out of her eyes, and she kicked and pounded her fists against the earth. Matt apparently didn't think this was funny, because he stomped off, huffing and puffing. At long last, Talia stood up and brushed all the leaves off of her. She saw all the mat's discoursing with each other, some yelling not so nice words about Talia, and others trying to appease their wrath. One mat was saying, quite indignantly,
"That girl has a serious problem in her brain! She must be out of her mind! She's constantly screaming her guts out like a ditz, and then crying at the same time. This must be put to a stop! We --"
Here, Talia cut in,
"I'll try to stop -- honest I will!" Talia looked very serious for once, "I really do mean it."
All the mat's looked at each other and then nodded their heads, and then Matt said,
"Thank you Talia. These mat's are desperate to be humans again!"
Matt led the way, and soon they came to a bubbling brook, where fruit trees with every fruit imaginable hung from their branches, leaning over the brook. Suddenly, a great groan, that seemed to be several people in a chorus, came from behind Talia, and she looked back to the mat's. Every one of them were either crying, weeping or sitting there stone still.
"Why, whatever is the matter?" she asked in horror, for even Matt was weeping and rubbing his little eyes.
"This is the place! This is the place!" Groaned one mat.
Matt looked up at Talia with tears in his eyes,
"This is the place, darling Talia, where we were turned into mat's by the Witch of the Mat Kingdom. Queen of the Spatula slaves and Empress of the Jedgen Islands!"
"Oh." she said awkwardly at first, and then, "I'm so very sorry. This must be so traumatic for you! Bless your Matty souls!"
Matt then ordered all to go onward again, and very soon they came to a small hut that said, on a sign in big letters,
Mat's by the Empress of Jedgen Islands. Enter if you dare!
Matt groaned and urged everyone to go carefully around to the back of the Mat shop.
"Shhh..." he whispered, and then, very boldly, he said, "Most valiant and noble men and women mat's! We must free ourselves from this hideous bond of slavery. For ages long, the great Empress of the Jedgen Islands has been a tyrant, forcing people to be spatula slaves, and turning others into mat's for profit." here he paused, a catch in his throat, "we must break her evil spell over humans, and we must defeat her! I have heard of a person -- the Dagger Maiden -- who is to free the spatula slaves. When? Nobody knows. It could be four hundred years from now. But Talia is our last chance at being turned into humans again. Our only chance. So cheer up brethren! Today we conquer over human mat's!"
Talia was all too willing to scream at the top of her lungs when he finished his epic speech, and she was just about to, when Matt jumped as high as he could and slapped her mouth,
"Must be quiet, fool!" he said. "Now, go inside and talk to the Empress."
"But what do I say?"
"Just say something! Convince her to let us out of this spell!"
"Yikes!" she squealed, a little loud, but thankfully the witch didn't hear. Talia made her way to the small door, and then, getting a surge of courage, banged as loudly as she could on the door. And then quickly looked back to see if they were upset at her, but they were all hiding, and she could only see bits of a few of them. Then the door opened,
"Why, a little lady here at our door!" Shrieked a tall, icy eyed woman, and then her face softened a bit and she said, "come inside, won't you? And have a cup of tea?"
"Why, no, thank you though. I don't like tea." Talia stated in a defiant tone.
"Of course, of course! Then what would you like?" she asked, her voice suddenly soft and motherly.
"Oh, do you have any chocolate milk? I love that stuff! I adore that stuff!" Talia shrieked, excitement in her voice.
"Why of course my little darling!" and in her hand appeared a tall glass of cold chocolate milk, "here we are! Drink up!"
Talia drank the glass down and then laughed hysterically,
"I like that! Oh boy, do I like that! Can I have more?" she asked.
"Of course, you may have all you want in the world if you'll just help me!" The witch tempted.
"Sure, sure! Anything for more chocolate milk like that!" Talia laughed, half out of her mind. The witch handed her another glass of chocolate milk and then said,
"That's quite enough for now. I am in desperate need of help. I am but a poor, humble mat maker and you will be very useful!" She put her about to this work and to that work, until poor Talia grew so weary that she lay down on the floor she was mopping and fell fast asleep. The hours ticked by, until finally she awoke and it was quite dark all around her and she could not even see her own hand, but she could feel ropes burning her wrists, and she found she was on a stone floor, and all she could hear was a constant drip, drip of water. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as good as she could, but still she saw nothing.
"Matt? Matt where are you?" she shrieked, "why did I let that Empress trick me into this? Her chocolate milk was good, but...but to betray the love of my life. And to betray the other wonderful mats! How could I? I'm the most horrid person in the world!" She sobbed, "they were counting on me. They looked to me as the only one! I am so unworthy of my life!"
Then she heard a heavy door creaking open, and blinding light pouring in, which was the sunlight. And in came about four yellow mats, and one more, a blue one. It was Matt himself,
"Talia, we're here to help you! We must do it quickly, so please be quiet!" They quickly cut the ropes and then led her to the door, Matt whispered in her ear,
"she would have turned you into a mat -- and might still if we don't get out of here quick!" They ran as quickly and quietly as they could. They at last came to a field, wide and open. Then, Talia saw all the rest of the mats, popping up from hiding places all around them. Matt ordered everyone forward,
"Azarae, the High Queen of Palena lives at the end of this field, in the Great Kingdom of Palena! Let us be off!" And it was quite a funny sight, seeing all those mats running as fast and hard as they could. And it wasn't long before Talia was ahead of them all, and there was a little hill that went down. And down below that hill she saw a vast kingdom laid out below,
"Palena!" She heard Matt say in awe as he came up beside her, "Noble people! Palena lies just below, let us go forward boldly!"