Awesome Land!: An Interactive Story

[Xero]

"Well, Mr. Narrator," the Queen wheezed angrily, "youz gots some 'splainin' to do."

Cha Cha watched the door until the guards had left. He thought he saw something strange: a kind of blur. Not so much a blur of movement as blurred objects. The last guard to leave appeared to be passing through steam rising from the ground on a hot day. Cha Cha blinked and shook his head, then looked back. The door closed and the blur was gone. He thought nothing of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You, there! Stop!" someone shouted. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the long stone corridor in the underwater palace of Special Land.

"Oh, no! George! They've discovered us!" said Fred. "What should we do?"

"What're ya arskin' me fer?" said George. "Yer da smurt wun."

Fred stopped and smiled like a fool in pride. "Oh, yeah."

George slapped him in the face and grabbed his wrist, the Artifacts held tightly against his chest with one arm. "C'mon! They gunn' catch us!"

The two thieving guards kept running. They came to an intersection and turned off into the side hallway. They found a door and slipped inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Phew!" gasped George, trying to catch his breath. "That were close!"

"Yeah," panted Fred, putting his hands on his knees, glad to have some rest. He looked over at his brother and noticed the Artifacts in his arms for what seemed like the first time. "Now wait a minute! Why do you get to keep all of those shiny weapons? Gimme tha' sword," he demanded, disreguarding the capitalization of Sword, as he didn't realize that it was one of the Artifacts of Wisdom... actually, he had never even heard of them before. He grabbed at the the Sword, but George slapped his hand away.

"Ow!" cried Fred. "What was that for?"

"I finded these shinymabobs. They shud bez mine!" said George.

"Well, I helped take them! Now gimme tha' Sword!"

"No!" George swung the Ugly Stick and it connected with Fred's outstretched arm.

"Ow!" shouted Fred. He snarled at George and started to reach for the Stick. But then he noticed his arm. It had transformed. It was now as fat as the Queen's fist (and that's pretty huge) and as hairy as a bear, with meaty hands and claws for fingers. "Hey!" he yelped in fear. "What's going on?"

George took one look and burst out laughing. He just stood there, pointing and laughing. Fred growled and swiped at George with his new bear claws. George ducked, but Fred's claws still sliced off a chunk of his ear. George yelled in pain. He dropped the Sword and Shield and fell into a fighter's stance, impressive for his intellect. He hit Fred upside the head with the Ugly Stick, and his brother's head morphed into the ugliest, chubbiest, hairiest face you've ever seen. It was horrendously similar to that of Mrs. Beetschen's face. Fred roared and pounced on his brother. They rolled on the stone floor, hand to hand, Stick to claw, beating each other mercilessly until Fred looked like Mrs. Beetschen with about fifty times as much hair and George was dripping with blood. You decide: which would be worse.

While the two guards were fighting, the door creaked open and a blur moved into the room. The blur bent over consumed and the True Sword and False Shield. When Fred and George had finally finished fighting, George dropped the Ugly Stick, which clattered to the ground. The room they had chosen to hide in was the dining hall, so they went through another door into the kitchen to get a drink and regain their breath. The blur consumed the Stick then disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You, there! Stop!" yelled Rowlek. He and his team of guards had spotted the thieves and were now in hot pursuit. The only thing in their minds at this moment was "How would the Queen reward them?"

The team came to an intersection. Rowlek didn't take long to make his decision. "Xero, you take Mark, Yoret, Karrl, and Ysaak and go down that hallway. I'll take the others and keep going this way."

"Yes, Captain Rowlek!" said Xero. He headed off down the side corridor with his squad trailing behind him.

"Alright, men! Follow me!" Rowlek ordered. He continued down the stone hallway, constantly alert for the slightest movement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xero panted as he and his squad kept running down the corridor. They ran past the dining hall, past the kitchen, past the armory, past the anime club's headquarters, past the aquarium, past Rowlek and his squad, past the dining hall, past the kitchen.... Xero stopped. ~I hate this place~ he thought, realizing he had been going in circles. Rowlek hadn't noticed Xero because Xero had emerged from the hallway behind Rowlek and his team after they had passed by. He started back toward the throne room, dejected and defeated. He passed the kitchen, then the dining hall. As he passed the dining hall, he heard a door creak. He turned around just in time to see a blur and the door to the dining hall close. He crept to the door and cracked it open to take a peak. There were the thieves! But they were fighting each other. And where were the Artifacts? One of the guards was holding the Stick, but where were the Sword and the Shield? He cracked the door open a little more and saw something flash in the candlelight. But then it disappeared in a blur. ~What is that blur??" he wondered. He looked back at the guards. They had stopped fighting, and the one with the Stick had dropped it with a clatter. The brothers walked into the kitchen, and Xero took his chance. He burst into the dining hall and dashed for the Stick. But it disappeared in a blur before he could reach it. He whirled around just in time to see the blur disappear out the door. He sprinted for the door, yelling an order for his squad to arrest the two brothers and putting Mark in charge. He came out into the corridor and looked both ways. He saw the blur moving hurriedly toward the Queen's throne room. ~No!~ He couldn't let the blur reach the Queen. He had no idea who the blur was or what its intents were, but he knew he had to stop it. He chased the blur at full speed, but the blur was too fast for him. Xero tripped on a loose stone and landed with a thud. He jumped to his feet, wiping blood from his nose, and ran after the blur.

"Stop!" he shouted. But the blur was gone. He had reached the throne room door. It was cracked open. No! It was too late!

He cautiously opened the door and came inside. Seeing the Queen was alright, he sighed in relief. The Queen just looked at him strangely. In front of her throne was a man. He wore a long silver cloak. In the center of the cloak was an image of a note. A musical note. An eighth note to be exact. The man had long graying hair that reached to his shoulders. He had a silver beard that extended to his chest. In his right hand was a long oak staff. In his left, he held out the three stolen Artifacts of Wisdom, extended out to be presented to the Queen. The man stood up and turned around. He looked at Cha Cha, then at Xero.

"Hello, boys," he said in a deep, heroic voice. "It's been a while."

"Phantom!" Cha Cha and Xero whispered in disbelief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(lol wut Epic family reunion.)

[Xero]

(LOL WUT? I just posted this without reading Austin's post, and somehow I made Veralice appear in the Queen's throne room just like Austin said!!!!? LOL MOST EPIC COINCIDENCE EVER)

[Xero]

"Did you know," started Cha Cha, "that, in Japanese, 'taco' means 'octopus'?"

..... Everyone just stared at him.

"Oh, sorry," apologized Cha Cha, reproving himself for blurting out random information after having been able to contain himself for so long. "That happens sometimes." That hadn't happened since he was a child. Perhaps it was the sight of his father that brought back that old habit.

[Sartorius]

(LOL I LOVE TO EAT TACO IF YOU KNOW WUT I MAEN)

Veralice, who had been staring at the queen's horrible figure, became startled not only by this random fact. He looked around from his hiding spot and saw the source of the fact: Cha Cha. His blood began to figuratively boil until he saw Johnny there as well, at which point his blood cooled down and he did his best to hold in his maniacal laughter.

[Xero]

Xero chuckled at his younger brother's forgetfulness. But his good humor disappeared abruptly when he saw the blur again. What was that thing!? It was behind his father, next to the Queen's throne.

Cha Cha noticed it too. Cha Cha grabbed his trumpet (he had reformed his trumpet from his various brass adornments) and held it beneath his cloak, ready just in case there was any danger.

Xero had done the same. He held his spear out in front of him in the manner of the Royal Guard. Having been summoned for a chase mission, he had decided to wear his cloak over his Guard uniform in case he had to disguise himself. This came in handy now, as he was able to hide his trumpet under his cloak and hold it unnoticed.

[Xero]

Phantom, being the father of the two trumpet warriors, noticed even the slightest movement of either one of the brothers. Seeing both of them reach for their weapons, he gripped Strad even tighter in his closed fist and made a very slight nod to his sons. They nodded back. They all understood.

Phantom spun around and flipped the True Sword into the air with his staff. Cha Cha caught the True Sword with his free hand and pulled his trumpet from his cloak. Xero lifted his spear to his shoulder, ready to throw, and brought his trumpet to his mouth. Phantom turned to face the direction his sons were facing and noticed the blur. The three trumpet warriors let out the biggest, loudest, highest, most perfectly in tune unison screamer note anyone in the room had ever heard. Veralice lost his concentration and dropped his invisibility, falling to his knees. The sound from the three trumpets were lazars, so everyone else in the room was unaffected, although they heard it. Xero and Phantom leapt at the fallen Emperor and swung their staff and spear. The two weapons collided, creating a scissor-like mechanism around Veralice's neck. Cha Cha jumped into the air and landed weightlessly on top of the sticks and held the True Sword with the tip at Veralice's throat.

"Veralice!" Cha Cha spat. "How'd you get out of your cell? And what do you want here anyway?"

[Sartorius]

What a nice formation... thought Veralice.

"Silence, triple crosser!" Veralice commanded Cha Cha. Using his dark magic he teleported behind Xero, Phantom, and one of his most hated nemeses, second to only Johnny. Rising to his feet, Veralice brushed off his hooded cloak.

"Someone seems to forget my abundance of magical power...But that is beside the point..." Veralice trailed off as he saw Cha Cha's sword. Words of the Time Keeper flew through his mind as he noticed a shield and stick were in the same room.

Snapping back to his senses, Veralice said "I refuse to be executed at dawn. Do you know how bad that would be for my reign over Awesome Land?" the emperor asked sincerely.

"My crew alerted me that some people had left after I awoke from my trance. I found that quite odd considering my soldiers are loyal beyond belief...So to make a long story short, after attempting to light someone on fire I remembered I had dark magic. I then turned invisible, teleported into this room, and began spying on you all to ensure you did not upset the monarch of this place." Veralice said breathlessly.

[Xero]

Cha Cha jumped from the sticks and landed behind Veralice and spun around to point his Sword at Veralice's chest. Xero and Phantom turned around and clashed sticks again, trapping Veralice between the four weapons.

"I see," said Cha Cha. "Did it ever occur to you that, perhaps, your minions are not as loyal as you think? Maybe someone else escaped after us?"

Cha Cha noticed Veralice glancing at the Ugly Stick and False Shield, and he kicked it aside, sending it skidding across the floor to Johnny's feet.

"Veralice," Cha Cha breathed, "you time is short. We've almost prepared the weapon of your doom. Be ready."

Cha Cha nodded at Phantom and the Music Legend disappeared. Xero backed off and lowered his spear, and Cha Cha replaced the True Sword in his belt. The two brothers hid their trumpets under their cloaks and stepped away from the imprisoned, weakened Emperor of Awesome Land. Xero continued to watch Veralice warily, keeping a tight grip on his spear in case the Queen was attacked.

[Mizagium]

Johnny could only stare in wonder at the shit that just went down here. Two new characters were introduced before his very eyes! As well as two unimportant ones that he could have sword he had heard of before...

"Cha Cha...Xero...Phantom. Family...Okay! I got it now!" Johnny was able to put together the pieces of this wholly new plot line.

Phantom had dropped the Ugly Stick and False Shield at Johnny's feet. He took both of them and placed the Shield on his left arm and held the Stick in his right hand.

Johnny ran up behind Veralice and held the Ugly Stick over his shoulder so he could see he was being threatened. "What's this about you working with a clock man?" Johnny demanded.

[Sartorius]

"Hmm?" Veralice asked, turning around in an annoyed fashion. "Ah, you must mean the Time Keeper. He's quite angered with you, you know. Much like I am...You recall the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' correct? Well, that saying holds true. Although I haven't seen much of him since I went on that crusade to find you..." the emperor said, teleporting into the air (or lack of air, depending on how you look at it) for no reason whatsoever.

Addressing Cha Cha, Veralice asked "What weapon do you speak of? There is no blade powerful enough to penetrate my body! No magic powerful enough to destroy my soul! I am as close to invincible as a mortal man could get!"
_______________________________________________________

Meanwhile, above Special Land and in Awesome Land

"Should we go help Veralice?" Taenas asked, enjoying the ride upon the giant dragon.

"No. He doesn't deserve it." Walter replied shortly as if no explanation were needed to justify his response.

"But without a ruler, won't Awesome Land be thrown into chaos?" Taenas asked.

"It isn't already?" came Walter's answer. He began to laugh as something began to click in his head. "Wait...Awesome Land has no ruler! This is my chance to get back at that fool and restore the land to its former glory. Taenas, thank you for the idea. Do you happen to know where the former emperor's base of operations is?"

"Yea, right over there. The large building next to that school, I assume. It's really the only building large enough to suit him." said Taenas, afraid of this idea.

"Very well, then." said Walter. At warp speed the dragon flew straight inside the building without damaging a single object. "It seems this place is impervious to damage. No matter. Large enough to hold a dragon...I like this place." Walter laughed, sitting down on Veralice's Imperial Throne. Using the powers of the throne, Walter's voice was amplified across Awesome Land, although that wasn't necessary as everyone in Awesome Land was either under water or in the academy. "

"Attention, my loyal citizens! Some of you may remember me, others may not! This is Walter, a former resident of this land before I was banished by your cruel tyrant. Well, his day of tyranny is no more!" Walter yelled. People all over the academy cheered.

"My day of tyranny is about to begin!" laughed Walter, rising up and stepping out onto the balcony with Taenas and several soldiers. The cheer resumed as people recognized Walter and his greatness.

"I hereby decree myself, the great dragon knight Walter Myolter (pronounced Myol-Tare) the new Emperor of Awesome Land, and Taenas the Imperial Prince."

A loud cheer came as a golden crown fell upon Walter's head, a silver one following to fall upon Taenas' head. Large silver robes fell upon them as well as they stared at their citizens with happiness.

[Xero]

Cha Cha looked up at Veralice.

"This weapon is not a blade. It is magic beyond your comprehension. Only the pure can wield this weapon. Only the Wise...." he stopped before he went too far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I hereby decree myself, the great dragon knight Walter Myolter the new Emperor of Awesome Land, and Taenas the Imperial Prince."

There was a gust of wind on Veraland as these words echoes all across Awesome Land. A figure emerged from the whirlwind. Phantom looked at the shack. He hadn't been here in a long time.

"Ah, Veralice," he said, sadly. "You've changed." Memories rushed back to him, but he blocked them from his mind and peered into the shack. The portal was still there. Good. His eyes twinkled, and he could almost see behind him, as if he were looking into a Mirror. He stepped into the portal and reappeared in the Veral Dimension. This place was no longer familiar to him, but he was able to maintain consciousness through the warp.

"Welcome, Music Legend," said a voice. A dim, faded figure approached Phantom. "It's been a while."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your Highness," said Cha Cha, dropping to his knees. "This man is the tyrant ruler of Awesome Land. I ask that you banish him from this land at once. For your own good and the good of your people."

~Johnny~

Cha Cha looked around.

~Johnny~

Where was that coming from. He looked at Johnny. He hadn't noticed anything. There was a pause. Then:

~Cha Cha~

The True Sword began to quiver in his hand. He pulled it from his belt and looked at it.

~Cha Cha, it's me, Sarah~

~Sarah?~ thought Cha Cha.

~Yes, your father discovered me in the Veral Dimension~

~What?? Okay, so he went there to find you. He had connections with your family, so he must have gone to try to save you. But how are you communicating with me?~

~The Time Keeper put a sort of barrier around the Veral Dimension that prevented me from reaching past the Dimension with my mind. But your father has some kind of Power. A Power very similar to that of the Artifacts of Wisdom. His presence is strange here. I feel as if I could break free from the Dimension at this very instant. But I still need the other Artifacts in order to escape. The Power your father holds is the sole reason I am able to reach past the barrier, but I can only communicate through the other Artifacts.... It's strange. It's as if your father is the Mirror.~

[Mizagium]

The Time Keeper heard Walter's announcement form within the crowd. He wasn't happy. "He beat me to the punch..." he snickered. "No matter, Awesome Land was not my goal anyways.

Using his Time-Space powers he warped to the ruins of Veralice's tower. Again, with his powers he turned back the clock (no pun intended) on the Tower. He watched as the 9002 floors reassembled themselves.

He renamed it The Clock Tower.


He warped to the top of the Tower where Veralice's throne USED to sit before being moved to the school. There sat a box. A low rawr could be heard from inside. It seems in turning back the clock, he also revived RIDLEY.

The Time Keeper opened the box and RIDLEY flew out. It snarled at him. He smacked it across the face and declared, "I am your new master now!" Dragon rawr'd at him again. "Calm down you great beast! I won't keep you in the box any more." He assured the beast. RIDLEY calmed down. "In fact, I will make you even stronger than before!"

The Time Keeper created a vortex that opened to the Null-Void. He infused RIDLEY with the essence of that infernal dimension. RIDLEY grew to over 15 feet long with a wingspan of over 35 feet. He changed to a metallic-sliver color. His eyes became deep blue. Now he had the power to fire Fire, Ice, Lazah, AND a Null-beam.

Thus was born...OMEGA RIDLEY!!

The dragon hastily pledged loyalty to the Time Keeper and flew up above the Clock Tower to keep watch.

The Time Keeper suddenly realized what he'd done. He had REVERSED TIME! Why didn't he think of it before? All he had to do to make himself more menacing was reverse time on himself. So he did. Time bent and twisted around the Time Keeper as he reversed the transformation of his form.

Once the Time vortex closed, a different man stood in place of the Time Keeper. He was almost 6 feet tall. His hair was silver, NOT gray. The robes he adorned himself in were blood-red with black outlining. His eyes were a piercing green.

It felt good to be back.

He declared From the Clock Tower outward to be the Chrono Empire. He created another dimensional vortex, this time he searched for the pocket dimension where Veralice kept the Corrupted Beauty Mirror (henceforth referred to as the Vanity Mirror). He found it. He took it and placed it on a pedestal in the middle of the 9002^nd floor.

He closed the vortex. He looked into the Vanity Mirror and saw an army of Chrono Warriors. He smiled. Using his Space-Time powers he transported that army out of the Mirror and onto the ground around the Clock Tower. He stepped out onto the balcony. The army cheered. It lived only to serve him. He raised his hands for more applause. He got it. He then declared his wishes. The army complied in earnest.

He declared war on Walter and Taenas.

[Xero]

~That's strange~ thought Cha Cha.

~Yes, well, your father has informed me that a new tyrant has taken over Awesome Land in Veralice's absence. His name is Walter, and he has appointed a young boy named Taenas as his Imperial Prince~ said Sarah.

~Veralice isn't going to be happy about that~ thought Cha Cha. Then it hit him. ~Wait~ Maybe this is just what we need to get him to expose the Beauty Mirror so we can take it to free you! Maybe he'll be so angry that he'll resort to using the Mirror's Corrupted Power against Walter and Taenas!~

~Perhaps~ said Sarah. ~In the meantime, I'm sending Phantom back to Awesome Land. I've assigned him a mission to seek out all the greatest warriors from Awesome Land and all the surrounding continents. Hopefully, the combined forces of Awesome Land, Ausum Land, Special Land, and Really Cool Land will be able to defeat Veralice.~

~We can only hope~ thought Cha Cha. Then his mind link with Sarah broke and he snapped back to attention. He was in the throne room of the Queen of Special Land.

"Xero, please escort Emperor Veralice back to his cell," he said. "Your Highness, I have urgent news."

[Mizagium]

(Uh-oh Michael... we've created a paradox again...)

[Xero]

When Phantom reemerged from the Veral Dimension, he noticed that Awesome Land was changed. The portal to the Veral Dimension closed behind him and he heard Sarah scream. He dove for the portal. But it was too late: the portal was gone.

He clenched his fists and turned toward Awesome Land. Dark clouds covered the entire continent and lightning crashed near the center of the mainland. Right where the Clock Tower had just appeared. Phantom knew he didn't have much time. He had witnessed the Time Keeper's powers before. He knew he had the power to create and destroy Null Voids. He knew Sarah had a very slim chance of survival now that the Veral Dimension was likely being consumed by the Null Void that had fused with RIDLEY. He had to hurry. He hopped in a boat and sailed toward Awesome Land. He knew how to save Sarah. But it was only a matter of time before it was too late. Time that was now determined the the Time Keeper.

[Xero]

(Veraland is a timeless dimension, so Phantom and Sarah weren't affected by the change the Time Keeper caused. But the Veral Dimension is now being consumed by the OMEGA RIDLEY Dimension, and Sarah along with it. Even the Soul Patch can't prevent her from fading away unless they can save her before it's too late.)

[Mizagium]

The Time Keeper smiled. His AWESOME plan was...just AWESOME! OMEGA RIDLEY now consumed the Veral Dimension...

...and with it Sarah.

Now Johnny would be forced to allow OMEGA RIDLEY to exist, or else he would destroy his sister.

[Sartorius]

My emperor sense is tingling... Veralice thought to himself. "I'm not going anywhere until everything is resolved and I am back upon the mainland." Veralice said assertively. He had a terrible feeling that something was happening in Awesome Land without his knowledge.
______________________________________________________

Imperial Prince Taenas fixed the long silver robe over his golden armor. "It fits well." he said to himself as he looked in a mirror. "Emperor Walter, do you see what I see in the distance?" the prince asked as he looked through the telescope in Veralice's observatory.

"That...Is another large tower. But Veralice couldn't have built it. He is trapped underwater. Soldiers, go to the new tower and find out its owner." Emperor Walter commanded. He gave two of the more powerful soldiers dragons from within his former home and sent them off toward the Clock Tower.

[Mizagium]

Johnny fell to the ground and clutched his heart. It felt like a part of him just died. His thoughts turned immediately to Sarah. Something must have happened to her, but what...

"Cha Cha, something's wrong, I...I can't feel Sarah anymore." Johnny struggled to his feet.

Loud crashed of thunder could be heard from the surface of Awesome Land. "What is going on up there...?" He asked rather loudly.

[Xero]

~Xero. Cha Cha~

~Father? the brothers asked.

~Get the Artifacts and your friends Johnny and Salvatore. The Time Keeper has taken over Awesome Land. He is the one that put Sarah in the Veral Dimension. And it's very likely that he is now slowly destroying the Veral Dimension, and Sarah with it, now that he has total control over Awesome Land. We have to hurry.~

~But what about the Mirror?~ Cha Cha asked. ~Veralice still has it.~

~No, he doesn't~ said Phantom. ~In order for the Time Keeper to have control over all of Awesome Land, he needs the Corrupted Beauty Mirror. He probably found the Vanity Mirror and now keeps it close to him at all times.~

~Great~ muttered Cha Cha. ~Then how do we get it back in time to save Sarah?~

~Don't worry, son~ Phantom reassured him. ~I've got it covered.~

[Mizagium]

The Time Keeper spotted the Dragon Riders at the same time OMEGA RIDLEY did.

Without a direct order, OMEGA RIDLEY flew right for them, screeching the whole time.

The two riders charged towards O.R. without fear. They could take on one dragon...right? They were wrong. O.R. grew larger as he came closer. The two riders looked at each other nervously.

O.R. charged them head on, knocking one of the riders off his mount almost. The other rider dove down to avoid O.R. O.R. turned and came back for him, spewing Ice from his mouth, a dragon's one weakness. The dragon's wings froze and it fell to the ground. It fell on it's rider. Both died from the impact.

The second rider got back on the dragon and turned to retreat. But O.R. was waiting for him. It let loose a huge blast of Lazah and vaporized both the dragon and the soldier.

O.R. flew back to the Clock Tower, satisfied.

[Xero]

"Johnny, Salvatore!" Cha Cha exclaimed as thunder crashed and the palace shook as a rather large tree fell to the ground in Awesome Land. "Time to go!"

Cha Cha kicked the door open and ran out, clutching the True Sword in his belt. Xero bowed respectfully to the Queen, then followed his brother, Salvatore coming next with Johnny leaning on his shoulder, leaving Narrator, the Queen, and Veralice alone in the throne room.

[Mizagium]

(How are we going to get out of Special Land? WE'RE UNDER WATER!!!)

[Xero]

(Xero's part of the Royal Guard. He can take one of the Special Navy subs/physics-defying ships.)

[Xero]

They arrived in the town square of Special Land.

"Great!" said Cha Cha. "How do we get out of here?"

There was a loud clanking and what sounded like locks coming undone. Cha Cha turned around to see a kind of garage door opening to reveal a large ship. On its side was painted SRN: Special Royal Navy. Xero climbed a rope hanging from the side and took the wheel.

"We take a ship, of course," said Xero heroically.

As Cha Cha climbed the rope, grateful that he had a brother in the Special Royal Navy, Rowlek and the rest of his team appeared in the garage doorway.

"Need some help?" asked Rowlek. He grinned up at Xero, who grinned back. Now they meant business.