Content: Game X-overs & Commander Keen, Parody/Sci-Fi, Rated K-plus for scary situations

Summary: This story is a parody of the Aesop's fable "The Mice in Council." Commander Keen asks heroes from various DOS computer games for ideas on how to get past the Dopefish in the Well of Wishes. "Secret of the Oracle," aka "Goodbye, Galaxy!" Has concepts similar to Wreck-It Ralph and FanFiction's Super Smash Bros. Smash Mansion stories.

The Adventures of Captain Comic released 1988; Commander Keen released 1990; Hugo's House of Horrors released 1990; Crystal Caves released 1991; Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure released 1992; Jill of the Jungle released 1992; Bio Menace released 1993; Xargon released 1993; Hocus Pocus released 1994; Jazz Jackrabbit released 1994; The Adventures of Robbo released 1994

Author's Notes: I am very likely to write more stories about the Leauge of DOS Heroes, not just as parodies of Aesop's Fables. So I will probably reuse the paragraph with the descriptions of all twelve heroes in future stories.

The League of DOS Heroes in Council

The Shadowlands, outside the Well of Wishes, on the planet Gnosticus IV

"Jill of the Jungle! Come in, Jill of the Jungle!" Commander Keen said into his computer wrist. He was standing next to a well on a small island. Commander Keen, alter ego of eight-year-old boy Billy Blaze, had white skin, light brown hair, and blue eyes. He wore a pink T-shirt, blue jeans, red-and-white sneakers, and a yellow helmet with green-and-white stripes. "Jill! Jill! Jill of the Jungle!"

The Throne Room of the Royal Castle, The Jungle, Earth

"Jill of the Jungle to Commander Keen. Over!" Jill replied, sitting on her throne, for she was princess of the Jungle. Jill was an amazon in her late twenties. She had peach skin, long blonde hair, and blue eyes. She wore a green-, red-, and blue-striped leotard and black boots.

"I need you to teleport to the DOS Heroes Headquarters right away. I'll be heading there myself."

"Roger. Over and out!" Jill turned off the videophone program on her wrist computer, and when she activated its teleporter controls, she disappeared.


The Meeting Room of DOS Heroes Headquarters

Jill, the president of the League of DOS Heroes, sat at the head of a long table. The eleven other heroes who sat at the table were from the Apogee Club: inventor Commander Keen, green reptilian alien Cosmo, novice wizard Hocus Pocus, money-hungry space trader Mylo Steamwitz, and hostage-rescuer Snake Logan; from the Epic Club, the same club Jill belonged to: green-furred gunhare Jazz Jackrabbit, archaeologist Malvineous Havershim, and robot Robbo; and from the Et Cetera Club: galactic hero Captain Comic, and adventuring spouses Hugo and Penelope.

Jill said to the other heroes, "Commander Keen asked us all to come here because he had some trouble practicing a certain level from 'Secret of the Oracle.'"

"I only have one area in the Shadowlands left to explore and that's down the Well of Wishes."

"But, Commander Keen," Snake said, "you've already completed that game lots of times. You know the secret to getting past the Dopefish is to trick it into eating the Schoolfish that have been following you."

"I know, but since I was playing the game without the assistance of a Player, it was freestyle."

"So?" Jazz asked.

"So, the first time I went down the well, I saw that there weren't any Schoolfish."

"But, how…" Malvineous said.

"The Chief of ACME informed me that Carmen Sandiego told him that one of V.I.L.E.'s henchmen stole the Schoolfish to clone. The Chief said that ACME hasn't figured out where the Schoolfish were being cloned, but they plan on using the cloned Schoolfish to get them past carnivorous aquatic creatures."

"That's terrible!" Cosmo said while putting his red suction-cup hands to his cheeks.

"There's more bad news. Apparently V.I.L.E. has also stolen one of my inventions and placed it in the section of the well where I rescued the last Council Member. It's like my Neural Stunner, except this one can shoot underwater."

"Ah, the irony," Hugo said.

"So, does anybody have an idea how to get past the Dopefish?"

"I have an idea!" Hocus exclaimed. He made a yellow vial appear out of thin air. "This is a Cowardice Potion. The drinker of this potion will flee from its enemies."

"There's no need to use that on the Shy Birds from the planet Tambi," Captain Comic informed.

"Interesting idea, Hocus," Jill said. "But how will we get the potion in his mouth?"

The twelve heroes glanced at each other in terror. Each one imagined themselves holding the vial of Cowardice Potion and being swallowed by the big green Dopefish. All of them, that is except for Robbo, because the robot would get electrocuted if he touched water, so he imagined Commander Keen instead.

"Poor Commander," Robbo said.

Moral: It is one thing to propose, another to execute.