Hey, guys, and welcome back to TWP! I'm on a bit of a deadline here, so let's head straight to reviews!
Emily The Avenger: Ivor would be proud!
CamronXTheXGamer: I know, right? It was a true accident, but when I noticed it I just had to make sure everyone else did. Aiden wouldn't be too amused by that one, though.
Watcher321: Very true, but I mean, hey, if they make it home before dinner….
HIT IT, CRISPY!
Crisper: (hits it)
"Missy," a large but slender hand gently shook Missy's arm, "Missy, wake up." The whispering voice made her slowly sit up in bed, rubbing her eyes.
"Uncle Lukas?"
"I've gotta take you and your brother to school. Get up and get dressed and packed, then come downstairs for breakfast." He leaned down, probably to wake up Jesse. Missy sat in bed for a moment. The events of the previous mind played over like a hazy video. Her stomach whirled with anxiety. Today was the big day!
She plodded down the ladder to her dresser on the other side of the room. She heard Lukas leave, shutting the door behind him, and Jesse get out of the springy bed. She pulled some shorts and a shirt out of her drawer as he walked up beside her.
"Jesse, hurry up, we have to get to school as fast as we can so we can leave." She snatched a flimsy, pink backpack off her desk and put it at her feet. Then she reached into the drawer and grabbed a parka, stuffing it into the backpack.
"What's that for? It's summertime." Jesse yawned and walked to his drawer.
"Maybe it's cold in Sky City, like how mountains are cold at the tops? And we need to be prepared!" Jesse sleepily watched his sister gather more clothes. His weary eyes trailed to his drawer. He remembered his Halloween costume was in the closet. He'd better pack that—maybe it was Halloween there, too.
After they'd changed and packed their bags, Jesse and Missy ran downstairs for breakfast. Lukas was sitting at the table scribbling in one of his drafts. Bread and a few apples sat neatly on the table. The two kids barely ate. Lukas raised a brow when they put most of their unfinished food into their backpacks.
"You guys need to eat here, now. Why're you putting it in your backpack?"
Jesse shoved his hands into his back pockets, shifting from side to side. "Um, because we're not really hungry right now."
"Yeah," Missy stepped in front of him, "we'll finish it up later, okay?"
Lukas was about to speak, but he caught a glance at the clock on the wall. "Okay, fine. Let's go, then." He shut his book, put it into his inventory and walked to the door, the two kids walking behind him. He opened the door.
"Wait!" Jesse shouted. Missy and Lukas watched as he slid the backpack off and opened it, revealing a wooden-sword. He shoved it down into his backpack put it back on.
Lukas folded his arms. "Jesse, what's a sword doing in your backpack?"
"Missy said I needed it—"
"There's something at school!" Her punchy interruption earned a stare from her uncle.
He raised a brow. "Are you sure, Missy? Is there something you're not telling me?"
"No, sir! We're just jumpy about it. It's a huge, big project, and a surprise for all the adults, and it's… uh, constipated."
Lukas was too skeptical to be amused by the slip of her tongue. "You mean 'complicated'."
"Oh… well, that."
Lukas sighed and gestured to them to walk out. The excited chatter Lukas was used to on their walks to school was replaced by odd silence and occasional whispering. As they walked, he couldn't stop thinking about Jesse's sword. Something about it seemed off. When did he ever take his sword to school? Why was Missy so eager to interrupt? It wasn't her usual protective, sisterly-love, or at least it didn't feel that way to him. Also, what did—
"There's school, Uncle Lukas, bye!" Missy grabbed her little brother's arm and ran across the gravel road to the preschool on the other side. Jesse sent Lukas a worried, almost regretful frown as his sister dragged him along.
"Bye, guys." Lukas said quietly. He lingered just a moment more before shaking his head. Hopefully, it was just a weird day.
"Missy, slow down!" They stumbled to a shaky stop on the wooden-chips of the playground. He whimpered and hunched his back. "I didn't even get to say a good goodbye to him. That was the last time I was gonna see him."
"No, it's not, Jesse. Come on, we've gotta get to school. Let's go." She grabbed his hand again.
"Well, I'm gonna say goodbye to all of my friends at recess. It's the right thing to do."
School went by like it was the day before summer for the fidgeting Smith kids. Even the cafeteria cookies didn't do anything to relieve their stress. Focus was a forgotten art as they forced themselves to sit during their lecture. But when the long, grueling day came to an end in the playground where they waited for their parents, Missy and Jesse were more than happy to make a quick getaway.
Almost.
Missy stared wistfully at the glass doors leading back into the schoolroom. After that, they'd be one door away from freedom. One step away from learning about Aiden. If only Jesse had the same idea, instead of wasting time sending around funeral-invitations of farewells.
"Jesse, let's go, now." She demanded, stomping her foot.
"One more!" Jesse yelled from across the playground. He ran to a black-haired kid with a blue and white-striped shirt, sitting on the ground hitting a button. "Goodbye, Crisper! I'm gonna miss you."
He looked up and smiled. "Bye! Don't forget how awesome and cool I am while you're gone!"
By this time, Missy had it. She marched over to her brother. Jesse cried out when she snatched him by the arm. "Wait! One more! I have to say goodbye to all my fangirls!"
She stopped. "Jesse, you don't have fangirls."
"Well, Mom says I do."
"Then they're not here, then. Let's go." They ran into the near-empty hall, past a collage of kids' finger-paintings. Missy beamed—She could see the glass doors at the end of the hall. Jesse was only seeing a light at the end of a tunnel. They barged through the doors out into Beacontown. The adventure had begun.
For everyone.
Their first stop was the map-store. If Jesse and Petra weren't going to tell them where the portal was, they were going to find out themselves. They were there in minutes, and the short run did nothing to calm their nerves.
The bell at the top of the door clanged as they walked in. The owner at his desk put down his newspaper and smiled. "Hey, little guys! What brings you two here?"
"We're looking for someplace in the jungle. A huge temple with a portal inside." Jesse said.
"Oh, you and your parents planning an adventure or something?" Jesse looked to Missy to do the lying again. She nodded and forced a smile. "I'm not sure specifically what you two kids are looking for, but I have some maps of different jungles around here." He reached under his desk and produced five scrolled maps that made their eyes pop. They each took two or three of the maps and rushed off to one of the nearby tables.
"Let's look at this one first. It feels lucky, I guess." Jesse said. They rolled the map open and skimmed it over. They saw a few grey squares on the mostly green map that represented jungle temples, but nothing stood out to them. They checked the next map, but ended with the same fate. "Where did Mom and Dad say that temple was, anyways?" Missy griped as they carefully inspected their third map.
"They never did, actually. But they said Ivor knows. Maybe we should ask him." Jesse idled around with a golden compass.
"But isn't he on a date with his girlfriend Harper?"
"Harper isn't my girlfriend… yet!" Ivor shouted, making both children flinch and Jesse scream like a girl. Missy stood from her table and saw Ivor glaring at them from a nook looking at the various maps. Her face paled and the maps on the table suddenly felt like hot potatoes.
"Um, how long have you been here?"
"Long enough." He spoke sternly, making his way towards the frightened kids. "Your parents are going to be furious."
"They are?" Jesse squeaked, tempted to hide under the table.
"Yes!" He folded his arms and Missy gulped. She could practically feel Ivor dragging her and Jesse by the ear to their parents. Petra would 'tear their hides up', and Jesse would be 'very disappointed in them'. She gulped and shut her eyes. "What if you had said that in front of Harper herself?! It would've been so embarrassing! You were raised to behave better." Ivor scolded. Missy's breath caught in her throat. So, he hadn't heard their conversation with the mapmaker.
"Oh! Um… right, that was very bad. We'll never do it again." Missy said instead of sighing with relief.
"Um, do you remember where the portal to Sky City is?" Jesse asked, slowly crawling back into his seat.
"What?! I can't hear you with how loudly you just screamed! I think I've gone deaf!" Ivor joked, making the kids laugh.
"I said 'do you remember where the portal to Sky City is'!" Jesse shouted.
"Of course, I do! I have an impeccable memory!" He declared proudly. He sat in one of the chairs and slid the map under his gaze. Jesse and Missy crowded behind his chair to get a good look. He hummed quietly to himself, fingering the map and reading over the coordinates the kids barely understood. Missy stood on her tiptoes with anticipation, and she could feel Jesse's breath in her ear as he stood close. "There!" Ivor finally said, ceremoniously placing a finger on one point.
"Yes!" Missy shouted. "So, how do we get there?"
"Easy! It's only a short walk from the northern gate of Beacontown, all the way down here," he said, sliding his finger along the trail until it arrived at the temple's point. "I even lit a pathway of torches to the temple, just in case. Not that I need it, of course. Just a precaution." Suddenly, he frowned with suspicion and faced the two kids. "You two aren't planning on going there alone, are you?"
"No, sir." Missy said confidently. Jesse just shook his head. Ivor eyed them for a second more, but sensed they weren't lying and nodded. "Well, we have to go. Thanks for showing us about the temple!" Missy circled the temple with a red pencil, scooped the map off the table, and she and Jesse rushed out.
"Missy, you know… all this lying is really hurting my stomach." Jesse said as they rushed down the streets past a few citizens on their lunch-breaks. "What would Mom and Dad think if they knew we were doing this? I even went into Dad's room and stole this," he held up the flint-and-steel and the blue shine caught Missy's eye, "but it feels so wrong."
"Of course, it does! We did not plan to get that!" Missy shouted as they neared the red gates on the northern side, just as Ivor told them.
"Yeah, but I was just thinking: What if someone turned to portal off? We might have to light it ourselves." When they got to the gate, they slowed to walking pace.
"Well, that's true, I guess." She said, feeling butterflies suddenly rising in her own stomach. When they crossed that gate, she knew they were going to cross every line, fence and wall their parents had ever set up. Jesse shuddered and whimpered.
"Missy, this is a really bad idea."
"Jesse, look. I'm scared about this, too, but we have to find out about Aiden. We're just going to ask him a few questions, then we'll go home before dinner, I promise." Her energy restored, she darted off again. Jesse reluctantly jogged behind her, whispering his goodbyes and apologies.
The walk to the jungle wasn't long at all for the excited, fit kids, and when they arrived, they would've been able to see the midday sun hadn't it been for the thick canopy of jungle leaves. Finding Ivor's pathway of torches along the mossy jungle-rocks was easy, and before they knew it, they were standing in front of an unlit portal. Warm sunlight streamed from the glassless windows, and the pollen from the colorful flowers outside made Missy rub her nose.
"So," she sniffled, "do you still have the flint-and-steel?"
"I never put it down." Jesse pulled it out of his pocket. Missy reached out to take them, but he jerked away.
"Jesse, we have to do this!"
"I know! But I'm going to light the portal. I went through the trouble to steal it, so I get to use it!" It was easy to find a reason to justify his guilty pleasure of lighting the portal, but as he stood in front of it, he was hesitant to strike the enchanted lighter together. It's just like a regular flint-and-steel, he thought to himself. He struck the two pieces together and the blast knocked them head over their heels and onto the hard, stony floor. Jesse quickly bounded back to his feet. The blue glow from the lit portal made a smile crawl across his face, and Missy stood and watched as well.
"You ready for this?" She whispered to him. Jesse turned to her, his smile fading.
"This is a really bad idea, Missy. But I'm ready." He said, his smile returning. "Girls have to go first." He said, gesturing dramatically to the doorway to the other world. Missy managed a small glare at him before she grabbed him by the arm and jumped in.
And seconds later, they found themselves falling to their deaths.
(is glaring at Crisper)
Crisper: What did-
You know what you did. U. Know. What. U. Did.
Crisper: But-
YOU'RE TOO OLD TO CAMEO AT A GOSHDARN KINDERGARTEN, CRISPER! Think about things before you do them.