The 13th Hero

By H.R.C. Stanley

Inspired by Fantasia Crisis by Lord Akiyama


Chapter Seven


"The Thirteen have escaped our grasp once more!" Grimhilde letted out with fury at her failed servants. "A source of Chernabog's power has been destroyed successfully by the Twelve! And the powers of the Spirit of Spring are finally revealing itself. I suggest you hunters must all improve your methods of attack the next time I send you on a mission."

"Hey, let's look on the bright side here, ma'am," Shenzi said he tried to smile innocently. "At least we officially recruited Sabor to our side, right?"

"Indeed, but it seems that even she wasn't enough to stand against those travelling vandals," Ratcliffe snorted.

"Quite so," Prince John agreed. "But would we still have great complication attempting to locate them upon whatever world they dare cross through?"

"Less so," Grimhilde answered. "Even then, this appears to be quite an exquisite situation that has perplexed even men. The rabbit king and his lackeys seem to have figured out how to deal with this and have even become successful at such."

"Then do you suppose that their self-defense is becoming more difficult for us to break through?" Claude asked.

"Most likely," she said. "And if this is so, we'll have to utilise some special tactics."

Just then, a creak was heard, the door opened the slightest it could, and out came what resembled a small goblin-like creature with dim pale-green skin and clad in a dark-tan skirt and violet cowl, and a bulging eye that clearly projected shyness and timidness.

"Ah, isn't it the Horned King's little lackey," Yzma said as he grinned once more. "What is it you have to report today, little creeper?"

"Oh uh, yes, masters," Creeper stammered. "I've come to report on an update, your majesties, the Horned King has begun his search for the Black Cauldron, and he says that once he does find it, he wishes to make a negotiation with you. Oh, and he deserves a 'thank you' for borrowing my gwythaints, oh I mean, his gwythaints."

"Really? A negotiation, you say?" Claude said. "Well, you may go back to tell him that he'll get his deal once we're done with our little situation, and he's very welcome for letting us borrow some of his pets."

"Yes, masters, right away," Creeper said before dashing back out of the door.

"Hmm, anyway, shall we consult your orb once more, your majesty?" Claude huffed and permitted.

"Granted," Grimhilde answered, as she turned to see what their adversaries may go next. "Ah, now this should be interesting."

"What is it, my dear?" Claude questioned.

"I immediately know where they might be going," Grimhilde revealed. "Claude, you must go to England at once, and bring Percival, Gaston, LeFou, Ratcliffe, Clayton, Scroop, and the Sheriff with you."

"Whereabouts? May I ask?" Claude said.

"The city of London," Grimhilde answered. "So I advise that, since this is a vast city of a high population, you men should hide from the public eye, especially, only strike on the thirteen when or if they too are somewhere away from any and all curious witnesses, onlookers, and bystanders."

Claude smiled. "Very well, if you say so," he said. "This shall, no doubt, become quite an adventurous journey for the thirteen."


"I'm hoping for the best that this won't take incredibly long to get to Bald Mountain," Milo said.

"I know the feeling," Phoebus agreed, before turning to the rabbit. "Hey Oswald, do you even know where this bald mountain even is or how to find it?"

"Not entirely," Oswald admitted with honesty. "But we'll know it once we see it."

"As for me, I'm wondering where we're going to next," Sarabi said, looking around.

"Yeah, good point, where are we going to now exactly?" Little John added.

"Keep in mind, we have to travel through worlds to find our goal, right?" Oswald said, as the others all quickly nodded in agreement. "This next one I believe is called London, but this time, unlike the Pride Lands, this city's inhabited by humans, and since half of us aren't... you know... so we're going to have to sneak through the city without getting spotted and exposed in the public."

"How are we going to do that?" Kenai questioned.


"I still don't know why or how I got myself get talked into this," Gantu mumbled under his breath, as they walked their way through dim foggy alleyways. The sounds of sirens, roaring crowds, and droppling car sounds echoed on behind fading distant lights.

"Well to be fair, Oswald here does have a point," Kenai said, looking around the alley. "Humans, actual humans aren't going to take kindly to us if they see us."

"But what if we don't mean any harm at all?" Sarabi asked. "Not that any of us do, don't we?

"Of course we don't, to any innocent at all," Oswald affirmed. "But people are likely to misunderstand things."

"At least those evil freaks shouldn't find us yet again," Taran said. "Anyway, Oswald, you're the leader. How are we going to get through this so-called London?"

"Now be careful there of what you say, young man," Little John said. "Don't you underestimate this city, I've heard all about this city of London all my life, even how it's far larger than you would think. Would you agree, Oswald?"

"Yeah, it is larger than it looks," Oswald replied. "As for Taran's question, we'll have to to cross the River Thames."

"Yeah right, and how will we know that if we see it?" Ling asked.

"Maybe we could ask someone about the right directions," Li Shang suggested.

"But didn't the rabbit say that we shouldn't let ourselves be spotted?" Bagheera pointed out.

"Indeed I did," Oswald said. "but Li Shang's right, we need to ask somebody what directions should lead us to the Thames."

"Very well," Phoebus said. "But how would we know who to ask?"

"Well why don't you actually ask someone for yourself?" A feminine voice spoke right out of the blue, as the heroes jumped in fright. They quicked turned their heads to see nobody more then a rather young girl wearing a dress as blue as daylight sky just standing about and smiling as normal, as if she was used to seeing strange and surreal things in her life. The heroes ended up realising that they're not only revealed at last, but also humiliated.

"Oh, sorry there," Oswald said, breathing heavily. "We didn't see nor expect anyone to sneak towards us."

"Sorry if I scared any of you," the girl said. "I'm Wendy Darling. I live here, do you?"

"Oh um... we don't... live here... because... uh..." Andre tried to speak, but couldn't think up the right words.

"Sorry, don't mind about him, we were just looking and wondering about," Phoebus said as he cleared his throat, just as nervous as Andre. "We're um... We're tourists! Yes, tourists. We uh... lost our map."

"We hope you're not frightened by the bears, big cats, and huge alien here," Andre said, as he pointed to the fellows he mentioned. Gantu's eyes widened then squinted at the little android, feeling slightly insulted. "And don't tell anyone about this strangeness."

"Oh don't worry, I've seen weirder," Wendy said. "I've seen fairies, mermaids, pirates, and even a boy fly. So what place are you looking for anyway?"

"We're looking for the Victoria Tower," Oswald guessed, attempting to make up a false truth. "Do you happen to know where it is?"

"Oh yes, I do," Wendy said. "Just keeping going up north until you come across the Thames, follow across the river, look for a bridge on the Thames, and you might even find the Tower on the other side."

"Huh, simple and clean enough," Ortensia muttered. "Thank you for that quick bit of helping, and please promise us you won't tell anyone about this weirdness."

"You're welcome, and yes, I promise," Wendy said back, bowing as if she was part of a higher class before waving and walking on by. "Well, good luck on your little trip."

"You too," Andre said as he waved back before turning to Oswald. "She's a nice lass, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," Oswald agreed. "A pretty short encounter with her though, but still, very kind."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Taran said. "Let's get to the river."

"Yeah!" Yao said with excitement.


"I wonder what Mulan would say, feel or even think when I tell her all about this," Li Shang said before chuckling.

"Most likely the same thing Esmarelda would if I confess to her about these misadventures," Phoebus replied.

"Same goes to me if I tell Kida all about this weird quest," Milo agreed.

"So how long is it taking to get to the actual river itself?" Kenai asked.

"Must be a few more miles ahead," Oswald answered.

So they continued on strolling down the alley, going in and out of sight. Throughout the walk, they all looked to gaze at the surrounding and towering buildings that completely limited how far the eye can see. Then eventually, straight and dead ahead, the heroes spotted something they were looking for in the distance, they dashed together towards until they finally reached it, the River Thames.

"Woah," they all mumbled in unison.

"Sure is larger then I thought," Phoebus said. "Reminds me of the Seine back where I'm from."

"Okay, remember when Wendy said," Oswald recalled. "To get to the other side, we need to cross a bridge."

"How about that one over there?" Gantu suggested, pointing outwards to his right. The others turned their eyes to follow Gantu's pointed direction, and there, they saw what they needed, a bridge. Slightly arching over the river, the bridge seemed so simple and clear in the distance, only a few people, cars, and even a lonely red bus that just rolled on without any hesitation at all, were seen travelling through it.

"Thank you, Gantu," Ortensia complimented. "Not only are you big, but you've got excellent eyesight."

"You're welcome," Gantu responded, standing proudly, as if he was saluting before his superiors. "Besides, following orders are what I do best."

"Yeah, though it be wise not to follow every order that falls onto your lap," Phoebus advised to the big alien. "I had to learn that the heard way."

"Come on let's go then before we get spotted by humans," Little John said joyfully as he began to stroll on once more.

"Hey, half of us are humans," Milo said as he followed.

"Very well," Gantu muttered, walking behind the rest. "But if I have to turn into a human being myself, I'm walking out of here."

They continued on, running by the edge of the Thames and momentarily reached the bridge. They crossed it without any problem, some of them have even looked over to gaze at the vast, deep, running river far below.

"So what this bridge called again?" Phoebus asked. "It sure does remind me of the Seine back at where I live."

"I believe it's called the Lambeth Bridge," Oswald assumed.

"Kind of makes you wish you got out more often, right Shang?" Phoebus chuckled.

"I don't know, I just want to do the best I can on this quest," Li Shang said with a hint of doubt on his mind.

"Don't worry," Chien-Po encouraged, as he patted his fellow warrior on the back for comfort. "You will, old friend, and we'll help you."

"We should be on the other side in a few moments," Little John acknowledged.

Soon after, they were, they made it onto the other side of the River Thames. To their right, they turned to walk through a simple path surrounded by grass of many shades of green, and row after row of trees. Ahead was the tower itself, the Victoria Tower. It stood there, large and mighty yet simple and quiet. It was donned with exquisite detail, in a shade of colour shared with the lightest of beach sand.

The stunned heroes gazed on ahead as they were looking at the building for the first time in wonder.

"Wow," Phoebus uttered, more impressed than usual. "Sure does remind me of Notre Dame."

"Wait, why are we looking at a tower again?" Taran questioned, no longer impressed by the monument.

"Well, we said to that nice lady we were looking for that tower," Oswald said. "Wouldn't be heroic of us to make up even the tiniest of a lie. Besides, wouldn't hurt either to take a look at it and it's not like we're on a big race or something like that."

They all entered the the tower through a monolithic entrance, large enough even for Gantu, to see an empty hall encased with stone from an age of old. Sounds from all around, from their voices to the steps of their feet, echoed into the air.

"Wait..." Gantu uttered under his breath, as his strong sense of smell caught something odd, unusual, and out of place in a seemingly peaceful garden such as this. "I feel a smell in the air, a strange smell. Is this usual?"

The others took such word and did the same, sniffing the atmosphere, just to discover such a strange scent as well.

"Yeah, I'm smelling something too," Milo said, spotting the same unusual and unnatural stench. "Almost smells like... gunpowder?"

"Who would use gunpowder in the middle of a public garden, what would it be used for, and why?" Phoebus asked with so many question for a demandable answer.

"Oh please have some manners, Captain Phoebus, isn't it rude to ask too many questions at once?" A deep voice spoke behind them, the eeriness of it entered their ears and filled their hearts with fright, especially Phoebus, who found the voice rather incredibly familiar. They all turned back with looks of determination, to face and see the figure slowly walking towards them. The man's face was pale and careworn, and he was donned in a robe of deep night black.

"Your words are as empty as your soul, if you even have any piece of such left, Claude Frollo," Phoebus said, as his face filled with grudge.

"Besides, how did you find us anyway?" Oswald questioned, as his own determined face was altered by the slight with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess we can say that a certain queen has quite a good sense of strategy, a sense as strong as yours, Oswald," Claude answered, entering the hall so slowly.

"Not to mention, how did you survive your fall from long ago?" Phoebus brought up.

"Oh who knows? Maybe I was caught and saved by an angel," Claude said, smiling lustfully. "An angel by the name of Queen Grimhilde."

"Let me guess, you work for her too, huh?" Oswald said, clenching his fists to expose his confidence and conceal any fear and intimidation.

"Actually, I work with her," Claude corrected. "For a queen, she's quite a passive one."

"Either way, she's pulling your strings," Oswald said with frustration.

"And you're on your own," Li Shang added, as he unsheathed his sword before the others did the same.

"Are you sure I'm on my own?" Frollo questioned with a raised eyebrow before smiling sadistically once more.

He then became accompanied by the familiar hunters from earlier as well as the Sheriff, but this time, they had a new ally with them; a slender alien creature of black and red, with the claws of a savage crab, the legs of a mutant arachnid, and amber slitted eyes that glowed and pierced, a creature that Gantu instantly recognised.

"Scroop!" Gantu shouted, grudging at the very vile creature with all his might and sense of justice. "I've been hunting for you my whole career."

"Oh I do know..." Scroop hissed. "What can I say? I've always escaped your sight, and hid under your nose, if you have any."

"Not this time," Gantu growled, cracking his knuckles with a hint of fury.

"You know that weird-looking creep?" Oswald questioned. Scroop growled at the seemingly-tame insult.

"We've a history," Gantu said, still staring at the criminal, grasping hold of his guns ever so tightly. "He's one of the Galactic Federation's most wanted criminals, and now, he must be brought to justice once and for all."

"Easier said than done for you," Scrooped contradicted. Suddenly, he, Claude, Ratcliffe, and the Sheriff pulled out and revealed from behind them, mighty swords of thier own. Percival, Gaston, LeFou, and Clayton brought up their rifles, aimed firmly, and charged to battle once more.

To prepare for another fight, the heroes exposed their weapons in quick anticipation. Claude dashed towards Phoebus for a duel, as Ratcliffe did the same with Li Shang, and the Sheriff with Little John.

Gantu whipped out his guns, but the second before he could even aim at his target, Scroop dashed forth and latched onto the stern brute with his many legs. The giant alien swung around to grasp and remove the freakish fiend off, but Scroop managed to scratch onto Gantu's face before he ended up getting grasped by the huge fists and eventually thrown off and away.

Before a midst could even be reached, Oswald's eyes turned to spot the bottom of a stairwell that spiralled out of sight.

"Come on, chaps," Oswald called out to his comrades. "Let's get to the top, that should get us better advantage."

"But what if we end up trapping ourselves up there?" Milo doubted.

"Then I guess it's a risk worth taking," Bagheera said.

The heroes did just that, they dashed up the stairwell one by one, even the mighty alien captain who managed through despite agitating struggles, being the biggest and bulkiest of them all. The hunters continued to fire at them, blasting away with bullets of fire and death.

"Leaving so soon?" Claude called out, beginning to pursue the heroes up the steps.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Phoebus responded, as he looked back at the old judge with a hinted smirk on his face. "We'll see you on the dark side of the moon."

"Everyone!" Claude called out to his comrades before leading his team forth and upwards to the stairs. "The Thirteen are trapping themselves within the higher levels of this tower, let's move up for the kill."

"You don't say!" Percival hissed before joining in the run.

"We're going in for the kill!" Clayton roared. "In for the slaughter!"

Just as they dashed up the stairs, an explosion was heard. It boomed distantly, far beyond the outside, but still loud enough for all ears to capture such a sudden sound. A low rumble followed as it nearly rippled the ground the heroes and villains were standing on, so much so that some of them nearly lost their balance. Another smaller explosion thundered as they looked upon the atmosphere with confusion.

"Did you hear that?" Ratcliffe questioned with widen eyes of surprise.

"Nah, I was listening to my walk-man," Percival mumbled sarcastically before switching to snarling. "What do you think I heard?!"

A third boom was heard, this time more louder than the last two.

"Huh? Is that one of your other plans?" Oswald talked down to the pursuing Judge.

"Now why would we place explosives in a neighbouring building?" Claude questioned back. Oswald stared back with a raised eyebrow before continuing his dash.

"Blimey...! how long... are these stairs?" Milo huffed out, as he breathed out heavily from utter exhaustion and desperately rubbed away the sweat from his face.

"Hey we can't stop now," Sarabi said with desperation in her voice. "Not with a pack of hunters behind us."

"Who exactly is that old man, Phoebus?" Kenai asked. "You seem to know him, and he seems to know you."

"Claude Frollo was once the most ruthless man in Paris," Phoebus explained. "I worked for him once."

"Oi, less exposition and more escaping!" Andre winced. Finally, the stairs had reached their end, and it seemed the Thirteenth had as well. They reached the highest floor of the building, a hall big enough for a certain amount of people, with surrounding windows of aging glass.

"Now this is a worthy place to call a battlefield," Taran complimented.

"Oh really?" Phoebus snarked at the young pig-keeper. "Not Epping Forest, not the so-called Pride Lands, this is what you call a battlefield, huh?"

"Hey, it's my opinion!" Taran said back.

"Woah there, mate, we've got some nasty baddies catching onto us!" Little John reminded.

"You don't say," Ling muttered sarcastically.

"That's right," Yao said with ease. "No more running, time to fight back again."

A fourth distant explosion was set off, softened almost into melody by the distance. Distant flashes were spotted across the windows.

"Everyone, look!" Oswald called out to his fellow team mates as he pointed anxiously out through the aging glass windows that revealed the city in a slightly blurred vision. "Out the windows!"

"What is it?" Taran questioned. One by one, the heroes dashed to the windows that aimed to where they believed the abnormal sounds were originating from to see.

"Look at the Clock Tower over there!" Oswald elaborated. The others saw just that, an exquisitely detailed tower that stood out amongst other buildings around that surrounded it. On its face was a gigantic clock, projecting time itself throughout the city.

Flashes boomed with the circle of time, just then small yet noticeable bolts of erratic lightning sparked out the Tower itself.

"I really highly doubt that usually happens," Oswald muttered in a state of surprise.

"Pretty obvious," Milo agreed, just as surprised as the rest.

"Now what could be causing that?" Little John wondered.

"Must be something similar to what happened back at the Pride Lands," Sarabi guessed.

"Looks like you're caught in a trap," the voice of Percival echoed behind the heroes. "Caught in a dead end with nowhere left to turn or run."

The Thirteenth turned back to see their enemies emerge from the stairs, as they brought back out their weapons for battle once more. Percival took the first shot at the heroes, but they dodged just in time as the bullet struck instead a wall behind them.

"Hey, careful with those swords and guns there," Phoebus said, still smirking. "Wouldn't want to damage this property."

"Oh don't you worry, Frenchman," Percival responded and reloaded. "It ain't the property I was planning to shoot at."

"Any ideas, Ozzie?" Ortensia whimpered to her husband as she clenched her remote, her only weapon, tight.

"I don't have an idea, but I have a plan," Oswald responded as he pulled his own remote. Andre took out his paintbrush and took a pose.

"Let me guess," Andre said, "is it what we've been doing these past few days?"

"Pretty much," Oswald answered.

As expected, the heroes and villains clashed once again. Scroop grasped hold onto Kenai, but not after Sarabi and Bagheera lunge against the aline freak to break free their ally bear. Gantu swiftly aimed his guns at his rival and fired away, but Scroop, just as swift, let Kenai free just in time to dodge the plasma shots.

Ratcliffe fired away at Taran as the boy lifted his sword with struggle. Ratcliffe quickly put away his rifle and pulled out his own sword to duel. Li Shang and his three comrades dashed in to help out the boy.

The Sheriff swung at the dodging Little John. Fearing his bow and arrows would be considering useless in a close environment such as the interior of a tower, he unsheathed his own sword. Blades clashed and clattered.

"Hey Johnny!" Andre shouted, spawning paint from his brush onto the unlucky LeFou. "Kick that darn Sheriff in the nards?"

"Say what?" Little John questioned, with a sudden raised eyebrow.

"Kick him in the nards!" Andre repeated.

"Alright, if you insist," Little John accepted. With that, he swung his leg unto the crotch of the Sheriff. In reaction, the Sheriff's eyes bugged out as he howled in pain and fell to his knees, grabbing hold of his weak spot for desperate comfort.

"Wolfman's got nards!" Andre remarked with a cheeky grin. "Really? That's the best joke you could think up?" Oswald asked. "Hey we need some kind of humour." Andre replied.

Milo didn't know what exactly to do, since all he had was a spear, given to him in hope that he would have to defend himself and others in a later pint of his life.

"Milo, look out!" Taran gasped in shock. Milo heard just that, he quickly glimpsed Claude swinging his sword down to him. Before Milo's life would be cut short. Another sword appeared between, Phoebus' sword.

"Always defying me just to protect those less significent than you," Claude sighed, gripping his sword ever so tightly.

"Oh, I always am," Pheobus sternly replied, gripping his sword just as tight. "You, on the other hand, don't deserve any significence at all."

"Save the hero talk," Claude muttered arrogantly. The two continued to drag their blades against each other's.

"So Ozzy," Andre managed to speak while dodging the slashes of swords and teh fires of guns. "How are we going to get out of this one? I mean we can't keep fighting forever you know,"

Before he chose to reply, Oswald looked around quickly, scanning for such that, a way out. Going back down the stairs would less easy than going up them, but the rabbit spotted something he overlooked, a ladder that stood against a wall, leading up into the ceiling and, possibly, into the roof.

"Come on!" Oswald called out to all his friends. "Follow me!"

The rest did just that, one by one, they climbed as quickly as they all could up the ladders, into the ceiling, into a door, into the outside. There, Oswald pushed the trapdoor upward and open to reveal a night sky, as rain suddenly fell rapid and quick. The heroes, if not the villains as well, all shielded their eyes against the blinding raindrops.

Fearing and knowing the villains wouldn't be far behind, the heroes dashed around the roof, which ironically had even less room than the indoor room they just fought in. There they could see the Clock Tower, just as distantly, yet more clearly, they saw more flashes and heard more explosions from within the clockface of that tower.

Then they gasped and turned their heads quickly in shock and horror as they heard the sudden, cruel and evil laughter of their adversaries closing in. Their silhouettes in the atmosphere of the night were made visible and clear by the easily frightening strikes of lightning.

"Nowhere left to run and hide anymore," Scroop snarled as he grinned sadistically.

"This is starting reminds me of a time I tried to kill a beast once and failed," Gaston teased with madness in his eyes, and his hands still clenching onto his gun. "This time, I get the feeling that I won't."

"Indeed, I may have failed to kill that ape-man son of yours, but at least I get to kill you first, just like your savage mate!" Clayton snarled as he aimed at the terrified and almost petrified Kala.

"See you at the bitter end," Percival growled and howled in insane laughter.

Oswald gulped and tried ever so desperately to think up their next escape that he even shivered in dread that this would be their utter and bitter end. Soon, he turned to what seemed like a last resort.

"Guys, we'll have to jump out," Oswald winced after he turned to his friends behind him.

"What?!" The rest yelped in surprise.

"You heard me, it's either this way, or that way!" Oswald commanded as he climbed upward then over what seemed to be the only thing between a hard place and a bunch of rocks, first pointing over the edge then pointing at the opponents, reloading their weapons.

The other heroes all fully turned to see and look over the edge, to see what might lay far below, and to debate which fate's the better; jumping off a 300-ft tower, or getting slashed and shot down by villains and felons.

"A rock or a hard place," Phoebus thought. "More like a bullet or a splat."

"Actually, I bet we can make that too," Li Shang said as he turned to Phoebus and they both looked back at their enemies who were finally ready once more to take them down at last, or so it seemed.

"Two silvers say we can't," Phoebus quickly muttered.

"You're on!" Li Shang replied as they all finally dashed off and out of the roof.

Together, they climbed up and jumped off the roof, valiantly and cowardly at the same time, an unusual combination. Just when they all thought that this would be their immediately regrettable end, Gantu thrusted forth and grabbed hold onto the wall of the building. Just then, the other comrades grasped onto the huge alien captain and all became a chain of people holding onto each other.

"Good thinking, Captain," Little John complimented.

"It's for me to jump into dangerous situations," Gantu responded gladly as he tightened his grip, hoping not to slip away.

"Literally," Bagheera muttered, looking down at the seeingly less distant, but still somewhat far ground below.

Meanwhile, up at the roof, the hunters looked down to see if their enemies really did meet their fate.

"Well, looks like we've won already," Percival said lightly before trodding off. Claude quickly grabbed hold of the poacher's shoulder before he could even realise it.

"No, they don't seem to be the smartest of people and creatures, but they do seem cunning enough to know a way around," Claude analysed.

"Are you saying that they can just survive a fall from a tall and mighty castle such as this one?!" Gaston questioned with wide eyes and gritted teeth.

"This ain't a castle, it's a bloody tower, you twit!" Clayton corrected, twice as loud as Gaston.

"Shut up, both of you!" Claude silenced all around him. "We can, at least, go down to see if they have."

"Let's hope they're ain't so lucky," Scroop grinned.

"But boss, if they actually are getting away again," LeFou pointed the obvious. "Does that mean the Queen won't be happy with us, right?"

"She's never happy at all..." Claude hissed and huffed away after.

Meanwhile, down below on the walls of the Victoria Tower, the Thirteenth climbed and abseiled their way down the building, made slightly more difficult by the rain that dampened and moistened the building walls of aging stone. After what seemed like a good long while, the heroes finally made their way to the ground, to safety.

"I was going to immediately regret jumping off along with the lot of you," Andre commented on the crazy act they just performed.

"Don't forget, you've lost our bet," Li Shang grinned and chuckled. Phoebus groaned and rolled his eyes in a mix of annoyance and exhaustion as he chucked his two betted coins to the fellow.

"Now what?" Kenai asked with a honestly concerned look on his face. "Those hunters might just follow us easily."

"They'll have to catch us first," Yao said. "That old creep and his gang would have to flee their way down and out of the tower once after we took our jump."

"And that, I think, is what they're doing right now," Ling continued.

"I sure do hope we didn't cause too much damage to this building," Chien-Po said to his fellows.

"Though to be fair, I'm more concerned about that clock tower," Milo acknowledged. "With the sparks and bolts shooting out and all."

"Might be the work of that Chernabog you mentioned earlier," Bagheera said.

"Then we need to find that mountain of his faster," Oswald reminded.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Taran admitted after he caught a breath of calm air.

"Well, that's our tour of the Victoria Tower done for the evening," Andre said, rubbing his hands free of stress.

"Wait, I know I kind of asked this question before, but what was the purpose of coming here again?" Ortensia questioned.

"I don't know," Oswald guessed. "Probably just to take a break from our journey and fights so far, not that we did have an official one, considering that was the third time those baddies ambushed us."

"Yeah, we should also get going, we don't want any other humans spotting us," Sarabi pointed out.

"I agree," Kala replied. "We have to find our way out of here first, and quick."

And so the Thirteenth carried onward, wandering through the rained-down streets and into other places where they could remain hidden once more, and wondering what better or worse would lay ahead.


To be continued...

My deep modest apologies for the delay, classic case of writer's block, I guess. Anyway, I like to give thanks to my family for giving me advise to improve my writing and the praise I was given by them, and MaddySan5926 for posting the first review on my fic. Happy Easter anyway, and a happy Mother's Day.