Again, just go ahead and skip to the chapter title if you don't like author notes.
And so HolyMaiden24 kept her word and returned to the elementary school. She had organized events so all but two members of the school staff were kicked out and all the students remained. Finally with through her powers of manipulating the fourth wall, she invited every reader (including you, of course) to come over and have cupcakes (one per person and magically created to suit the individual's taste and health requirements) and just have fun in general. Provided no one did anything to cause property damage, which would have lead to the writer getting sued or it (yet again, in some cases).
HolyMaiden24 gazed down upon everyone from the top of the school with a smile before revealing her own cupcake and sang out the 'item get' jingle from the Legend of Zelda (owned by Nintendo) video game "I got a unicorn poop cupcake!" She held up the rainbow colored, sugary monstrosity which was in name only for all to see before gobbling it down.
"That hit the spot!" She licked the frosting off the paper before grinning at the boys and Captain Underpants as they had their own cupcakes. "I miss the days when I gave cupcakes out to my classmates for my birthday, so this was fun." She smiled as she recalled those days. "Technically my birthday is in a couple more days, but I'm celebrating early."
"You know, if you want, you can make a wish here as long as it fits in the style of our world." George told the writer. "It'll probably come true anyway."
This made the writer smile. "I think I have an idea... Ok, review response time!"
Glowworm56: There is a reason he is being pulled towards the ocean, of course. I was SO close to joking about "How far I'll go" from Moana because of that. (Oh dear god, imagine THAT AU, there's almost no way that would have worked). Much like in the books, water is bad for him but for a different reason. On the other hand, he at least gets to speak to the kids and he finally tried to talk to Edith (and I kept my word, he's not going to barge into her room anymore. I don't want to ruin the character like that). I would love to see a Captain Underpants cosplayer at a comic con (and when I think of how Dreamworks Animation allowed a Shrek musical, I can't help but think 'what if...?').
More bonding time for the kids and we shall see what Krupp's response was. (It'll go as well as you'd expect).
Trimaxion: It's ok, it's easy to forget things in stories for me myself sometimes, like how Harry suspected Dumbledore wasn't being honest when talking about what he saw in the mirror in the first book (and then it was brought up in the last book). The boys want to prank her and they'll bring it up again in this chapter :)
Uh yeah... Grumpy shark king will have a reaction to all of this. Anyway I think the updates will slow down soon, even though I REALLY want to get to some parts in the future already.
The writer finished the responses and closed her eyes to make a wish. Seconds later she heard a faint 'mew' sound, and she turned around. Her eyes widened with delight and all common reasoning left her mind. "Is... is that a huge box full of kittens?!" She squealed in delight at the multiple kittens who played in the box which was as wider than a kiddie pool.
"Mew." One of them went.
"OH MY GOSH!" She squealed and jumped in before proceeding to immediately pick one up to cuddle. "THISISAWESOMEANDYOUALLARESOCUTEIWANTTOLOVEYOUANDCUDDLEYOUSOMUCHAAAAAAAHHH!" She cried as she petted the kitten with far more care than how she cried out her words. "KITTIES!" :D :D :D
"I too shall join in this delightful moment of fun!" And to Harold and George's lack of surprise, Captain Underpants also jumped in and picked up an adorable kitten to hold up. "Fear not adorable felines, for you are safe when you are around me and this fellow cat lover!"
"I really hope Krupp isn't allergic to cats." Harold whispered nervously to George.
Chapter 7- Happiness
The next morning, both Billy and Lisa made sure to get their lunches from Edith.
"We're sorry about yesterday." Billy apologized to the woman after he and his sister grabbed the bags. "We had a lot on our minds last morning and we didn't get enough sleep the night before. We didn't mean to get you in any trouble."
"I should have paid more attention myself, so it's not your fault." Edith gave them a smile. "I've been having a lot on my mind too, like why the salt is vanishing on me all of a sudden."
"Maybe we have a salt thief." Lisa tried to suggest and it made the woman chuckle until they heard voices from out in the hallway.
"Oh my gosh, he kissed you out in public?" A maid squealed to another maid.
"He did!" The other maid giggled. "We were walking and he thought it would be fun to kiss in front of a bunch of people. But I liked it more when he kissed me good-night when we were alone by the clock tower."
Edith let out a sigh that alerted Lisa's attention to her; Lisa didn't like how the woman went from happy to sad so fast and she was sure that she completely understood why. "Come on Billy, let's go." Lisa went out into the hallway and her brother followed suit, but she still gave Edith one more glance. The woman was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even wave them good-bye.
I wish there was a way to help her. Lisa thought. Even if Edith always seemed happy and hard working, it was clear there was something she wanted very much and it was something the princess knew she could not easily grant.
It was another day of cleaning for both boys and this time they were expected to wipe away the dust in some areas in a hallway that were hard to reach. Ms. Gambino wanted them to wash the large windows too, but fortunately it was pointed out to her that one would need a ladder and some supplies that the boys would probably have a hard time using. Still, the boys wanted to be able to go outside and be free to explore because they didn't learn much when they had to do these chores.
There were some things to help pass the time. In this hallway there was a painting that they critiqued and wondered about, and the windows allowed a nice view of part of the town down below and the ocean that went off into the distance. And of course if you had an adult in very little clothing marveling at everything he saw and would talk his head off about anything that came to mind, it was bond to make your time exciting. Captain Underpants wanted to know everything about what the boys were up to and it was hard to do so in a place where someone could overhear you, so George at least tried to calm him down by talking about the secret place where he and Harold used to draw and place the human objects they collected.
Meanwhile Harold got up after getting some dust off a window ledge and found himself staring at the ocean once again. Every time he did, his mind would think about the things he left behind and missed. He missed playing with Serenity and he missed his classmates, but he missed his mom and sister more than anything. A part of him wished that they could call it quits and go back, even though he knew what the price of that would be. Another part of him also wished that he could have thought about taking Heidi away from the ocean kingdom when he had the chance since there was one bracelet left when they found theirs. She would have loved this place as much as Harold did and he did not want her trapped down in the ocean with a cruel adult for a ruler. Heck she might even have liked Captain Underpants for more than just because he took on the form of her brother's drawing.
Harold then thought about the starfish he made for Heidi for her birthday. He made it with seaweed, shells, colorful stones, barnacles, and anything else he could find and he did it in secret. When he gave the starfish to her, she was so amazed and she gave him a huge hug while calling it the most beautiful thing she ever saw. Heidi also wanted to show her friends the starfish, but instead she had to keep it hidden away in their room where it could never leave.
Harold then thought about his mom–hard working, beautiful, funny, and deserving of far better then their dad. They always fought and then one day he just left. It was one of the worst days of Harold's life and he hated watching his mom break down and cry and he found himself angry and sad that his father–someone he loved and thought was one of the most amazing people ever–apparently didn't love his family enough to even bother to try to stay in touch. (Oddly enough, the king must have had some sort of respect towards his mom because he learned from her that Krupp promised some sort of punishment upon his dad if he ever came back. Except when he asked her what that punishment was, his mom went pale and told him she would tell him when he became a teenager). The loss of his dad didn't help him with how shy he was back then and made him more withdrawn, but everything changed for the better when he first met George.
It made Harold thankful for George's friendship, and George's dad was the closest thing to a substitute for a dad. Harold wanted to confess how he felt to George about feeling homesick, but a part of him was afraid so instead he found himself singing quietly to himself as he went to clean another ledge. "A 'níon mhín ó, sin anall na fir shúirí. A mháithairin mhín ó, cuir na roithléan go dtí mé. Dúlamán na binne buí, dúlamán Gaelach." It was some song his mother used to sing to him and Heidi and he had no idea what the words meant, but he sang it anyway.
"Dúlamán na farraige, be'fhearr a bhí in Éirinn." He sang and hummed one part before going to the next as he continued his work.
"Tá ceann buí oir are an dúlamán Gaelach. Tá dhá chluais mhaol are an dúlamán maorach. Bróga breaca dubha are an dúlamán gaelach. Tá bearéad agus triús ar an dúlamán maorach." Harold then finally realized that someone was singing along with him and it was not George.
"Tá ceann buí oir are an dúlamán Gaelach." Harold stopped and turned around and was very surprised to see that it was Captain Underpants of all people who was singing the song with him. "Dúlamán na farraige, be'fhearr a bhí in Éirinn." He continued singing with a huge smile and closed eyes while oblivious to the fact that he was on his own.
"How do you know that song?" Harold finally demanded and the adult was startled awake, stopped singing, and ending up flying into the air when he realized the child had stopped singing. He then realized what he had done and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well I–" He paused. "How do I know that song?" Captain Underpants rested his chin in his hand and went into a thinking pose for a moment before shrugging. "Hmm, I can't recall."
Harold then shared a look with George. That was a song that most of their classmates also knew–in fact George's own mother knew that song and sang it to him too. And somehow their companion knew that song.
Harold looked at Captain Underpants again and once again he observed just how similar the man was to Krupp. Harold swore that there was no mention of the king having a twin or a sibling and he could have bought that possibility, yet the voices of the two were also exactly the same despite that one sounded friendly and energetic and the other sounded grumpy and angry (and never ever sang, as far as Harold could recall).
The boys continued with their work, but eventually Harold's mind began drifting back to home again and he stared out a window to look at the ocean that held memories both good and bad. Soon he just ceased and kept staring out at it.
"Hey maybe we should come up with a prank on Ms. Gambino on our last day." George tried to tell Harold. "She wouldn't be able to punish us. What do you think?" But Harold didn't hear his best friend. Harold didn't notice George looking at him and the boy turned around to gesture for Captain Underpants to come over before he cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered something into the adult's ear.
I hope you and Heidi are ok, wherever you are now. Harold sighed as he closed his eyes and thought of his mom. I guess George has something from his dad to remind him of home, but I don't. Harold didn't want to get jealous of George for his dad's handwriting being in that booklet and being something close to personal value to him, while the other boy couldn't think of something he had to remind him of home.
"Hey Harold, look!" The blonde finally heard his friend call to him and turned around, only to come face to face with a huge dolphin that was flying in the air and was somehow wearing a familiar cape and pair of underpants (somehow being a key word for the latter).
Harold observed the bizarre sight for a few moments before a huge smile formed on his face and he began to laugh. He collapsed to the floor and laughed so hard that he began crying tears and had a hard time breathing.
The dolphin changed back into Captain Underpants, who was pleased with his work and when he turned to face George, the boy gave him a thankful smile as well as a thumbs-up of approval.
A little later on, both boys ended up having lunch with Edith at a round table in a small spot near the kitchens.
"If you ever want, I can make you a treat." Edith told them. "I know how to make all kinds of sweets, from ice cream and cakes to food you can get at the boardwalk, like carmel corn."
"What's carmel corn?" George asked Edith as he and Harold gave her a confused look.
"You've never had it?" Edith was stunned but then grinned. "Well I promise that I should have enough ingredients to make it here and you wouldn't need to wait to go to the boardwalk!" And with that she helped teach the boys how to make it, first by making popcorn from golden seeds that exploded into white puffs and then by making a sweet and sticky brown substance in another pot before combining them all together. During this time the boys jokingly threw out gross sounding recipes for the fun of it, like 'booger-berry pie' and the woman laughed her head off at each one–her laugh was strange sounding, but not discomforting to the ears–before jokingly adding in a few of her own, like spaghetti with worms for noodles and mud, grass, and rocks for the sauce. It was quite a lot of fun for the three and finally Edith was able to present the boys with the carmel corn.
She watched as the boys ate it. At first they were cautious of the stuff, but when the look of delight at the sweet discovery shone in their eyes, they happily ate as much of the sweet stuff as they wanted and even played with its stickiness by mashing the treat into misshapen creatures of their imaginations.
"Should I make it again sometime?" Edith asked.
"This is so good!" Harold moaned in delight as George gave Edith a huge smile of appreciation.
"This is so good!" Edith froze as a memory flashed through her mind of another who reacted in an exact same way to the treat.
"Is something wrong?" George asked as he noticed Edith looking as if she remembered something that was troubling her.
"Huh?" Edith snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "Oh it... it's nothing." She stammered. It couldn't be a coincidence that they reminded her of him in that instant, could it it? These two acted the exact same way to the treat. "I need a moment." Edith went out to look for something in one of the pantries in an attempt to try to think things over in private.
"It's too bad we don't have more people like her back home." Harold commented after swallowing up his mouthful of carmel corn. "They wouldn't let you-know-who treat us like he did."
George nodded before an odd thought struck him and he snorted. "He probably thinks we'll never come back, but it would be really funny if he missed us."
Harold snorted and laughed. "Yeah, there's no way that would happen in a million years! I bet you anything he probably wanted to throw a party or something like that if he thought we were gone for good!"
George laughed a little more before staring at the ceiling. "I sure don't miss him. Wherever he is, he's probably back to being his usual crabby self. The only difference is that we aren't there to keep him on edge."
The floor of the hallway was filled with various sea urchins of various shapes and sizes. While the merfolk could have easily swam above them all, the sight was enough to send them into a panic and fall under the belief that there was an infestation. It was enough to alert Krupp, who found himself staring in disbelief at the sight as a few adults were trying to pick the creatures up and get them out of there without getting injured, resulting in some of them holding onto a spine or two and holding the creatures as far out as possible so as to not get poked.
He then found himself looking down to face the two very young and very small culprits responsible for this mess.
Both of them were around the age of five or six and had the faces of innocence that would melt the hearts of more weaker minded people. He knew the blonde haired child since he was an infant, and his mother started working at the castle a few years before he was born. The other one with the whale's tooth on his necklace had recently moved in with his own parents. Both of them stared up at him with eyes full of curiosity and nonchalance towards what they had somehow accomplished. They had no visible injuries, but closer inspection revealed a very small cut on both their arms and it was enough for him to pick up a very faint scent of blood (being part shark had some advantages, but it wouldn't make him go into a frenzy). They knew who he was, but there was no trace of fear or awe within them and instead they looked at him as if he were any other adult.
Krupp looked up once again at the many sea urchins in the hallway (How the heck were two young merchildren able to accomplish this before anyone else could notice?!) and then looked down at the boys again before letting out a sigh. "I'm going to regret this aren't I?" He asked himself before addressing them with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Well I can't exactly make you both clean this all up since it was bad enough you were able to get these in here and you knowingly risked injuring yourselves... which was pretty stupid on both your parts if you ask me. Plus I'm guessing your parents will have a punishment in mind, so there's no point in punishing you today. But if I do get a word about you doing this again, you both will be cleaning this up after yourselves. Got that bubs?" He asked as he leaned forward and towered over the two who did not move back away from him.
These two children out of the many he encountered down here were not afraid of him, he realized as the boys silently stared at him with the nonchalant eyes that made him feel uneasy. Finally Harold said "Alright" and George followed up with a "Sure" and they both nodded.
That was Krupp's first time he ever saw the two together and unfortunately for him it was also the first time they would begin a series of pranks and other acts of disrespect. Little did he know that these two would soon represent everything he was against and challenge his word as if, by some divine prank, he was fated to be tied to those two in some way or another.
Krupp sighed as he stared off into nothingness inside his room while recalling that memory. It was very spacious, but it contained little to no personal possessions that were of value to him and there was a sort of darkness to the area as if any form of light couldn't get rid of the shadows and would only make them larger instead. At least here he could be free from everything and everyone, but the downside was that it left him to thoughts and memories he didn't want to be reminded of. He could focus on the present when he worked, but when left alone, it was another story.
The very thought of being freed from the two pranksters made him immensely happy and relieved to the point he almost wanted to celebrate, but then for some reason those feelings didn't last. Krupp didn't know why, but something about the aftermath made him feel even more hollow then he usually felt nowadays. It should have been a success, but it wasn't how he thought it would turn out. The uneasiness that something could happen without warning within the castle was gone, but it felt like something else had vanished alongside it. As if a bit of life had somehow vanished and left behind a noticeable hole.
Were those boys the only actual life of this entire place and did he actually miss it?
The idea of ever missing the boys was as stupid as it was hilarious to Krupp. Why would he even want to miss them after all the trouble they gave him when they were around?
And also to his great anger it turned out that he hadn't been freed from those two just yet. Both George and Harold's parents were horrified and angry when they found out about his encounter with their sons and the warning he gave them, and then they lost it when they found out that it lead to the merboys swimming off to who knew where. He personally didn't care about where they went and a part of him wouldn't have minded if that reckless behavior got them into trouble again. Yet he now had two sets of parents who were neglecting their duties to search for their sons, which lead to inconveniences. Then again it was their fault for not disciplining the two properly, not his.
Krupp wondered why some divine power had to insist on throwing this problem at him in the form of those two boys. What did he do to deserve such a hassle that he didn't need? The very idea that George and Harold–two children–were his least favorite people in the entire world over everyone or anyone else almost made him feel ridiculously pathetic at times. Yet hearing them and all those other children laughing, singing their heads off, and having fun set him off into fits of annoyance and anger until it got to the point that he never stopped to think of why that was such a problem for him or how that originated in the first place. And the fact that the boys never gave up, despite the number of times they were told otherwise, and willingly disobeyed him in the face of their ultimate punishment, annoyed Krupp even when he was sure that they were gone for good in almost every way but one.
The odd thing was that he had intended to destroy the rest of their comics, but by the time he could finally get to that (after many distractions), something in him stopped him. It was an odd feeling of happy satisfaction and pride, but it wasn't for what he was about to do. It was the feeling of having done something, but not for the act of about ready to do something.
It just happened without any warning and for some reason it gave him an odd warmth he couldn't ever recall feeling before or for a very long time and he couldn't figure out why. Then the feeling vanished and left him confused to the point that he almost forgot what he was supposed to be doing.
And then for some reason the idea of ripping up the comics made him hesitant and he soon found himself flipping through their pages out of sheer boredom while away from spying eyes. He was exposed to the true talents of Harold and George, and while the comics were as childish as he had expected, a part of him began to understand why their classmates were also willing to risk everything to be able to read them. In fact he realized by that point that he completely forgot about punishing the few who he did catch holding a comic in their possession, but he had no desire to deal with another set of parents who were angry at him.
A very small part of him reluctantly admitted that the comics were decent, but they didn't give him the joy that they would have when he was the age of those kids. Reading the comics didn't bring back any of that odd warmth he experienced but it made him feel as if the boys were somehow still here, which was annoying at best. And yet within the pages were signs that the boys had some knowledge of the human world, despite his best attempts to keep it away from himself and the others. He had no idea how that was possible, but it only made his resolve to keep out the world above, and all that it reminded him of, even stronger than ever.
He didn't know if he scared off George and Harold for good or if their act was one of great defiance, but he didn't care so long as he wouldn't have to personally deal with them and all the bad influences they could invoke anymore.
Krupp was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a voice behind his door. "Sir? You know how that one contraption hasn't been in use for ten years? It's still working and something came out of it."
This puzzled him. Which contraption? The only one he could think of was–wait.
He scowled as he felt his mood go bad and his irritation rise. "Just destroy it!" He snapped at the door.
"Well the letter had a message at the top that insisted you read it and that you respond or else another one will be sent!"
Krupp growled to himself and slammed his head against a desk. "What does that idiot want this time?! I told him to leave me alone!"
And yet he ended up going to check on the letter anyway (mainly out of curiosity and also because he wanted to be left alone for good after this).
To whom may it concern,
I know it has been a long time since we have talked and I know you threatened to destroy my kingdom if I ever responded back, but this is urgent and it may concern your people.
All these storms that have happened without warning is threatening our livelihood. We aren't able to fish out in the ocean (or get any fish) and it's discouraging people from touring the kingdom. A lot of people will lose their jobs because of this.
Also, I don't know if you are aware of this, but an oil drill was built out in the ocean, despite my best efforts to stop it. I know that this could ruin the environment, but my people are desperate for other means to make a living.
We have to stay in contact about this. I honestly don't know what to do, but I need your help if we want to prevent a disaster.
Krupp stared at the letter as he felt his anger rise. So the idiot was blaming him for all of his problems then? He didn't have full control of those storms and half the time they were caused because of what he had to deal with! And if he was so worried about the drill, then why didn't he have told him sooner before it was even built?! Krupp let out a laugh of sheer disbelief and a part of him wanted to let things play out without responding in order let the humans suffer for their own mistakes of where they chose to live.
Wait a minute, he stopped. Krupp recalled that the Sneedlys showed him something that they found out of the ocean and they said it was flammable. Did that have a connection to this?
He growled out a series of incoherent words as he crumpled up the letter and went over to grab some paper to write something back. "Oh like heck I'll ever help him!" He snarled as he began to write without taking time to think about what he was writing.
Finally the boys finished their comic and, as promised, Billy was the first to read it. Lisa didn't join him in the library like she usually did and so the boys had it all to themselves. The comic was proven to be a success and Billy was kneeling over and laughing his head off half the time and needed to catch his breath before he could finish reading, but when he did he had a huge smile.
"Oh my gosh, how do you guys come up with this?!" He was amazed and had a huge grin on his face. "That was amazing! The story and the artwork is incredible! How did you even get those poses?" He asked Harold.
"George posed for me." Harold shared a smile with George. Both were pleased to see the reactions of a reader who read one of their own comics, which was not often.
"You guys should keep doing this." Billy told them. "Keep at it and maybe one day you could do this for a living. You'd make a lot of people happy."
Meanwhile, Lisa was heading towards the library door and was playing with one of the ties to her sailor shirt when she heard her brother talk with the boys. She paused as her brother continued "Really, I don't know how to describe it–your comic is that good. Oh yeah, my dad knew we wanted to see this one movie for awhile and he said he can't come, but he could send money to pay for tickets for you guys if you want to join."
"That would be great." Lisa could hear Harold's voice.
"Hey, I don't think I let you guys see my room." Billy realized. "My sister might not let you see hers, but I don't mind showing you mine."
"Ok." George agreed and within seconds the boys left the library and headed down the hallway without noticing the young girl standing several feet from the library door.
Recalling what the boys said about the comic, Lisa cracked open the door and sure enough she could see the comic laying on the table where it had been forgotten.
Why was it so easy for her brother to make friends with the boys and not her? Was it really because she wasn't a boy, or was it because he was more open to giving them chances? She was curious to look at the comic and see if there was a clue. A part of her was curious ever since she saw it the day before, but what if she was caught reading it? She didn't want to be laughed at if she was caught.
Lisa was unaware of someone who was nearby and watching the look of conflict in her face and he could see that she wanted to read the comic. It was finally time to change that, he thought to himself as he ignored what he was told and decided to do what he felt was right.
"You should read it, it'll be good!" A man's voice–cheerful and full of life–suddenly spoke behind Lisa's back.
The princess turned around to see who spoke to her, but there was no one there.
"Don't be afraid." The voice encouraged the little princess, who turned around to try to find the source of the kind sounding stranger. "You look like you could use a good laugh."
"Hello?" Lisa asked as she looked around. "Whose there?" But no one responded. She even looked in the library, but the man she was looking for was not there. Instead there was only the comic waiting and beckoning to her. She went in and looked around until her eyes drifted down to the comic and an image of a large, bald headed man with a joyful smile and who were nothing but a red cape with black dots and large white underpants.
"The adventures of Captain Underpants. Written by George Harold. Art by Harold Hutchins." Lisa read the words on the cover. She took the comic book and sat down on her favorite sofa. Curious as to what those two boys had made, but drawn more to the strange, yet joyful figure on the cover, Lisa opened up the comic and began to read.
The comic told a tale of a new kind of superhero. One who, according to the writer (whose spelling wasn't so great half the time), was faster than a speeding waistband, more powerful than boxer shorts, and was able to leap tall buildings without getting a wedgie. Despite the odd sense of humor, Lisa was hooked and continued to read and watch Captain Underpants as he fought some very bizarre and often grotesque foes that made the princess snort and laugh. It was a very strange world that this superhero inhabited and he was someone who should not realistically exist in her world for a number of reasons. Even the world of the comic acknowledged his strangeness and when told to put on clothes, the silly superhero would only laugh and say that he was happy the way he was.
And before the princess knew it, she was laughing the hardest she had ever laughed in a long time. She was laughing until she was almost crying and she tried so hard not to rip the comic book up on accident in her fit of laughter. She didn't recall ever being this happy after all the concerns and worries that had been piling up on her and she no longer cared about being caught enjoying something so childish and yet so much fun.
After she was able to calm down and get to the end when Captain Underpants had defeated the bad guy from taking over a school and brainwashing all the children into becoming his slaves, and everyone cheered for him, she read the last line "And so, Captain Underpants made sure that all the kids were safe, happy, and would act like the way kids should act because he fought for truth, justice, and all that was pre-shrunk and cottony." She smiled at this. "I would definitely want to meet you." She admitted to the character as he flew off into the sky on the final panel. As odd as he was, there was a warmth and charm to the childish superhero that made him seem fun to be around.
There was an odd laugh and Lisa looked up to see her brother and the boys staring at her from the door. The boys had an odd look in their eyes as if there was something funny about what she said, but her brother seemed really happy.
"I was just curious!" Lisa protested as she got up. "But... but it was good." She admitted with a smile. "I don't recall ever reading something that funny before. I really liked the story." She smiled at George.
"Well it's nice to know that–" Harold began but then paused. "Look, about yesterday when we asked which one of you gets angry... we're sorry." He apologized.
"Yeah, we did take it too far." Billy admitted with a grimace. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"It's ok." Lisa sighed and nodded. "I hope you don't mind that I read the comic." She tried to hand it to George when she went over to them.
"No it's ok." George waved a hand in protest. "The more happy readers the merrier. Thank you for reading it."
Lisa took a deep breath and smiled. "So I don't mind if you guys go to the movie with us."
"We've never seen one, so we want to go." Harold told her. "You said it would be at seven, right?" He asked Billy, who nodded.
"We should all get ready." He grabbed his sister by the hand and the siblings lead the boys down the hallway.
Unknown to the siblings, the real Captain Underpants had listened to everything and watched as all four children hurried off. Seeing that he had succeeded in his goal to have the princess become friends with the boys–and even better, he made sure that she was truly happy–made him incredibly happy and optimistic for the future as he rested his back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling as he placed his fists on his hips. Seeing what he had accomplished and seeing all four children happy gave him a strong warmth inside him that wiped all his problems and worries away, even if only for a moment. That feeling that he had done something right and good for another felt so right to him. It gave him purpose even when he had no idea who he was supposed to be.
So long as he was here, he would make sure nothing bad would happen to those children. He would not let them be sad and he would not let any harm come to them. He would do everything in his power to protect them, he swore as he smiled to himself and closed his eyes. There is nothing in this world that will ever stop me.
Meanwhile in the lab of Doctor and Lady Sneedly, Krupp was impatiently waiting for them to be done so that he could talk to them about what it was that they found and if it was what he thought it would be. It was only halfway filled with water in order for them to conduct certain kinds of experiments and keep things from mixing with the water, but the downside of this was that this allowed the occupants to have an idea of just how cold the ocean water currently was around this time. The walls were covered in metal and other odd materials and the lighting was strong enough that it would have almost been like being up in the world above on a bright day, but it didn't help Krupp's mood.
Krupp could feel the rage steadily raising within him as he felt his control over things slipping away. First with those two pranksters and now with those foolish, destructive humans who ignored the fact that others lived in the ocean for their own gain. He wanted to tear something up and–
Something warm exploded within him and his anger vanished away to be replaced with something pleasant. Something that made him feel light and calm and made the fire inside him die before it got too out of hand. Something that made him... happy?
Krupp's eyes went wide as he clutched his chest. He wasn't in pain but the strange feeling still caught him off guard because of how it changed him without warning. It already happened a few times before and now it was happening again. He was feeling happy for no reason and he had a sudden desire to protect something that was precious to him with his very life, but he had no idea why or what on earth he would want to protect. And it wasn't even something, it was more like someone, but why?! He didn't have anyone he wanted to protect! There wasn't anyone he liked enough to even feel a little bit of that!
"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Lady Sneedly asked in concern as she looked up from her vials and tubes.
What is this? Krupp thought in a panic as the feelings wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he tried. What is happening to me?!
Being happy for no real reason then for the sake of being happy... when was the last time that ever happened? Why did he feel as if the sun was shining down on him and everything was so right when in reality nothing was supposed to be right now? Why did he feel things he was so sure he didn't want to feel?
Then the feelings vanished as fast as they had come and left him feeling hollow, confused, frustrated, and a little miserable. Krupp didn't do anything for many seconds and didn't hear either of the Sneedlys until he finally looked up and was able to remember what he was doing.
"It's nothing." He tried to resume a stoic look. "So what exactly was that stuff you found and where did you find it?"
"Well we weren't sure, but we think it might be from the human world." Doctor Sneedly admitted. "We didn't go up to the surface, but we traced it to a structure near the coastline that was a few miles from where the outskirts of the surface kingdom is. There seemed to be a little more of it around there."
"And the structure? what did it look like?"
"It was hard to tell, but I think it looked like something made to extract something." Lady Sneedly admitted. "Kind of like one of those oil drills that–" her face fell when she realized what she just said as well as what exactly the odd stuff they found was. Both she and her husband nervously stared at the king as he realized what had somehow escaped his notice. "That the humans made." She finished saying as that was all she could do now.
Krupp realized in that moment that somehow he made a mistake in not having this taken care of earlier, and yet his pride was too strong for him to admit this out loud. Instead his anger was directed at another and it burned and steamed within him in mere seconds as he gritted his sharp teeth together and he felt his body begin to twitch. His hands tightened up into fists and before either scientist could react, Krupp let out a terrible yell and punched a hole into the wall so hard that the impact made it crack and shake the foundation and even a few vials and other objects that were all around them. It hurt his fist and he didn't care, though it was enough to worsen his mood a little more.
"You're going to take me there!" He demanded. "I told their king not to have that in my ocean and he didn't listen! If he wanted to warn me about it, then he should have done it before this got too far!"
Lady Sneedly slowly backed away as Doctor Sneedly stammered. "But–you aren't actually going to destroy it are you?! We need to have a way to stop the flow if there even is any oil!"
"WELL FINE THEN, WE CAN DO IT TOMORROW AT NIGHT!" Krupp threw his hands up as he roared out in anger and nearly scared both scientists to death. Even Melvin–who had been secretly watching from a corridor–was a bit afraid of the king's wrath for once. "I DON'T CARE HOW LONG IT TAKES, THEY ALL NEED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON! THAT THING IS GOING AWAY WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT!"
Krupp then took a deep breath and panted as his body slouched over after that outburst and he looked around the lab while cradling his hand. A human scientist he allowed to work here once used this place to conduct experiments and do almost whatever he pleased while saying it was for the benefit of both races. Instead he only made everyone uneasy due to the questionable nature of half his work and he never even bothered to tell them his name, under the idea that he 'wanted to keep his identity hidden from enemies' or whatever that meant. Krupp felt he had every right to banish that scientist because–like in this case–it only further proved how destructive humans could actually be.
However, none of his people–not even the Sneedlys themselves–were aware of a procedure that had been done in this very room that Krupp remembered all too well. A procedure done by that very same human scientist as a matter of fact. Everything tied to that memory only increased his anger at being in this lab and he had a strong desire to get out of there before he was consumed by more unwanted memories.
"If you don't come up with a way to stop it, then I'm doing things my way." Krupp growled at the family of intellects while unaware of a mechanical octopus spying on them all from a window. Instead the infamous rage was consuming him as he mentally cursed everything about the world above for all that it had done to him as well as what it denied him. He was denied many things in his life, including the chance to punish George and Harold, and he was denied any real joy in his life while having to watch so many others live it out around him, but he would not be denied the chance to lash out when given the chance.
And he didn't care who would get caught up in it.
"Hey Edith," Harold greeted the woman as he and George saw her finishing up with cleaning some dishes. "We are about to go, but we wanted to show you the comic!" He showed the comic to Edith before setting it down on the table.
"Yeah, and thanks again for giving us the stuff to make it!" George thanked her. "We promise that we will repay you somehow!" He added before he and Harold could hurry off."
"Oh boys, you don't have to–" Edith tried to protest but the boys had vanished.
"Oh well," She sighed but smiled and, after washing her hands and drying them, she went over to the table to pick up the comic and she smiled when she saw the cover and the joyful looking character upon it. "Oh, so you're Captain Underpants." She chuckled as she smiled back at him. "It's certainly a pleasure to meet you at last you at last."
Edith sat down to read the comic book that the boys created. She heard the waves from the ocean acting up again and she scowled a little before she shook her head and began to read. She wanted to focus on a character who seemed positive and lived up to his name and not a character who currently seemed to be in a foul mood if the stories were true.
The movie that the boys saw was unlike anything they had ever seen when they saw it with the siblings. It was a new form of story telling they had never seen before and the sets, puppetry, and stop motion that was used helped to make the world seem believable. It was to the point that the boys were almost convinced it was real until they remembered that Lisa and Billy told them that movies were like story telling. The siblings were surprised to hear that neither George or Harold had seen or heard of a film before hand and it was so interesting to watch them marvel over the cinema and how it was like a castle to them. They even ended up consuming the whole bag of popcorn that they shared together before the movie got anywhere close to its halfway point.
Both Harold and George enjoyed the film and while they didn't get all the jokes, they were able to laugh alongside the other viewers. Their only complaint was that the film was in black and white, but other then that, it was something they were going to keep in mind when they would talk about the human world to their classmates when they finally went back home.
"That was amazing!" Harold laughed as all four children walked out of the theater. "You'd think it was all real if you didn't know any better!"
"Yeah, good thing we could tell the difference!" George also laughed as he grew thankful that they didn't bring a certain someone along with them because he was really sure that Captain Underpants would have thought it to be real and then he would have tried to defeat the 'monster' and ruined the film and the experience for them all. He was thankful that when he and Harold told Captain Underpants that they wanted to be able to hang out with the siblings for the night, the adult was surprisingly fine with this and didn't even bother to ask to come along.
"Yeah, it's amazing how far film is advancing." Billy admitted. "There wasn't even sound until a decade or two ago. But I'd love to see a cartoon film–not a short film, but something just as long as that one."
"Or maybe a film in color." Lisa admitted. "I wish we could see everything for how it looked when they were making it."
"Yeah," Harold agreed. "Everything is better when it's in col–" He and George accidentally collided into someone and forced them to the ground on accident. "Oh, I'm sorry! Are you ok?!" He shot the person a concerned look.
"NO, I AM NOT OK!" The boys were surprised by how angry the person was and they flinched back away from him and the box he dropped when they collided together. The short man with glasses so thick that you couldn't see his eyes and his white hair that stuck at two different ends was bizarre to behold and his anger was almost more amusing to watch than upsetting. "You should have looked where you were going, you foolish child!" He growled as he stamped a foot into the ground and pointed an accusing finger at the young artist.
"Hey!" George snapped at the man as Harold backed away from the adult. "He said he was sorry!"
The man growled at the two but then he stopped when he took a look at the two boys. He then turned to see the prince and princess looking at him in concern and anger and he grimaced. "Oh, never mind." He shook his head as he grabbed his box and walked off.
"I wonder what his problem was." Lisa wondered. Of course none of the children dwelled too much on the angry adult and went back to talking to themselves. Unfortunately none of them realized the real reason why the adult recognized them.
"That was close!" He sighed to himself when he was sure that he was out of earshot. "I can't believe I ran into them like that while getting parts!" He then laughed to himself. "Oh if only those two knew that I was the reason they are even up here to begin with! They would have done more than apologize! In fact they still may prove to be of use to me when the time comes! It doesn't matter how or when, but they will bring down both these kingdoms whether they know it or not!" He let out a laugh.
As the professor expected, things were steadily getting bad for both kingdoms and it would be a matter of time until something would happen. If not, then he would improvise his way to get results.
The strange person who resembled George and Harold's creation found Edith napping in the kitchens and she was resting her head against her arms on a table by a calendar and some notes and books. Only a little bit of her face was exposed while the rest was hidden behind her arms and her veil of hair. George and Harold's comic book was laying face down and indicated that she read the whole thing, which made him smile. She clearly had good taste and his liking towards her increased.
But should he try to talk to her again? He didn't have anyone to talk with when the boys weren't around to talk to.
"Hi again!" Captain Underpants cheerfully greeted the woman. "It looks like the children are happy today and they are all finally friends! You should have heard them laughing over the comic the boys made! I thought it was terrific myself and I see that you read it too!"
Edith stirred in her sleep.
"Today I learned that I could sing!" He grinned with pride. "Oh, I guess I didn't tell you! I don't remember anything about myself!" His smile faded a little as he was reminded of this. "It would be nice to remember who I was or if I have a name. I like the one I'm using and I bet its far better than whatever my real name is." He tried to stay cheerful.
No response.
"How did it go?" Captain Underpants asked himself and tried to sing the song as best as he could. It wasn't on tempo like how Harold sang it, and he missed a few beats, but he still tried his best. He got as far as he could before he gave up and gave Edith a shrug. "It's not perfect but it's a start."
No response besides moving her head a little to reveal more of her face.
Captain Underpants let out a huge sigh before he could continue. "I don't know why, but I keep coming to you for some reason. You are very nice and kind to those children, and you clearly have a sense of humor, but you are also dedicated, hard working, and willing to put others before yourself. Also you have a nice pair of eyes." He gave her a warm smile. "I might have said a few of those things already, but I'm just saying what I can."
No response. Now he was starting to feel like a complete dummy. "This would feel better if I knew that you would want me around or not." He admitted. "I might not even be the kind of person you would want to be around and I am probably being rude and bothering you." He let out a weak laugh but it only made him feel worse about this. "And I want to respect your boundaries. I know I goofed up on a few things and..." He paused as his confidence shrank to the point that he didn't know what to do.
"I wish you could respond back to me." He sighed as he went away. "I wish you could see and hear me."
Moments passed before Edith finally woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around for a moment.
"Hello?" She asked. "Is someone here with me?"
No response.
That night, Lisa and Billy went down into the secret room where they discovered that the mystery person finally responded, but what they found was not a pleasant message.
"I don't care about your problems and you should have warned me before you thought of having the drill built, bub!" Billy read with a frown. "You might as well have asked for a war! Now leave me alone!"
"Ok, that's it." Lisa growled as she grabbed some paper to write back to the person. "Well maybe this wouldn't have happened if you stayed in contact with me! Trust me you would have known if we wanted a war with you, and I at least told you about it, didn't I?! Don't do anything you will later regret 'bub!'" She snarled as she wrote out the letter.
"Don't get him mad!" Billy worried.
"He's already mad and I'm not letting him off so easily!" Lisa angrily replied as she took the letter and sent it into the contraption.
"If we don't get a response, we need to stop this." Billy warned her. "If this really is who we think it is, we could get everyone in so much trouble!"
Lisa sighed as she held her face in her hands. "I just wish this could all stop. I want things to return back to the way they once were."
Billy nodded in understanding. There was so little they could do at this point and he doubted they would get a letter back.
"Well on the bright side, we could take George and Harold to the boardwalk tomorrow." Billy pointed out. "We could use some fun and I think they said that they wanted to check it out."
"Yeah, you are right." Lisa nodded with a smile. "We should do that."
So I think the boys are on day...4 right now if it's not day 3, and then the next chapter could be day 5 (or day 4). I'm trying to keep the time limit in mind and not rush anything because the chapters I want to write the most occur on the final day.
The version of Dúlamán that I heard is by Celtic Woman and from what I understand, it is an Irish song (and I am sorry if I messed it up somehow)... but I will admit that the only contemporary/way ahead of this timeline parts of this fic will be the music I chose. One of the songs I have in mind that is super important later is DEFINITELY not from 1930's. Also CU is voiced by Ed Helms, I had to let the guy sing! (Also, I realize that I did an allusion to another work of his (a certain freak out scene from The Office) on accident.)
Krupp is interesting to write when he's not being... well, what happened in chapter 3 (which I still hated doing). Because I'm trying to keep in mind who he is, and yet there are so few clues as to why he is the way he is (besides what was given to us in the film, which for me wasn't enough). And I read how he's described in the first book on how he hates children and them having fun despite being a principal and I wonder... did something happen to get him to be that way despite his position? You can't become a principal unless you have the right qualities, and yet something happened along the way in a world where adults can be mean or stupid, but rarely kind. So my theories will tie into what will be revealed later on. Hating the sight of other people–especially children–being happy indicates that one is clearly not happy with their lives or did not live a good life.
Also, yeah sorry dude. You are destined to be connected to George and Harold no matter which AU you all are in.
Oh shoot, I forgot about him, didn't I?
After getting on the receiving end of a spray bottle, the fully dressed Mr. Krupp was snapped awake and found himself staring at the author and a certain pair of trouble makers. He angrily starred her down before she held out a cupcake.
"Look, how about a truce?" She asked. "I'm still coming back no matter what, but I can make this all up to you."
"I don't want your stupid cupcake!" The principal growled, but this only made the writer grin.
"Oh, I know. It's not for you." She grabbed his hand and put the cupcake in it. "It's going to be for her."
"Her?" Krupp asked, but then the door to the rooftop opened and HolyMaiden24 snickered as the principal went from angry and irritated to pleasantly surprised when he saw Edith come out.
"Uh... what?" He shot HolyMaiden24 a nervous look. "I'm supposed to give this to her?!"
"She's the only other staff member I didn't kick out for a good reason, now go be a polite, kind sweetheart, give her the dang cupcake, and take her for a walk in the park or something, you big dummy!" The writer forcefully pushed the principal towards the lunch lady. "What can I say except you're welcome!" She sang a certain song from Moana for good measure as the boys snickered next to her.
"There I did him a favor." She chuckled before turning to the reader. "I would very much appreciate a review for my birthday for this chapter, if it's possible. Thank you for sticking with me thus far."
