I Will Always Hate You.
Chapter 10: Planning The Final Rescue Attempt.
Creech was up early the next morning, making sure every thing was ready for when the bridesmaids arrived. She also had to make sure that no guards would be in the palace dungeon for part of the day, so she could lead everybody down there to meet up with Jackie and come up with the final rescue attempt.
Digit made some of his famous cocktail wienies for the secret meeting, and if the prince asked, they would say it was for Jackie. Prince Michael surprisingly had a heart and wouldn't want his only prisoner to starve to death. Matt finished getting the bridesmaids' rooms ready and Slider secretly spent time in his room, "tweaking" Jackie's silver baton.
It was almost noon, when Inez was in her bedroom, taking a nap. Just the thought of marrying Prince Michael made her sick to her stomach and all the wedding plans made her extremely stressed out.
At the same time, Prince Michael was sitting on his throne in the throne room, waiting for the arrival of the bridesmaids. Creech, Digit, Matt, and Slider were in the throne room as well, with Digit holding on to a silver platter of cocktail wienies. Creech had her clipboard in her arms, as usual.
The double doors opened and two guards walked in. They stepped aside, and Shari walked in. She was dressed in her wizard robes, with a light blue messenger bag hanging over her right shoulder.
Britney followed Shari in. She was wearing an orange sleeveless knee-high dress, and matching orange espadrilles. Her curly light green hair went down to her mid back. An orange backpack was strapped to her back.
Mary Pat was right behind her sister. She wore a pink spaghetti-strap midriff, blue jean miniskirt, and pink high heel sandals. Her straight light green hair went down to her mid back. Strapped to her back was a pink knapsack.
Lastly, Glowla walked in, just as the two guards closed the doors behind her. She was dressed in her usual acrobat outfit that she wore for performances. Hanging over her right shoulder was a red backpack.
Prince Michael smiled at them. "You must be the four bridesmaids of the wedding. It's a pleasure meeting you."
Shari curtseyed, along with Mary Pat, Britney, and Glowla. "The pleasure is all ours, your Majesty."
"I sure hope you'll enjoy your stay here at my palace until the wedding in a few days," Prince Michael continued.
"I have a strong feeling that we will, sire," Glowla answered.
"My most trusted advisor will show you to your rooms," Prince Michael said, gesturing to Creech. "I have to stay here since I'm expecting the Tikiville town leaders to come here and give me their monthly reports."
After Prince Michael dismissed them, Creech smiled, and led Shari, Glowla, Mary Pat, and Britney out of the throne room. The four bridesmaids weren't sure why a waiter, a janitor, and a chef were following them.
"Creech," Britney said. "Like, where are Digit, Matt, and Slider?"
"Girls," Slider hissed, getting the bridesmaids' attention. "It's us."
Shari looked at Matt, surprised. "Matthew, is that you?"
"Yes, we're undercover," Matt explained. "That's how we got into the castle."
"Quiet, everyone," Creech whispered, as they reached a wooden door with iron bars over the door's window. "We got to be careful, as to not alert anyone of our presence down there."
Reaching into her pants pocket, Creech pulled out a silver key that matched the doorknob. Slipping it into the keyhole, she unlocked the door and opened it. One by one, they descended the stone staircase, closing the door behind them.
Lit torches on the stone walls showed the way down to the palace dungeon. Mary Pat and Britney shrieked every time they passed cobwebs, and Shari and Glowla had to silence them by throwing their hands over the twins' mouths.
When they reached the bottom, Creech led the way to Jackie's cell. Inside the cell, Jackie was sitting on top of her bed, staring at the cold stone floor. She looked up to see what looked like Creech, Shari, Glowla, Mary Pat, Britney, a chef, a waiter, and a janitor approaching her cell.
"Creech," she greeted, happily, turning to the other girls. "What are you all doing down here?"
"We're here to, like, plan that final rescue attempt," Mary Pat explained.
"Oh, is it just us?" Jackie asked, sounding disappointed. "Digit, Matt, and Slider gave up?"
Slider the waiter shook his head. "No, they didn't."
Jackie gave Slider a weird look. "How do you know this? And do I know you?"
"Like, of course you do," Britney answered. "And you know the chef and janitor too, for sure!"
Jackie was still confused. Slider slowly pulled off his moustache, while Matt took his off and removed his janitor's hat. Digit also removed his moustache and chef's hat.
"Digit, Matt!" Jackie cried, happily, turning to look at her boyfriend. "Slider!"
Creech smiled, taking out another key from her pants pocket. She unlocked the bars door on Jackie's prison cell and let Jackie out. She immediately threw her arms around Slider's neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.
"Those two are so totally cute," Mary Pat commented.
"You were the waiter all along?" Jackie asked Slider, after she pulled back.
"Yeah, Matt, Digit, and I went undercover," Slider explained. "It was the only way to get into the castle without getting kicked out."
"Let's go sit over here," Creech suggested, gesturing to a wooden bench and a few chairs in a corner. "We got to plan the final rescue attempt."
Slider sat on the bench with his right arm around Jackie. Shari, Mary Pat, Britney, and Glowla also joined the cute couple on the bench. Digit, Matt, and Creech took a seat in the chairs.
"Okay, let's begin," Creech said, taking charge. "As we all know, the wedding is taking place in the grand ballroom on level negative five of the Cyber Grand Tower."
"And it's all in a few days," Matt added.
"Right," Creech said. "I think the final rescue attempt will be successful if we all play to our strengths."
Shari reached into her wizard robes and pulled out her wand. "That will be no problem whatsoever. And I brought my spellbooks with me in my messenger bag too."
"Sure, it would be a good idea to go over any spells that can be useful when we crash the wedding," Creech suggested. "Spells used to freeze people or to blast solid objects; stuff like that."
Shari nodded, feeling absolutely important. "No problem."
Creech smiled, turning to Glowla. "And Glowla, do you know any gymnastics that could also be used for knocking people out?"
"I got a few in mind," Glowla answered, grinning. "Want me to practise them?"
"Totally," Creech replied, her attention focused on Mary Pat and Britney. "Any chance you can get the paparazzi to show up at the wedding?"
Britney looked confused. "For sure, but why?"
"We want to broadcast this wedding crash to all of Cyberspace," Creech explained. "Besides, you have hundreds of photographers following you to every event you two go to."
Mary Pat smiled. "Totally, we can do that."
"Splendid!" Creech exclaimed, remembering something. "Slider, what did you do with Jackie's baton again?"
Jackie watched as Slider reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a silver rod. He pressed one of the tiny buttons on a panel on the side and the rod extended back into the original form of Jackie's baton.
"Here," Slider said, handing it to Jackie. "I upgraded it so you can use it to help us during the wedding."
"How did you upgrade this?" Jackie asked, curiously. "And how will this help me during the wedding?"
"If you throw it, it acts like a boomerang," Slider explained. "And if you hold it out, press the green button."
Jackie decided to test the button. She stood up and went to stand a few steps away from everyone else. She held out the baton in front of her, pressed the green button on the panel with her thumb, and both ends immediately lit on fire.
"Whoa, that's amazing!" Jackie exclaimed.
"I just thought you would like to help during the final rescue attempt instead of sitting around," Slider said, smiling. "Try the blue button now."
Jackie nodded, pressing the blue button on the panel. The fire on both ends were extinguished and were replaced by two weapons. One end had a silver hook and the other had what looked like a large silver dagger.
"I'm not a violent person, honey," Jackie said, looking at Slider.
Slider shrugged. "I know, but just in case. You never know."
Creech hopped off the bench and headed for a closet nearby. She opened the wooden door and rummaged through it. She pulled out a couple of practise cyborg dummies, probably used in the castle for jousting practises.
"We can use these to practise," Creech explained. "There's more in this closet. Imagine these dummies are palace guards."
Everyone watched, as she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a yellow paper crown. She tossed it onto the head of one of the dummies.
"And that dummy can be Prince Michael," Matt said, chuckling.
"Where did you get a paper crown?" Jackie asked, curiously.
Creech blushed. "I always dreamed of being Prince Michael's bride."
"You like him?" Jackie asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I do, but that doesn't matter right now," Creech replied. "Let's get practising."
Meanwhile, Prince Michael had finished gathering the monthly reports from the leaders of each town on his cybersite. He just left the throne room and was heading down a corridor.
He was a bit tired from dealing with the monthly reports, as well as bossing people around. To him, it was a lot of work.
"What should I do now?" he asked himself. "Maybe I'll go see what my future bride is up to."
Eager to see Inez, Prince Michael climbed the staircase that led to her bedroom. He was so anxious to see her, he hardly heard anything coming from the door leading down to the palace dungeon.
Two palace guards also passed by the door leading down to the dungeon, but they were in a deep conversation with each other to notice any strange activity coming from the dungeon.
"Why did he have to be so mean!?" the first guard cried. "I was just trying to open the door, and he goes and yells at me all - "
Meanwhile, in the dungeon, everyone was training for the final rescue attempt. There were practise cyborg dummies at different areas of the dungeon, set up as though they were in the grand ballroom where the wedding was to take place.
Shari was sitting on the wooden bench, reading over one of her many thick spellbooks. With her wand clutched in her right hand, she pointed it at one of the dummies.
"Leave me alone, turn into stone," she hollered.
Immediately, the dummy glowed bright yellow and when the light faded, the dummy looked like a stone statue.
Hanging from the ceiling by a hanging light, Glowla was swinging back and forth. Below her were two practise dummies, separated by about a metre.
Creech was walking around to see if everyone was making progress. She paused with her clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, looking up at where Glowla was hanging.
In deep concentration, Glowla released her grip on the hanging light and fell downwards, head first. She landed on her hands and did the splits in the air. Both feet knocked out both dummies at the same time.
"Good work," Creech commented, as Glowla got back to her feet.
Jackie was hanging onto another ceiling light. She had her left arm wrapped around the light, while she clutched her silver baton in her right hand. She eyed several cyborg dummies below her and smirked.
"Hey, Slider, watch this!" Jackie called.
Sitting on the wooden bench, Slider was eating the plate of cocktail wienies. He turned his attention to Jackie hanging by a light on the ceiling and waited anxiously to see what she was going to do.
Jackie activated the weapons portion of the baton and lifted it higher into the air. She began twirling it in her hand and was about to throw it towards the group of dummies, when her arm began slipping from the light.
"This is bad!" she cried, her baton falling to the ground with a clang.
"Jackie!" Slider yelled, hopping off his seat.
Dropping the plate of appetizers, Slider sprinted across the room, ignoring the stares from the others watching him. His eyes never left Jackie holding on to the light.
Her grip loosened completely and Jackie started falling. Her screams echoed throughout entire dungeon. Like the others, Creech was watching Jackie scream and fall, and was worried that if she didn't stop, someone was going to hear her screams from upstairs and their secret would be blown.
Luckily, Jackie stopped screaming when she landed in Slider's open arms. Everyone applauded and cheered happily.
"Nice catch, dude!" Matt commented, clapping.
Just as Slider put Jackie back down on the ground, a loud booming voice echoed throughout the entire castle, causing the ground to shake, as though an earthquake was taking place.
"CREECH!" a male voice shouted. "What was that screaming!?"
Once everyone was able to maintain their balance, they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs towards the dungeon.
"Ugh, now what?" Shari asked.
"The closet!" Creech hissed, gesturing to it. "Get in!"
Shari pulled open the closet door quickly. Mary Pat, Britney, Glowla, Digit, and Slider hurried inside, hiding under a pile of fencing dummies. Shari ran inside, closing the door behind her. Creech unlocked Jackie's dungeon cell and pushed Jackie inside, before closing and locking it.
"Matt, move!" Creech whispered, urgently.
Matt, who was standing by a wall near the door leading upstairs, was above to make his move towards the closet, when the dungeon door swung open, slamming against the wall where Matt was standing.
Prince Michael took a step into the dungeon, looking furious. He looked around, but didn't see anyone, except for Jackie, who was pretending to sleep on the bed in her cell, and Creech sitting on the bench, scribbling something on her clipboard.
"Oh, a thousand pardons your Majesty," Creech said, standing up and curtseying. "I didn't see you there."
"What are you up to?" Prince Michael asked, calming down.
"I'm just making sure all is in order, sire" Creech answered, drawing a stick man on her clipboard. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"I heard screaming," Prince Michael said.
"Uh, screaming my prince?" Creech asked, innocently.
"Yes, it came from down here," Prince Michael replied. "Do you know who interrupted my special moment with my fiancée?"
"Forgive Lady Jackie, your Majesty," Creech said, pleadingly. "She just had a terrible nightmare."
"Well, she still ruined the moment!" Prince Michael spat. "There's no dinner for her tonight!"
"My prince, surely you can't be serious," Creech said.
"Oh, I'm serious alright," Prince Michael answered.
"Yes, sire," Creech replied, reluctantly. "I will inform the kitchen chefs about your decision."
"Oh, while you're there, could you inform the chefs about a change in dinner plans?" Prince Michael asked. "I want something a little spicy tonight."
"I'm on it, my prince," Creech answered, curtseying once again.
Prince Michael nodded, and started making his way up the stairs. Once he was out of earshot, Creech hurried towards the closet door and opened it. Everyone fell out, gasping for air.
"Thanks," Britney thanked, in between breaths. "It's totally stuffy in there."
"Did Prince Michael suspect anything?" Slider asked.
"Don't worry, I took care of it," Creech replied.
"I can't believe I can't eat dinner tonight," Jackie groaned.
"Don't worry, I'll sneak some leftovers down here for you," Creech told Jackie.
"Well, let's clean up and head upstairs for lunch," Glowla suggested. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"Yeah, I'm, like, totally hungry," Mary Pat added.
Slider looked around the dungeon and raised a brown eyebrow. "Hey, aren't we forgetting something?"
"Yeah, where's Matthew?" Shari asked.
Getting an idea, Creech hurried towards the dungeon door and closed it. On the wall where Prince Michael slammed the door was Matt. He looked as though he was run over. He was stuck to the wall, his arms and legs spread out.
"Whoa, that slam must have hurt," Slider said.
"It sure did," Matt replied, in pain.
"Like, what do we do now?" Britney asked, as Slider and Digit tried to pry Matt off of the wall.
Creech shook her head, sighing. "Get a crowbar."
Chapter 10 Up! The battle takes place in the next chapter! :D
Sorry for the long wait again. I'm just busy, busy, busy lately and I have writer's block as well. I'll update when I can.
Stay Solid!
Your Cartoon/Anime Fanfiction Writing Extraordinaire,
TeenQueen661.