Last time found Sora and his group arriving not at Neverland as they planned, but at Atlantica, fifteen years into the future no less, all thanks to an anomaly in the fabric of space and time. Sora and the gang met up with Ariel, Eric and their daughter, Melody. They told our heroes all that had happened since the last time Sora was there.
At the same time, The Negotiator thawed out Ursula in order to have someone deal with Sora and the gang. She went through the anomaly and met up with Matthew Patel, first of the league of Evil Exes, who was carrying out a plan of pollution. The baddies were dumping industrial waste onto Atlantica, and our heroes, most of them anyway, went into the sea to stop them. Sora and the gang then met Ursula and her insane sister, Morgana. One thing lead to another, resulting in the two sea witches escaping to plot another day, and our heroes combined efforts defeating Matthew Patel. Tess found a third gold key and our heroes returned to their normal time and were on their way, finally to Neverland to see Tinker Bell. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 10: Jungle Sliding of Doom
"Did I ever tell you guys about my semi-cousin from Brazil?" Nessie asked as she and Olette sat in the ship's recreation room, "Nahuel isn't really my cousin, but he's half vampire like me; with a pulse and can sleep."
"Is he cute?" Olette asked eagerly, "and is he single?"
"He lives with his aunt," said Nessie, "who's a full vampire. Male half-vampires have venom and can change people into vampires. We still don't know why that is, why girl half-vampires don't have venom, not that I don't mind. And Nahuel is gorgeous! Not as gorgeous as Jacob, but you'll be screaming like an Elvis fan at the height of his career."
"I have no idea what that means," said Olette, "but I'm looking forward to meeting Nahuel."
"I'll be happy to introduce you to him," said Nessie.
Just then Pence came into the room, "We're coming up on the next world," he said, "Deep Jungle."
"Did I also told you guys about the time my uncle Emmett went down to Brazil and ate an anaconda?" Nessie asked as they walked to the bridge.
"No," said Olette, "but I'm sure it'll make a great story."
"So what are we looking for down there?" Hayner asked as Nessie, Olette and Pence walked onto the bridge. "We're still looking for Jacob, and there's those weird gold keys we've found. But what else are we going to find down there?"
At that Olette took out the key they found on Port Royal, while Pence held up the one he found on Halloween Town.
"Your guess is as good as mine," said Will as he and Kirjava looked at the scanners, "there's a lot of jungle down there, and a whole lot of wild animals."
"Any carnivores?" Nessie asked, "meat-eater blood tastes better than herbivores."
"It's difficult to tell from up here which is what," said Kirjava, "but just about any animal you'd find in a jungle is down there, including large predator cats."
"Sweet," said an eager Nessie as she licked her lips, "lunch is served!"
"But first let's get down there already," said Will, "and there's also a lot of Heartless down there."
"Just our luck," said Olette.
"What about Nobodies?" Hayner asked.
"A few," said Will, "and there's also demons. And…" he looked closer at the scanner data, "I'm also seeing large areas of deforestation."
"You're seeing what?" Pence asked.
"A huge area of the jungle has been chopped down," said Kirjava, "hundreds of acres have been clear-cut, and it looks like it happened in the past few days."
"That's horrible," said Olette, "who would do that? A jungle is harmless, unless you count all the meat-eaters and all the bugs and diseases you can catch."
"I'll tell you who would cut down a jungle," said an irate Nessie, "someone out to make money and doesn't care how dirty the means are, only that a profit is made. We've got the same problem on my world."
"Mine too," said Will, "there's people who have made progress to save the environment, a lot of progress, but as long as men are greedy, they'll do horrible things to make money, even if it means ruining the world."
"Same with my world," said Nessie, "there's a lot of good people where I come from, but also rotten humans who only care about short-term gains and have no concern for long-term consequences. They're the kind of people who deserve to get all the blood sucked out of them, then have their bodies burned before they change into vampires."
Nessie then looked like she was having a deep thought, "but on the other hand, immortality can be a curse as well as a gift. Under the right circumstances, a vampire can be imprisoned indefinitely. If you can confine him or her in a place where he or she can't escape, the vampire would go insane from bloodlust after a few weeks."
"This is all really interesting and disturbing and all," said Pence, "but can we please beam down to the world now? Before I'm totally freaked out."
"There's a large tree house where I can beam you down," said Vivi, "Good luck."
"I've got a feeling we're going to need it," said Hayner as they all went to the transporter room, "that this one's gonna be tougher than anything else we've been through."
"More tough than facing a horde of Cthulhu cultists?" Olette asked, "and a Cthulhu monster?"
"And dealing with a bunch of pirates no less," said Pence, "and what about just now on that Halloween world? We literally gambled with our lives there."
"And most of us lost," said Will.
"That creep of a monster was a no good, dirty, rotten cheater," said Kirjava, "I hope we don't meet another like that anytime soon."
They reached the transporter room and Vivi prepared to beam them down. "I'll say it again," said Vivi, "good luck, and call me if you get into trouble."
"Thanks," said Hayner, "and we'll be in touch." Vivi then beamed them down.
The next thing Hayner and the others knew they were in a large tree house that had seen better days. Furniture and various household objects were strewn across the planking floor, while the boards that made up the floor and walls looked like they were only a short way from rotting. Vines choked the walls and ceiling, while one doorway opened out to the vastness of the jungle. Underneath the house was a large cargo net stretched across the branches.
"Well, this looks like a nice place," said Olette sarcastically.
"Are you so sure about that?" Will asked as he pointed out one of the windows. From this high up, they could see a wide patch of empty ground in the jungle a few miles from where the tree stood.
"I thought it looked bad from orbit," said Pence as he and the others saw the devastation. Even from a distance it looked awful.
"We have to do something," said Olette, "we can't just stand around while some greedy maniac chops down an entire world."
"I agree," said Nessie, "Jacob can wait. We've got to save this jungle."
"How do we do that?" Pence asked.
Just then the room was filled with Powerwilds.
"I'm more worried about staying alive right now!" Hayner as they drew their weapons.
"Why is it that we always run into trouble?" Will asked as he and Kirjava dodged a Powerwilds' spinning claw attack, then dodged as it slid to strike them, then stabbed the creature.
"Everywhere we go, things get heavy!" said Pence as he basked one Powerwild, then blocked a slashing claw attack from another.
"Things would be boring!" said Nessie as she stabbed one Powerwild after another, then ripped one in half with her bare hands, "but still, I'd like to go somewhere I can just rest and relax."
It wasn't long before the area was free of Heartless. "Well," said Olette as she blasted the last Powerwild with a Blizzard spell, "that's that."
"Now what?" Hayner asked. He looked at Nessie, "can you smell Jacob?"
"There's a whole galaxy of scents out here," said Nessie as she sniffed the air, "even with my huge mind, it's going to take a while to sort out Jacob's from the rest," she sniffed again, "I think we need to get on the ground, being up high in this tree, all the scents get mixed up in the wind."
"So let's get down there," said Pence, "but how do we do that?"
"The tree can take us all the way down," said Olette.
"Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," said Will.
They climbed down the tree, eventually making it to the jungle floor, "that was one huge tree," said a slightly winded Hayner.
"That was nothing," said Nessie, "I can run a marathon without breaking a sweat."
"I'll bet you can," said Pence.
Just then a huge leopard jumped down from the trees and growled at Hayner and the others.
"That is one big cat," said a nervous Olette.
"Not to me," said an eager Nessie, "I think lunch just got delivered!"
The leopard growled loudly and slashed its claws threateningly at Nessie. She responded by growing back at the leopard. It then hissed defensively and backed away, but Nessie stalked after it. The leopard then ran into the undergrowth, with Nessie chasing after it.
"Come back, kitty!" shouted Nessie, "I don't want to hurt you! I only want to suck your blood!"
"Remind we why we're friends with a half human, half vampire who eats animals?" Pence asked in a slightly disturbed manner.
"Because she's cool," said Olette.
A few minutes later Nessie came back, her clothes slightly rumpled and had a few spots of blood, while her lips were stained with blood.
"Ah, nothing like fresh predator," said Nessie as she licked a drop of blood from the back of her hand, then licked her lips clean.
"I hope that leopard wasn't a mother leopard," said Olette, "otherwise there'll be a lot of miserable leopard kittens."
Just then twenty more huge, adult leopards jumped out of the tress and surrounded Nessie, Hayner and the others.
"I think we've got other things to worry about," said Pence as our heroes held up their weapons.
"Can you take out a score of leopards, Nessie?" Will asked.
"Not without risking you guys," said Nessie.
"We can handle ourselves against a bunch of overgrown cats," said Hayner, "we'll get ripped up a bit, but we'll take them out!"
Just then there came the sound of a man yelling through the jungle. The leopards looked up at the sound of the yell nervously.
"Now what?" Pence asked.
Just then a tall, well muscled man wearing only a loincloth and with long brown hair, swung down from the trees on a vine. He carried only a spear with a flint head, but he seemed to intimidate the leopards. They all ran into the undergrowth.
"That was weird," said Kirjava.
"Any weirder than an animal able to talk like a human can?" the man asked, "or a man raised by gorillas?"
"That's equally weird," said Nessie. She and the others then introduced themselves to the loincloth-wearing man, "thanks for saving us."
"Any time," said the man, "I am Tarzan. Not many people would last against one of the children of Sabor, let along the whole clan."
"I guess when I drank that one," said a sheepish Nessie, "I should have asked if he had any brothers or sisters who would avenge him."
"I'm afraid a pack of angry leopards is the least thing we have to worry about these days," said Tarzan.
"The deforestation," said Hayner, "our ship saw the damage to the jungle from above."
"Is it really that bad?" Olette asked, "we saw how big the damage was from that tree house, but…"
"It's worse than you think," said Tarzan. "I'll show you."
Hayner and the others followed Tarzan through the jungle for a mile or so, until they came in a break in the trees. It was much more than that, it was the edge of the devastation. Every tree for miles had been cut down, while the soil had been polluted with various toxins, which would make it very hard for anything to grow in this part of the world again for many years to come.
"This is god awful!" said Olette, "what kind of sick, twisted, demented monster would do this?"
"I think I know," said Nessie in a grave tone, "I remember reading the files my friends back home had on Gideon's toadies. There's one who would definitely knock down a forest for money, especially if it'll further his own sick needs."
"Well whoever this jerk is," said Hayner, "he's crossed the line."
"Oh, I don't think so," said a deep, slightly raspy male voice from behind Nessie, Hayner, Tarzan and the others. They turned around to see a tall human with dark hair, a slight stubble of a beard and wearing black leather pants, jacket and boots. "The only one's who's crossed the line, is you punks."
"You're fooling yourself, Lucas Lee!" said Nessie, "I read your file; you're a pro-skater turned action star and sellout."
"You underestimate me, shortly," said the dark human, Lucas Lee, "and those who underestimate me, end up in body bags."
"Is this guy for real?" Pence asked.
"Be careful what you wish for, tubby," said Lucas, "you might just get it."
"Don't call me fat!" snapped Pence, "I'm not fat! I'm big boned!"
"I thought you said you were husky," said Olette.
"I'm both," said an irate Pence.
"You're a tub of lard who needs a serious workout," said Lucas, "and I'm the one, who's gonna make you sweat."
"What are you talking about!" said Pence, "I get plenty of exorcise!"
"He's just trying to mess with us!" said Hayner.
"Check out the brain on the blondie," said Lucas, "you're a smart mother-lover."
"Don't you bring my mom into this!" snapped Hayner.
"Why are you destroying the jungle?" Tarzan demanded, "can't you see you're ruining the lives of countless innocent people?"
"I'm trying to make things better," said Lucas, "better for me and my fans that is. And there aren't any people getting hurt."
"I'm talking about all the gorillas who's homes you're destroying," said Tarzan, "some of those gorillas are my friends and family!"
"Sorry, dude," said Lucas, "sacrifices for the greater pleasure has to be made. This whole world is gonna be clearcut, to make way for the greatest thing ever! The Most Awesome Skateboard Park in the History of History."
"What?" Will asked, "you're going to deforest an entire world just to build a stupid skateboard park?"
"It's not stupid," said Lucas, "it's awesome."
"It's evil, that's what it is!" said Nessie, "reckless destruction of the environment is just plain wrong. It's even more wrong when you build something just plain useless on that destroyed environment."
"Why build a skate park when the layout of your own town will work just a well," said Hayner.
"City enviroments are lame!" said Lucas, "this is going to be the most Awesome of Awesome things to ever be built!"
"You're insane!" said Olette.
"Insanity is only genius misunderstood," said Lucas.
"No, you're just plain crazy," said Pence.
"Say it, don't spray it, tubby," said Lucas.
"Oh for crying out loud!' said Nessie as she drew her sword, "let's fight already!"
"I agree," said Tarzan. He pointed his spear at Lucas, "I'll give you this one chance; leave this world and never come back, or pay the price."
"I don't think so, tough guy," said Lucas, "you see, I had to pull a lot of favors with Gideon in order to get the green light on this project, so I can't stop."
"Oh yes you will!" said Will, "you're going to stop cutting down the jungle and replace every tree you've chopped."
"Not in this life, princess," said Lucas.
"Can we just kill him already?" Hayner asked.
"You want to tango?" Lucas asked, "let's dance!" He then summoned dozens of Powerwilds and several of a new type of Heartless. They looked like robots with chainsaws for hands, which would later be called Choppers.
"Why can't we ever get a break?" Pence asked as he bashed a Powerwild, then blocked a chainsaw slash from a Chopper.
"We just have that kind of luck," said Hayner as he blocked a Chopper, then sliced it's chainsaw arms off.
Just then another new type of Heartless attacked, one that looked like a black, oversized bulldozer with gnashing teeth where the blade should be. The new type, Dozer, charged at Will. He dodged it's gnashing teeth and got on top of it. It spun around in circles to try and shake him off, but Will stabbed it with his sword, delivering a significant amount of damage.
Nessie then rushed at the Dozer and sliced it in half with her sword. She then ripped a Chopper in half with her bare hands.
Tarzan then speared the last Powerwild in the area. "I'll say it again," he said to Lucas, "leave now and never come back."
"I've got more where that came from, cupcake," said Lucas. He then summoned a massive Heartless, one that looked like it was made of several combined construction vehicles. The legs were dump trucks, the torso was a cement mixer and the arms were excavators. The head was a small bulldozer.
"I'm suddenly having flashbacks of Transformers," said Will as he and the others got out of the way as the massive Heartless, the Combiner, attacked. It tried to grab Olette with its excavator arms, then tried to stomp Pence with its dump truck legs.
"I just want to go on record and say that I hate Heartless!" shouted Olette as she blasted the Combiner with a Thunder spell, then a Blizzard spell. But the metallic monstrosity wasn't going down that easily. It shrugged off the spells and kept on attacking.
"We're going to need a lot more firepower!" said Pence as he blocked a slashing excavator shovel."
"We just need to find it's weak spot!" said Hayner, "all machines have a weakness! We just have to find it!"
The Combiner then turned around briefly to try and stab Nessie who was trying to get behind it. Hayner, Pence and Tarzan then saw a small opening in it's armor-like hide, an opening that exposed the internal machinery of the metal monster.
"How about this!" shouted Tarzan he then ran up to the machine Heartless, dodging excavator slashes left and right, before jumping into one of its dump truck legs. He then jumped and swung his way up the body of the machine Heartless. He then stabbed his spear into the opening, jamming the spearhead between several gears. The jammed gears started a chain reaction that soon had the Combiner shaking itself apart. Everyone backed away as the Combiner fell to the ground and completely broke apart. The parts then dissolved into black smoke, and from that smoke a yellow crystal heart rose into the air and vanished.
"And that's that," said Nessie. She then glared at Lucas, "any more dirty tricks up your sleeve, jerk?"
"Oh I've got plenty," said Lucas.
"What, sleeves or dirty tricks?" Nessie asked.
"Don't try to make a mockery of me, girlie," said Lucas, "I've gotten weirder things for free in my breakfast cereal."
"That doesn't make any sense, you creep!" shouted Hayner as he, Pence, Olette, Will, Kirjava and Tarzan stood with Nessie and they all faced Lucas.
"You want to dance with this dog?" Lucas asked, "fine by me. But you've got to tango with my stunt doubles."
"Your what?" Pence asked as several look-alikes of Lucas appeared and attacked our heroes.
"Doesn't this guy even know how to play fair?" Olette asked as she blocked a punch from one Lucas copy, then blasted him with a fireball.
"The guy is a greedy, cheating creep who can't even act!" said Nessie as she punched one copy's head completely around, then broke the neck of another with a high kick, "it's a miracle he's lasted as long as he did in the movie business, let alone in the pro-skateboard business.."
"He'd probably bribed a producer," said Hayner as he stabbed one look alike, then slashed another, while Pence, Tarzan, Will and Kirjava finished off the rest.
"I'm not even going to ask if you've got more tricks, Lucas Lee," said an irate Nessie as our heroes faced him again, "we're just going to finish you off now."
"You might want to look up first," said a viciously smiling Lucas said.
"Like we're going to fall for that one!" said Pence.
"Uh, guys?" said Kirjava as she noticed a large shadow falling on everyone, "I think we should look up."
Our heroes then looked up to see a huge steamroller, easily twice the size of a normal machine, falling towards them.
"Oh crap!" shouted Pence just as the massive machine was about to hit them. They all ducked, except for Nessie, who caught the steam roller and held it above her head. She barely kept it from dropping, sweat pouring from her brow as she struggled to keep it above her head.
"It's useless to fight me," said Lucas, "I'll crush you weaklings any way I can."
"Crush this!" shouted Nessie as she mustered every ounce of vampire strength she had and threw the steamroller at Lucas. He barely got out of the way as the massive machine crashed to the ground.
"This is pointless," said Nessie as she got her breath back, "we're not going to get anywhere fighting like this," she glared at Lucas, "you won't fight directly, and we keep countering your dirty tricks. We're locked in a stalemate."
"I see the truth in your words, little girl," said Lucas, "so what do you propose?"
"Jungle Sliding," said Tarzan, "you say you're an athlete."
"I have worn out many skateboards on the rails," said Lucas.
"Then I challenge you to a Jungle Sliding contest," said Tarzan, "if I defeat you, you must leave this world and never return."
"What's Jungle Sliding?" Pence asked.
"And is it like Struggle?" Hayner asked.
"I'll show you," said Tarzan. Everyone then went back into the jungle and watched as Tarzan slid down a large, thick vine, ducking and jumping over branches and other vines.
"It's like skateboarding," said Pence as Tarzan finished the run.
"Cool," said Hayner, "I've got this."
"Is that a fact?" Lucas asked, "don't even try, scarecrow. You're not even close to my league."
"Oh yeah?" Hayner asked, "I'll take you down in a heartbeat! Just give me the chance."
"I never turn down a challenge," said Lucas, "prepare to be dominated." The two of them then climbed to the top of the vine and began sliding down. They both equally ducked and jumped over branches. But Hayner had a slight lead.
"I think Hayner's going to win!" said Olette.
But then Lucas pushed Hayner's shoulder, causing him to nearly fall off the vine. Hayner regained his balance, only to have Lucas push him again. This time Hayner fell off the vine and crashed into the underbrush. He wound up tangled in several smaller vines, breaking his fall, but leaving him severely humiliated.
"Later, loser!" shouted Lucas as he made it to the end of the run.
"You jerk!" shouted Pence, "you cheated!"
"You could have seriously hurt him!" said Olette.
"He's fine," said Will as Nessie ran up to untangle Hayner. He then glared at Lucas, "but that was totally despicable!"
"You cheating bastard!" snapped Kirjava, "what is wrong with you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Lucas, "I simply won. Your friend is the one who made a mess of himself."
"What the hell are you saying!" shouted a battered, bruised and irate Hayner, "you pushed me!"
"Don't blame me if you have no talent," said Lucas.
"You're crazy!" said Will, "and you're the one without any talent! I'm going to beat you, right here and now!"
"Wait," said Tarzan, "this is my world, and this jungle is my home. I'll defend it my way," he glared at Lucas, "let's Slide."
"Gladly, princess," said Lucas. He and Tarzan then climbed to the top of the vine and started sliding. But again Lucas tried to push Tarzan off the vine.
"You can't beat me that way!" said Tarzan, "I won't lose to cheating!"
"Who's cheating?" Lucas asked as he tried to shove Tarzan off the vine again, "you're delusional!" he then grabbed a branch from an overhanging tree and shoved it in front of Tarzan, forcing him to trip and fall off of the vine. He managed to land safely on the ground, while Lucas slid to the bottom of the vine.
"I win again, losers!" shouted Lucas.
"You cheated, again, you cheep, no-talent bastard!" said Will, "now it's my turn!"
"Bring it on, baby cakes," said Lucas. They both climbed to the top of the vine and started down, while Kirjava ran alongside on Will's side of the vine. Will quickly gained the lead and managed to either dodge or block all of Lucas' attempts to shove him off the vine.
"Cheaters always get their comeuppance, jerk!" said Will.
"He's got nothing on you!" said Kirjava.
"Oh yeah?" Lucas asked, "well how about this!" he then threw a punch at Will. He blocked it, then threw a punch of his own.
"They're actually fighting on the vine!" said Pence as he, Hayner, Olette, Nessie and Tarzan took turns watching through a pair of binoculars, "but how can they keep their balance like that?"
"I'm guessing that Will is using his ki to keep his feet firmly planted on the vine," said Nessie as she watched Will block a kick from Lucas, "I don't know how the jerk is doing it, though."
"Whatever he's doing," said Olette, "I'll bet he's cheating."
But then Lucas did a leg sweep that knocked Will off the vine. He wound up landing on Kirjava and they both tumbled to the bottom of the vine. They weren't seriously hurt, but boy were they angry.
"You son of a bitch!" said Will as he and Kirjava picked themselves up and glared at Lucas as he finished the run, "you cheating bastard!"
"Don't have a cow if you can't handle losing," said Lucas.
"Okay, that does it," said an irate Nessie, "now it's my turn. I'm going to clean your clock, then I'm going to kick your ass."
"But you've already fought a bunch of Heartless," said Olette, "and saved us from that big steamroller. Aren't you tired?"
"I already hunted today," said Nessie, "I could take on a thousand more Heartless without any trouble." she then glared at Lucas, "and this jerk is going to get his just deserts, big time."
"Talk is cheep," said Lucas, "only victory has value."
"But cheating is cheep also," said Nessie, "you can't win without cheating. In fact, I'll bet you can't resist cheating! I'll bet that you can't run one honest race, that your very nature, rotten as it is, prevents you from playing fair and square."
"I'll take that bet and win," said Lucas, "because I don't cheat."
"And you can't even go five minutes without lying!" said Nessie, "I thought that other jerk in Gideon's merry band of villains, the vegan jerk Todd Ingram, that he's a liar. But it doesn't matter. I'll still win, even if you throw every dirty trick in the book at me, and then some."
"How are you going to do that?" Olette asked..
"I don't know," said Nessie, "but we haven't come this far just to get our asses kicked by a overbearing, cheating sellout of an actor who happens to be an okay skateboarder. I can only do my best and hope for the same."
"But he's still beating us," said Will, "if we can't beat him honestly, how are we going to win at all?"
Just then Nessie had an idea, "hey, Tarzan? Are there any really, really long and really, really steep vines we can slide on?"
"There is one," said Tarzan. He then pointed up the mountain, "the gorillas call it," he grunted several syllables, "I guess the best way to say it in English would be 'Vines of Horribly Painful Death.' Kircheck, the leader of the gorilla tribe where I was raised, his father was the only one to make it all the way from start to finish. Everyone else who's tried has…let's just say that it wasn't pretty."
"That dangerous?" Nessie asked.
"Even I haven't tried it," said Tarzan, "wait, you're not thinking about…?"
"That's exactly what I'm thinking," said Nessie as she grinned eagerly. She then looked at Luca, "alright, Lucas Lee, big time Hollywood action start and sellout who's also a unscrupulous jerk and a cheater, you think you're so tough? Well let's see you slide on the Vines of Horribly Painful Death."
"Is that a challenge, little lady?" Luca asked, "'cause I intend to accept, and totally whop your tiny keister in the process."
"We'll see who gets their tails kicked," said Nessie, "Tarzan, please show us the way."
"I'd like to say that this is a bad idea," said Tarzan, "but if this is how you want to settle things, then I won't stop you. Follow me."
"Are you crazy?" Pence asked Nessie as they wall went with Tarzan through the jungle.
"You heard Tarzan," said Olette, "not even he's tried these vines."
"So what?" Nessie asked, "I can do it."
"But you'll get killed!" Hayner asked.
"Not likely," said Nessie, "remember, I'm indestructible."
"But you're only half vampire," said Pence, "the rest of you is still human. If you get seriously hurt, you'll die."
"No I won't," said Nessie, "I may be half human, but I'm an exceptional half human."
"We're not going to be able to talk you out of it," said Olette in an conceding tone, "are we?"
"Nope," said Nessie, "this is what I want to do, and I'm going to do it."
They then reached the bottom of the vine course. It was well over a mile from top to bottom and ran and a very steep angle.
"Oh, well…umm," said Nessie as she realized just what she had gotten herself into, "that is a dangerous looking course."
"Well, pipsqueak," said Lucas, "gonna back out?"
"Like hell I am!" said Nessie, "I just need a minute to get ready."
"Don't do this!" said Hayner, "if you try to slide down that, you'll fall off and crash down the mountain."
"Or you'll wind up going too fast and not be able to stop right," said Pence, "you could crash into a tree and break into a lot of pieces."
"Then I'll leave it to you guys to put me back together," said Nessie as she stretched. "I still want to do this, even though it's dangerous."
"We still can't talk you out of it?" Olette asked.
"Not even for all the shiny things in the universe," said Nessie, "and I like shiny things," She then glared at Lucas, "let's go, you arrogant sack of pig vomit."
"After you, tiny," said Lucas.
"Okay, that has to stop!" snapped Nessie, "I get it, you're taller than me! Big freaking deal! Now shut up and slide!"
"Gladly," said Lucas. They both started climbing up to the top of the vine.
"She's gonna get herself killed," said Pence in a frantic tone, "what is she thinking?"
"It's official," said Olette, "Nessie's lost it!"
"I hope not," said Hayner.
"No," said Tarzan, "she knows exactly what she's doing."
"How do you know?" Will asked.
"She's bating Lucas," said Kirjava.
"Exactly, "said Tarzan, "that Lucas may think he's better than us, but he's still human."
"And Nessie's more than human," said Hayner, "I think I get it."
"Enlighten us, please," said Olette.
"Those vines are suicide," said Tarzan, "Lucas may have the skills to make it all the way to the bottom, but he's so full of himself, he won't be able to stop in time."
"While Nessie might just make it herself," said Pence, "I get it!"
"I don't," said Olette, "but I'm willing to trust Nessie."
"Let's just hope our trust is well placed," said Will.
A short time later Nessie and Lucas made it to the top of the vine. They stood at the start and were prepared to head down, "any last words before you lose, little girl?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah," said Nessie, "I hope your last will and testament is up to date."
"I don't need that," said Lucas, "I win, I always win."
"Then how come Ramona Flowers rejected you?" Nessie asked, "and how come you later got yourself killed by Scott Pilgrim?"
"I…that was…it wasn't…" said a confused and irate Lucas, "just how did you find out about that anyway?"
"I have friends in high places," said Nessie as she smiled eagerly, "now are we going to do this or not?"
"Get ready to eat humiliation!" said Lucas. With that the two of them started down the vine.
"There they go!" shouted Pence as everyone saw the two sliders through binoculars, "They're dead even."
"Don't say dead!" said Olette.
"How fast are they going?" Hayner asked.
"Really fast," said Will, "almost too fast!"
"If they fall off they could seriously hurt themselves," said Pence.
"They don't look like they're going to fall off," said Hayner, "in fact," he zoomed in with his binoculars, "I think Nessie's winning!"
Just then Lucas pushed Nessie. She nearly lost her balance, but she recovered and kept sliding, "hey! You dirty cheater!"
"I didn't do anything," said Lucas, "you're imagining things!"
"You're also a liar, Lucas Lee!" shouted Nessie as they both jumped over a branch, then slid to the side of another branch.
"No I'm not," said Lucas. He then pushed Nessie again, causing her to nearly fall off the vine, but she regained her balance. Only now Lucas was in the lead by a hair.
"He's cheating again!" said Olette, "I saw him push her!"
"There's nothing we can do about it," said Hayner. "They're up there and we're down here!"
"Nessie's going to die!" said Pence.
"She knows what she's doing," said Tarzan, "we have to trust her."
"That's easy to say," said Pence, "We're down here and she's up there."
Nessie then leaned forward and moved head of Lucas, "you'll have to do better than that, creep!" she shouted, "you can't cheat your way past me! This race is all mine!" By then they were more than halfway down the vine.
"I think not," said Lucas, "prepare to lose!" he then pushed Nessie hard enough that she lost her balance and fell off the vine. She crashed into the trees and knocked down several with the velocity of her fall. She eventually stopped and got up, battered and bruised, but still in one piece.
"Later, loser!" shouted Lucas as he leaned forward, increasing his speed even more. By then he was going at almost 300 KPH.
"You may have won the race!" shouted Nessie, "but you've lost your life! I've done my homework! History repeats itself, you piece of crap!"
Just then Lucas broke the 300 KPH mark and was going so fast he didn't have time to stop when he saw a very large tree across from the bottom of the vine.
"Oh man," said Lucas as he reached the bottom of the vine and shot past Hayner, Will, Tarzan and the others, "not again." he slammed into the tree and left a human sized impression in the trunk of the tree.
By then Nessie had ran down the mountain and reached the others. Her scrapes had healed and she looked like she was on top of the world despite losing the race. "I'm okay, guys."
"I thought you'd break in half from that fall," said a relieved Olette.
"Not me," said Nessie as she smiled brightly, "I told you I'm indestructible!"
"Oh yeah?" Lucas asked as he picked himself up, "then how come you're afraid of fire?"
"What?" Nessie asked, "well…I'm not afraid of fire. Fire happens to be the only sure thing that can destroy a vampire, but I'm not a full vampire, so we can't be sure if it'll hurt me." She then blinked in surprise, "and why aren't you dead? You died last time when you went so fast that you couldn't stop in time."
"Look who's the idiot now," said Lucas, "I also have friends in high places, friends who improved me when they brought me back to life. Now," he grinned vicious, "let's find out if you are week against fire, tiny."
Just then a giant Heartless that looked like a robotic exoskeleton you'd find in a scifi action movie, the kind a human would pilot, appeared. It was about 20ft tall with a black metal chaise and walked on two legs and had two arms. One arm ended in a huge circular saw that looked like it could slice through steel, while the other arm ended with two flame throwers. It's torso had a clear cockpit window that revealed a human-sized seat and a set of controls.
Lucas jumped into the cockpit of the robotic Heartless and the window closed on him. He then grabbed the controls. The machine Heartless, which would later be called ExoBlaze, took a step forward and raised it's buzz saw arm, chopping down a tree in the process. Pence and Olette were nearly crushed by the falling tree.
Lucas then used the flamethrowers on the other arm to incinerate another tree. "How's this for a slice of fried gold?"
"Now you're not making any sense at all!" said Nessie. But then she frantically dodged a flamethrower blast.
"You monster!" snapped Olette as she blasted the machine Heartless with a Thunder spell. The ExoBlaze absorbed the electric spell, then shot it back at Olette. She barely dodged it.
"Eat this, jerk!" said Pence as he threw his fist shields at the ExoBlaze. The thrown shields merely bounced off its metal casing. It then slashed it's buzz saw at Pence, who barely got out of the way.
"How are we going to stop this thing?" Will asked as he dodged a flamethrower blast.
"This worked before!" shouted Tarzan as he took up a rock. He then dodged flamethrower blasts and buzz saw slashes and managed to jump onto the back of the ExoBlaze. He then bashed the rock against one of the back plates of the machine Heartless.
"Get off of me, jungle boy!" shouted Lucas as he trashed the ExoBlaze about to try and shake Tarzan off of him. Eventually Tarzan was shaken off and he landed behind the machine, only to dodge a stomping attack.
Nessie then ran up and tried to help Tarzan, but the machine Heartless slashed its buzz saw at her. Nessie grabbed the arm with the buzz saw spinning barely an inch from her face. It tried to push its way into slicing her in half, but Nessie held the deadly blade at bay.
"Now this is a slice of fried gold!" said Lucas as he brought the flamethrower arm around and blasted Nessie. She screamed in agony as her left arm was burned.
"Nessie!" shouted Olette as she blasted the machine with Blizzard spells, extinguishing the flames. Nessie's arm was severely burned, but otherwise she was in one piece.
Tarzan then picked up a bigger rock and climbed back onto the ExoBlaze. He then bashed off the back plate, exposing the internal machinery. Tarzan then threw the rock into the machine, jamming the inner workings and causing the ExoBlaze to break. Lucas jumped out of the collapsing machine, only to be bashed in the head by Pence's fist shields, then slashed twice by Hayner and Will, then slashed across the face by Kirjava's claws. Lucas then collapsed to the ground.
"Are you okay, Nessie?" Olette asked.
"Aside from having my arm charred to a crisp," said Nessie as she gritted her teeth against the agony, "I'm alright. How are you this fine day?"
"At least your sense of humor isn't hurt," said Olette. "hold on, I'll Heal you in a heartbeat." She then cast a Heal spell that slowly repaired the damage to Nessie's arm.
"You idiots aren't going to get away with this!" snapped Lucas as he got up.
"We already have!" said an extremely angry Nessie. She ran over to Lucas and delivered several fast punches to his torso that left him staggering for breath. She then grabbed him by his neck with her unburned arm and lifted him up, "if you want to stay alive for a few more minutes, you're going to tell the truth; where's Jacob?"
"I don't know," gasped Lucas.
"Liar!" snapped Nessie as she squeezed his throat harder, just a fraction of effort away from crushing his throat, "tell the damn truth! Where's Jacob! Tell me, damnit!"
"I think he is telling the truth," said Will.
Nessie glared contemptuously at Lucas, then tossed him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He coughed and gasped for air.
"What are we going to do with him?" Pence asked.
Just then Will had an idea. He whispered something to Nessie, who then nodded with grim agreement. Will then walked over to Lucas and delivered several small cuts to his arms, barely more than paper cuts, but he was bleeding quite a bit. All the while Nessie was breathing through her mouth
"What'd you do that for?" Hayner asked.
"Just making sure the scent of blood was in the air," said Nessie as she kept breathing through her mouth.
Seconds later the leopard pack was back and was walking past Will, Hayner, Nessie, Tarzan and the others. They were stalking towards Lucas.
"I took away one of their brothers," said Nessie, "a free meal is a meager compensation, but it's the best that can be done right now."
"I don't think I want to see this right now," said Olette.
"Me neither," said Pence. With that he, Hayner, Olette, Will, Kirjava and Tarzan walked away from the leopards as they closed in on Lucas.
"Oh man," he said just as the leopards were about to strike, "this sucks." He then screamed in terror as the leopards attacked and began to devour him.
A short time later found our heroes and Tarzan back at the tree house. They looked out at the deforested part of the jungle.
"How long do you think it'll take for the trees to grow back?" Pence asked.
"It may take years," said Tarzan, "maybe longer. But the jungle will heal itself with time."
"That's good," said Nessie as she looked at her arm where she was burned, which was nearly healed by now, with just a few pink scars that were slowly fading, "it's a good thing I'm still growing, otherwise I might not have this accelerating healing. I've got to tell grandfather Carlisle about this, it'll really make his day."
"I wanted to ask you something," said Tarzan, "do you know someone named Sora?"
"He's our friend," said Olette, "how do you know him?"
"We fought against the darkness together," said Tarzan, "if you see him, tell him Jane and I said hello, he'll understand."
"We'll do that," said Hayner, "thanks for helping us."
"Thanks for coming here to help the world," said Tarzan.
"We'll come back if we get the chance," said Will, "hopefully things will have calmed down."
"Until then," said Tarzan. He then jumped down from the treehouse, grabbed a vine and swung into the jungle, yelling his trademark yell.
"There goes an amazing individual," said Pence as Hayner pulled out his cell phone and called Vivi.
"I wonder how many more amazing people we'll met on this journey?" Hayner asked.
"Wait a second!" said Nessie, "I smell gold!"
"You can smell gold?"
"Everything has a scent," said Nessie, "especially precious metals." she sniffed the air, "I knew we'd find another!" she jumped up to the rafters of the tree house and grabbed something gold. She landed neatly on the floor and held out a gold key, similar to the ones they found on Port Royal and Halloween Town.
"Ever get the feeling that something big is going on?" Nessie asked as she looped a string through the end of the key and placed it around her neck, "I'm feeling it right now."
"There's got to be an answer to this puzzle," said Pence as Hayner told Vivi to beam them back up to The Voyaging Light.
"If there is an answer," said Olette, "we'll find it," she looked at Nessie, "oh, did you sniff out Jacob at all?"
"No," said a disappointed Nessie, "but even if I didn't, he would have sniffed me out. He's not here," Vivi them beamed them back to the ship, "we'll just have to look somewhere else."
"Well we've still got our choice of worlds to look," said Pence as they walked back to the bridge, "so," he pointed to the holographic image of the worlds, "where to next?"
Will looked at the images of the worlds and pointed to one that oddly looked like a red and pink heart with a hedge maze, "that world looks strangely promising."
"Wonderland," said Olette as she looked at the computer data on the world, "sounds fantastic."
"Did you say 'Wonderland?'" Nessie asked.
"That's what the computer says it's called," said Olette.
At that Nessie giggled loudly, while Will tried to stifle his own laughter.
"What?" Olette asked, "what's so funny?"
"It's just that," said Will, "where I come from, there's a very famous story involving a world called Wonderland."
"An extraordinary story," said Nessie, "I should know, I memorized it the first time I read it," she looked at Hayner, Pence and Olette, "I can remember every world I've ever read."
"So," said Will, "we're going to Wonderland. I hope it's reputation lives up to its name, or maybe not, because if this world like the one in the book, then we're in for a wild ride."
"I agree," said Nessie, "but," she smiled eagerly, "I'm not one to turn down an adventure."
"Me neither," said an eager Hayner, "Vivi, set course for Wonderland."
"Course laid in," said Vivi, "we're on our way!" A minute later the ship jumped into hyperspace.
…New Hollow Bastion…
"I'm sure that the Keyblade Wielders have met their doom by now," said The Negotiator, "oh great and terrible Maleficent."
"They had better be no more," said Maleficent in an irate tone, "I am in no mood for any further failure! If that fat witch, Ursula, and that flamboyant human, Matthew Patel, hasn't completely annihilated the brats, I will be extremely upset, and there will be consequences for my being upset."
"I can assure you, great one," said The Negotiator in a confident tone, even though he was nervously sweating, "your enemies will not leave Atlantica alive."
Just then the demons's PDA signaled an incoming message. He read the message and his face paled at the shock of what he saw, "oh, no. Oh great hells below, no." He looked like he had just been handed his death sentence.
"What is it?" Maleficent demanded, "tell me," she raised her staff, "or I will make you tell me!"
"I've just received word from Atlantica, oh mistress of all evil," said The Negotiator, "The Keyblade Wielders, they've…"
"Don't bother," sighed Maleficent as she sat on her throne of darkness, placing her hand on her forehead as she felt a headache coming on, "I can guess. The brats have destroyed Matthew Patel and Ursula."
"Actually, Ursula survived," said The Negotiator, "she and her insane sister, Morganna, they fled the battlefield and have gone to ground, or rather, underwater."
"They well be dealt with in time," said Maleficent, "I have no need for cowards, and Ursula has failed me for the last time," she glared at The Negotiator, "and you, you shall be dealt with as well. I warned you what would happen if your chosen Villain failed."
Just then The Negotiator received another message on his PDA. He looked like he had just been given another death sentence, "I've just received word from Deep Jungle. Lucas Lee has also been destroyed. It seems that the one that Mr. Graves rejected is alive and is active in this universe."
"What is this now?" Maleficent asked.
"I had already assured Mr. Graves that the reject wouldn't trouble him," said The Negotiator in a distant tone, "I have failed him."
"Pray that what your master will do to you will be lesser than what I intend for you, demon," said an irate Maleficent.
"I have failed Mr. Graves," said The Negotiator, "I have failed," it was as if he was action on a conditioned program as he pulled out a small gray box from his pocket. He opened the box, revealing a single black pill the size of an Aspirin. He swallowed the pill and seconds later he burst into black flame that reduced him to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"So," said Maleficent, "he has destroyed himself, rather than face his master's displeasure."
Just then a Dark Corridor opened and from it walked an exact double of The Negotiator, "actually," the demon said in an all too cheerful tone, "he was conditioned to self-immolate himself when too many of his projects went south. Mr. Graves has no need for cluster-fraks, so instead of punishment, he just 'fires them,'" he laughed, "forgive me, I tend to make puns sometimes."
"What trickery is this!" snapped Maleficent, "if this is your idea of a prank, then you shall suffer the like of which that the depths of hell will seem like paradise!"
"Oh don't be so uptight," said the copy of The Negotiator, "that other me you just saw die was a clone, as am I in fact. The original Negotiator met his demise long ago, when he ended up caught by a horde of angry villagers with axes. To say he fell to pieces would be an understatement, or rather, he was on edge right to the end," he laughed.
"So, you and that other Negotiator are merely copies?" Maleficent asked.
"Each one of us is a little different from the last," said the second Negotiator, "that last me was all business, while I have a stronger sense of humor," he then got serious, "but I never mix business with pleasure. I'm here to pick up the pieces where my predecessor failed. Leave everything to me, Maleficent, and all your dreams will come true."
"I hope you live up to your promises," said Maleficent, "otherwise I will be in the market for a new Negotiator before too long."
"Believe me," said the second Negotiator, "I won't let you down."
Unknown to Maleficent and the new Negotiator, they were being watched by the conspiring Hakonians.
"The new Negotiator seems a bit more cheerful than the last one," said Falkon Everdark.
"I don't like this at all," said Tylek Bladewraith, "how are we supposed to fight an enemy that can just chew out clones of the ones you just killed?"
"I don't know," said Falkon, "but we can't worry about that right now, we've got enough to worry about already. Is the preparations complete for the rescue operation?"
"Our team has infiltrated Radiant Garden," said Tyler, "and is prepared to break the fat cat out of his cage at our signal," she then crossed her arms stubbornly, "but I still don't see why we need that idiot, Pete."
"We had an agreement," said Falkon, "we managed to get his family away from Maleficent, and they're safely hidden in the city. Now it's up to Pete to keep his end of the bargain and find our errant leaders."
"Do you really think Reddik and Ralek are the ones who can save our race from extinction?" Tylek asked.
"If not," said Falkon, "then we're doomed to spend what little time we have left at the mercy of whatever offspring Nikolai and Katarina produced. I hear their shotgun wedding is being pushed forward, and they're not too happy about it."
"I remember the history of our race," said Tylek, "when the parents of the next leader were selected, they went through a ritual that put them in thrall to each other. Even if the bride and bridegroom hated each other, the dark magic of the ritual forced them to 'enjoy' their wedding night, and each following night, until the new leader was conceived. Nikolai and Katarina are going to be with each other for as long as it takes."
"Then there's no time to waste," said Falkon, "send the signal and get Pete back."
…Radiant Garden…
"Oh man," said a miserable Pete as he sat moping in a makeshift but sturdy cell that was set up in the Bailey, "I've really messed up this time. The wife's gonna kill me for sure this time, if Maleficent hasn't done in Peg, PJ and Pistol," she burried hs face in his large hands, "I'm in the doghouse now."
Just then Yuffie and Arieth walked up to the cage, with Arieth carrying a tray with lunch on it, "Are you alright?" Arieth asked.
"Do I look alright?" Pete moaned, "the wife and kids are probably dead meat by now, and it's all my fault!"
"Hey, don't cry," said Yuffie, "things can't be that bad."
"It is bad," said Pete, "my family's gone, and I could have saved them, but I didn't."
"Well," said Yuffie in an unsure tone, "I guess…"
"You can't know that your family's gone," said Areith, "there's still hope."
"What hope?" Pete asked.
Areith was about to say something reassuring, but then several lesser Hakonians teleported into the area. They then took out their weapons and closed in on Yuffie and Areith.
"Get behind me, Areith!" shouted Yuffie as she took out her oversized shuriken.
"They're behind us as well," said Areith.
"We don't want any trouble, ladies," said one of the Hakonains, "but we'll give it out if you give us any!"
"We just want the cat," said another Hakonians, "turn him over to us and we'll be on our way."
"What?" Yuffie asked, "why do you want Pete?"
"None of your business," said one of the Hakonians, "so give him to us, or we'll take him, and you don't want to see how we'll do that."
"I don't think you want to do that," said Leon as he stood at the entrance to the area with his gunblade over his shoulder. He jumped over the Hakonians and stood with Yufffie and Areith, "you creeps want to fight, we'll give you a fight to remember!"
Just then another Hakonian arrived via Dark Corridor, a man with shoulder-length brown hair and reddish-brown eyes, wearing a green and white martial artist outfit, "the last thing we want is trouble, Squall Lionheart," he said, "but we must have the cat."
"Why should we give him to you?" Leon asked, "he's our prisoner, and he's got information we can use against Maleficent."
"I've told you guys all that I know!" insisted Pete, "if these guys want me, then they're working with the renegades."
"True," said the martial artist Hakonian, "I am Hektor Nightfist, and your family is safe, Pete."
"What?" Pete asked in a shocked tone, "Peg and the kids, they're alright?"
"For now," said Hektor Nightfist, "we got them away from Maleficent. Now it's your turn to do what you promised."
"I'd like to help you guys," said Pete, "but I'm kinda stuck here."
"That's easily taken care of," said Hektor, he then looked at Leon, Yuffie and Areith, "the choice is simple," said Hektor, "either give us the cat so he can help out in a project that will eventually bring down Maleficent, or we can all fight and risk getting some of our friends killed. The choice is yours, Squall Lionheart."
Leon glared back at the Hakonian, but then he lowered his sword, "unlock the cell, Yuffie."
"What!" Yuffie exclaimed, "have you lost it, Leon?"
"We can't let him go!" said Areith, "he'll run back to Maleficent and tell him everything he's seen about what we're doing here?"
"He hasn't seen everything," said Leon.
"I won't tell Maleficent anything," said Pete in a hopeful tone, "I'm done with Maleficent. I just wanna help the Hakonians with their business so I can get my wife and kids out of all of this darkness mess."
"Why should we believe anything you Hakonians say?" Yuffie asked, "this could be one of Maleficent's plans!"
"Believe me when I say that Maleficent wants nothing more to do with our race," said Hektor, "and we want nothing more to do with her. We need Pete and he needs us."
"I think we should trust them," said Areith.
"Now you're losing it," said Yuffie, "we can't trust them!"
"Then we'll end up destroying each other," said Hektor, "so many have already died, much more will die. The cycle of darkness will continue until there is nothing left, unless someone is willing to stop it."
"He's right," said Leon, "all this hate and destruction, it can't go on like this. It has to stop, so why not start stopping it here? Yuffie, please let Pete go."
"I knew I shouldn't have asked for the keys today," said Yuffie as she put her Shuriken away and took out a set of keys from her pocket. She then unlocked the cage, "just go already."
"Thanks for the free food," said Pete as he walked out of the cage and stood next to Hektor, "so, how's my family doin?"
"I said they're fine," said Hektor, "for now," he called up a Dark Corridor, "and you can see them as soon as we get back."
"Great!" said Pete as he, Hektor and the Hakonians walked into the Dark Corridor, which closed up after them, while the other Hakonians teleported out.
"I think we've just made things worse for us," said Yuffie.
"Or maybe better," said areith, "that man did have a point; all this fighting has to stop before it's too late. Maybe we just helped set things going in the right dirrection."
"We can only hope," said Leon, "and hope that Sora and the others will be there when we need them."
"Alright," said Pete as he and Hektor were shown into the room where Falkon and Tylek were waiting, "I'm back, now where's Peg and the kids?"
"Show him," said Falkon.
Tylek then held up a large crystal ball which showed Peg, PJ and Pistol, and the family dog Chainsaw, sitting in a small but well kept room that was clearly a safe house.
"As you can see," said Falkon, "your family is safe."
"I wanna see them for real," Pete insisted.
"Soon," said Falkon, "they're safe where they are, and you will be reunited with them soon, as soon as you find Reddik and Rakel."
"Just what makes you think those two losers can do things right with your people?" Pete asked, "I fought with them, and they kept losing to them Keyblade brats!"
"All will be revealed when you return with them," said Falkon.
"So go look for them already!" said Tylek, "Hektor will go with you to find Reddik and Rakel."
"I am one of the best trackers among our race," said Hektor, "together, we'll find Reddik and Rakel."
"Well, okay then," said Pete. He then looked at Falkon and Tylek, "but just so you guys know, if I come back with Reddik and Rakel, and if wife and kids aren't here waiting for me, I'm gonna be so mad, you'll be slap-happy!"
"That doesn't make much sense," said Tylek.
"But we'll keep your family safe," said Falkon, "they will be here when you return with our rightful leaders."
"You can count on ol' Pete!" he said as he saluted. He and Hektor then left through a Dark Corridor.
"Do you really think they can find Reddik and Rakel?" Tylek asked, "I've got the rotten feeling that they're on a wild goose chase."
"All we can do is wait," said Falkon, "and hope that neither Maleficent or Gideon Graves finds out what we're doing. If that happens, then you can kissed the Hakonian race goodbye."
"In that case," said Tylek, "we should have told Pete about the prophecy. At least then he'd know just how serious things are."
"If we told him about the prophecy it'd only make things worse," said Falkon, "Pete, he's got heart, not always in the right place, but he's got it. But his mind can only process so much. If we told him that everything hangs in such a delicate balance, that the outcome of his finding Reddik and Ralek could tilt the balance of the future either way, it'd just upset him so much he wouldn't be able to do anything. No, he's better off without that bit of information."
"I hope you're right about that," said Tylek, "Hektor knows of the prophecy, and if he deems it necessary, he will tell Pete about it. And if Pete get's upset over the future while on his mission, then we're done for."
The end of chapter 10.
The story isn't over yet, folks, so stay tuned!