In what felt like forever, the group finally saw the first piles of sand that bordered the Golden Desert. Tangled with the multi-colored plants of Rainbow Forest. The water beneath the ship turned orange and yellow. The air turned hotter. Glaic swiped a flipper to relieve the heat on his body. "Alright everyone, I'm going to take you further down the territory. You should be able to meet with Queen Sandwisher after this."

Pooh looked up at him in concern. He carefully moved Honey Maple off of his lap since she was asleep. He unwrapped the blanket around him and set it down. He got up and walked over to the penguin captain. "Glaic? Are you ok? You seem uncomfortable."

Glaic smiled at him. "I'm alright Pooh. Being born a penguin has its up and downs. My body isn't made for sunny days like this in the desert. I normally come here during the rainy days. It helps cool everything long enough to sell fish." Then his face turned serious. His gaze went back to the river. "But that's not the only problem here. Every once in a while sandstorms and sand typhoons roar here. It's a great advantage for Skeletal beasts to use for cover since they don't need to eat or drink."

"Oh...Well, thank you for telling me." Pooh said.

"Just make sure you take cover once the wind starts to howl."

Pooh nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you."

Moonsoul and Flamesong flew close to the ship. After just a few days of rest, proper eating and a good swim through the cold water, they looked good as new. It made it hard to believe that the royal couple had once been a sickly queen and exhausted king. Their wings took on the desert heat. Queen Flamesong looked like she belonged here with her red scales. Her husband looked as though he'd be terrible at a simple game of hide and seek in the sands. "I can see Queen Sandwisher with her guards," King Moonsoul said. "Get ready to meet them everyone."

As the ship got closer, Pooh and his friends ran over to the railings of the ship. Honey Maple yawned and sooned joined them. They happily gazed at the all too familiar form of the jeweled camel that awaited them. She was surrounded by several oryx. On her flank was a saber with a ruby-encrusted handle. Her eyes held a small form of laughter as the walking plank was lowered. Roo was the first one to bounce over to her. She even smiled as Roo landed on her hump.

"Hi Queen Sandwisher!" Roo said. "It's so nice to meet you again!"

"Hello Roo." Queen Sandwisher spoke. "It's so good to see you." She turned her head to the others. "It's good to see all of you." She laughed as Honey Maple ran down the plank and tried to climb up her leg. Her body still held her scars. Her amber eyes bright with merriment. She even felt her heart fill relief to see King Moonsoul and Queen Flamesong in great spirits. Slowly, her mind on her worries for her kingdom and Hurricane started to fade. She gestured to her closest guard to present brightly colored wraps of satin and sabers of varying sizes.

"Cool!" Roo said. He leaned forward to get a closer look. He was soon removed from Queen Sandwisher's hump by Kanga. He only held wooden swords and real swords in picture books. They looked so dazzling up close.

Rabbit gazed at the bag in great concern. "Uh...Don't you think it's a little…" He gulped. "Excessive?"

Tigger grabbed a saber before anyone could stop him. "Aww. Come on, Long ears. Where's your sense of adventure? Besides, we can use these to give those rotten Chimeras and other monsters a good fight!" He swung his weapon around wildly. Barely missing Rabbit. Eeyore was forced to duck and Piglet ran for cover behind Pooh. Gyspy was the only one who snatched it away from him before it could fly out of his hands.

The griffin glared at Tigger. "You're going to have to learn how to use it first before you accidentally cut someone's head off!" The feathered tufts flattened on her head. Her gaze turning icier than General Frost's

Tigger shrunk back. He gave a sheepish grin as Rabbit merely rolled his eyes. "Sorry."

"Well." Queen Flamesong said. "Let's get a move on. We best get there before dark and poor Glaic loses his boat." She pointed her wing at the ice ship as it began to melt. A chunk of ice fell just as she mentioned this. The red dragon lowered her wings and frilled ears. She scratched her chin, a nervous chuckle erupted out of her throat. "Guess I still have that touch."

Pooh looked up at King Moonsoul. Then at Honey Maple. The two just simply shrugged. Pooh picked her up. He took notice Queen Sandwisher lower herself before him. Though a bear of little brain, he immediately knew what she wanted him to do. "Why thank you, Queen Sandwisher. I hope I'm not too heavy for you."

Queen Sandwisher shook her head. "No. I'm used to heavy weights. You are light as a feather to me."

Pooh smiled. He adjusted Honey Maple in his arms. Then, he climbed up onto the camel's back. He was soon given a sheathed saber by one of the guards. "Thank you." Pooh hummed a tune. It didn't take long for Honey Maple to follow his tunes. Then a thought occurred to him. "Oh. Forgive me if I'm rude but when do you plan for us to have lunch."

Rabbit rolled his eyes as he was settled into the seat of his oryx guard. Tigger just laughed. Piglet only sighed, "Oh Pooh."

Sandwisher looked at him. "We'll have lunch once we reach the oasis. It's not too far from here." She raised her head and let out a bellow. She soon began to walk with her guards following suit. Gypsy flew close to Tigger, making sure that he didn't swing his weapon and Owl also stayed close to the griffin. Echowing stayed in the rear to prevent future attacks. King Moonsoul and Queen Flamesong,Eeyore hitching a ride, flew close to Queen Sandwisher. Their large shadows provide shade for their child.

As they continued on, everyone took turns singing songs. Pooh sang his usual song he did to warm up for the morning. Tigger, of course, sang the song all about him. Piglet sang about all the things that made him happy. Rabbit sang about vegetables. Eeyore just hummed. Kessy and Owl joined in Gypsy's aria. It wasn't long until the sands were filled with song.

Before them, a green spot began to grow larger and larger with each step. Palm trees dotted the field of green. A large pool of water sparkled in the desert sun with a river splitting the two. Dark spots began to surround the pool. A few large tents and houses presented themselves in shades of orange, red and yellow. Faint murmurs of conversation reached their ears.

"Sounds a bit crowded." Eeyore said. He sighed."Might be less of a picnic and more of a party. Honey Maple might get lost."

"Don't worry." Queen Flamesong said. "A large can also help us in case she wanders too far off."

Suddenly, a strange yellow butterfly fluttered round Pooh's, who isn't aware of its existence, and landed on Honey Maple's nose. She sneezed. Her claws immediately swung after it. The little hatchling growled. She leaped off Queen Sandwisher's back and raced after it.

"Honey Maple!" Pooh yelled. He grabbed his saber and slid off. He ran after her.

Suddenly, Echowing stiffened. His ears flared up. His eyes darted around. His nose flared. "Queen Sandwisher...Did you expect a sandstorm earlier?"

Sandwisher turned her head to the green dragon. "No...I checked it out with my guards earlier. Unless-" Her golden eyes widened in shock. Her gaze went back to Pooh as she let out a loud bellow. It was soon followed by the bleating of horns. Her Oryx guards also bellowed. "Pooh bear! Get back here now! Someone cast a spell! They're nearby!"

Pooh gasped. He couldn't remember what he had to do as the wind began to howl around his ears, but Honey Maple wasn't safe. He just kept running to her. "Honey Maple!" Pooh yelled. "You're in danger. We need to go back to your family." He focused on her. Unaware that his friends started to race after him as fast as they could in the hot sand. Then, the sand began to swarm around him just as Honey Maple pounced on the vanishing butterfly. His eyes began to burn from the dust. His paws frantically searched for her. He was soon relieved as he felt warm scales. A cry weakly being made through the full-out roar of the sandstorm.

"It's okay, Honey Maple!" Pooh yelled. "I'm here." Suddenly, he saw several shadows moving around. They looked like dragons at first. Pooh narrowed his eyes. His feet dragging against the harsh sand. Though a bear of very little brain, he soon realized that it wasn't Flamesong, Moonsoul or Echowing. Red eyes glared out of the sand. Heading straight for him. He pulled out his saber, but the only word echoed in his mind. Pooh immediately turned and ran.

The ground thundered. A bleached skull of a sabertooth sprung out of the gales. The bladed fangs coming straight towards Pooh. Then, Flamesong appeared. She groweld fiercely. Her nostrils flared. She charged into the sabertooth, causing the skeletal creature to fly into the air. Then, a bat-like skeleton tried to pounce on the dragon queen. King Moonsoul joined into the fray with an icy blast. "Pooh bear! Get to shelter now!"

Pooh nodded. He ran with his arms firmly wrapped around Honey Maple. He frantically swung his saber every chance he had to make sure no one came near him. The ground rumbled again. This time a large worm popped out of the sand. Large rows of teeth arched for attack. Pooh froze for a moment. He never saw a worm that big and most worms were eaten by birds. The little bear screamed as the worm was about to gobble him up on the spot. Suddenly, he felt claws snatch him up and was levitated into the air. "Whew!" He said. "Thank you, Gypsy."

"Not Gypsy, but thanks."

Pooh froze. He looked up to see it was actually Whirlwind. The squirrel faced chimera was squinting against the sand but he was focusing on the wind currents. Pooh instinctively swiped his blade. He kept shouting. His mouth began to collect sand. His voice barely heard over the din. The bear's body swayed as Whirlwind was dodging the blade and focused on the wind currents.

"Hey!" Whirlwind roared. "Stop struggling or-" He screamed as the worm came at them. Only to be saved by Hurricane. Then, his tail was tugged hard. Below them was Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo holding on for dear life.

"Pooh!" Rabbit yelled. "Hand Honey Maple over to us! We can get her to safety!"

Pooh tried to move Honey Maple but her claws only sunk in deeper. To make matters worse,Whirlwind snatched the saber out of his paw. Pooh tried to swat his face away. His arm burned as the chimera bit him. His voice kept shouting to his friends and Honey Maple. He coughed. His vision began to blur. His ears were now filled with roars and screeches.

Hurricane murmured a few words. Then, a pitch black portal appeared. He turned his attention to Whirlwind and Pooh's friends. He arched his back. Wings flared. He zeroed in when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on him. He looked down to see Lumpy somehow jumped and wrapped his trunk on his hind leg. Before he could do anything. Owl and Kessy joined in by pecking at him. He thrashed. He twirled in the sky. Nothing could shake them. Then, Hurricane heard a faint woosh and something hit his side. Pain erupted and he plummeted down.

The two chimeras crashed into each other. It felt like an eternity. The screams. The hum of the portal. Then, there was nothing but darkness as they vanished into the strange black hole.

Cliffhanger! Review. The next chapter is going to be a long one, so be ready when it comes.