William, after flipping the replica of Atlanta back upright, went out to the castle courtyard with Cocoon and James to get some nice, summer air. At her insistence, the changeling queen gave them both a ride on her back. The two humans found it remarkable that she had the strength to carry them both without breaking a sweat.
"Y'know, we can walk just fine, Coony," William said. "Wouldn't want to put you through the trouble of a bad back."
"It's no trouble at all!" Cocoon said. "You're both as light as a pair of feathers!"
She even decided to fly around with them both. Her flight patterns were not greatly affected by weight or drag from the two, but she was overall able to maintain a proper flight pattern.
"Wow!" James said, looking around. "I've piloted many aircrafts in my time... but this is quite exhilarating compared to that!"
After a little while, she set down, and William and James both got back on their own feet.
"That was fun!" William said.
"I agree," James remarked.
"Anything for you boys," Cocoon said.
"But..." William began, "...isn't there anything you'd like to do, Coony?"
"Me?" Cocoon asked, sitting. "You want me to decide?"
"Of course!" William said. "You've done so much for me and James already."
James nodded. "It's the least we could do."
"Okay," Cocoon said, closing her eyes and grinning. "How about a game of Hide-and-Seek?"
She opened her eyes, and upon seeing that William disappeared, immediately frowned as her eyes shot wide open.
"Willy?" She gasped, looking around.
"Uh, Cocoon..." James began.
However, the changeling queen paid him no mind, flapping her wings so hard, she propelled dust all about as she took to the air.
"Willy?! Willy?!" She called, looking around the castle.
She looked high and low, but could not find her boyfriend anywhere in the place. Tears filled her eyes and she gasped for breath, panicking.
"WILLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY...!" Cocoon bellowed from the pinnacle of the castle's tallest spire.
She glided back down to the courtyard where James still was. Visibly panicked, she walked up to the confused German.
"J-James...!" She uttered. "...Wh-what happened... to my W-Willy...?!"
"Hey!" William's voice sounded. "Calm down, Coony!"
Cocoon turned around to see William standing just behind her.
"It's called 'Hide-and-Seek,' not 'Hide-and-Flip-Out,' " William said.
She immediately leapt at him, pulling him into a tight hug, tears flowing from her eyes.
"I-I thought you were gone...!" Cocoon sniffled. "...I thought... y-you left me... and that I would be... a-a-alone again...!"
"Coony..." William said softly, running his fingers through her mane as he hugged her back, "...I wasn't gone; I was just right behind you the whole time."
"That's what I tried to tell you," James said to Cocoon.
"Besides," William began, separating partly to look her in the eye, "why would I just up and leave without telling you? You're my best friend, and I would never leave you alone!"
The three went back into the castle, into the chamber that contained the replica of Atlanta. By then, Cocoon managed to pull herself together.
"Better now?" William asked.
Cocoon nodded, smiling weakly. "...Uh-huh."
"Glad to hear it," James said.
Just when William was about to suggest something else they could do... some bizarre sound caught his attention. It was high-pitched and faint, but fluctuating. His eyebrows came down and his mouth went narrow.
James raised a brow at him. "William? Is something wrong?"
"Shh..." William said, holding up a finger, looking around "...do you guys hear something?"
Cocoon's eyes went wide and she pursed her lips.
"DOWN HERE!" Marlene shouted.
"DO. YOU. SEE. US?!" Mark bellowed.
"LOOK THIS WAY, DUMBASS!" Eric yelled.
The shrunken, six intruders were all standing at the edge of the Atlanta replica closest to William, James, and Cocoon, trying to get their attention.
"I-I hear nothing but the sound..." Cocoon stammered, forcing a smile, "...o-of your lovely voice, W-Willy..."
Before William could respond, he felt something hit the back of his neck.
"Huh...?" He uttered, standing bolt upright, and rubbing the spot where the object, about the size of a pinhead, hit him.
He tried to turn and face the city replica, where it seemed to come from, but Cocoon hastily tried to drag him away.
"It's the ghosts!" She said. "Did I forget to mention that my castle is haunted?"
Cocoon, using her forelegs, tried to physically force William and James out of the room.
"C'mon!" She said. "We must get out of here!"
"Now, hold on but one moment..." James said.
"Yeah!" William said, his gaze fixed on the rim of the scale Atlanta replica. "What's that? I think I see something moving..."
With quick jumps, he got around Cocoon, and kneeled down next to the edge of the replica.
Cocoon gasped. "NO!"
Peering carefully at the moving spot, William could see...
"...Everyone?!" He uttered, shocked. "What happened to you all?"
William turned so his ear could face the group, who appeared to have set up a makeshift catapult, which, he assumed, was used to launch the small rock at him to get his attention. He listened to the high-pitched grievances of the six small humans.
"Huh...?" He uttered before his eyes lit up. "...She did what?"
Cocoon then stepped forward... each stomp of her hooves quite forceful. William looked at her, and was surprised to see a very furious expression filling her face.
"I'm certain you take back what you said now, don't you?!" She said, angrily.
"Uh..." William muttered, "...take what back?"
"That you would never leave me here alone!" Cocoon explained. "I know you're mad at me for doing something bad! But I didn't! I was punishing them for trying to take you away from me!"
"Now, Cocoon..." James said, "...we can be reasonable about this."
"You stay out of it!" Cocoon snapped at him, before turning back to William. "And now, I know you're just going to keep me imprisoned in this tome... just like she did!"
"She?" William said, confused, before it came back to him. "Oh, right... your big sister, Chrysalis. Coony, listen, I'm not leaving."
"LIAR!" Cocoon shouted, her furious eyes glowing red, baring her sharp teeth, her horn glowing, and her mane flowing malevolently around her.
"I'm not lying," William said, calmly. "I gave you my word that I would stay with you, no matter what. And when I make a promise, especially when it comes to love... I NEVER break that promise."
After he said this, Cocoon's eyes stopped glowing, her horn went out, and her expression lightened up considerably.
"Really?" She asked. "You mean... you're not mad at me?"
"No!" William said. "And I can understand that you were just scared and desperate."
James came up and placed a hand on the back of her neck. "It's okay to be scared, but at the same time, it's not okay to do bad things to other people."
Cocoon sighed, bowing her head sadly. "I guess you're right..."
"So..." William began, "...what do you think you should do?"
"Hmm?" Cocoon hummed.
"Turn them back to the regular size," William requested.
Cocoon let out another sigh. "Alright..."
Once William stepped aside, she powered up her horn, pointing it at the group of shrunken humans. Focusing a steady beam of green light onto the six, they steadily grew, all of them stepping off the city replica once they were of proper size, and Cocoon continued growing them until they were back to the size they were before she shrunk them while they were unconscious.
"There!" Cocoon said.
"Now," William began, knowing he had to be the bigger man here, "what do you have to say to them, Coony?"
Flustered, Cocoon crossed her front legs, slouching.
"I'm sorry I shrank you," she said, dismayed.
"Thank you," William said.
Mrs. Milton gritted her teeth. "Are you kidding? Apologize like you mean it!"
"Hey!" James said. "No need for that tone!"
Slowly, Cocoon stepped forward before speaking again, this time with more sincerity in her voice. "Listen... I really am sorry. About everything. Can you forgive me...?"
Clara stepped forward. "I forgive you."
"Same," Marlene added.
The rest of the group stood back, all four staring daggers at Cocoon.
"Well?" Clara asked. "How about the rest of you?"
"Why should we?" Eric said.
"She was very rude to us!" Mrs. Milton protested.
"She apologized, and returned you all to normal!" William pointed out. "The least you could do is forgive her! Besides, can't we all just make something positive out of this, instead of trying to twist and contort it into the worst thing ever?"
The remaining four darted their eyes about, thinking.
"Plus," Clara spoke up, "if William is happier in this world, who are we to decide for him what choices he should make? Also... imagine if we decided to stay here, too!"
"What? Why?" Mark asked.
"Well," William began, "we've all seen what Coony can do with her magic. Imagine if we could live absolutely carefree, without any need to live under the bureaucracy of our government? Think about it... no more working, no more paychecks, no more taxes, no more bills..."
Cocoon nodded. "So long as nopony poses a threat to me, or tries to take away what I desire most, I would be more than willing to provide for you all. Anything and everything to meet your needs and wants!"
At first, Eric, Mark, Jon, and Mrs. Milton wanted to protest... but realizing exactly what they were lacking in their own lives, really took into consideration the possibilities Cocoon could be a conduit for. Well, almost all of them...
"No!" Mrs. Milton spoke up to the changeling queen. "I won't let you tempt me, servant of the Devil!"
Cocoon blinked, confused. "I beg your pardon...?"
Mrs. Milton held up her cross necklace in her direction. "May the Lord God grant me strength, who by the power of the Holy Spirit, will help me vanquish this demon from our blessed world!"
Cocoon narrowed her eyes, unamused. "Don't go getting crazy on me, now..."
"I'm sure we're all free to go back to our world if we want," Marlene said. "But that being said... I think I'll stay in this world. If William's happy here, I think I'll be, too."
"But..." William began, "...before we pull the trigger on anything, we're gonna need to make a few arrangements back in what will hopefully be our former world."
"I agree," James said. "Probably wouldn't be wise to have anything cut off abruptly. Would likely raise suspicions if that were the case. Besides, so long as there remains a way back to our world... I still have a call of duty to uphold."
After a bit of debate, most everyone decided that staying in Cocoon's realm might be a better decision than the future they originally had in mind. If they could have everything provided for them with a limitless amount of magic from Cocoon and William's bond, how could they refuse?
Of course, they all knew they had to return to their world and cut some ties with their employers, and make arrangements with relatives and friends (provided they could keep the secret, and Cocoon could wipe their memories if they couldn't).
Mrs. Milton, on the other hand, was too stubborn, and wanted to stay in the human world, believing Cocoon was not to be trusted (and continuously made derogatory slurs at the changeling queen).
William and the others returned to the human world through the portal to make said arrangements, and the others all went off on their way.
"Let's just hope this doesn't go wrong," William said.
"I'm certain it won't," James remarked.
"Besides," Cocoon said through the tome's portal, "nopony could ever pose a threat to me, as I'm certain no humans can use magic against me."
At that moment, a pounding on the front door caused all three of them to flinch. It opened to reveal a person William absolutely did not want to see in that moment, and one who James and Cocoon knew about quite extensively, having been told all about by William.
"YOU!" Jack shouted. "You've got hell to pay, ignorin' me and disrespectin' me!"
"What?!" William said. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"It's time you own up for your unacceptable attitude!" Jack said, making his way inside.
James stepped in front of him, an arm extended. "Jack Poole, I presume?"
Jack gritted his teeth. "Who the hell is this ass-clown?"
"I beg your pardon..." James said, narrowing his eyes at the man, "...but you have absolutely no business calling me that when you don't know me personally, nor should you be barging into other peoples' residences! Such crass, callous actions are unbecoming a grown adult!"
"YOU'D BETTER LEARN HOW TO SHOW A LITTLE RESPECT FOR YOUR ELDERS!" Jack shouted.
With that, he attempted to hook James in the face, but the immortal German used an Aikido-style deflection to redirect the blow, bringing Jack's arm behind his back. From there, James brought one leg around Jack's, leveraging it and throwing the middle-aged man off-balance. He fell to the floor, James pinning him down with his trapped arm.
"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" Jack shouted, struggling in vain.
"I'm warning you," James said, firmly, "I've been extensively trained in military combat for the German Special Forces and Harmonious Guard! If you try to throw another hit at me, I will not hesitate to dislocate your shoulder, or worse! I'm much stronger than I look, mind you."
"I SAID GET OFF!" Jack shouted, roughly rolling to get out from under James.
"STOP! STOP!" Cocoon pleaded through the tome's pages.
He quickly stood, jumping aside to avoid being tackled by James and William, where he rushed for the dining table.
"And I'm taking this with me!" Jack said, picking up the tome.
"No!" Cocoon bellowed through the portal she could not pass. "Put me down! Stop!"
After closing the tome, which silenced the changeling queen, he bolted out the door, pushing aside William as he tried to stop him, knocking the young man to the floor. James rushed after him, his hand on his signature Mauser pistol, seeing that Jack had already gotten into his pickup truck, starting the engine.
"By authority of the Harmonious Guard," James said, drawing his weapon, but keeping it as his side, "I am hereby placing you under military arrest, Jack Poole!"
"You say you're military?" Jack said. "Well that means you're sworn in to serve the people! That means you serve ME! I'm YOUR commanding officer, and you do as I order! You're talking to a former U.S. Marine! I know how this shit works!"
Without saying anything further, he sped off down the road, the German sprinting in a vain attempt to keep up.
"HALT! STOP!" James shouted, his Mauser leveled on the pickup truck. "Cut the engine!"
"You have absolutely no idea what you've just done!" William called out to the truck as he followed.
It was fruitless; Jack sped too far and fast for them to catch him. Panting to catch his breath, James tucked his Mauser back into its concealed holster.
"He would be lucky I don't contact and dispatch a Guard patrol on him!" James said. "It would definitely be the most unfriendly confrontation of his life, I am certain."
William hung his head. "He took away my only source of true joy in this world... stole it... and given how angry Coony might be..."
Both recalled that Cocoon mentioned to them that, if she became angry enough, her magic could break its safety limits, which could possibly grant her access to the real world, and bring about devastation. She was certain it would never happen, given how William always kept her happy, as well as James, but...
"I imagine this is going to spell a lot of trouble..." James said.
William pursed his lips, his head tipped forward. "Knowing Coony... she's gonna make it Hell on Earth...!"
Cocoon was completely shocked, scared, and panicked that her prison-tome was being taken away by Jack. Given how he was described to her... she was now very fearful that she would never get to see her Willy ever again.
"No...!" She uttered, pacing around. "No, no, no...!"
Tremors began as her passive magic keep the world stable became more erratic. It increased in intensity, the sky gradually turning from its calm, aurora-filled skies, to a malevolent, volcanic-looking cloud cover, flowing rapidly through the sky. Volcanoes broke the surface of the land all across the realm. More and more, the tome's realm became very hostile and inhospitable, all due to Cocoon's violent emotions from being, what she assumed, was permanently separated from her love.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!" Cocoon bellowed, her voice resonating loudly across her world.
Her horn flared violently, sending out jets of light in every which direction, vaporizing anything they made contact with... and the Banishing Rune on her right leg glowed white for a brief moment, and then it disappeared...