Chapter Five: Truth, Lies, and a Rusty Lock
Inside Mesmero's wagon, Jimmy was watching Mesmero count the money.
"I eat the best, and I drink champagne. There are no strings on me." Mesmero sang as he counted the yellow and green things he had been given by the people. "Bravo, Jimmy."
"They liked me." Jimmy said as he waited for Mesmero to tell him he could go home for the night.
"Two hundred." Mesmero said as he put a pile of the yellow things by another pile of yellow things. "You are sensational."
"You mean I'm good?" Jimmy asked with a smile.
"Three hundred." Mesmero said as he moved another pile of the yellow things with the others. "You are colossal!"
"Does that mean I'm an actor?" Jimmy asked.
"Sure." Mesmero said after he ate an onion he'd just cut with a knife. "I'll push you in the public's eye, and you'll be on everybody's tongue."
"Will it?" Jimmy asked. That seemed a little extreme to be stepping on people's tongues.
"Of course- huh?" Mesmero said as he pulled up a dull gray thing with a square hole in the middle. "What's this?"
He bit down and bent it.
"Why that-" Mesmero said before he smirked and gave it to Jimmy. "For you, Jimmy."
"For me?" Jimmy asked excitedly. "Gee, thanks! I'll go right home and give it to my parents!"
"Home?" Mesmero asked, and he then started laughing. "Oh sure. You should go home to your parents. That's very comical kid!"
"You mean it's funny?" Jimmy asked. He wasn't sure what was so funny about going home to Mom and Dad.
"Sure." Mesmero said as he continued to laugh, and Jimmy ended up joining in, though he wasn't sure why.
"I'll see you in the morning, sir." Jimmy said before Mesmero grabbed him.
"See me in the morning." Mesmero laughed. "Going home."
Jimmy laughed along with him until Mesmero shoved him into a bird cage.
"There!" Mesmero said. "That's your home, where I can always find you."
"No, no!" Jimmy shouted.
"Yes, yes!" Mesmero shouted back. "You belong to me now! It won't be so bad kid. We'll tour the world. Paris, London, Monte Carlo, Constantinople."
"No!" Jimmy cried. He didn't wanna leave! He wanted to stay with his mom and dad and Rogue!
"YES!" Mesmero shouted. "We're starting tonight. You're going to make me a whole lot of money. And when you grow too old, I'd wager you'd make good fire wood."
Mesmero then tossed a nearby axe at a cut up and singed puppet in a box by the stove.
"Let me outta here!" Jimmy cried. "You've gotta let me out! You can't-"
"Shut up before I knock you silly." Mesmero said as he walked out to drive the wagon off to who knew where. "Good night my little wooden gold mine."
"No, no, wait!" Jimmy shouted as the lights in the wagon turned off, and he shook the bars of his cage. "Let me out! I'll tell my mom and dad on you!"
The cage then shook as the wagon started.
"Rogue?!" Jimmy shouted. He should have listened to Rogue and gone off to school. "Rogue where are you?!" He whistled again and again. "Rogue!"
A clap of thunder sounded, and Jimmy huddled into a corner and cried. He was all alone.
()()()()()
Rogue had her hood up and watched Mesmero Mesmero's wagon heading out.
"There he goes." Rogue said. "Off to fame and fortune. The lap of luxury. The world at his feet. Oh well. At least I can say I knew him when he was normal. I just wish I could've wished him luck." Then Rogue smiled. "Hey, why can't I now?"
She rushed off and managed to hold on to the wagon as she got in. Luckily, Mesmero left the door unlocked, so she could go right in.
"Jimmy?" Rogue asked. "You in here? It's me, Rogue."
"Rogue!" Jimmy said from a… A bird cage? "Am I glad to see you!"
"Jimmy, what happened?!" Rogue asked as she stood on a chair to talk to him without spraining her neck. "What'd he do to you?"
"Oh, he was mean." Jimmy said. "He said he was gonna shove my face into everybody's eyes and make me step on their tongues."
"That's gross!" Rogue exclaimed.
"Yeah, and just because I'm a gold mine, he's gonna chop me into fire wood when I grow up!" Jimmy said.
"That big meanie!" Rogue said. "Don't worry, Jimmy. I'll get you out."
She grabbed a hairpin she saw on the table and began to fiddle with the lock.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, I read about someone doing this in a book once." Rogue said.
After several minutes, the pin stopped moving, and she couldn't pull it out or do anything with it.
"Oh, it's stuck!" Rogue said as she took off her cloak. "I just need some extra oomph and-"
The pin snapped out and hit Rogue in the head as she landed on the floor. It had made a small cut over her forehead.
"Ouch." Rogue groaned. "The stupid hair pin broke."
"You mean you can't open it?" Jimmy asked sadly.
"It'll take a miracle to get us out of this mess." Rogue said, and who ever heard of a miracle happening to an orphaned, run-away girl and a wooden boy? She didn't say this out loud as she didn't wanna upset her friend.
()()()()()
Logan and Kayla were looking around the city as the rain came down in buckets.
"Jimmy?!" Logan called out.
"Jimmy?!" Kayla screamed.
No answer. All that came was a wagon coming across the street, driven by a silver-haired man.
"Jimmy!" They called out again, but no one answered.
Kayla cried as her little boy was lost, alone, and probably miserable out there all alone, and Logan did his best to comfort her, but that's hard when the same thoughts flash through your mind.
()()()()()
Inside the wagon, Jimmy and Rogue were both crying.
"Oh, I'm a fine conscience." Rogue said sarcastically as tears ran down her face.
"I should have listened to you, Rogue." Jimmy said as his own tears fell.
"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have run out on you when you did a good job in the show." Rogue said as she was beginning to cry outright.
"Guess I'll never see my parents again." Jimmy said as he began to cry outright.
"Oh, no." Rogue said as she tried to stop crying. "Don't cry. Be cheerful. Like me."
They then both broke down crying.
"I want my mommy and daddy!" Jimmy cried.
"Me too!" Rogue said as they both cried until Rogue swallowed her tears and gulped. "Oh, come on, Jimmy. Things… Things aren't that bad. At least the rain's stopped, and look at that star right there."
Rogue then saw the star coming down.
"Uh-oh." Rogue said. "I think it's the lady! The angel! Wanda!"
"What do I say?!" Jimmy asked. "What do I do?!"
"You could try telling her the truth." Rogue said before hiding in a corner.
Jimmy then hid his face in his arms as Wanda appeared.
"Jimmy, I can see you." Wanda said.
"Oh…" Jimmy said nervously. "Um… Hi."
"I can see you too, Rogue." Wanda said.
"Oh nuts." Rogue said as she held her hands behind her back and walked up. She didn't like the idea of getting a spanking from this lady. "It's nice to see you again."
"You can put your hands down, Rogue." Wanda said. "That's not my style."
"Phew." Rogue said with a sigh.
"Now Jimmy, why didn't you go to school today?" Wanda asked.
"Um… Well…" Jimmy said with a gulp.
"Well, go ahead and tell her." Rogue said.
"I was on my way to school when I met someone." Jimmy said.
"Met someone?" Wanda asked.
"Yeah, two big monsters with big green eyes!" Jimmy said as Rogue saw Jimmy's nose grow about three inches.
"Monsters?" Wanda asked like a mother hearing a make-believe story from their son. "Weren't you afraid?"
"Oh no." Jimmy said. "But they did put me in a big sack."
His nose then grew another few inches as a flower bud appeared at the end as well as two leaves.
"You don't say?" Wanda said. "And where was Rogue?"
"Rogue?" Jimmy asked.
"Hey leave me out of this." Rogue said.
"They put her in the sack too." Jimmy said, and his nose grew again, and so did the leaves and the flower.
"No." Wanda said.
"Yes." Jimmy said, and the flowers fully bloomed.
"How'd you escape?" Wanda said.
"I didn't." Jimmy said with a smile. "They chopped me into firewood!"
Jimmy's nose grew a foot, and a nest appeared with two baby blue jays in it.
"Look at my nose!" Jimmy said, unable to hold it in any longer. "What's happened?"
"Maybe you haven't been telling the truth." Wanda said.
"'Maybe'?!" Rogue asked. That story could be made into a Grimm's Fairy Tale!
"Oh but I have." Jimmy said. "Every word."
His nose then grew as the end with the nest dipped, and the blue jays flew off.
"Please help me!" Jimmy begged. "I'm awful sorry."
"You see Jimmy?" Wanda asked. "A lie can keep growing and growing until it's as plan as the nose on your face, and no offense kid, but that one was a doozy."
"She's right, Jimmy." Rogue said. "You better come clean."
"I'll never lie again." Jimmy said. "Honestly! Now please let us out!"
"Alright, but this is the last time I can help you." Wanda said as she touched Jimmy's nose with her sword, and in a bright flash, she was gone, Jimmy's nose was back to normal, and the door was wide open.
"Hey look, Rogue!" Jimmy said. "My nose is back to normal!"
"And you're free!" Rogue said. "Now let's get outta here!"
They managed to jump out when they passed a grassy area outside of Smallville, and they hid behind a rock as the wagon went out of sight.
"See you later, Mesmero." Rogue said with a sigh.
"Good-bye Mr. Mesmero!" Jimmy shouted before Rogue put her hand over his mouth. "Oops, sorry."
"No problem." Rogue said. "Now let's go home. Your mom and dad must be worried sick about you."
"And about you." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, I bet they're more worried about you." Rogue said.
"What's a bet?" Jimmy asked.
"Forget it." Rogue said. "Let's just go home.
Me: Hooray! Now you two are out of the woods, right?
Rogue: You'll see, and keep your voice down.
Marie (sleepily): Yay…