A conductor was soon shown and he began to lead the orchestra to provide music for everybody who sat down for the show. There were a couple of candlelit chandeliers shown as the sets were being moved around and a dancer was shown as the music was provided for her so that she could entertain the people who had come to the show.
"The ballet tells the story of The Four Realms," Sugar Plum began to tell the young ones. "How Clara's mother discovered our world."
Clara looked the most excited to hear that before they continued to watch. Jack and Jill looked hopeful and eager too as the dancer continued.
"She's so beautiful." Jill whispered about the ballerina.
Jack nodded as he agreed with his sister. The ballerina continued to dance and soon flowers bloomed from under her footsteps.
"First, The Land of Flowers." Sugar Plum then told the children.
More dancers came out after the ballerina as the scene turned into beautiful flowers and colors of The Land of Flowers. One male dancer came from behind the main ballerina as the others danced at the sides and he lifted up the ballerina as the music swelled all around them as she happily twirled about while flower petals peppered over the dancers from up above. The other male dancers then lifted up the other female dancers as the main ballerina continued to dance under the spotlight. Suddenly, they all froze before the ballerina then met up to dance with other ballerinas dress in snow white gowns into a new scene during the ballet.
"Now... The Land of Snowflakes." Sugar Plum soon told the children as a male dancer came to dance with the ballerina.
"Icy." Jill commented.
"Cool." Jack added, though pun not intended as he had heard The Toon Force say that whenever they found something to be interesting.
A boat was soon shown on stage as the male dancer lifted the ballerina while the other dancers danced around them in a circle. Snowflakes began to fall all around as the ballerina was on the floor again and continued her wonderful dance. There was one last lift before the scene began to change again until it was clear where the ballerina now was in the story of the ballet.
"And The Land of Sweets?" Clara guessed.
Sugar Plum smiled warmly as that was true before they continued to watch the dancing. Another male dancer came to lift the ballerina while other dancers twirled about with canes at hand, dancing in front of a giant frosted cupcake with candy canes spread around. The ballet was a very wonderful experience.
Soon, Clara and the twins began to imagine themselves in a sugary hot air balloon with Sugar Plum as a crowd swarmed around them and they began to levitate. They even rode on a horse-drawn carriage with Hawthorne and given their own flowers as Jack took one out and decided to put in Clara's hair with a small smile as she smiled back at him. Then Shiver took them to his realm. It looked rather cold, but it was actually rather enjoyable.
"The snow's not even cold." Jill smiled.
"This is wonderful." Jack added.
People surrounded their carriage and bowed to them as snowflakes fell around while Clara felt even closer to her late mother. Eventually, other dancers came on stage, but they had a rodent-like appearance which could only mean one thing.
"Mice?" Clara wondered.
"This must be The Fourth Realm." Jack guessed.
"Indeed," Sugar Plum nodded as that was true before she began to warn them. "Watch closely, children. This is where our troubles began."
"With Mother Ginger and the mice?" Clara asked.
"Beastly woman," Sugar Plum nodded as she took a treat out of her hair and began to eat it. "There's nothing motherly about her."
"Did you just take something out of your hair and eat it?" Jack asked.
"Yes," Sugar Plum simply stated like it was a totally normal thing to do before she held it out. "Why? Did you want some?"
"Oh... Uh... That's okay..." Jack replied. "Maybe later."
Sugar Plum nodded as they continued to watch as the ballerina was faced by the evil mice and the woman known as Mother Ginger. Other mouse dancers soon came up behind the ones who slowed down and bowed down until the ones behind them began to whir the keys in their backs. The ballerina danced about with the mice until they went away and the ballerina was soon alone in the dark. Jill gasped as she put her hand to her face until Jack took her hand and gently squeezed it out of comfort. Clara was the most entranced by the ballerina as she was loosely based on her mother.
"Mother Ginger's the one who began this war," Sugar Plum told Clara. "I hope you'll be the one to finish it."
"What do you mean?" Clara asked softly.
That question wasn't answered right away however. Soon, the ballerina took center stage as flowers bloomed under her feet. Soon, the sets from the other realms came together and soon, the orchestra stopped playing which prompted the audience to applaud and that was what they did.
"I really hope I can dance like that someday." Jill whispered softly.
"Maybe someday you will." Jack comforted his twin sister as best as he could.
Sugar Plum smiled to the children and soon finally answered their question. "Come, I'll show you." she then said softly.
Soon, they left the ballet theater and they followed the sweet woman to a brand new location which included a spiral staircase as Phillip also escorted them.
"Dear Queen Marie kept Mother Ginger in line, but now that she's gone, we're utterly defenseless." Sugar Plum informed as they began to make their way into a new room.
"I don't understand." Clara said softly.
"What does this all mean?" Jack asked Sugar Plum.
"You see, once we were lifeless toys, mere playthings for children," Sugar Plum began to explain. "Then Clara's mother arrived and changed everything. She gave us life."
"How?" Jill asked.
"With this," Sugar Plum replied, showing them a certain something. "The Engine."
Clara looked very surprised while Jack and Jill looked in awe. "This is my mother's invention?" she then asked the fairy.
"Yes. The Engine made us real," Sugar Plum replied. "And now we have feelings just like you have. Happiness, sadness, anger, love. Fear."
"There's plenty of that going around." Phillip remarked about that last thing.
Sugar Plum looked to him with an approving nod. "You're right, sweet captain," she then said and continued to explain. "Our spies tell us that Mother Ginger is on the warpath, gathering all her forces. The Engine is the only way that we can build an army to defend ourselves, but it doesn't work. If we can't get it to work again, then all is lost."
Jack and Jill looked a bit sad that they couldn't really help out in this situation.
"Perhaps I could fix it." Clara offered, deciding it was probably her duty as the daughter of Queen Marie.
"It's not broken," Sugar Plum clarified. "We're simply missing the key."
"Key?" The kids repeated as they instantly thought about a certain something from earlier they hadn't forgotten about.
"The key. We've searched hither and yon throughout the kingdom," Sugar Plum replied in despair. "I fear your dear mother must have taken it with her, but she never returned." she then added.
"Oh, my." Jill frowned as that sounded simply awful.
Clara soon examined the engine's lock up close and soon saw something underneath that caught her interest rather quickly. "A pin tumbler." she then noted.
"And that lock... It looks like the one from your egg." Jack replied.
Clara then reached into her dress pocket and took out her present to see that was true. "You're right, Jack," she then said before calling to their fairy friend. "Sugar Plum, look. This was a present from my mother. The locks match. It must be the same key." she then informed the fairy confidently.
Sugar Plum looked over, looking rather curious before she looked back at Clara. "This key of which you speak, where is it?" she then asked.
Clara's face fell a little bit. "That horrible little mouse took it." she then explained as Jack and Jill nodded in agreement.
"Mouserinks!" Phillip gasped. "He's diabolical."
"I guess since this mouse has the key, that that means that Mother Ginger has it." Jack replied.
Sugar Plum realized that too before she then pouted out of defeat. "Oh, pooh! Then we can't make the army and we'll be annihilated."
Clara then stepped forward hopefully. "Unless we can bring the key back." she then suggested.
"Get it back?" Sugar Plum then asked in concern as Phillip also looked concerned about the kids doing that.
"I could go to The Fourth Realm." Clara then suggested.
"Oh, no! It's too, too dangerous!" Sugar Plum shook her head.
"I came here to find that key." Clara reminded bravely.
"And we could go with her." Jill added as she took Jack's hand to help him come along too.
"Children, you're not going back there." Phillip disagreed strongly.
"This must be why my mother sent me here," Clara replied as she stepped over to the soldier. "I can't let Mother Ginger destroy everything she created."
"We were lucky to escape with our lives the last time," Phillip shook his head. "Mother Ginger's more dangerous than you know."
Clara frowned, but she still tried to be determined about her mission. "I must get that key." she then insisted.
"And we'll help you out too." Jack and Jill both added in unison.
Clara smiled at the twins before she then instantly hugged them thankfully. "Thank you both so much," she then said softly. "You two are the greatest best friends anyone could ever ask for. I'm so glad that we met."
Jack blushed from the hug before nodding. "I'm glad that we met too, Clara..." he then added shyly. "This will be a fun new adventure for all of us."
"Yes, yes," Sugar Plum replied to the children. "Now, it's very late in this realm, so we should get you all to bed."
"And everything will be okay at Mr. Drosselmeyer's until we get back?" Jack then asked, concerned about Snow White and Charles worrying about them.
"Everything will be just fine," Sugar Plum promised with a sweet smile. "You do trust me, don't you?"
Jack and Jill looked at her and then at each other before nodding and then looked back.
"Sure we do," Jill replied. "You know Tinkerbell after all after she became the first fairy we ever met."
"Let's get you ready for bed then," Sugar Plum suggested with a warm smile. "Then perhaps you two could tell me how you know Tinkerbell from Snow White and King Charming's palace."
"We would be honored." Jack nodded as they followed the fairy woman so that they could change into night clothes and get ready for a good night's sleep after a rather big adventure together so far.
Soon, they came to get settled in for the night as Sugar Plum began to bring the kids over to temporary beds for the night as they got settled and traded stories together, mostly from Jack and Jill who mentioned the place known as Looking Glass and how began to be after Snow White shattered the magic mirror with Rumplestiltskin before his death and he began to rule over The Underworld with Gelda AKA The Queen of Hearts which then led them to a journey in Neverland where they met the boy who would become the future Peter Pan and Tinkerbell helped them against Blackbeard.
"And then Tinkerbell helped give us pixie dust so that Peter could live his new life with Hook, Tigerlily, and The Lost Boys from the orphanage and even Sister Rose." Jack then concluded his and Jill's story.
"That sounds like quite the story." Sugar Plum remarked in amazement.
"It really was," Jill nodded. "I miss Peter very much, but I just hope that he's happy in Neverland now."
"Yes, it sounds like it," Sugar Plum replied before she hugged the young ones as they slept in their temporary new beds and gave them rather maternal kisses on their foreheads. "Get some rest, dears. You'll definitely need it."
Jill then suddenly yawned as if on cue.
"Yeah... Rest... That's what we need..." Jack added sleepily.
"Good night now." Sugar Plum told them tenderly.
"Good night." The three young ones replied after being tucked in and settled into their new beds for the night.
Sugar Plum then left the room to let them get the rest that they needed and deserved. Soon, the kids laid down and got ready to go to sleep, though Clara still had a lot on her mind. She even began to think about her mother and how for Christmas one year, she was given a nutcracker doll when her mother was still around. Eventually, the twins fell asleep, dreaming of being safe and sound back home with their Avengers Grimm family in Fabletown, hoping they would all be okay in the end with Clara, though they were sure that they would, even if Mother Ginger just felt and seemed so scary based on how Sugar Plum and Phillip talked about her. Soon Jack flinched and woke up with wide eyes, then looked over as Clara seemed to be out of bed and saw that she seemed to be out of her bed. He then grabbed a robe that was offered for him along with Jill and Clara being given their own robes and he then decided to get out of bed and see what was going on as Clara ended up on the roof of the temporary home.
"Clara?" Jack whispered before he saw the girl approaching an owl who was waiting for her. "...What's going on?"
Clara looked all around in amazement, luckily not in terrible danger. "Oh, Mother, it's so beautiful here." she then said as she took a look.
Jack stepped over a bit more and smiled. "Yeah, it sure is." he then agreed.
"Ah!" Clara gasped and yelped, clutching her chest before turning around to see that she wasn't alone anymore. "Oh, Jack! You startled me."
"Sorry about that, Clara," Jack said bashfully before he stepped further out. "Are you okay? You weren't in bed."
"I couldn't sleep," Clara sighed softly. "I was thinking about my mother... But why are you here?" she then wondered. "You couldn't sleep either?"
"Yeah..." Jack nodded as he decided to join her out on the balcony. "I guess I was feeling too worried about my parents."
"Aw, Jack," Clara said softly before she reached out and touched his shoulder in comfort. "We'll be back with our families again soon, I'm sure."
"Yeah... I know..." Jack replied and blushed from her touch as he nodded. "So... I guess I'll go back now that I know that you're up here and okay."
"Do you have to go?" Clara asked him then. "Why don't you come up here and join me?" she then invited.
"Are you sure?" Jack replied.
"Of course I'm sure. That's why I asked," Clara nodded. "You look a little sad and lonely right now."
"Well... I guess that's all right," Jack said as he came to stand out on the balcony and look out with her. "I hope Jill will be okay then. Since we're twins, we can feel each other's pain and sickness, so I tend to worry about her a lot. Especially since she's 10 minutes younger than I am."
"It's nice that you look after your sister like that," Clara smiled before she let him stand next to her. "Come take a look."
Jack smiled back with a nod before he stepped over and came to stand with her. "Wow..." he then whispered.
"Yes, such a beautiful view, isn't it?" Clara replied as she looked out with him.
"Yes... Very..." Jack blushed and nodded as he looked out with her before looking over. He then looked like he was going to put his arm around her, but he decided to stop himself and then dropped his arm down, thinking maybe he shouldn't think too ahead like that just yet. There was always that case with his sister when they visited Neverland about loving someone from "a different world", both metaphorically and seriously.
Clara then sighed and pouted as she looked a little lost again, deep in her own thoughts. "I don't know if I can get the key back," she then started to say weakly. "And if I fail... This whole world you discovered..." she then stopped, unable to finish that thought as she shivered a little and her lip quivered.
Jack sensed that Clara was about to cry and decided to gently squeeze her hand. Clara let out a small gasp before looking at him with a small sniffle. Jack then decided to just wordlessly hug Clara as that was all he could do for now.
"Thank you, Jack," Clara said softly as she breathed deeply and sadly. "You're a good friend."
"No problem, Clara." Jack whispered while hugging her and gently stroked her hair before letting go before it would be an awkward hug that lasted too long.
Clara nodded as she wiped her eyes and smiled sadly at him before she looked out the balcony again into the night sky as it was a very silent night indeed. "I wish you were here. So you can tell me that I'm doing the right thing like you used to." she then said wearily to her missing mother.
Jack nodded in silence as he could understand that. And then suddenly, a shooting star seemed to race across the sky and there was then a gust of cold wind that suddenly blew. The owl who was watching them hooted after those supernatural events before it then got up and flew away instantly.
Clara smiled sadly as she decided to take that as a symbol of her mother, feeling slightly better than she was before. "Thank you." she then said.
"You'll be just fine, Clara," Jack replied softly. "Jill and I and many others will be here too to help you with your destiny."
"Thank you so much, Jack," Clara said thankfully. "You're such a great person."
"I try my best anyway," Jack replied. "You gonna be okay now?"
"Yes... I think so..." Clara nodded. "I guess we should go back to bed."
"That's probably for the best," Jack agreed before he offered her his arm. "Come on. We had a long day and an even bigger day probably tomorrow."
"Sounds nice," Clara replied before looking down at his arm. "What're you doing?"
"Oh... Uh... Sorry..." Jack replied as he blushed bashfully. "This is just something my father does for my mother all the time. Just trying to be a gentleman." he then explained.
"Oh... So I just take your arm?" Clara then asked.
"Uh-huh." Jack nodded.
"Okay, good," Clara said before she decided to link arms with him. "Such a gentleman, Jack. I suppose you're my very own Prince Charming."
"Heh... I guess you could say that..." Jack chuckled as they soon went down the steps to go back into the room for the rest of the night until sunrise.
Clara smiled as they came down the steps and she then took Jack's hands. "Thank you so much for your help and company, Jack," she then said. "I feel better than I was before."
"Good," Jack said. "It was the least I could do. What're friends for?" he then added.
"Maybe more than friends too." Clara nodded.
Jack smiled until he realized what she just said to him. "Huh? M-More than friends...?" he then asked, wondering what she meant by that.
Clara then suddenly leaned in and kissed Jack right on the lips, leaving the other boy to suddenly go wide-eyed. "Good night, Jack." she then whispered sweetly.
"Uh... Um... Okay..." Jack stuttered and blushed as he nodded bashfully. "G-G-Good n-night, Clara... Sw-Sw-Sweet dreams."
Clara nodded and soon walked off and went to go right back into her own bed. Jack rubbed his lips, looking shy and bashful about his very first kiss before he nodded to himself and decided to climb right into bed. Once Jack got comfortable and drifted off to sleep, Jill was lying down on her side facing opposite of her brother before she seemed to open her eyes and hide a small smirk on her face tha Jack or Clara never got to see.