The Great Kuro Neko: ^^ Lol, Ray and Willow may get sick of each other, lol, I doubt that though, I'm think I'm through with them. The eggs are coming. O_O So true about Enrique. ^^
Becs: I'm not surprised, well, okay, I was surprised, but I'm delighted as well! ^^ Are you sure I haven't focused on anyone specifically? I always find myself leaning towards Carly. ^^ Ah, Courtney's punishment, lol! ^^
Emerald skies: Johnny would got a tarantula too, but then again, I don't think he'd find many of those crawling around over there!!
whisper*2*imaginary: Tala's funny. ^^ About the flames, well, that's one way to look at it! *hugz*
bimbo-blonde: I hate spiders, eek! ^^ Carly didn't touch the spider either, made good old Johnny do it, guess that relates to your, except you got your good old ruler to do it! ^^
~kai~: Happy new year! ^^ Hope you had a good time with him anyways, even though it was quite quick of him to confess that. ^^
SakuyaChan: Wow, huge caps, who could miss? ^^ I was starting to think that you were reading anymore ;_; since you haven't reviewed in so long. ^^ *hugz*
~*~Prodigious girl*~*: They were only back to earth for a quick trip that time. ^^ Have fun in Cuba! Tell me about it when you get back! ^^
Unicorn Girl: Give me a story that totally unpredictable (in a well-written way), I'll read it. ^^ All stories are usually somewhat predictable. I'm inspiring? Well, there's a first for everything. ^^ Carly's my OC, but she's not me, my real name isn't Carly and she's just a cool character I thought of. ^^ Yes, I hate Robert, obvious? Excellent! ^^
RBMIfan: Poor Enrique, he's starting to coming to some sense now, he will soon, I hope! ^_~
Reicu: O_o Wow, sorry you got grounded, glad you read it tho! ^^
FaramirLover: Aaah, Faramir is gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as Legolas I'm afraid. ^^ Yup Courtney got what she deserved!
Elemental Water Mistress: Tala/Hru, yay! ^^ yeah flames, pssh, who cares about them when I have all your reviewers! ^^
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 35: Rebuilding the Kingdoms
"Welcome back," the Guardian said.
"Breakfast?" Cassandra asked hopefully.
"Oh yes," the Guardian said, laughing, "Breakfast is always ready for you when you come."
"Awesome!" Cassandra said, diving right in.
"Has there been any trouble with the Kingdoms?" Holly asked worriedly.
"No, they have settled for a short while, I presume," the Guardian said, "Which is why I think that today you should concentrate on fixing the Kingdoms that we've already claimed."
"Excellent!" Willow said happily, "I was thinking of that too!"
"Yeah, I totally need to fix up my Kingdom," Cassandra added through a mouthful of waffles. She grabbed the syrup and poured some on her waffles.
"What about the rest of us?" Carly demanded, "Do we hang around and wait for the sky to fall down?"
"Carly!" Johnny groaned, "Give us a break!"
"You guys can go along and help out your friends," the Guardian said, "It'll be much easier for those who have Kingdoms already to get things done and you will learn things about ruling your own Kingdoms when you do get it."
"Makes sense," Enrique said.
"Too bad you don't," Carly sniped.
Enrique looked hurt and fell silent.
"Carly, you're not still mad at your friend, are you?" the Guardian asked, looking sympathetically at Enrique.
"Of course I am!" Carly exclaimed.
"Sometimes it's best to forgive and forget," the Guardian told her.
"And other times it's best to wait for some sense to kick it," Carly said stubbornly.
"Awww...no fighting today," Hru said, snapping her finger, "Shoot, I wanted more victims for my Spirit Hunters to get. Or maybe I'll just suck the spirit out of Tala over there. He can't do our project without a spirit inside him, but then again, it's not like he's doing anything now!"
"I explained and explained and explained," Tala complained, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "Not to mention I've apologized at least four times, but noooo...that's still not good enough for you! I was playing a die-for video game and I almost beat it, but I died because of you."
"It's not my fault that you died in that bloody video game!" Hru practically screamed, "I was talking to you, jerk! Did one thing I say penetrate that thick skull of yours!!!?? I wish you WOULD die!!"
"I still don't understand why you're getting all worked up
over it," Tala said casually, "We have, like, 5 days to do it!"
"Ray and Mariah are already done!" Hru snapped.
"So...? If they can finish in two days, we've got plenty of time!" Tala remarked. He turned to Johnny and Kai, "You know level 54 in Space Doom, how did you get pass the weird looking alien without getting blasted by that UV ray gun...?"
Hru looked like she would slap Tala across the face any second now, "See? How can anyone work with that guy??? This is going to be the worst project of my life."
Carly patted her, "Don't worry, it probably won't be as bad as you think."
"You're right," Hru said, "It'll be worse!"
"If you guys please," the Guardian said, "Go eat up your breakfast and you should decide if you're going to go with Ray, Willow, or Cassandra. Since there are 12 of you, that's 4 people per Kingdom, including the ruler."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm definitely not going to Cassandra's Kingdom," Tala said, "I sworn to never go back unless it's a matter of a life and death. I hate swimming."
"And I'm not going anywhere HE's going!" Hru snapped.
"Ray, who do you want to come with you?" the Guardian asked, "Choose now, we can't wait forever."
"Umm...Kai, Max, and Hru," Ray said quickly, "If that's okay with you guys."
"Fine with me," Kai said as Max nodded.
"Anywhere without Tala is good," Hru snarled.
Willow pondered for a moment, "Holly, Johnny, and -"
"If you don't pick me, you have to pick Enrique," Carly interrupted, "I'm not going to be stuck in the same Kingdom as Mr. Clueless over there."
Willow sweatdropped, she wasn't sure if she wanted Carly's bold remarks in her Kingdom, Johnny was sarcastic enough, "All right then, Enrique."
"Guess Carly, Tala and Kailee are stuck with me," Cassandra said happily, "Cool with me."
"Not cool," Tala said icily, "I'm not going to your Kingdom again, I made that clear, no way, can't do."
"Aw, Tala, it can't hurt," Cassandra said cheerfully, "You can tell me what you want me to change about it."
"Everything!" Tala snapped.
"Don't mind him," Carly said, "He'll come, he has no other choice, too bad for him."
"You think this is funny, don't you?" Tala demanded, "Well, it's not!"
Carly hung on to Johnny's arm, "No fair, now I'm going to miss out on all the fun with Johnny."
"Stop it Carly!" Johnny snapped, trying to pry his arm free and blushing.
"Okay!" the Guardian said, "Into the vortexes you go. Be back before nightfall please. I'll have dinner waiting."
"That I won't miss," Cassandra added cheekily as they trudged up to the Vortex Machine.
Ray, Kai, Max, and Hru went into the Fire Vortex to the Fire Kingdom.
Willow, Holly, Johnny, and Enrique went into the Dark Vortex to the Dark Kingdom.
And lastly, Cassandra, Carly, Tala, and Kaliee went into the Water Vortex to the Water Kingdom.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~The Fire Kingdom~*~
"Wow, it certainly looks different than when I last saw the place," Hru remarked, looking out the palace window in awe.
Ray looked pleased, "Thanks, I've been fixing it up a bit."
The Fire Palace was sparkling clean and lively, people were going around performing every day duties. The palace was extremely beautiful on the outside as well as on the inside, it was obvious that Ray spared no expenses to fix up the place to it's rightful glory. The capital city of the Kingdom was not far away from the Palace, it was still in the process of being fixed, but it was looking very good. The capital city, called Ignis (which means 'fire' in Latin), had everything a city should have, it was bustling with people, who were of some connection to royalty.
Ray pushed a button on the huge screen in the throne room, "This is like the monitor the Guardian has in the Dream Realm. I can see my whole Kingdom with this just like the Guardian can see the whole Elemental Galaxy from hers. Except I can see the finer details of my Kingdom. There's a city not far away responsible for developing military and weapons. Another city is responsible for growing crops and providing food. Another one researches new medicine and healing potions, that city surrounds the Fire Sanctuary. There are lots more specialty cities and they all specialize in making or doing something that contributes to the whole running of my Kingdom."
"Gee, wow," Kai said, "That's handful to remember, looks like you're all set. What's the capital city for?"
"That's for enforcing the law and governments, the royal advisors who live in Ignis ensure that all the cities are functioning properly...and oh, they also do whatever I wish," Ray said with a chuckle.
"Then what do you need to do?" Hru asked sarcastically, "Everything and everyone's doing it all for you."
"There's still some major constructing I need to monitor. I monitor the trades going on between me and Willow," Ray said.
"You have trades going?" Kai asked in disbelief, "Trades?"
"My head hurts," Max said with a good-natured laugh, "You're gonna have to lend me a hand when I get my kingdom Ray."
"Of course, that's how we profit," Ray said, "Between Willow and I, we've traded lots of food and some specialty products. Once Cassie's ready to go, I'm going to see if she'll trade some of her seafood, my people would love that."
"Now I want my own Kingdom," Hru said, "Sounds like great fun."
"Sounds like a lot of hard work," Max added
"It's not always fun," Ray warned, "Like that time when Cassie's Kingdom was attacking mine and wiping everything out, it was hard to keep people from panicking. Anyways, if you two would like to pick a location where you can help out, that would be awesome."
"I'll go to your military city," Hru said immediately before Kai could open his mouth and snag that option.
Kai's mouth dropped open, "You are SO cheap, I wanted to go there."
"First come, first serve," Hru said in a sing-song voice, "Too bad Kai."
"Hmph," Kai rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"I'll go and work with your agriculture city," Max offered, "That would be fun to learn."
"Fine, then I'll go the transportation units," Kai muttered with a dark look at Hru.
Ray nodded, "If you can each step into the Teleporter Beam beside the screen and pick a place into the teleporter, you'll be on your way. I'm going to go to Ignis. I'll see you later."
So one by one, they stepped into the Teleporter Beam and scrolled through the options until they reached the one they wanted and teleported off.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~The Dark Kingdom~*~
"Doesn't it look great?" Willow beamed, "I put a lot of work into it."
"It's still dark," Johnny said ironically.
"I knew I shouldn't have picked you," Willow grumbled, "Of course it's still dark, it IS the Dark Kingdom, isn't it? There's a lot more light now though, even though the whole Kingdom is still pretty much shrouded in shadows."
"I think you're doing a great job," Holly told her, giving Johnny a 'why-can't-you-be-more-nice?' look, "Even the cities are taking shape and the palace is simply divine."
"Girls," Johnny said, shaking his head, and shoot miserable Enrique an annoyed glance, "What do they know?"
"Lots more than you," Holly said, giving him her best glare, "Why do you always have to be so critical?"
"Blame Carly, I'm trying to outwit her," Johnny said flatly, "Why DID you choose me?"
"Because my military is totally lacking," Willow complained, "I don't know how to command an army and I figured you could help me there."
"You figured right," Johnny drawled, brightening up a bit, "At least I won't be bored to death then."
Willow turned on the screen in her throne room, "There's my capital city, Acerbus (which means 'dark' in Latin). Isn't it beautiful? I'm going to add in a few monuments when I have time, but I'm going to need more marble. I'll have to trade with Ray, our supply of marble is nearly depleted."
"You trade?" Enrique asked in surprise, "Already?"
"Of course," Willow said, "It's really easy, considering that I know Ray. We've traded a lot of stuff. Isn't that the coolest? Let's all go to Acerbus first, I want you guys to see it."
"Then can we go to the Sanctuary?" Holly asked, "Your mage was so nice to us, we should pay her a visit to thank her."
"And that's SO like Holly, always polite and gracious...completely opposite of me," Johnny teased.
"I won't be so gracious if you keep up that taunting," Holly said, narrowing her eyes.
Johnny just laughed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~The Water Kingdom~*~
"I can't believe there are people moving here!" Cassandra squealed, "This is SO exciting."
"So you have underwater cities and above water cities," Carly said, "That's a handful to handle. We've gotta fix up the palace first."
"Right you are," Cassandra agreed, "Don't look so glum Tala, since I'm ruler, all underwater cities will be engulfed by a water resistance substance that will keep the water from inside the buildings so you can walk in buildings like a normal person instead of swimming through them. I'm starting the water resistance on the Water Palace, so I'm going to drain out all the water."
Tala brightened a bit, "Cool, at least I won't have to swim inside a building, it's so easy to hit your head that way."
"We have company," Kailee squealed, "Isn't he adorable?"
They all looked out the window and saw the shark that the Water Warlock had previously controlled swimming outside excitedly. It saw them and bared its teeth in a friendly gesture.
"His teeth are SO cute, aren't they?" Carly said sarcastically, raising her eyebrow.
"I always knew that there's good in all animals," Kailee cooed, "And this one's no exception."
"I think I'm going to be sick if I have to listen to Kailee's gushing anymore," Tala groaned.
Cassandra swam outside and they saw her approach the shark. The shark grunted and growled a few times, Cassandra nodded and swam back.
"What did you do Cassie?" Kailee asked.
"The shark said that he guards the palace," Cassandra said, turning on the screen in the throne room.
"And since when do you speak shark?" Carly demanded.
"Cuckoo," Tala said airily.
Cassandra shrugged, "I dunno, I just understood, anyways, that ain't important. He's going to be around, guarding the Palace, but he won't attack us. What should we do first?"
"Go see all your inhabitants," Carly said, "You do want to meet your subjects don't you? You've gotta take this slowly, it's not like you're going to finish a city in one day."
"Yeah, Rome wasn't built in a day," Tala added.
"All right, let's go to Aquaia (which means 'water' in Latin) first," Cassandra suggested.
"Where?" Kailee asked.
"It's the capital of the Water Kingdom," Cassandra replied, "The advisors there will help me rebuild the palace. Then I think it's important we visit the medical city after."
"You mean researching medicine and potions and junk?" Carly demanded, "Oh ugh, let's all visit the Water Mage, what an excellent idea, I'm sure she'd love to see Tala." Her voice dripped with the utmost sarcasm.
"Aw, shut up," Tala muttered, turning as red as his hair.
"Actually, I'm right here," a familiar voice said.
"It's the Water Mage," Cassandra said, "What's she doing all the way out here?"
"Hi!" Kailee said in delight, "Nice to see you again!"
"Hey everyone!" the Water Mage said, twirling around, her mermaid fin gracefully gliding in the water, "I see you left most of the boys behind, huh? Nice to see you Wind Warrior."
Carly smirked and yanked Tala's sleeve, her voice mocking, "But we brought you the cutest one."
"Shut up Carly!" Tala yelled, going scarlet.
"Aw, Tala, don't be so sensitive. I'm sure Hru would've said something equally as nasty so since she isn't here to do that, I feel obliged to take her place," Carly said, trying not to laugh.
"We're thinking of building up the city around the Water Sanctuary first!" Cassandra told her.
"Really?" the Water Mage exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with pure delight, "That's absolutely fantastic! There are already some mermaids living in the sanctuary with me for the time being, we were thinking of starting to rebuild the city as well, but it's awesome that you agree with us too! Let's go!"
"You mean all the inhabitants here are mermaids?" Kailee asked, looking surprised, "They're so beautiful."
"Ha!" Carly laughed out loud, "Hru is going to be SO pleased when she finds out, I'll be the first to tell her!"
"Oh no," the Water Mage replied, "Some underwater cities are mermaids cities, some are filled with people like you guys. All surface cities are filled with normal people. Let's get going!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This time, they returned quicker to the Dream Realm, I did write something else, but I lost it somewhere on my messy desktop. ;_; Anyways, it was a build-your-kingdom day and I'm exhausted from redesigning my new layout for my site, it's finally done. Hope you all have a great new year! Good night everyone, lol, please read and review! ^_~