Flip raced away on his crow with the cops trailing behind. "Heh, they'll never catch me!" he scoffed indignantly. "I'm the one and only unstoppable, unchangeable, irreplaceable, unbeatable Flip! Ha ha!" The green clown sneered down scornfully at the police force hot on his tail. As he laughed, Flap squawked along. She looked back to see where the police actually were....
Flap and her cargo flew headfirst into a steeple and lost velocity quickly as she fell out of the sky. Flip clung onto his crow for dear life, for they were falling from a very high altitude. Of course, he couldn't hang on for long, and separated from his crow. The cops could see them falling and made a large circle around where they assumed Flip would fall. Townsfolk gathered around, gaping at the falling mass of mischief.
Nemo could see that Camille was pissed about all this, but he didn't know how to help her. The enraged Queen began to pace angrily back and forth across the oak-paneled floor, hissing about Flip and what trouble he was in for. "Ohhhh, I hate that man," she grumbled. "Nemo...." She looked over at the handsome boy watching her every move. "What shall I do?" she placed a fist on one hip and her other hand under her chin, tapping it thoughtfully with her finger. "Shall I throw him in jail until the end of time? Shall I execute him? Shall I fine him? Shall I make him do community service? Shall I publicly humiliate him? Or shall I banish him?"
She swirled her dress lavishly towards him as she inquired in him. Nemo was awestruck by her tremendous beauty and just stood, mouth open in wonder, running his eyes over each curve, each line of her body.
"Nemo!" Camille was no moron; she could see Nemo eyeing her up and down, every which way.
He glanced up quickly, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment, as he questioned her call with his eyes.
"Nemo, what should I do with Flip once the police catch him? Have you even heard a word that I have said these past few minutes?"
Nemo's face turned red with shame as he stuttered. "Uh, yeah, I, uh, think you should...."
He paused for a minute or so, trying to remember the options he so barely heard.
The Queen grew impatient with each breath and demanded the answer. "I should WHAT?"
"Uh, hehe, you should publicly humiliate him...." Nemo's nervousness was apparent as he finally remembered one punishment that she had said that could work. He had only heard the last two, but he knew that banishing wouldn't work.... Flip had already been "banished" once and Nemo had saved him from it. He knew that he would feel bad if Flip had to be banished "again" when he was around.
"What kind of public humiliation?" Camille wandered over to him, her expression growing softer. She came closer and closer to him until she was only a few inches away, her mouth almost touching his.
Nemo began to stutter again. "Uh...." Camille could see that she was probably the source of his nervousness and backed off a bit. Nemo then became frightened by her backing away from him but didn't let his fear show. "Hey, Camille, I didn't stutter to make you back up," he said coolly to her. "I'm just trying to think of something."
Camille now felt bad. She strolled back on over to him and pressed up against his chest with her body as he stared into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Nemo. I didn't mean anything by it." She put her arms around his waist. A romantic look came to her eyes. "Now, what kind of public humiliation should we use for Flip?" She smiled up at him as he laughed.
"Camille, the police haven't even caught him yet! You can't count your chickens before they hatch!"
The Queen laughed along with him. "I suppose you're right. But to get ahead, let's formulate a list of different punishments having to do with public humiliation."
In a few minutes, Camille and Nemo were seated on the bed with a notepad and pencil. They began to list. The stocks, the pillory, or a whipping, and then afterwards some jail time. It seemed like a good punishment. Jail alone wouldn't give the full effect. Banishing.... Well, he'd be dead, run out of oxygen, before he'd learn his lesson. Execution was just too cruel for his crimes. "You know, Nemo, if someone dies because of this incident, Flip may have to face his fate." An execution was possible if someone was killed.
While the Queen was pacing, Flip landed in a fountain a few hundred yards away from Slumberland's boundary. His crow landed about 30 feet away from him, on the concrete. Sopping wet and heavy from the water that covered him, Flip began to bring himself into a kneeling position, since standing was very difficult to do at the moment. As he dumped the water out of his slumped-over top hat setting crooked on his head, he got a few of his surroundings. He gazed up in sheer terror as he saw the circle of armed policemen surrounding him. His eyes grew wide and pupils small as he scanned the huge, angry crowd all around him. The police chief assumed what the Queen wanted to do and prepared his police force to do the impulsive thing - shoot him. He watched as his buddy Flap was dragged away in chains, heading for placement down in the deep basement underneath the castle where the Nightmare was formerly kept behind locked doors.
Flip was frozen in fear. He could only kneel on all fours chuckling nervously as the police chief made the most frightful movement he had seen yet. The chief stepped inward towards the center of the circle, allowing all the other members of the force to hear his commands and see his bayonet move to the commands. He thrust his bayonet into the air expertly. "OFFICERS," he barked. "READY WEAPONS."
All thirty officers did as commanded and loaded their rifles with bullets. Flip gulped and whirled his head around as he witnessed EVERY policeman putting a bullet in his gun.
"AIM," the man shouted. The policemen all raised their guns and aimed at him as they cocked their weapons. Flip knew that this was serious business and something he might actually not live through. The fear in his paralyzed body rose up quickly into his throat, like thermometer mercury put into scalding water. He became desperate, glancing around speedily for a possible escape route. He could feel his fear surfacing. Within seconds, Flip was begging for mercy. This was the rarest sight in Slumberland, only happening once before, as he was being rolled back into the gigantic cannon while in the cannonball.
"Please, please don't kill me.... I don't wanna die. C'mon, fellas, I'm awful sorry.... I didn't mean ta do any harm...." With a sorrowful face, he clasped his hands together as he shrunk his kneeling figure as low as it could go. Now his legs and arms were totally wet. His chin was at water's surface, about four inches above the ground. He cringed as he looked up at the chief's face. The stoic expression was beginning to soften a bit. Unfortunately, the weapons were still aimed. Flip could hear the blaring of ambulance sirens as a woman shrieked at the sight of a crumpled man being loaded into the vehicle for treatment. As he watched the chief's face, the stern man's expression turned right back to stoic again, then to an angry gaze. The officer's bayonet quivered slightly as his hand clenched the handle tighter. He turned his head for a moment to glance back at the crowds formed behind him and the other policemen. "You may not want to see this, folks," the chief told them.
Flip knew at that moment that his begging from before would not save him from being killed. He was going to die today, right now. A new thought entered his mind; he would die now, knowing that the last thing he ever did was hurt and maim innocent people. Most certainly he would not enter a happy place afterwards. This thought was too heavy for him to hold inside of him. "OH, PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!! I DON'T WANT THE LAST THING I EVER DO IN MY LIFE TO BE HURTING PEOPLE!!! PLEASE!! LET ME MAKE UP FOR THE GRIEF AND ANGER I'VE CAUSED!!!! I JUST CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS!!!" His head drooped. "Please.... " He cried openly now, letting the tears flow like flooded streams. "I'm so sorry, sir," he mumbled apologetically to the chief. He looked at the circle of people around him. "I'm sorry, everyone, I really am."
He covered his head with his hands and buried his face in the water, sobbing and heaving all the while. It was the ultimate low point for him, both literally and figuratively. The people in the crowd began murmuring amongst themselves. With ears still above water, Flip overheard a woman say, "He seems sincere." A few others were discussing execution as the wrong choice for him. Many people were pitying him! It was a good sign. He waited for what seemed like hours, still cringing and shivering in the water and allowing hismouth to stay above water,tucked into his chest,so that he could breathe. Try as he could, it was impossible to suffocate himself.
After a minute or so, for what seemed like hours to Flip, the chief made a command. "LOWER YOUR WEAPONS." Flip removed his hands from his head and looked up from his low vantage point to see all the policemen lowering their guns. However, the chief stepped closer towards him. Flip watched him the whole time, curious as to what he was going to do. The chief came right up beside him and Flip could hear the metallic clicking of handcuffs. As Flip knelt there,he put his hands behind his back, for he knew to obey. Flip sighed out of pure relief as the cuffs were clicked onto his wrists. With a tug on his arm from the chief, Flip rose slowly out of the water and began to walk where the man was leading him. The crowd made a wide gap so that Flip and the chief could go through to the waiting paddy wagon.
Meanwhile, Nemo and Camille had made the list. Both smiled childishly at each other as they reviewed the small number of options. "Well, Nemo, we're obviously not very bright. We couldn't even think of anything to fill up a quarter of the page." She giggled at the paper. Nemo chuckled along too. Her laugh was contagious. He loved it. She giggled again. He kept laughing but only because she kept laughing too. Soon he wondered just what she was laughing at.
"What are you laughing at? I know it's not what we were laughing at before."
"Nemo, I'll get you some better clothes. I just realized that you have a pizza stain right down the center of your t-shirt, hehe." She walked into the walk-in closet and pulled out some better-looking clothes. It looked like a military officer's uniform. As she plucked them off of their hangers and handed them to Nemo, the boy looked at her slightly confused.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"Why do you have boys' clothes in your room?"
"Oh, hehe, I was very anxious to see you again and anticipated your arrival by having clothes made for you. I hope they fit. I only assumed your... dimensions." She giggled playfully. Nemo laughed along.
"Well, I'll try these on." He got up off the bed, slipped into the bathroom next door, and came out a few moments later, looking great in the clothes.
"You look wonderful, Nemo! That outfit suits you!" They smiled warmly at each other.
Suddenly, the phone next to the bed rang. Camille stopped admiring Nemo to answer the phone. Nemo could only hear her end of the conversation. "Hello.... Oh, that is great! .... Where is it located? .... Nemo and I will be there immediately.... Goodbye."
She put the phone back on the hook as Nemo inquired in her with his expressive brown eyes. Camille knew what he wanted. "That was the police chief. They have apprehended Flip near the northern border of Slumberland. We must go there to decide his fate."
Professor Genius glanced at his pocket watch for the 97th time as he nervously removed his tall, slightly bent top hat, rubbed his bald head, and replaced his hat again.
"Oh, I am so late! I hope Nemo doesn't mind too much." He looked out the window of the helicopter at the vast stretches of Slumberland. A huge crowd forming a circle around a fountain immediately caught his eye. "What happened down there?" he asked a female passenger to his left.
"I heard over the radio that a big arrest was made down there today."
"Oh my goodness, an arrest of who?"
"I'm not sure...."
The Professor hoped to heaven that Nemo wasn't hanging around Flip. If he had been, Flip could blame Nemo for whatever had happened. Besides, Flip was the only one that could've gotten arrested....
Nemo and Camille headed out via antelope-buggy to where Flip had been flying away from the incident. After a few miles of going out of the main square of town, the pair spotted a crowd and knew that this must've been where Flip was apprehended. They then were certain that the place was here when they saw the police chief approaching with the wet, cringing figure of Flip.
"Good evening, Queen Camille."
"Good evening, Mortimus."
The police chief signaled to his prisoner. "What shall be done with him?" Flip cringed at the possible outcomes of this conversation. He bowed his head sorrowfully, not bearing to look up into Nemo's eyes. He was right there next to Camille, quite official-looking in his royal clothing.
"How did this arrest allow all these citizens to gather about?" The Queen inquired.
"He fell out of the sky and many, including the police force, estimated on where he would fall and made a circle around the spot. I prepared the force to shoot him, but decided otherwise." The police chief anticipated the Queen's next words and hoped that they were kind. He sighed quietly as Camille smiled and continued speaking in official tone.
"It is fortunate that he was not executed. I have other plans for him." Flip gulped so loud that even the Queen and Nemo heard it. She continued her instructions. "But, for now, take him to jail."