Chapter Four: Attack of the Dolls!

Finding one of the boats that was used to carry passengers through the attraction was easy. Filing into it as the ride mysteriously started up on its own was even easier. And that detail made Finn very nervous. "Anyone else getting any second chances here?"

"Thought it was just me." Maybeck muttered as he pulled his war-hammer out of its carrier, nervously eyeing the dolls that were singing about friendship throughout the world.

Willa pulled something up on her watch, scanning it quickly. "They're supposed to sing and dance about friendship. Says here that each room is represents a different culture, kingdom, nation. Whatever word you want to use. The biggest sun is in the Central American room, the Mayan Sun."

"Then that's were we're hea..." Before Finn could semi-confidently finish his sentence, a loud crack rented the air. All five heads snapped backwards to see that the dolls were walking off of their platforms and were marching straight to them. Finn didn't wait, a shout escaping him. "Shield! Now!"

"What shield?!" Philby demanded, even as a blue force field appeared over Finn's arm.

Maybeck gave Finn a withering look, already smashing dolls with his hammer. "Really!? You get a sword and a force field!?"

Finn groaned, before yelling at his watch. "Bigger than that! I need it to cover all of us!" The force field responded instantly, growing in size until it covered the top half of the boat. They're relief for halting the progress of the aggressive dolls only lasted until they entered the next room.

With an ear-splintering crack, the bottom of the boat was torn open as the dolls attacked them from underneath. Finn yanked his sword out, stabbing frantically at the dolls. One of them managed to slip past the onslaught of weapons that were slashing frantically at them, sinking its teeth into Philby's leg. Philby yelped as he threw one of his chemical mixes at the doll, turning it into an ice sculpture. "There's too many of them!"

Willa slashed her knife, parrying with a doll that was carrying a small doll sized saber, glancing briefly behind her. "We're about to enter the Central American room!"

Charlene shot an arrow, forcing one of the dolls to retreat, for a second. "Willa! We need a plan here!"

"Why are you yelling at me?!" Willa snapped, kicking another doll squarely in the chin.

"You're the strategist!" Maybeck snarled as he slammed his hammer into another doll.

Finn scrambled backwards, his mind whirling. "Everyone! Stand back to back!" There was a brief threat of the already sinking boat tipping over as they scrambled into position. "There's got to be a way to defeat them! We were chosen for a reason... think!"

Silence fell as they continued battling the relentless dolls. Willa started to hum the song that was playing, and eventually Charlene joined in with the lyrics. Finn found himself humming along as well, noting that the song was simple and way too easy to get stuck in one's head. As he listened to the song, one line popped out at him. A smile means friendship to everyone. "Smile."

"What? Have you lost yet? Maybeck questioned him, even as he slammed his hammer down on a doll that was lunging at Philby.

"No!" Finn yelled, before quickly taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Listen to the song. It mentions that a smile means friendship to everyone. We have to smile at the dolls!" With that explanation, Finn forced a smile that could almost pass as a grimace onto his face. Immediately the dolls stopped attacking him, and even smiled back.

Grimacing, the others followed suit, smiling broadly at the dolls. As they pulled into the Central American room. Finn scanned the far wall, spotting the sun there...only there were no clues anywhere on it. Frustration surged through him as he stared at the smiling sun, due to how sure he was that the first clue would be there.

Dill pressed his hands onto Finn's ankles, holding them down as he worked on his sit-ups. "So let me get this straight... the other night you get attacked by pirates with laser guns, and then last night you were attacked by dolls?!"

Finn struggled to sit up, glaring at his best friend. "Speak just a little louder. I don't think the entire school heard."

"Sorry." Dill ducked his head, a scowl briefly twisting his features.

Finn allowed himself to fall backwards, the easiest part of doing a sit-up. "We're taking a break tonight. We need our sleep and we need a new game plan. Our current one failed miserly."

Dill hummed, even as soft footsteps approached them. "Hey, Coach says I can join you two for today since my partner is absent."

Finn froze, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he looked up at Amanda. "Oh...okay..."

Dill rolled his eyes skyward, before nodding to a spot next to him. "Finn's almost done. Then you can help him hold my feet down while I go."

"Okay." Amanda paused, eyeing the two of them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No." "Yes."

Amanda snorted, a hand darting up to cover her mouth. "Well? Which is it? Am I interrupting or not?"

Dill shook his head furiously, his expression grim. "You're interrupting but we ain't gonna tell you what it is that you're interrupting."

Finn shook his head at his friend's behavior, even as he spoke over him. "You're not interrupting... I'm the leader of the Kingdom Keepers and last night we had one into some trouble. Dill is just lending his ear to me while I rant about it."

Amanda's expression softened, even as she shifted position, wrapping her arms around her legs. "It's been years since I've last been to the Kingdom. How's it faring? The Overtaker's haven't gotten around to destroying everything yet, right?"

Finn shot upwards with such force that Dill tumbled to the ground. "How... You've been to the Kingdom before!?"

"Born there actually. I'm a Fairly." Amanda paused, before taking in a huge breath. "You know...Fairly Human. None of us are over there anymore though. Too dangerous with the Overtakers taking over everything."

A/N: Done! Hmm... I think Amanda is about to join. The reason why Finn mentioned the Kingdom Keepers to her and her told about that part of himself is because of his dream earlier, so far everything that has happened indicates that the dream most likely is something that will be happening sometime in the future. Amanda was in it aiding the KKs, so that must mean that she needs to know about them so that she can aid them if need be.

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SkyTalon