30 Worlds: Royal Megaforce, Episode XXIX: "Balance of the Crane"

CHAPTER ONE

Note from the Editor: The following personal journal entry was declassified by Scarlett Army Intelligence. Some portions may have been redacted for security and privacy purposes.

My name is Thomas Magnum. I am a former member of U.S. Navy Intelligence, but after my unit was captured in Afghanistan and held as prisoners of war, I decided that a change of pace was in order.

So, I decided to become a private investigator after leaving the service to return to civilian life. In order to supplement my...somewhat meager...income from being a private eye (and to recover losses from a particularly nasty divorce), I accepted an offer to become the live-in security consultant for New York Times best-selling author Robin Masters. This was at his request, in return for my old unit letting him embed with us while in Afghanistan and letting him use some of our experiences as inspiration for his novels.

It went on like this for nearly a year, under the close supervision of Juliet Higgins, Mr. Masters' majordomo and a disavowed former MI6 agent. I went on cases with my friends T.C. and Rick, running away from Mr. Masters' Dobermans Zeus and Apollo, and so on.

That was, however, until Higgins told me about a kidnapping case that would change my life forever...

Unaligned World of NCIS

The Estate of Robin Masters (a/k/a "Robin's Nest")

North Shore, Oahu Island, Hawaii

Magnum heard a knock on the door of the guest house he lived in on the Masters Estate and stirred in his bed. A familiar British-accented voice came from the other side of the door. "Magnum, come on and wake up!" Higgins said.

After throwing on a T-shirt and shorts, Magnum opened the door and saw Higgins—minus the dogs Zeus and Apollo, who would normally be with Higgins on a walk around the estate that time of the morning. "Higgins, do you have any idea what time it is?" Magnum asked groggily.

"Yes, and I do apologize for interrupting your so-called 'beauty sleep,' but wake up and get dressed," Higgins said. "I received a call from a pair of clients who want your help on a case." "What kind of case?" Magnum asked.

"A kidnapping case," Higgins said as Magnum let Higgins into the guest house. "A pair of entrepreneurs from the mainland—who also conduct business here on the islands on occasion—need your help to find their children. They claim that money is no object and that only the safety of their children is of supreme importance. They also said that they were on their way from Inouye Airport and they would get here within the hour. Just enough time for you to take a shower, get dressed and call T.C. and Rick over here. I'm quite sure you might need their help."

As soon as Magnum had taken a shower and got dressed for the day, he did indeed call both of his best friends from the Afghanistan ordeal over to the guest house. Theodore Calvin (or "T.C.") shook his head. "Sounds like another dangerous one, Magnum. I'm out," he said. "Me too," Orville Wright (or "Rick" as he preferred to introduce himself) added, nodding his head in agreement with T.C.'s statement.

"Guys, the clients told Higgins that they are willing to pay whatever it takes to get their kids back. Imagine it: all three of us set for life!" Magnum said. "I can imagine quite a lot," Rick said. "All right, Magnum. I'm in if T.C. is in."

With that, both Magnum's and Rick's heads turned to T.C., who gave an exasperated sigh. "My helicopter does need some serious repairs after that last escapade you roped me into, Magnum," T.C. said. "Very well."

Meanwhile, on a long and winding road leaving Honolulu's airport for the Masters estate, William was at the wheel of of his silver Jeep Grand Cherokee—suitably redecorated with Hawaii license plates—with Sofia in the forward passenger's seat. Johnny and Daniel were in the back passenger seats.

"Are you sure this Thomas Magnum character is as good as he says it is?" Johnny asked, referring to the claims made by Magnum in the data files provided by Higgins to the Enterprise. "As good...if not even more so," William said.

William leaned over and looked at the Jeep's GPS display. On it, the green arrow indicating the Jeep was closing towards their destination. As the Jeep pulled up to an intercom terminal in front of the gate to the Masters Estate, William could see two Doberman Pinschers whom he knew to be Zeus and Apollo.

William tapped the intercom code he had been given by Juliet Higgins into the keypad. "Hello?" Higgins' voice said. "Ms. Higgins, this is King William and Queen Sofia," William said. "We have John Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso with us."

"On our way," Higgins said. William got out of the Jeep and made his way to the gate, where Zeus growled...at least as far as Johnny and Daniel could understand. William and Sofia, though, could hear Zeus say, "That's far enough until Juliet gives you the all-clear."

William stopped and held up his hands in a gesture of compliance. "It's okay, Zeus," William said. "We're here to see Juliet."

"You can understand us?" Apollo said as Sofia got out of the Jeep and approached where William stood. "We both can, Apollo," Sofia said, reaching under her tank-top to reveal her Amulet of Avalor; while William unbuttoned his sport jacket just enough to reveal his Amulet of Astris.

"It is King William and Queen Sofia," Apollo said, playfully swinging his paw at Zeus. "Okay, you were right...for once," Zeus said. "But still, I must ask that you remain where you are until Juliet arrives."

"Of course, Zeus. This is your home, after all," William said. And so, William stood looking at Zeus and Apollo until Higgins led Magnum, T.C. and Rick up to the estate gate. William gestured for Johnny and Daniel to step forward. "Thomas Magnum, these are your clients: John Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso," Higgins said.

William stood next to Johnny, while Sofia stood next to Daniel. "Mr. Magnum, I'm William Bellisario, business manager for Mr. Lawrence, who is the owner of the nationally-renowned chain of karate schools known as Cobra Kai," William said. "My counterpart is Sofia Larson."

Sofia spoke up. "I am the business manager for Daniel LaRusso, who runs LaRusso Auto—a chain of luxury automobile dealerships throughout the Western United States," Sofia said. "As we told Ms. Higgins, our clients put together have enough money that any individual who can help recover their children safely will be well taken care of for the rest of their lives."

Johnny and Daniel stepped forward. "Mr. Magnum, we need your help," Johnny said. "Ms. Higgins told us about your case records. That's why we came to you for assistance," Daniel said. "You're the only one we can count on."

Magnum smiled at Johnny and Daniel. "Mr. LaRusso, Mr. Lawrence, I'll take the job if I get paid $100 a day plus expenses," he said. Johnny turned to Daniel and mouthed, "Sounds reasonable." Daniel responded in kind, mouthing "Agreed."

Johnny then turned back to face Magnum and extended his hand. "Mr. Magnum, you have yourself a deal," Johnny said. Magnum shook Johnny's hand.

::TBC::

Author's Note: As I began writing this story, I realized (to my horror) that William and the crew of the Enterprise have only been to 25 of the 30 worlds. I intend to rectify that by making the final story, which I currently have titled Masters of the Ultimate Power, be the longest story I've ever written. Each of the remaining five worlds will have a "book" of five to ten chapters in length, with the final "book" (detailing the final battle with the A.I.C. and its aftermath) being an additional ten chapters. If you have any suggestions for which worlds to visit, please contact me with a PM (please put "World Suggestion" followed by the property name [e.g. "World Suggestion: Adventure Time"] in the subject line).