Disclaimer: I don't own WordGirl this is a fanfiction. I do not endorse the encyclopedia Britannica nor is this a commentary of their service. This is fanfiction.
A/N: Sorry if this chapter sounds like a broken record, no one responded to my forum post so I just repeated whatever I thought might have been missed in other chapters. This chapter was still pretty fun to write. I hope it is enjoyed. As for those of you reading this as it was updating, school starts back up for me on Wednesday so updates might get slow. Please R&R, blessings.
Becky couldn't help but think back on the lectures of her teacher. He would always ramble on and on about how important homework was or that being on time showed good character; as if she didn't know that. Yes, Becky hated being lectured; especially when it wasn't her fault that whatever it was that upset the adult had happened. Listening to Zephyr made her feel much of the same way. She didn't ask to be dragged to this planet, and yet here she was being lectured on the importance of being grateful. Hmph. What made this worse than her teacher's lectures was she still really had to 'go.' But what use was it to argue with him.
"I didn't have to accept you, there were hundreds of other Thesaurians who wanted to house you. But they wouldn't have taken the steps I have to make sure you were comfortable and well educated. I mean, look around this place, do you think I enjoy having my house turned into an Earthling play house?"
WordGirl just crossed her arms in defiance as she slouched down in the kitchen chair. Zephyr remained standing over her waiting for a reply. The two seemed locked in an epic staring contest; the first to look away admitted their defeat and submission to the other. WordGirl felt uneasy under Zephyr's gaze. Even though she was stronger than him and was remaining in the house on her own accord, there was something about him that threatened her. He didn't look like he was carrying any lexinite nor did he act like he stored weapons on his person, yet WordGirl couldn't shake the feeling; though she did start shaking her right foot. Man, did she need to go.
Tyesha had returned to the spaghetti, leaving the two to solve their own dispute. She knew by now that Zephyr wasn't one to back down lightly, and she didn't want anything to do with that. Soon the spaghetti was on the table and Miena had come to share a meal with the household, but the stare-off had yet to end. Tyesha sighed as she sat up at the Earth table; her hard work had been for not.
"Just look at 'em," Miena spoke as she eyed the food. "They're both childish if you ask me." The Storian then pushed her plate away from herself. "I know you're a stupid monkey and all, but seriously, this looks awful."
"It's a dish from the princess' previous home. You know Zephyr wants her as comfortable as possible." Tyesha then gave her food a skeptical look. "But I will agree that it does look strange."
"Strange? It looks like we're about to eat blood covered worms! Uh, I can't believe I'm going to be stuck eating this crap for the next six weeks. I shouldn't have agreed to this job."
"Stop acting like that," Tyesha sent a worried glance in WordGirl's direction. Luckily Miena's words hadn't offended the princess . . . didn't even look like WordGirl was listening to them at all. "We're doing this for the princess, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Miena rolled her eyes as she smiled at the creature before her.
"It means something to me that you guys don't even know her name, some welcoming party you are."
Tyesha gasped at the realization. It was true; the princess had been with them for the better part of the day and they still didn't know her name. Tyesha quickly excused herself from the table and went to her boss' side. He didn't seem to notice her arrival; he was too focused on the now twenty minute staring contest.
"Um, sir?" Tyesha gently tapped her boss' leg.
"What. Is. It?" He never removed his eyes from the angered fidgetiness before him.
"Sir I, well, that is to say we, Miena really, noticed that, considering how late in the day it is and all . . ."
"If you don't get on with it I swear I'll-" Before Zephyr could come up with a witty reply,
"Treat her like dirt? Oh wait you already do that don't you," WordGirl answered for him. "It must be a thing with you because I know I feel shoveled around." It was the first good comeback WordGirl had ever thought up. If the narrator were here he'd congratulate her for sure. Too bad her need for the restroom trumped her victorious feeling. . . No wait, since she had a good comeback, she could now leave this stare-off without feeling like she lost.
WordGirl hopped out of the chair and stomped from the room. Once out of the kitchen, WordGirl dashed off in search of a bathroom.
Zephyr stood with his mouth slightly ajar, watching as WordGirl left. He couldn't believe the nerve of that girl.
"How dare she talk to me like that." He huffed. Miena only grinned in response to the situation, but she didn't want to try her luck by making a comment on the subject. Tyesha, however, was a bit touched by the response. Zephyr continued his rant. "That ungrateful little missy hasn't a reason in the world to be cross with me, and yet she acts like she owes me nothing. Adler would have killed her if I hadn't insisted in bringing her here."
"You didn't even know Adler was after her." Miena said matter of factually, but Zephyr spoke on as if he never heard her.
"I let her into my home, I made everything to fit her fancy, I even fired my entire staff so she could adjust to life here without the discomfort of onlookers."
"I thought you fired the staff to bring out the Earth stuff." Miena began poking at the food. Again Zephyr didn't listen.
"I am giving up every little thing I have left for her, and this is how she wants to repay me?"
"You live in a mansion; how is this the 'little you have left'?"
"No ward of mine is going to treat me like less than who I am. I deserve so much better than this, I'm doing this for her, right? Tyesha help me out."
No response.
"Tyesha?"
The monkey was no longer in the kitchen, in fact, she had left early on in Zephyr's haranguing in search of the princess. Tyesha found the girl stepping out of the downstairs bathroom. At first WordGirl was surprised to see the monkey standing out waiting for her, but she quickly calmed down.
"Did he force you to come looking for me." WordGirl asked dryly.
"Uh, princess?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
WordGirl raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"Zephyr can be rather, brash at times and, well, what you said back there . . . I've been waiting seven years for him to hear that." Tyesha blushed lightly at the shame of wishing ill will to her boss.
"You shouldn't let him treat you like that," WordGirl knelt down to the monkey's level. "It's not right."
"Thank you for your concern, but it really isn't my place to tell him he's wrong." Tyesha lowered her head for a moment. "But that doesn't really matter, I wanted to . . ."
"It does matter," WordGirl lifted the monkey's face to look at her. "You probably do more work than he's ever done. If it wasn't for you his whole house would probably cave in. You deserve to be treated like a valued member."
"I'm happy you'll be ruling Lexicon."
WordGirl sighed as she sat down against the wall. Tyesha could easily tell the princess didn't want to rule; no brainwork needed there. But that was a fact that couldn't be changed.
"Princess, may I have your name?"
". . . WordGirl is what everyone calls me."
"Really?"
"Did, did my real parents," WordGirl sent her empty gaze to the floor. "Have a name for me."
"Emily, but Grammy and Zephyr decided that you would be called by your Earth name instead."
WordGirl laughed a bit at the name 'Grammy.' Maybe Tobey wasn't joking when he said she forced him to call her that. But then again, on a planet full of disregarded children, the Queen was probably like the only grandmother they'd ever had. WordGirl was saddened by this news.
"This planet, Thesauria?" WordGirl patted the ground beside her to get Tyesha to sit. From their position they could see out of a high set window; the storm had grown worse. "Is this where all children are brought?"
"No, just the children most at risk of getting hurt in the war. Once they reach the legal adult age of their home planet they are sent back. Thesauria's a neutral planet and isn't involved in the war, so it's safe here."
"So why does the former Queen of Britannica rule it? And, as a Lexiconian, shouldn't I be scared of her?"
Tyesha breathed out heavily. She looked to WordGirl then back out at the storm.
"I'm not a Storian, so I shouldn't be telling you anything about history." Tyesha admitted.
"You know I'm not going to listen to that Miena girl. Just tell me, I'll keep it a secret. Please, I really need to know about my past." WordGirl's thoughts drifted to Tobey for a moment. Here was his and her history clashing together and causing a war. There were so many unanswered questions.
"Well, I'm not really good at storytelling, but for you princess, I'll try."
"Tell me everything if you can."
"Well, Britannica and Lexicon have been at war for the last 234 years. No one even knows what started the fight anymore, I don't think I ever studied it in school, but my teacher didn't come from Storia so he probably just forgot to mention what started the war or when . . ."
"Not to interrupt you, but maybe that's too much . . ."
"Right, just what pertains to you. Sorry. Well, about eighteen years ago the King of Britannica ordered an attack on the royal family of Lexicon. From what I remember from school, Britannica's king sent his son on the mission. But the mission failed. The prince of Britannica committed treason and warned Lexicon's king before he was killed."
"So my family wasn't killed?"
"Let me finish the story; it's really long. Well, Lexiconian law states that all traitors be killed (Lexiconians hate people who are not true to their home planets). Everyone on Britannica assumed that the prince was killed by Lexicon's government. So Britannica tried another attack on Lexicon eight years later. The king and queen of Lexicon where killed along with their three sons."
"So my parents were murdered?" WordGirl asked the storm beginning to loss its fire. "What about me? A CRA agent took me away?"
"Your father at that time was the chief advisor to the king and captain of the guard. You see, you're not the daughter of the king and queen, you were just betrothed to the eldest son, and Lexicon law states that being promised into the royal family is all that is required to make you an heir. But yes, they were murdered too. . . But back to our queen; when Britannica put more military bases on Storia about seven years ago, they found information that Lexicon's queen had taken pity on the prince for saving her family's life. Lexicon had permitted the prince, or rather banished him to Earth. Well, Britannica's king was advised to have his son killed for the treason he committed. The king agreed and a team was sent to, you know, finish the prince off. Well, the queen of Britannica was so mad at her husband's decision, she left him."
"So, Tobey's da- I mean, Britannica's prince is . . . but the team that went to find him didn't find his family there, right?"
"The prince never had a family."
" . . . but I was sent to Earth, say, three years before he left?"
"I'm not really good at math." Tyesha watched WordGirl run the facts thru her head. The monkey knew this was a lot of information for a child to have to deal with, especially considering the stress she had already been thru today. "Maybe I should stop telling you this and just let Miena finish the story."
"Yes, I think you should." Both Tyesha and WordGirl were shocked to see Zephyr was standing just a few feet away from them. He had a hard expression on his face. Tyesha sank at the sight of it.
WordGirl on the other hand, had enough of Zephyr's rude interruption. Just when she was starting to get some answers, just when things were adding up, he was there to discredit the facts. WordGirl had taken this transfer civilly up till now. She wasn't attacking him or trying to ruin his life, WordGirl was simply attempting to understand her new life. The least he could do was empathize.
"NO! I think we're going to finish our discussion and you're going to butt out of it." WordGirl gave the man a stern look. Tyesha positioned herself behind WordGirl.
Zephyr looked down at the assistant of his; she diverted her eyes, but then quickly looked back up at her boss. In this moment, Tyesha remembered WordGirl's words and took strength in them. She wouldn't disrespect her boss, but she wasn't going to let him treat the princess like this. She had a right to know.
"Sir," Tyesha didn't step out in front of the princess, but she held her ground. "Princess WordGirl needs to know her history sooner or later, and it really isn't a bother to me to . . ."
"I said, enough."
"But sir, her history . . ."
"It's not her history you're telling!" Zephyr took a step forward only to have WordGirl do the same. Her hero instincts were kicking into full gear. There was no way she was going to let this bully treat her new friend this way.
"Leave her alone, Zephyr." WordGirl lifted to match eye level with the man. As she looked into the man's eyes, she didn't see the anger she was expecting. She saw hurt.
"And by what authority have you to tell me how to treat my animal, hmm? I've given up too much to have this opportunity, and I'm not having you mess it up by learning everything wrong!"
"Given up! You don't know anything about giving stuff up!" Becky felt her eyes water a bit as she yelled. "Try having your whole life taken away from you," WordGirl pressed closer to the man, waving her hands to emphasize her points. "Living with the shame that your best friends probably rejects you; just finding out, you love the people who have grown to love you; having your heart broken because . . . because there's nothing you can do to save him. No, I know what giving stuff up means, because I have to live here. Yeah I might get the honor of being princess, but I have to deal with being a lousy hero. . . you have, no idea . . !"
Zephyr's demeanor seemed to diminish and WordGirl lowered herself to the ground slowly. WordGirl covered her face quickly to hide the tears that now flowed freely. Tyesha was surprised by Zephyr's sudden mood change and was unsure of what she should do now. She didn't want to watch the princess cry, so she sent her gaze to the clam evening sky outside the window.
"I didn't say I didn't want you to hear your history," Zephyr spoke delicately. "I just . . .I don't . . ." There was a long pause where only WordGirl's sniffing could be heard.
"The queen of Britannica left her husband because she couldn't stand the sight of the man who killed her son." Zephyr sat down against the wall and waited for the girl to follow suit. "She was so enraged by the events of the war, she wanted to build a planet that could save children from the horrors of it. Thesauria already had a history of housing children, but she made it better. Soon after establishing her new kingdom, she made what has come to be known as High Law. It was an order to protect Mother Earth from the craziness we had created. It was to ensure that children like you would never have to face what Prince Theodore had to."
"I guess, it wasn't that successful huh?" WordGirl wanted to laugh off this entire situation, but her voice came out as a weak whimper.
"No, it's people like Adler who make High Law void. It's people, like us." Zephyr lowered his head. "This war is pointless. It's just a bunch of innocent people dying over nothing."
Silence.
"Was it Adler who killed the prince?" WordGirl felt she knew the answer, but she still needed to hear it. It only made sense. He had killed her family, why not Tobey's too.
"And what do you plan on doing with that information?" Zephyr looked over at the girl.
"I don't know. But, Adler's ruined everything for me. He got me taken away from my parents and killed my real ones, he killed Scoops . . . he's trying to take over Britannica; he's breaking High Law can't we get him arrested?"
"Not that easy. Adler is one of the advisers to the king. He's highly decorated and has helped bring more victories to Britannica than I care to count. Breaking one law to capture you isn't going to get him into too much trouble."
WordGirl couldn't say that Adler was also trying to kill the rightful heir to Britannica, but she felt that would be enough to get him put away. But that meant that Tobey's identity would have to be disclosed . . . which Grammy didn't want. Without Tobey being discovered, there was no way for Adler to be arrested. Oh how this infuriated her.
"He deserves to be punished. He's a liar and a sneak. Trust me, he's broken more than just one law."
"Ah, you're bitter," Zephyr exhaled.
"I am Not. Bitter." WordGirl wouldn't even entertain that idea. She had a right to be angry; Adler was ruining her life. He also killed her biological family before she had a chance to meet them. And now, after hearing this story, she knew Adler was the cause of Tobey's troubles too. How awful it would be when Tobey learned his father was murdered; she knew it was hurting her. WordGirl shook the thought from her head.
"If you're harboring feelings of resentment against Adler, then you're bitter WordGirl." Zephyr didn't look at the princess, he placed his eyes on the window just as Tyesha had done.
"So what if I'm bitter; I have a reason to be."
Zephyr sighed. WordGirl watched as the man seemed to be mulling over his next words. As she watched him, she thought about her history. So much pain in it. She never could have imagined a story like this for her real family. All she had ever known was the story Huggy had made up, and it had always been enough for her. Nothing like this ever happened in her city, and it was all so overwhelming.
"You know," Zephyr finally spoke, as if to someone in the distance, beyond the window. "Maybe I'm bitter too."
Both WordGirl and Tyesha gave Zephyr questioning looks.
"I hate living here. I hate, my life . . .so I can't really tell you how to live yours can I."
"Why don't you go back to Lexicon?" WordGirl asked. "I know I'd go home if I could."
"Because I refused to fight in the war," Zephyr lowered his head. "If you're not willing to kill, then nobody wants you. Not Lexicon, not Britannica. The only decent place that's left is Earth . . ."
"Have you ever been there?"
". . . It was a while ago, but yes I have. And I loved it. I, I was there for a research project but, it all became an obsession for me." Zephyr closed his eyes and just allowed the memories to play out on the backs of his eyelids; WordGirl quietly observing.
o.
"Is that why High Law was made? To protect the safest place for children?"
"Not just that, but to protect something more. Mother Earth is something very precious to everyone. I'm certain you've noticed that, well, for an alien, I'm pretty human."
"I'd have to say the same for WordGirl." Steven's mind was spinning on what the narrator had told him. But there wasn't much time to think it all through. Though the narrator didn't have all the details of WordGirl and Tobey's pasts, he knew enough to get Steven to understand the severity behind Adler's threats. "So, all you aliens are just ex-Earthlings who aren't supposed to mess with the 'home' planet, but Adler wants to kill the princess of Lexicon, who happens to be WordGirl?"
"Yep."
"And Tobey might be an alien, so Huggy just took him away too?"
"Most likely."
"Great, now that that's settled," Steven scoffed. "How are we going to stop Adler?"
"If you could see me right now, I'd be shrugging." The narrator looked at the screens that surrounded him. His eyes were becoming dry from the constant monitor watching and lack of sleep. But he couldn't rest now. Even though he was strictly forbidden to disclose Adler's whereabouts to Steven, the narrator wanted to keep an eye on the Britannican.
Steven was now heading back out to his van. He needed to find his henchmen; the more eyes looking for Adler the better.
"Hey Narrator!" Steven looked back up to the sky. "Can you at least give me a hint where he is?"
"I already told you . . ."
"Yeah, yeah, High Law. But as long as you don't tell me directly, than you're not in direct violation of the law, right?" Two-Brains smiled at his own criminal genius.
". . . It starts with the letter 'L' and ends with 'ake.'"
Steven was speeding down the road in an instant. His warehouse hideout wasn't too far from here. He'd grab his men and hunt Adler down.
But at the lake house, a very different scene was playing out than what Steven could anticipate. After the children's narrow escape, Adler had turned his anger entirely on Curtis. The assistant had taken all of Adler's frustration in the moment, which could only be expected. Curtis had betrayed Adler, but he had upheld High Law; he wasn't a traitor. Beaten and without resource, Curtis could now only sit in a heap on the floor, awaiting the rest of his punishment. Yet oddly enough, Adler was too frustrated to continue his rampage upon the man, he wanted something else.
Adler had stepped outside quite some time ago and during that time Curtis tried to regain some strength. At any moment Adler might return, angrier than ever. Unfortunately, no amount of resting could undo the blows Curtis had taken. On Adler's reentry into the house, Curtis could do nothing more but hope Adler would leave him alone. And to his amazement, Adler did!
That couldn't be a good sign. Adler was looking too calm for a man who had recently beaten his assistant half to death. . . Adler must have been working on another plan. Curtis knew that was it. Adler wasn't giving up, he really was going to threaten the city. . . and Adler was going to expect him to help. Curtis knew that was why Adler had kept him alive. For whatever sick reason, Adler wanted him; after all the treachery Curtis had done, Adler should have killed him for it unless he saw a way to use it to his benefit.
Screaming? Suddenly Adler's voice echoed throughout the house. Cutis couldn't make out exactly what he was saying, but it couldn't be a positive thing. The shouting began to frighten Curtis. He'd never seen Adler get as mad as he had been on this planet, and with each passing mishap he seemed to become more enraged.
The door to the room Adler had been in could be heard slamming open. Adler's footsteps could be heard coming up the hall to where Curtis lay. The younger man closed his eyes, accepting his own demise . . .waiting . . .waiting . . . shouldn't it have come by now?
Curtis opened his eyes to see Adler standing over him smiling.
"You've always brought me such joy Curtis." The man laughed, but not from happiness. This laugher was a sick kind, and a kind Curtis had never heard bellowed before. It made him feel worse than the beating he had received.
"I know they're watching, Curtis," Adler knelt to his assistant, his grin disgustingly plastered to his face. "And I've never been more ready for this in my life." Adler reached down and pulled Curtis up by the collar of his shirt.
Mustering all his remaining strength, Curtis tried to get to his feet so not to get hurt by Adler. Curtis was then tossed to the wall by Adler and pinned there for the rest of Adler's speech.
"I'm gonna get my revenge on WordGirl, and I'm going to get it on Theodore. I don't care what they do to me, but I want you to help me one last time. You're going to tell everyone, that Adler's heading to the police station. And I think I can trust you to tell the right people Curtis; they're always watching." Adler released his hold on the younger man and then headed for the door. "It was fun working with you Curtis. Perhaps with your loyalty, you'll make a good mission leader yet." Adler was gone.
He limped away from the wall and took hold of some furniture to steady himself. Curtis knew that whatever was going thru Adler's mind was going to spell disaster for this city, and its inhabitants. It was as if the man had snapped.
Curtis could admit that he wasn't proud of everything he'd done in his life, but going against High Law was a step too far. Regardless of if his efforts would go in vain or not, Curtis left the house and swore to himself to help undo the mistakes he had left with this city; the mistake of helping Adler.
And though this situation was far from what Steven could anticipate, it was clearly displayed for the narrator. Once Adler had begun yelling, the narrator took his attention away from Steven to watch.
"Forget your henchmen," the narrator instructed the mousy villain. "Adler's leaving the lake house!"
"What? Where's he going?" Steven turned the van toward the lake. He had no idea which house the villain was in, but he had to try and get there before Adler got too far along.
"I can't say."
"Of course not. He's gonna get away." Steven stressed. The narrator thought for a moment.
"Hey, if you can get Curtis to tell you everything, than you could bust Adler without much infringement to law."
"And this Curtis fellow is at the lake house too?"
"It's a definite maybe."
Steven began his search of the lake. It took two go-arounds, but he finally spotted the object of his search. A man's body was laying, passed out by the bank of the shore. Steven parked the van on the road and came down to the man's assistance.
"Hey, Curtis!" Steven dropped to help the man up. "You okay? You've got to help me. Can you tell me anything about Adler . . ? Do you, need a doctor?" This individual looked horrible, it was amazing he had made it outside at all.
Steven only received a weak cough as a reply. Nothing very useful right now. Steven glanced around. There were several homes built around this lake, and, with it now being morning, soon people would be waking up. Steven knew he needed to get out of sight; it wouldn't look to good if Dr. Two-Brains was running around.
Steven, despite the pain it caused his own wound, wrapped an arm around Curtis and helped him up. The two staggered back to the vehicle where Curtis was placed on the passenger's side.
"Please, I know you've had a rough night," Steven pleaded with the man knowing this might be the only hope left for WordGirl and Tobey now. "But Adler has to be stopped before more people get hurt."
"The police . . ." It pained Curtis to speak.
"Okay . . ? You have to tell me more than that!" Steven was lightly reprimanded by the narrator for his harsh tone. Steven sighed. He knew his abrasive attitude would do nothing to help the situation, but he felt aggravated all the same. With Adler moving out again, it was only a matter of time before another gun was pulled or child kidnaped.
"Adler, wants to threaten, the city. WordGirl will come back, for the city."
Steven looked up to the narrator; fear and urgency in his gaze.
"There's nothing he can do to the whole city," the narrator assured. "Curtis, please, you have to be more specific."
"He'll do it!" Anger fueled Curtis to respond. "He'll do it, he'll do it. Adler, if it kills him, he'll find . . . something."
"No," the narrator retorted. "Please, tell us exactly where he's going . . ."
"The Police station."
Steven felt his heart skip a beat.
"Why?" Steven couldn't contain the panic in his voice. "What does he want there? They'll catch him and he can't be king."
"He knows those kids are there and, WordGirl'll come back for them. This isn't just about being king for him . . . now that I'm thinking about it; I don't think it ever was." Curtis then closed his eyes. He could finally rest; someone knew of the danger.
"What does he mean?" Steven again turned to the narrator. "You said if he got the princess he'd be king. He can't get her this way!"
"Well," the narrator hesitated for a moment. "Curtis is right; WordGirl would come back for them." Steven ran back to the driver's side of the van ignoring the rest of the narrator's response. "And now that Curtis mentions it, maybe Adler doesn't want to be king just to rule. I mean, WordGirl's dad did kinda kill Adler's, so, this is probably more based on revenge than becoming king. To be honest, he might only want to be king just to retaliate against someone who's already dead."
"You know, I don't even care anymore; just how are we going to stop him? I mean, you can't tell me anything, this guy's passed out, WordGirl left for Lexicon and Adler apparently has a way to attack the police station! It's like, there's nothing we can do except hope to God that Adler gets bored and heads home."
Steven fiddled in his pocket in search for the key. Once he found it he put it in the ignition. The van revved up for a few seconds, but then died out with a low clunk. Steven tried again to no avail; the fuel gage read 'empty.'
"And now, my van is out of gas. It never runs out when I'm doing something illegal, but, lo and behold, the one day I wish to help humanity, it runs out of gas! Perfect!" The man dropped his head down only to smack it into the steering wheel. "OWW!"
The narrator shook his head at Steven's desperation.
"You know, you could always take the bus."
"OH, because no one's going to call the police if Two-Brains hops on the bus."
"Well, at least you get a free ride to the station." The narrator realized how lame that joke was and how inappropriate for a moment like this, but before he had time to apologize the door to the narrator's work station suddenly burst open. The narrator hardily had time to face the intruder when he felt his arms grabbed by his campus' security. Mr. Comte entered the room and stood before his rebellious student.
"I told you to 'go back to your room,'" The elderly man frowned and took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, but for the sake of the school, and Britannica, you're going to have to be exterminated."
"Exterminated? Don't you mean 'expelled?'" The narrator raised an eyebrow at his captives.
"No, I don't." Mr. Comte waved for security to remove the narrator from his station. The narrator barely had time to shake his stunned revulsion,
"Wait!" The narrator yelled to Mr. Comte's complete surprise. "I'm not a citizen to Britannica . . ."
"Narrator?" Steven could no longer hear the narrator's cries."Hey, are you up there?" Steven was alone. He wasn't certain what had taken place on the narrator's end, but now wasn't the time to waste contemplating it; he needed to get to the station before Adler did, but how?