(After returning the stolen Shen Gong Wu to the Xiaolin Temple, we come back to the base and I return to my workshop to do some brainstorming)
Me: Let's see, which story should I update next?
(I hear a knock on the door)
Me: Come in.
Luna: (Enters with Tinker Bell and Zarina) Do you have a minute to talk?
Me: Luna, Tink, Zarina. I was just doing some brainstorming. What is it you want?
Zarina: We heard about what happened at the train yard from Rocket.
Me: Oh, he told you?
Tinker Bell: Yeah. It's not like Chase to hire someone like Ultron.
Me: You're right.
Luna: Hey, Leo and I are about to head out for a few minutes. Care to join us?
Me: Why not? I could use some leisure time away from the base. Besides, someone's got to post this new chapter.
Leoladdin
Chapter 4: Leo Arrested
After making their getaway at the marketplace, Leo climbs to the roofs and helps Dawn up to join him and Chimchar.
"Almost there." Leo told her as he got off the ledge. Dawn gets off the ledge, but loses her balance. Thankfully, Leo was there to catch her. They look in each other's eyes for a moment before Dawn speaks up.
"I want to thank you for stopping that man." Dawn thanked him, remembering what he did to help her.
"Uh, forget it." Leo replied as he went over to Chimchar, who gave him a pole. "So, uh, this is your first time in the marketplace, huh?" He asked her as he pole-vaulted to another building with the flame-tailed chimp hanging on.
"Is it that obvious?" Dawn asked.
"Well, you do kind of stand out." Leo replied, staring at Dawn dreamily for a moment before snapping back to reality. "I mean, uh, you don't seem to know how dangerous Toon Agrabah can be." He lowers a long wood plank to make a bridge for Dawn, only to see her pole-vault right over him just as he leans down to adjust it.
"I'm a fast learner." Dawn told him as she tossed him the pole she used. Leo stared in surprise while Chimchar's jaw dropped.
"Right." Leo said as he gave the pole to Chimchar, who looks at the pole then at him and Dawn with a frown.
"Come on, this way." Leo directed as he led her up the rubble-littered stairs of a building, dodging the planks and beams along the way. "Whoa, watch your head there. Be careful."
"Is this where you live?" Dawn asked about his place.
"Yep, just me and Chimchar. Come and go as we please." Leo told her.
"Fabulous." Dawn commented with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well, it's not much…" Leo began as he pulled back the curtain to reveal the view of the place at in front of the setting sun. "…but it's got a great view. Palace looks pretty amazing, huh?" Dawn looks at the view of the palace and her look of amazement quickly turns into one of worry.
"Oh, it's wonderful." Dawn complimented as she turned away and sat down.
"I wonder what it would be like to live there, to have servant and valets…" Leo rambled.
"Oh, sure; people who tell you where to go or how to dress." Dawn sighed.
"It's better than here; always scraping for food and ducking the guards." Leo said.
"You're not free to make your own choices." Dawn said.
"Sometimes you feel so…"
"You're just…"
"Trapped." Leo and Dawn said simultaneously. They look at each other, realizing the two of them are perfect for one another. Leo then noticed himself in dreamland and breaks the look.
"So, where're you from?" Leo asked as he takes the apple from Chimchar and rolls it down his arm into Dawn's hands.
"What does it matter? I ran away and I am not going back." Dawn replied as Leo took a bite of his apple.
"Really? How come?" Leo asked as he gave his bitten apple to Chimchar, who scowls in disgust. Leo walks over and sits next to Dawn.
"My father's forcing me to get married." Dawn answered.
"That's… that's awful." Leo said astounded. Chimchar reaches over, intending to take the apple from Dawn, but Leo notices. "Chimchar!" the flame-tailed chimp races up to a higher point, screeching and complaining along the way.
"What?" Dawn asked.
"Uh, Chimchar says, uh… that's not fair." Leo told her, puzzling the Fire-Type.
"Oh, did he?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, of course." Leo replied.
"And does Chimchar have anything else to say?" Dawn asked.
"Well, uh, he wishes there was something he could do to help." Leo answered.
"Oh, boy." Chimchar groaned and assumed a stance reminiscent to the Thinker.
"Hmm, tell him that's very sweet." Dawn told him. The two start getting closer and closer. Leo leans in to kiss her, but was cut off by Cliff's voice.
"Found you!" Cliff shouted.
"They're after me!" Leo and Dawn shouted in unison and look at each other. "They're after you?" The guards then slice their way through the beams.
"My father must've sent them to…" Dawn said with worry before Leo cut her off.
"Do you trust me?" Leo asked.
"What?" Dawn gasped.
"Do you trust me?" Leo repeated, holding out his hand.
"Yes." Dawn replied quietly as she took Leo's hand.
"Then jump!" Leo shouted as the trio leapt from the building and fell through a hole in the roof of another building and land in a pile of salt. They attempt to escape, but their exit is blocked by Nappa.
"We sure have a habit of running into each other, don't we, street rat?" Nappa growled before Chimchar pulls his turban over his head like before, giving Leo the chance to elbow him in the stomach and escape his grip.
"Run!" Leo shouted as he and Dawn make their escape, but the exit is blocked by the other guards. "Go! Get out of here!" Nappa manages to snatch Chimchar off of his head and throw him into a vase. Just as Leo and Dawn run past, Nappa grabs Leo by the vest.
"It's the dungeon for you, boy." Nappa informed him as he tossed the street rat to the others. Kevin and Doofenshmirtz grab him by the arms.
"Hey, get off of me!" Leo shouted as he struggled to break free.
"Let him go!" Dawn demanded.
"Well, look what we have here, fellas. A street mouse!" Nappa told his men as he throws her down. He and the guards laugh while Leo looks on. Dawn stands up.
"Unhand him, by order of the princess." Dawn commanded them as she pulls down the hood of her cloak. Upon noticing the princess, the guards stop and bow, forcing Leo to bow as well.
"Princess Dawn." Nappa greeted.
"The princess?" Leo asked in complete surprise, looking up.
"The princess?" Chimchar chittered, peeking out from the vase.
"What are you doing outside the palace? And with this street rat?" Nappa asked with concern.
"That's not your concern. Do as I command. Release him!" Dawn commanded.
"Well, I'd be happy to, princess, except my orders come from Murdoc. You'll have to take it up with him." Nappa requested as the guards drag Leo out, bowing as they go.
"Believe me, I will." Dawn replied, looking really upset.
Inside the palace, Murdoc is coming out of his hidden chambers. He carefully slides the door shut, but Dawn storms in before he gets the chance to close it.
"Murdoc?" Dawn looked around for the advisor.
"Oh, uh, princess." Murdoc hastily turns around and slams the door shut, unintentionally pinning Chicken inside the frame.
"Awk! Murdoc, I'm stuck!" Chicken whispered loud enough for Murdoc to hear his warning, but he was ignored.
"How may I be of service to you?" Murdoc asked as he spreads out his cape, hiding the door.
"The guards just took a boy from the market, on your orders." Dawn told Murdoc.
"Your father's charged me with keeping peace in Toon Agrabah. The boy was a criminal." Murdoc replied.
"And what was his crime, exactly?" Dawn demanded.
"I can't breathe, Murdoc!" Chicken wheezed from the door.
"Why, kidnapping the princess, of course." Murdoc answered the princess' question.
"Murdoc, if you could just…" Chicken demanded, but was met with a kick back inside the door as it slams shut. "OW, that hurt!"
"He would never kidnap me! I ran away!" Dawn replied.
"Oh, dear! How frightfully upsetting. If only I had known sooner." Murdoc sighed somberly.
"What do you mean by that?" Dawn asked with concern.
"This may come as a shock to you, but the boy's sentence is already being carried out." Murdoc informed her.
"What sentence?" Dawn asked. It was with the most sinister tone that Murdoc gave his answer.
"Exile…" He told her. Dawn gasped. "…To the farthest reaches of the desert."
"No!" Dawn whispered as she collapsed to the floor.
"I am exceedingly sorry, princess." Murdoc humbly apologized.
"How could you?" Dawn asked him with anger in her voice as she runs out of the room crying. Chicken finally manages to make it through the door. He climbs up Murdoc's cape and perches on his shoulder, coughing.
"So, how'd it go?" Chicken asked.
"I think she took it rather well." Murdoc replied as he and Chicken smile sinisterly.
Outside in the palace garden, Dawn is crying over the fact that Leo is about to be exiled. She is approached by her lion, Regulus. The lion comforts her.
"It's all my fault, Regulus." Dawn sobbed as she wiped away the tears with her hand. "I didn't even know his name." Dawn hugged Regulus, still sobbing.
(Leo, Luna and I came out of a movie theater in Gotham after watching Batman V Superman)
Leo: Yahoo! What a movie!
Me: Yeah! I never imagined Batman and Superman battling it out.
Luna: It's a shame Superman died in the movie. I always looked up to him.
Leo: Yeah, that part almost put me to tears.
(A bunch of police cars zoom right past us)
Luna: What's with all of those police cars?
Leo: Beats me.
(I notice Commissioner Gordon about to enter his patrol car)
Me: Let's ask him. Hey, wait!
Gordon: What do you want?
Leo: What's going on? Where are those police cars going?
Gordon: The officers in the Diamond District got word of a murder in the Royal Hotel. I'm heading there to meet with them now.
(Gordon drives off, leaving the three of us alone)
Luna: A murder?
Leo: That doesn't sound good.
Me: I agree. You two need to get back to the studio.
Leo: But how do we…?
Me: I made arrangements for Fox and Falco to pick you up. In the meantime, stay here. This is for your own safety.
Luna: Where are you going?
Me: Where else? I'm heading to the hotel to have a look at the scene. You readers may RRF if you choose. Archer out.