Here's another update! Thusfar, I have about fifteen more ideas for planets, though at least six of them are going into one big montage chapter. So I'm basically saying that the end is drawing near, but fear not! It ain't over yet. :)
AaylaKit: Ha! EPIC LOKI QUOTE BATTLE! I wish I was there. And I thought of you and Ayy as I wrote the "I have an army" bit. I'd have to agree with your favorite line and planet. They mention Niflheim in a deleted Thor scene. There's a Nornheim too. Lots of heims.
Whip-Owl: Dragons. Got it. And yeah, with this one, it's hard to get long chapters because I focus on one subject matter per chapter. My other story, Invasion, has the opposite problem. I find it hard to end chapters because I get so into it.
Ayy Kaim: Asgardian Jedi indeed! That'll be me one day. Ha, I was thinking of Loki as well when I was writing that. I haven't seen you review Invasion for a while. Did you lose interest?
Guest: Wow, thanks!
Tiger of the Storm: Haha obsessions are fun. LOKI! Sorry. Fangirl moment. I couldn't help myself. I had to add the "I have an army" bit.
DarkAngel620: Good question. I was either too lazy to describe that or too eager to post my updates to get into any further detail. XD
Above the Winter Moonlight: Glad you like it! I'm sure a lot of people were thinking of the Hulk at that moment. I know I was! It doesn't take much to make me connect a moment to the Avengers. Or Loki.
Pergjithshme: Yeah, I was pretty lazy with that one. I promise you'll like this one better. I haven't seen the movie, so you'll have to bear with me on that. I honestly just wanted to get the chapter up so I could continue writing Invasion because it's getting really fun to write!
Anakin stepped out of the Portal, half-expecting to tumble or fall unconscious. This time, though, it was like stepping from one world into another. The other three had the same experience.
"Why do I get the funny feeling that I'm in a storybook?" Kit asked, sounding puzzled and suspicious at the same time.
"I CAN'T SLEEP!" a voice shouted, interrupting anyone who planned to comment on Kit's remark. A beautiful girl dressed in a princess-style gown strolled up to them. "I've been tossing and turning all night! I even tried counting sheep!"
"That's a common misconception," Obi-Wan said. "Counting sheep does nothing to help you sleep." He could not keep the amusement out of his voice.
"Whatever!" the girl yelled. "I just can't seem to fall asleep!" She grabbed Anakin's arms. "Help me."
"How do you expect me to do that?" he demanded.
"I don't know. Just do something!"
At that same moment, a big guy in his underwear paraded by. "Check out my gorgeous new robes!" he gushed.
Anakin awkwardly covered his apprentice's eyes. Kit coughed while Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably.
"Ignore the Emperor and his ravishing new look," the girl said flippantly. "Help me with my problem!"
"I don't know what to tell you," Anakin said helplessly. "I've pulled lots of all-nighters. Sometimes, you just have to go without sleep. It happens."
"Maybe it's because I'm in a strange bed," the girl said thoughtfully.
"That could be possible," Obi-Wan agreed.
"I've never had problems sleeping in different beds before, though. That can't be it…" She paused. "Come to my room. Maybe you can check my mattress or something."
"All right," Kit said. When she wasn't looking, he made a "she's crazy" gesture. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka all agreed. The Emperor watched them disinterestedly, then marched away, strutting his stuff.
They encountered many things on their journey to the girl's room. They saw a gingerbread man run by. Yes, it was running. "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" it called over its shoulder. Kit used the Force to lift it up. A bunch of people who were chasing it suddenly stopped as it rose into the air. When they saw that it had finally stopped running, they cheered.
The next thing they saw was a little chicken screaming its head off. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" it shouted. The Jedi glanced at the sky. Considering the fact that the planet was entirely unfamiliar and they had experienced a variety of things since they first stepped into the Portal, it was entirely possible that the sky could indeed fall. It wouldn't surprise them. However, the sky stayed where it was. People laughed at the little chicken. Ahsoka felt sorry for it, but Anakin quickly diverted her attention from it by pointing to something else that caught his eye.
Seven little men were marching in a line, singing loud and proud. "High ho, high ho, it's off to work we go!" Kit, for the fun of it, stopped to get their names: Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful, and Doc.
"So they're all personality traits except the leader," Kit remarked.
"Please leave the dwarfs alone," the girl scowled. "I still need my beauty sleep!"
"Fine, fine," Anakin said, pulling Kit away from the seven little men. Reluctantly, Kit followed, only to be distracted again by a gigantic plant that resembled a beanstalk. Anakin followed his friend's gaze and almost fell over in surprise. "What's that?"
"I don't know, but it's huge and green and I think we should climb it," Kit said.
Obi-Wan shrugged. "What have we got to lose? We'll be right back," he assured the girl. "This won't take long."
The girl frowned. "I wouldn't do that…"
The Jedi used their Force-jumping abilities to climb up very fast. It was a long climb, but not too tedious. By the time they reached the top, they were in the clouds.
"Look, there's a castle over there!" Ahsoka said, pointing.
"Ahsoka, that's impossible," Kit said. "A cloud is a visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level. Therefore, it is too unstable to support the mass and density of the materials that would make up a castle, let alone a castle itself."
"Um, that's a lot of big words, Kit…" Anakin said.
"Sorry, I kind of had a nerd moment, there," Kit said, chuckling. "What I meant to say was that clouds are not like the ground. They do not hold stuff. Got it? Good."
"Dude, there seriously is a castle, though," Anakin said.
"Well maybe it's made of clouds," Kit challenged. "Ever thought of that? If you're so confident, then why don't you step on that cloud and plummet to your death?"
"Challenge accepted, Master Fisto," Ahsoka said.
"No," Obi-Wan cut in. "No, no, and no. Don't do it. That's an order."
"Do it. That's a dare," Kit said.
Ahsoka grinned and leapt into the air. She landed on the cloud and bounced back up a little. "It's like a fluffy mattress!" she called happily.
Kit grinned and leapt after her. "Smart Aleck moment over," he announced.
Obi-Wan stared after them, eyes wide. Anakin punched him lightly in the arm. "Dares always outweigh orders. You should know that."
"Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum!" a voice boomed. "I smell the blood of a…what is that? A fish?"
"Ruuuuuuude!" Kit yelled.
"Dude, get out of here!" a boy yelled, running toward them. "The giant is coming!"
"But I'm not a kriffing fish!" Kit objected.
"Doesn't matter—just get down the kriffing beanstalk!" Obi-Wan shouted.
"Do you remember the Giant Planet?" Anakin asked, motioning for Kit to hurry. "Do you want to face another giant? I don't. Get your butt over here!"
Kit and Ahsoka bounded over to join them and they all scrambled down the beanstalk together.
"I resent the fish comment," Kit said when they reached the bottom. "I demand a lawyer."
"There are no lawyers here, dude," the boy said. "Name's Jack by the way. You've got to be careful up there. If he spots the beanstalk, we're dead."
"You're dead," Obi-Wan corrected. "We're not going back up there."
Jack shrugged. "See you later, then." He strolled away, right past a beautiful girl with extremely long blonde hair.
"Are you going to help me now?" the girl from earlier asked.
"I guess we have to, if you're that persistent," Anakin said. "You coming, Kit?"
"I'm not a fish," he growled.
"No one said you were. Let's go," Obi-Wan said.
The Jedi were on their way once again. Three bears walked by. One was tall and distinctly male, one was feminine in stature, and the third was younger and smaller. They looked royally ticked off. "I knew I shouldn't have left the door unlocked!" the mother said.
"Who knew a pretty blonde girl would go in and steal my porridge, break my chair, and sleep in my bed?" the smaller bear complained. "She didn't even touch any of your food!"
"We'll find her," the father assured them.
"Ooh, I do not want to be that girl right now," Ahsoka said, glancing from one bear to another. "They don't look too happy."
"The three bears are actually very social," the girl said. "They just don't like it when Goldilocks steals Baby Bear's porridge. She does it every week."
"All right then," Obi-Wan said. "Moving on."
"Aww, Master! Look at the ducks!" A little line of ducks marched up to Ahsoka. They all seemed very eager to see her, but the last one flinched away as if she was going to scorn at it. It was very different from the others. Ugly, in fact. "Hey, come here," she crooned.
"But I'm ugly," he said.
"No, you're not. I'm far uglier than you," Ahsoka reassured him.
"DARN YOU PIGS!" a voice shouted from nearby. The Jedi turned to see a small brick house. Outside was a wolf-like creature. It looked very angry and very hungry. "You can't hide in there forever! I'll get you one day! I'll huff and puff and what's the use?"
"Keep walking," Anakin mumbled. The four followed the girl a little further. "How much longer do we need to walk? Is your place really that far away?"
"We're almost there," she said. "If you would quit making stops, we'd be there sooner."
As they continued on, a little frog hopped into their path. It wore a crown on its head. "Are you serious? Is that thing really wearing a crown? Where the kriff are we?" Kit demanded.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," the girl said. "Keep moving."
"But who is that?" Ahsoka asked.
"The frog prince. He was turned into a frog and no one knows how to turn him back."
Before anyone could comment further, a pretty girl in a little red jacket skipped by with a basket. "Hi there!" she said. "I'm going to Grandma's house!"
"We don't care," Anakin said.
The girl shrugged and skipped along. They didn't know this, but she skipped right toward the brick house where the pigs were. No connection. Well, maybe there was. Oh, come on. When you have two fairy tales with wolves in them, isn't it fair to assume that the wolf got tired of huffing and puffing to no avail and decided to prey on a little girl instead? It's possible, okay? Just go with it.
The Jedi finally arrived at the girl's room. They inspected it for anything suspicious, but found nothing. "It's just an ordinary room," Kit said. "Why can't you sleep?"
"I don't know!" she said, dismayed. "Will I ever get to sleep again?"
"Perhaps there's something wrong with the mattress," Ahsoka suggested.
"That's silly," Kit said. "Why would the mattress keep her from sleeping? It seems perfectly fine to me."
Ahsoka laid on it. "You're right. It does feel fine."
"Let me try," a new voice said. A girl with a pink dress and long blonde hair approached them. "You said you can't sleep on it?" She laid on the bed and passed out immediately.
"Leave it to Sleeping Beauty," the girl mused. "Seriously, though. There's something wrong with my bed. I just can't figure out what."
"Can I try?" another girl asked.
"Cinderella? Sure," the first girl said. "Be my guest."
Cinderella removed Princess Aurora from the bed and laid on it herself. After fifteen minutes, she shook her head. "I can't sleep on it," she said.
"Let's check out the mattress, then," Ahsoka suggested. She lifted it with the Force. "It looks fine to me."
"Look!" Cinderella exclaimed. "A pea! No wonder you couldn't sleep on it. No Princess can sleep with a pea under her mattress!"
"But I thought she was a princess," Anakin said, pointing to the sleeping form of Princess Aurora.
"Sleeping Beauty can sleep on anything," the girl said dismissively. "Can someone remove the pea for me?" Kit rolled his eyes and moved it away with the Force. "Thank you!" She jumped onto the bed and fell asleep in seconds.
"This place is too weird," Anakin said.
"Agreed. Let's go."
The Portal appeared and took them away.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fairy tales mentioned in this chapter, nor do I own Star Wars. I also don't own the definition of a cloud.
