The Tundraful was a place in eternal twilight with the sun and moon in the sky together, and the sky painted a dark purple with twinkling stars and auroras in the sky. But the Sun was fozen and looked sadden in the lower part of the sky, and the Moon was smoking a ciagr that created the auroras. Huge, ice glaciers created a pathway that led to an enormous bottle with a wooden ship called HMS Gryphon inside of it. The dark blue waters splashed against the surfaces of the glaicers.
For a moment, everything seem quiet and peaceful. But then, in a split second, four streaks of light came from the sky as four teenagers laid on the icy surface of one of the glaciers, their hot feet making a hissing sound as they laid on the ice.
Claude looked at the Tundraful's eternal twilight state as he pushed some hair from his face as the sharp wind blew it wildly. He looked at the enormous bottle, which was a few miles away from they were at, which their path was floating glaciers in the water.
"Look at this place..." Carmen said in wonder as she looked at the ship inside the bottle. She now wore the black skinny jeans with the knee-high, bash riding boots over them and her silver bracelets on each wrists. "I wonder who is in charge of that ship?"
Claude let his foot hang off the glacier they were on as he said, "Let's go find out." He slid down the slide-like structure the glacier provided as his friends followed behind him.
The teens slip and slide down the glacier like they were children on a playground slide. The end of the slide curved upwards, so the four were thrusted into the air as they came to the end of it and they landed on another glacier, which was softly padded with snow.
Claude wiped some snow of of him and got up as he looked at the huge bottle once again. As he looked at the ship, his eyes wandered around until they laid on frozen animals with their eyes ripped out and their stomach ripped open, showing their entrails; an Owl, a Lory, a Mouse, a Duck, and a Pelican.
"Weren't those the animals that took part in the Dodo's race in the book?" Francine asked.
Claude shrugged his shoulders as he walked on the shaky glacier, praying to God that he would not fall into the cold waters. His friends followed him as they walked slowly and carefully, tyring not to tip over the glacier as it floated. "Just don't run or jump. This thing may go upside down and we'll drown." Claude pointed out.
"Great for the pep talk, Claude." Simon said sarcastically as the four got closer to the enormous bottle and saw the most interesting sight.
There was someone- or something- running on the ship as large sharks with orange/red colored eye that glowed and a cross through each of their eyes. They had fairly large, thin, pointy teeth that were unevenly spaced out. The body of the sharka were made out of wood, and they were shaped to look like the sharks spine and ribcage. The sharks had no innards or organs to take advantage of. There were also two flags on the spine of the sharks which have been torn in half.
These sharks were attacking the bottle as the four teens looked both confused and worried, not knowing how to pass these monsters without getting eaten. But as they watch the glass bottle being attacked, Francine snapped her fingers as she took out her Teapot Cannon.
"Guys, back away." She said as she pushed the button and shot a firey blast of tea at the sharks. But it went overhead, which distracted the sharks long enough for the teens to run pass them and find a huge crack in the side of the bottle where the sharks attacked it.
They began climbing into the bottle through the crack as someone called "Get it!" in a worried, nerdy voice. As they slipped into the enormous bottle, the wooden sharks realized that they had been tricked and swam back to the glass bottle. They slammed against the bottle a second after Francine entered, causing her to tummble into Simon's back.
On the ship was a creature with a turtle's shell covering his entire body with the head, arms, and legs of a cow. He wore a captain's hat and yelled, "You better come aboard or you're doomed. Well, we are already doomed."
"What? There is no hope then?" Claude asked as the teens ran to the ship and climbed on as the crack on the side of the bottle became bigger. A shark stuffed its head through the crack and began to wiggle to try to enter.
Claude looked at the creature and asked, "Are you the Mock Turtle?"
"Yes, but that is not important now." Mock Turtle yelled as he looked horrifed at the sharks entering the bottle. "Confounded creatures! They want my ship!"
"I think you're more to their taste." Claude said as he watched the sharks trying to enter still.
"NEVER! We're almost relatives!" Mock Turtle yelled as he grabbed a bunch of ropes that held the sails together.
"To them, you are more related to soup, Admiral." Claude said with a smirk. Carmen nudged his side as she jerked her head to the sharks breaking through the glass bottle.
Mock Turtle pulled the sails as he said, "I have an idea! We leave this mayhem and go to Carpenter's theater. It's better than gaff. He says that what we don't take seriously can't harm us."
As the creature said this, the sharks gave one final blow and the bottle began to crack as Claude said, "Best dive now, Admiral. Or these sharks will have us for lunch."
Finally, the bottle cracked as the waves took the ship and moved it away from the sharks, which were catching up speed with it anyways. Claude and his friends held on to the sides as the ships went over a waterfall and crashed into the ocean as the sharks stopped to watch the ship fall into the waves.
~0~
After much trouble through the rocky cliffs and some leftover sharks still chasing them, the HMS Gyrphon crashed on the bottom of the ocean. The four teens were thrown from the wreckage and were halfway knocked out as the Mock Turtle cried.
"Claude... Claude... CLAUDE, WAKE THE HELL UP!" Carmen yelled in Claude's ear as the brunette woke up and looked at Carmen. "About time. You have been asleep for over five minutes and I couldn't wake you once." The Irish boy groaned as he got a good look at Carmen's new outfit.
She wore an aqua blue, strapless corset with a white string in the middle that tied up to a bow and had puffy sleeves. The bottom of the corset if made out of hot pink scales and the top of the corset was shaped as white seashells as they showed the top of her breasts. She wore an aqua blue mini-skirt with the top of it made out of hot pink scales and the skirt ended mid-thigh. The skirt has layers of blue and pink in different shades under it. Her Jupiter amulet was held by a string of seaweed. Carmen's hair was longer and straighter, seeming to flow with the movements of the waves. Her lips are now the same pink as the dress's scales and she no longer had shoes on, leaving her barefooted.
Claude got up as he saw Francine is a silimar dress as Carmen. Instead of light blue and pink, Francine's dress was dark red with black scales and a black and white layers under her skirt. Her makeup was darker with blood red lipstick and her amulet was held by white pearls. Her hair was out of its usual pigtails and was now is the same high ponytail it was in when she was in the Red Kingdom.
"Ow... My body hurts all over. I think we submerge too quickly." Claude said as he saw the outfits him and Simon were in; black slacks with the bottom cut off at the ankles, a black sleeveless vest, and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the first few buttons open to reveal their chests. Their loose chokers were replaced by ropes and they were also barefoot.
The brunette walked up the Mock Turtle, who was crying and said, "My ship is a wreck and so am I."
"Admirals go down with their ships." Claude said to comfort the creature. "Anyway, from what I heard, you were never an admiral to begin with. You were actually station master of the Looking Glass Line."
Mock Turtle looked upset at the mention of the railway. "Hmm, sacked from the railroad without the option. 'Redudant', those nitwits said. Never a holiday, loyal as a dog, but they said a new direction was needed. Now I'm shipless, the old railroad is gone, and this new train is a bloody disaster. It doesn't run on time, the engineer is asleep at the wheel." Then his expression became sadden. "What I don't know can't hurt me. Say no more and be on your way."
Claude gave a look of confusion as Mock Turtle rammbled on. After he was done, the brunette was about to continued on but Mock Turtle cut him off. "Change the subject. We must avoid speaking about the thing whose name must not be spoken."
Claude rolled his eyes before saying, "Hearing something useful about this new train would be great for a change."
Mock Turtle scoffed at Claude. "You don't respect the suffering of others. Go ask your questions to Caterpillar."
"I'm really sorry, Admiral. But you need to tell us anything you know about this train. We're trying to help Lucy here..." Claude said in the most charming tone he had, which he only uses for when he is in trouble.
"I'll just say that we just escaped the corruption. Count yourself lucky to be down here." Mock Turtle continued as he pulled something from his shell.
"But we don't want to escape. We want to stop it to save Lucy and Wonderland." Claude said as he tried to convice the creature.
Mock Turtle looked unsure as he said, "Nosense. Speak more nosense and diversion. But the show must go on. Speaking of shows..." He showed Claude what he pulled from his shell; four tickets to a show. "Here are some tickets to Carpenter's show. Use it..."
As Claude took the tickets, he looked at Mock Turtle as he said "But we weren't speaking of shows."
But Mock Turtle was now ignored him as the creature cried, so Claude sighed and looked at his friends before they walked away. Surprisingly, the did not have to swim in the ocean and they could walk like they were on land.
The four continued through the ocean as Claude spotted what looked like a small town ahead of them. He pointed to the town as they continued on, jumping over red jellyfish that had spikes on them which Claude assume was poisonous.
"Come on. I want to get to that town!" Carmen yelled as they jumped on huge, white jellyfish that served as platforms.
"We're coming, but there is no need to rush. We're almost there anyways." Simon pointed out as he jumped on the white jellyfish with Claude and Francine following him. They continued on as they used small, blue jellyfish as trampolines.
When all four of them were of a cliff that would lead them to the town, Claude saw something from the corner of his eye; there, hidden of rocks, was a door with flames behind it. "Guys, wait a minute." He said.
His friends stood in the spot they were at as he walked towards the Memory Door and saw the Omega symbol on the doorknob change into an Alpha symbol. He gulped as he opened the door and entered it, wondering what would be there behind it.
[MEMORY DOOR]
Claude saw the eleven-year-old Lucy sleeping in her bed before her eyes snapped open and her ghostly voice came to his ears, which caused shivers to run down his back as he heard the haunting words.
"Luna saved my life. I survived because she showed me how to escape, through the window. I didn't leave the lamp in the library and Luna didn't knock it over. Both were upstairs when I went to bed. Luna was in my bedroom with my when the fire started."
[MEMORY DOOR]
Claude exited the door with only two things in his head. "Why am I the only one that can enter these doors? Also, Lucy didn't start the fire..." The second thought gave him chills down his back like no other as he wonder how the fire really started that night.
"Oi, Claude! Hurry up and get your bum over here!" Carmen yelled as the brunette saw his friends already at the slide that would take them into the town. Claude gave a low growl from his friends not listening to him as he walked up to where they were at. "Finally. Now, come on."
Carmen jumped down the slide with Francine behind her, both holding their skirts down as they went down. Then Simon jumped after them with Claude right behind him, but the brunette took a second of thinking before he jumped because the last thing he wanted was a broken leg in a dream world.
The teens slid up and down the wooden slide for a long time, taking sharp turns and going through loops as they kept themselves inside the slide. Finally, they were thrown off the slide as they came to the end and thanks to the water slowing down speed slightly, the teens fell gracefully to the ground as they looked at the town.
A sign near the enterance of the town showed that its name was Barrelbottom. The town itself was made out of various large barrels, flotsam, and jetsam. Lights hung around the building with a huge statue in the middle of the town that had a plaque saying The Carpenter. Lights hung around the buildings and the fish people there wore Neo-Victorian styled clothes.
"Wow, this place is so pretty!" Francine said as she looked at a fish couple. "Can't we just stay here?"
The small girl was pulled by Simon as the four continued on, trying to ignore the fish couples who were talking excitely and running around as Claude heard something about the Carpenter's show every once and while.
Finally, the brunette took at the tickets Mock Turtle gave him and saw some important facts he should have noticed before; the show was called Totentanz and the production would be held at the Dreary Lane Theatre, which was only a little farther away from where the teens actually stood at.
Claude placed the tickets back in his pocket as he led his friends through Barrelbottom, ignoring the pleads of Francine to talk to the fish people and the fish people being over-excited for a play that Claude was pretty sure would suck since he hated plays in general.
As they walked down the stairs, they saw a huge, majestic theater that stood on the edge of Barrelbottom's limits. The name Dreary Lane Theatre was written in bright yellow letters on a wooden board and the front door was only covered by a thin, purple curtain. Claude took out the tickets again and said, "We're here."
The teens walked towards the theatre and entered it, seeing that there were many hallways and doors. But the theater's main door lead to a huge room that had one, large stage with a backdrop of stars in the sky. Ladders, boxes, ropes, and paint buckets littered the room as the teens walked in there to see a oversized, grayish walrus that had one broken tooth among his two long fangs sleeping on the stage.
As the teens got closer, a young tall man with a lean body came from the side of the stage. He had a square jaw and red hair, which was styled into long spikes that lean over to his left hand side like waves. He had a small goatee on his chin, pierced ears (three earrings in his left ear, and a pencil stuck through his right), and small tattoos on his forearms that resembled fish skeletons. He was missing the lower part of his left leg, which was replaced with a dark peg-leg, and has a few nails stuck in the back of his hands. He was shirtless and didn't wear any shoes, so he wears only overalls and an apron, with black wristbands and a toolbelt. He was wielding a large hammer, which had the symbol of Neptune engraved into the side of the head.
"Ah, some help! Your arrival is filled with fortunate-ality itself." The Carpenter said in a delighted tone.
"Really? We didn't even know...?" Carmen said but was cut off by the man, who even towered over Simon, stopped her by holding his hand up in front of him.
"Never mind. My pregnant show is about to pop! It requires only a medicament of your helpful-osity." The Carpenter said as he kneel down to look at the teens.
"Well, we really don't have experience is theater. But we do need help finding out-" Claude was cut off when the Carpenter jumped off the stage and casued the ground to shake, almost knocking down Francine by the sneer force of jumping.
"We can barter. I have a screw driver, nearly new, or a nice hammer, if you're more interested in..." Finally, Carmen huffed loud enough for Carpenter to stop speaking and look at her angry face.
"There is a train corrupting Wonderland, and we're looking for help to restrain or destory it." Carmen said in a serious tone.
The Carpenter paced as he said, "Most vexatatious, no doubt. We'll address that, ah, monstrosity directly, that's to say, evenually. Now, let's intermediate more important matters. Due to a logisterical foul-up, some of the show's requsites need to be gather."
"Okay. What are they?" Francine asked.
"The munificent script need fetching. The writer's overly imaginative and exploring many different endings. Then, you'll need to assemble the show's tune-deaf music. And finally, gather the stars; the show's tasty... I mean, tasteful performers." Carpenter explained. "You should leave now. The essentiality of haste is essential."
As his three friends looked confuse on half of the words and sentences Carpenter had just said, Claude looked around and said, "It seem like you're hardly ready for this show. Why can't you assemble the things yourself?"
"An impesario has arrangements; fish to fry, coals to burn, etcetera. Fetch the things I need, then we'll batter or clatter or matter as the case may be." Carpenter continued as his swumg his hammer around, causing Simon to duck a few times. "The writer is an octopus and lives over that way. Tata!" He pointed to the right as he began walking towards a set of steps on the stage.
The four looked at each other with confusion. Claude rolled his eyes as he looked at his friends and said, "Okay, here is the plan; Simon, go get the script. Carmen, you can go get the music. Francine and I will go get the stars."
Simon groaned at the fact that he had to get the script, but the four teens walked away from the theater as they split up off into different directions.
~0~
Simon walked through the sea as he jumped on stone tiki heads to get to the bloody mouth of a dead shark and walked through the bloody mouth, which acted as a doorway to the other side. The first thing that he noticed was the strong smell of alcohol, which reminded him of Pris' house, and he gagged as he saw a red octopus with grey, receding hairline and a black hat near huge alcohol bottles.
"Place smells like a ripe distllery. With a whiff of halitosis and urine." Simon said to the marine animal instead of a simple Hello.
"IT'S THE SCENT OF UNRECOGNIZED GENIUS! SO, PISS OFF!" The Octopus yelled at Simon as the blonde backed away a little.
But Simon kept a straight face and said, "Carpenter sent me. We need the script."
"Carpenter is a pusillanimous, parsimonious, pettifogging moron!" Octopus yelled as Simon cocked an eyebrow up at the use of words being used.
"Um, excuse me? Just give me the damn script!" Simon said in an annoyed tone.
"Your needs are shite! I need a drink, who cares? I need those responsible for my career in chains; no joy. I need to know what love is; the world is mum. I need a dose of "Hide-and-Seek". Find me and if you're quick about it, they will deal about the script." Octopus said as he floated off with ink trailing behind him.
For a second, Simon stood there in shock as the octopus got a head start. But the blonde realize that the marine cretaure wanted to play a game rather than fight, which surpised Simon since all he has done in Wonderland has fight. It was kind of a refreshing change since the boy was getting tired of everyone wanting to kill him and his friends.
But that didn't mean Simon was happy about chasing a slimy, red octopus. "Come back here!" Simon yelled as he chased the octopus with the Hobby Horse in hand.
The blonde jumped on the white jellyfish as he chased the stream of ink that the octopus left behind. "Out of all of the damn things, I had to get the octopus!" Simon thought as he landed on the next cliff and began searching for the octopus.
He was surrounded by skyscraper wine bottles that were filled with red liquid. Simon knew there had to be over thirty of them, so he rasied his Hobby Horse and began smashing into each bottle as the glass shattered into million pieces. The red liquid spread around Simon, but the blonde moved away from it as his nose began twitching.
But no octopus. Simon sighed as he went around and slammed into each bottle, causing more glass to shatter and red liquid to drift into the ocean. The octopus was still nowhere in sight, and the blonde was this close to rip out his hair.
As he came over to the last bottle, that is when Simon noticed it; slimy legs and black ink on the bottom of the bottle. Simon grinned evily as he slammed the Hobby Horse into the bottle and Octopus jumped up from the red liquid.
"You have me now, but you won't have me again!" Octopus said as he swam away.
Simon's eybrows knit together as he took chase after the creature. But the creature swam to fast for the blonde and he was soon way ahead of Simon for the blonde boy to simply catch him by the tentacle.
The boy had to jump off the cliff and bounced on countless blue jellyfish. The boy jumped from jellyfish to jellyfish as he avoid the red ones, which were dangerously close to Simon's skin.
Finally, Simon reached the other cliff and landed safety as he looked at the next group of huge glass bottles filled with red booze. Simon growled as he slammed each bottle as glass and red liquid was released across the ocean. The blonde was surprise on how easy these skyscraped-sized bottles were so easy to break, but he wasn't too worry as he broke another bottle.
After breaking four or five bottles, Simon took a break as he breath heavily. As he did, he heard something that sent chills down his spine; the sound of a high-pitched train whistle. The blonde shot his head up as he looked around for a Gothic-looking train, but it seem like the whistle was nothing more than his imagination.
After a second, Simon streched his arms as he began brekaing more glass bottles. As he got to the last one and shattered it, the boy heard a grumpy voice say "It's all in the game; a fair cop. You've won, and you're a good sport. And nobody died! Follow me to the library. Unlike some, I don't welsh."
Simon saw Octopus through the red liquid and broken glass go into a small library, which Simon didn't know was there. The boy followed the marine creature into the small room filled with old-timey music as Octopus started to grab something from a typewriter and said, "Carpenter comissioned a song and dance number on morality. Art and good sense be damned. He demands mirth, silliness, and restrained debauchery all around. Warlus will do a hero turn as Death. I'll bring the script to the Theater. You can be on your way."
Simon smiled at Octopus as he felt a sense of pride of getting the script. But as Simon tried to find the exit, Octopus pushed a button and the mouth of a dead shark drew down like a bridge. The boy ran through the shark's mouth as he went to get back to the theater as fast as possible.
[MEANWHILE]
Carmen walked through the ocean until she came upon a small area filled with glowing jellyfish, colorful starfish, and one very huge fish that was shaped like a glass bottle with blue sclaes on the inside and yellow eyes who had a terrible, high-pitched voice. "~It's all wrong. If I had ears, they be hurting!~" The fish sang in a tune-deaf tone.
Carmen walked up to the fish and said, "I'm not musical talented, but you seem out of tune."
"~It's not my fault. I can't hear the notes. The pipes are obstructed.~" The Music Fish sang as Carmen wrinkled her nose from hearing the fish's horrible voice.
"I can see that. Why not do something about it?" Carmen asked in a highly annoyed voice.
"~And endanger my vocal chords? Will you possibly do it for me?~" The Music Fish asked.
Carmen's eyes twitched as she crossed her arms in annoyance. "Why does everyone have an excuse for doing noting? Reminds me of Hollow Fields in a way." But she uncrossed her arms and looked at the music pipes, and began following it.
As the dark-skinned girl followed the pipes, she noticed that all three of them were going to the same cave that had three wooden, phonograph horns over the top of the opening of the cave. She kept her pace as she walked up a wooden deck into the cave, which was higher up than where she stood at when she talked to the Music Fish.
She walked into the cave and followed a ramp towards a wooden platform. From the platform, she could see three odd sets; all three of them had a cluster of three of the same instruments in their group. One had violins, one had a set of trumpets, and the last one had a set of drums with arms on them.
Carmen looked at awe as pink jellyfish on the wall illuminated the room, and she saw that all of the instruments were at least ten feet below the platform she was on without a ramp or stairs to led her to them. She also noticed that the instrument sets were covered in black tar and eyeless doll heads. "Ruin..." Carmen hissed under her breath as she jumped off the platform and gracefully fell to the ground.
That was a huge mistake as she quickly realized. From the ground, two enemies appeared; a giant crab with a cannon for one hand and a cigar in his another claw. The another enemy was a blue angler fish that was standing on its hind legs and feathers. "Great. Cannon Crabs and Ice Snarks are the last things I need..." Carmen murmured as she grabbed her croquet mallet.
She slammed her croquet mallet at the Cannon Crab as it fell on its back. As she turned, the Ice Snark tried to freeze her but she avoid it by using her Dodge. She slamemd her croquet mallet into the Snark, but it jumped into the ground except for its glowing antenna. The dark-skinned girl slammed the mallet into the antenna as the Snark jumped up and almost caught her dress.
She pulled out her Pepper Grinders and shot at the Snark as it tried to come at her. But she kicked it in its jaw and pulled out the mallet again as the Snark was shocked. It flopped on the ground as blood covered it.
As she turned around, she barely missed a blast from the Cannon Crab. She slammed her croquet mallet at the Crab as it fell back. She slammed it over and over again until the cannon came off and finally, she broke through the shell as blood and green pus almost covered her if she didn't move in time.
"Too easy!" Carmen said in happiness as she walked up to the instruments to find the Ruin was now harden. The dark-skinned girl broke through the now-harden Ruin and the instruments began playing the most awful sounds as they went through the pipes.
The girl clenched her teeth as she listened to the music. She went back to the platform and found a hidden staircase, so she walked up it and out of the cave to see the Music Fish still looking unhappy, which was hard to know because his expression never changed.
"~It's all wrong. I can't seem to find time for the notes.~" Music Fish whined.
"It's not lost, but maybe mislaid. I suppose I can help you carry the tune. Better be light though." Carmen said.
Music Fish nodded its head, with its entire body as well, as the music began playing. Carmen began singing as she tried her best to follow the notes. She was a decent singer, but she remembered not being as good as Lucy was. She moved her hands to keep Music Fish on track on which was a high note or a low note.
She messed up a few times and they had to start over, but Carmen kept her patience. She kept singing until her vocal chrods felt like they were going to break. She felt like strangling the Music Fish because he kept messing up with the instruments. Finally, once they got the music finally decent enough, Carmen sighed as she looked at the Music Fish as he said, "~The audience will be grateful for your efforts.~"
"I doubt it." Carmen said as she walked away from the Music Fish and exited the caven through a bloody fish mouth.
[MEANWHILE]
As the script was being finished and the music was finally done with, the last task at hand was gathering the stars. Of course, if you were Francine and Claude, the task was now the trickest mission being undertaken as they floated through the ocean and found the room of the Oyster Scarlets.
And this room was covered in Cannon Crabs, Ice Snarks, and one Menacing Ruin. There was also a new type of Ruin that looked like round, jellyfish-like creatures with a eyeless doll head in the middle, two doll arms on top, and two doll arms on the bottom; Drifting Ruin.
The two teens looked at their enemies from behind rocks as they looked up to see floating beds upon their heads. Then, Claude watched Francine as she pressed her index finger to her lips and opened her Teapot Cannon. She exposed herself a little from behind the rocks as she pointed at the Drifting Ruin and began firing away.
One by one, the Teapot Cannon killed the Drifting Ruin in one shot. The other creatures below the floating Ruin, including the Menacing Ruin, were confuse and upset as their fellow monsters were being killed by an unknown force.
After Francine killed the last Drifting Ruin, she looked at Claude and pointed towards the other enemies. "Watch this..." She whispered.
He looked confuse until he saw her jump up from behind the rocks, completely exposing herself. The Menacing Ruin yelled as it grabbed fire from behind its back, but as the fireball came towards the teens, Francine opened her umbrella and the fireball shot back as it broke the arms protecting the Menacing Ruin's faces.
"Now, Claude!" Francine yelled as the brunette shot from behind the rocks and went after the Menacing Ruin. He slashed the giant Ruin as the monster tried to pull out more fire from its back, but it was too late for the Ruin as Claude cut off the last doll head and the moster melted to the ground.
Then the two teens focused on their other enemies as Claude threw the Demon Dice and scared the Ice Snarks, which gave Francine time to cut them open with the tip of the umbrella. All four of the Snarks fell to the ground in pools of blood as the two narrowly missed blasts from the Cannon Crab.
Francine avoid the Crab's attacks as she got out her Teapot Cannon and shot at the Crabs. All three of them fell to their backs as the heavy blasts hit them, and it gave Claude enough time to slash at them to cut off the cannon hands. He was successful, but he had to jump back as the Crabs tried to attack him with their other claws.
But he was saved as Francine shot at the Crabs with one heavy blast from her Teapot Cannon. The blasts were strong enough for the Crabs to fall backwards and for Claude to stab them one last time with his sword, causing blood and green pus to fly everywhere. Claude gagged as some got in his mouth and wiped his tounge with the edge of his shirt.
Francine held back some laughter as she watch the beds slowly come down with oyster shells on them. Both teens cocked their eyebrows until they saw the shells open to reveal that the muscle of the oysters were small, girlish bodies that had curled red ringlets, heavy makeup, fishnet stockings, and black bows in their hair. The shells became back red skirts and their eyes were oyster pearls.
"You just interrupted our dreams." The first Oyster Starlet said.
"Oh, well. Off to the show, I suppose." The second Starlet said.
"But we still need the star! The star!" The thrid Starlet said as the Oyster Starlets started to swim away into a cave.
The two teens looked confuse as they began walking into a small room that had bright pink lights. But as they went through the enterance, Francien stopped cold as she heard the sound of a high-pitched train whistle. But before she could look where that came from, Claude grabbed her shoulder and led her to the Star.
The Star looked like the other Oyster Starlets, but she had blonde curls, a blue bow, and blue back skirt. "Help me. The poster for the show, it's ruin! If I can't out it back together, Carpenter will grind my bones."
Francine and Claude looked at the poster, which said Totentaz with the Oyster Starlets, the Carpenter, and the Octopus on the bottom and the Warlus wearing a skull mask in the middle of the poster. But the odd thing was that it looked like a sliding puzzle rather than a destroyed poster.
"I know how to do these!" Francine said in joy as she began working.
Claude was still confuse as the small girl began shifting blocks around. She stopped and looked on how she was doing, then she would undo what she had done and shift the piece somewhere else. Francine though carefully as she kept the routine of shiftng and replacing blocks as she made sure that the picture was coming to together.
Finally, with the last shift of the final block, Francine completed the poster as she wiped the sweat off her forehead and smiled at the Star. The poster became paper-like and rolled itself up as the Star grabbed it and began swimming away. "We must resume our place for our adoring fans... at the theater."
Claude and Francine watch the Star exit her room with a bloody sharks' mouth, so they followed her through the mouth to finally get answer from the Carpenter.
~0~
All four of the teens arrived at a graveyard with a bridge that was a shortcut towards the theater. But before they could even step on the bridge, the Carpenter came riding on the Walrus and they slammed on top of the bridge, causing it to collaspe and the teens have no way to the theater.
"My God, you're not a impesario, you're a killer. A mastermind of a criminal interprise." Claude said in a highly annoyed tone with anger mixed in it.
"This world is not so either/or, Claude." Carpenter said as the brunette was shock that his name was even known by this madmen.
"Well, we have done your bidding." Carmen pointed out.
"You did a few errands, got your hands dirty, big deal. The show distrac-ulates the crowds. A shame you will miss it, but you need to deal with these sailors. It is your time." Carpenter said.
The Walrus perked up as he heard something in the last sentence and said, "Time? Time? The time has come to talk of ships and, and, and vegetables and royalty and, and, and whether pigs have wings... and so on."
But Carpenter grabbed the Warlus' collar and yelled, "Enough of that, Walrus. You start wailing about being too much sand on the beach, and I'll have your blubber for breakfast."
Francine crossed her arms and said, "Shame on your, Carpenter. You made a promise."
"I had no choice. One can't always do what one would like. I would have thought you would have known that by now." Carpenter said before kicking the graveyard's gates close and riding off back to the theater, leaving the teens trapped inside the graveyard.
All four of them were shocked, but the sound of growling made them look at the graves instead of the closed gates. There, floating and laughing evily, was a shadowy ghost with blue fire for eyes. It held bombs in each hand and for a second, it appeared to become a blue-skinned sailor with red hair and a cigar in its mouth. Then it turned back into a shadow as it threw the bombs.
The teens jumped out of the way of the bombs as they exploded on the iron gates. "We're screwed..." Simon moaned.
"At least you didn't say we were going to die." Carmen said sarcastically. She pulled out her Pepper Grinders and shot at the bombs from behind a grave. She was able to get one of the bombs and it exploded, casuing the Drowned Sailor to fall to the ground with a dazed look. The dark-skinned girl had her mouth open in shock as Claude jumped to the chance and attacked the Sailor.
Claude got in a few good slashs at the Sailor before the monster regain its sense and punched Claude straight in the jaw with its sharp nails. The brunette was thrown back until he slammed into a grave. "Ow..." Claude groaned as blood trickled down his chin.
Carmen, Francine, and Simon all were in shock from Claude being knocked out by the sheer force of a ghost's punch, they never noticed a white streak pass them and knock the Sailor back into the ground as a blood-curling scream as heard. They saw the Sailor disappear into a pile of dust as a blue light came from its body and floated away.
"What the hell?" Simon asked as him and the girls ran towards Claude, who had cuts on his face and a bruise on the back of his head from hitting the grave. They helped him up as the creature appeared in front of them, and now they had a perfect view of who helped them.
It was a mermaid. She wore a pure white shell bra, a pearl choker with a pale yellow shell locket, a golden bracelet around her left upper arm, a white pearl braclet aorund each wrist, and two strings of silver pearls lopped around the base of her tail. She wore a golden tiara with a rose on each side and her tail was pure white that seem to change colors like a rainbow. She had long, dark purple hair that ended in ringlets and honey golden eyes with slightly tanned skin.
For a second, everything was quiet before the mermaid gave a happily screamed, "OMG! The saviors have finally come to stop that mean ol' Ruin monster!"
The girls were the only one who looked confuse because Claude was still halfway unconscious and Simon was drooling over the beautiful mermaid. He gave a groofy smile and asked, "So, what's your name?"
The mermaid smiled at the blonde and said, "My name is Princess Nalu. I used to rule over Deluded Depths, but Carpenter trapped me here and that mean ol' Ruin keeps attacking me with those Drowned Sailors, who are big meanies."
"So, you the princess of Deluded Depths. Can you help us?" Francine asked, hoping that it would keep Simon from talking to the mermaid princess any longer. "We have to get to his show right away."
Nalu looked confuse for a moment as she tapped her chin. "Well, I think I can help you leave. What Carpenter doesn't know is that I know a way out, but I don't like that exit and the Carpenter would see me."
Simon smirked, and dropped Claude at the same time, as he put breath mints in his mouth. But before he could say something close to what Francine was thinking, the small girl cut him off as he gave a look of utter disbelief. "Well, show us this exit. Will it get us to the theater quickly?"
"YEAH! But first you have to defeat the Ruin monster and get me out. I have been too afraid to attack it myself, so I stay as outside the grave's fence." Nalu said as she pointed at the biggest grave there that had an iron fence around it. "Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah, of course! We will do anything for a pretty lady like you." Simon said to charm the young mermaid.
Nalu smiled widely as her eyes followed to the ground and saw Claude. She pouted as she swam over to the boy and touched his face, causing a white light to cover his face. Nalu hummed happily as the boy groaned and saw the pretty mermaid, which Nalu quickly asked "Are you okay? Will you be able to kill the Ruin monster?"
"Huh?" Claude asked as he was jerked up by the collar. He gagged as Simon dragged him, with the girls behind them, towards the huge grave as Nalu hid behind some graves and watched from there. The brunette glared at Simon as the blonde pulled him up and pointed towards the grave.
Claude was close to strangling Simon if the ground didn't rummble as black tar bubbled from the dirt. The teens moved back as the ground shook and many doll arms came from the ground as the monster pulled itself up.
It was a massive worm-like Ruin with four stumpy doll legs, many doll heads dotted around its body, four doll arms surrounding a small hole, and steam pipes and wheels on its back. It gave an inhuman growl as it began charging at the teens, which they avoid narrowly. "What the hell is going on here?!" Claude yelled.
Simon stayed quiet as Carmen pulled out her Pepper Grinders and began shooting at the doll heads. Unfortunately, the Colossal Ruin was quick on its stumpy feet and the teens had to move quickly or else they would be captured. Thankfully, it was four against one Ruin monster.
"What do we do now?" Francine yelled as the monster's arms covered the small hole before it shot flaming baby doll heads at them. She tried to use the umbrella but it was almost jerked out of her hands instead of deflecting the bombs. "This thing cannot be defeated from what it looks like."
Claude watched as Carmen blew off the baby doll heads on the body, but the monster kept throwing flaming baby doll heads. He dodged another attack as the Colossal Ruin threw fire into the air and debris fell to the ground, where the teens had another narrow escape from death. The brunette watched his friend destory the last doll head, and he heard the most inhuman scream from the monster so far.
The monster leaned its top half down as a huge, eyeless doll head appeared over the small hole as a nozzle appeared in the small hole with fire blazing out of it. It began chasing after Carmen before Simon pulled her out of the way and Francine shot a blast from the Teapot Cannon at the doll head.
The Ruin went limp as the doll head was expose to an attack, so Claude went after the monster and slashed at the creature as fast as he could. Simon ran towards the monster himself and began attacking with Claude with the Hobby Horse. Both boys were attacking as best as they could as the doll's head cracked.
"Hurry, guys!" Francine yelled from behind a grave.
"Trying here!" Simon yelled back.
Finally, with a final blast from Claude's sword, the doll's head broke completely and the monster became a huge pool of tar. Both boys had to jump back as the pool of tar almost touched them, and the girls giggled a little as Nalu came over with a huge smile on her face. "You did it!" She yelled as she hugged Simon, who had a goofy smile on his face.
Claude smiled at the mermaid princess as he asked, "So, can you help us get to the theater?"
Nalu snapped her fingers as she remembered her promise and dropped Simon, who looked depressed. She swam ahead of the teens as they followed her through a small cave. They only went a few feet before Nalu stopped as she pointed towards the most gruesome scene they could image.
There was a streak of blood on the ground that led to the theater's basement. There, in the basment under dim lights, were piles of dead or dying Fish people that were skinned alive and their eyes gouged out. Hanging on an anchor in a crucifixion-like manner with a saw blade in his head was a Nautilus-Man in a mayor's outfit. The walls and floor was covered in blood, and the mayor was heard moaning softly.
Francine covered her mouth as Nalu looked at the teens. "That will led you back to theater. But please get me out since I have helped you..."
"Of course!" Simon said happily even though he was sick to his stomach by the gruesome scene. He went back to the gate, with Nalu behind him, and brought out the Hobby Horse. He slammed on the gate and much to his surprise, it opened with much force. He was shock and said, "That is all we had to do to leave?!"
But Nalu pay the boy no attention as she hugged him. "THANK YOU! NOW I CAN SEE MY HUSBAND ONCE AGAIN!"
Simon went limp in Nalu's arms as his friends laughed at him. Nalu dropped him and patted his head like he was a dog, then swam out of the graveyard as Simon had a look of utter disbelief on his face. Francine came over to the blonde and dragged him back to the basement as he murmured, "Sh-She...i-is... m-m-married?!"
But none of his friends paid him any attention as they walked through the gruesome basement. Francine gagged a little as Carmen helped her get Simon up, but everyone did their best not to throw up or cry as they walk through the basement and entered the hallway of the theater. The Octopus and Music Fish were in front of the main doors of the theater, both whom got glares from Carmen and Simon.
As the teens pass the writer and music producer, they entered the theater with seats filled with Fish people that were still alive. The teens continued down as they saw the finished stage and the Carpenter came on stage as he said, "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the shooooooooow!"
The teens walked down to the front row as the Carpenter jumped off stage and the Oyster Starlets came on the stage dancing. They danced for a few seconds before the Star came on stage and danced gracefully. Carpenter sat next to the teens like everything he tried to do to them didn't exist.
"Rather bizzare show..." Was all Claude could say.
But the show took a more bizzare, twisted, and gruesome turn as the Walrus, wearing a black skull mask and carrying a scythe, came down on the stage and crushed the Star. "That quite enough of that, I think. Here is the performace you have been waiting for; proves that I'm without prejudice and have a fine sense of humour."
The curtains closed as creepy musice began and the Walrus looked at the Oyster Starlets with hungry eyes. Then he began the creepiest, most distrubing poem ever wrote:
Sword and Crown are worthless here.
I invite everyone to dance.
Laborers, Lawyers, Church, and Gown, All make thair little prance.
Men and Women, Young and Old, reject my prophet hand.
I don't implore them, nor ignore them.
I firmly take my stand.
This life is full of random death.
And heaps of greif and shame.
So few are soothed by "accident",
You want someone to blame.
Fire, Plague, or Strange Disease,
Drowned, Murdered, or, if you please,
A long fall down the basement stairs.
None are expected,
No one cares.
I know the steps very well,
All must learn my little dance.
Families may die and loved ones cry, but no one is left to chance.
I often must work very hard, sweat running down my skin.
After the dance, I then must rest, and the eating can begin.
As he finished the last line, he looked at the crowd and swung his scythe. "Time to eat. Death is the ultimate equalizer. All have the right to be eaten." Then he took a bite out of one of the Starlets as the crowd screamed and began running around in fear.
Carpenter was now wearing a tatty black cloak and a white mask that had a hooked nose. "Get in line, creatures! Don't push. All will be served, so to speak."
Claude growled at the Carpenter as he pointed to the stage, where the Walrus was eating awat at the Oyster Starlets. "Why are you doing such an awful act while Wonderland is being destoryed?"
"I'm not the enemy you seek. I tried to hide this bit of Wonderland from the train! Appeasement's are never clean. We all must pay our assigned roles." Carpenter said as his voice got angrier. "So answer this; Are you pawns or knights? Idiots or practiced fools? However this turns out, consider the prospect that Lucy has been misled, Claude. Then ask, by whom?"
As the last word died down, that high-pitched train whistle was heard once again as Claude and his friends looked to see the Infernal Train shook the theater and came closer. "How did that bloody train get here?" Carmen yelled.
"It arrived when you arrived. And it's more horrible than you can ever imagine! The death of a dream!" Carpenter yelled as he stood in front of the teens. He held one hand out and yelled, "You must stop it! Ask Caterpillar to help you!"
But before Claude could even know what happened to the Carpenter and the Walrus, who was still eating, as the Infernal Train came crashing through the theater, he woke up in a black car with Nan in the front seat as him and his friends were being taken away from the buring building formerly known as the Mangled Mermaid.