Once Upon a Tennyson

by Creaturemaster

(After WAM) Ben somehow arrives in a world of fairy tales and magic, where following one's destiny is important above all else and the student body of a certain school is locked in a war over how to live their lives. Can Ben unite the students under one flag before the dark force lurking within the shadows ends them and claims the world for itself? The first of it's kind!

23. Swine of the Times

And here we are again, dancing to same old dance and song! Welcome back, one and all, to the ever amusing saga of Once Upon a Tennyson that I entertain one and all with!

Happy Unbirthday, Creaty!

First off, babe, it's just my birthday. Second, my birthday was on March 5th. Thirdly, aren't unbirthdays reserved for every other day of the year except for your actual birthday? I'm trying to remember my Wonderland culture and history which, in all honesty, is just about as maddening as the place itself. And that's not even taking into the account of what your people use to do and how vicious the wildlife is!

Aw . . .

It's not unappreciated though. Especially that little surprise you got me.

*Giggles mischievously* I didn't think it would fit into such a tiny hole.

Knowing you, you would be able to easily take it.

I know, right? That cake was ginormous! Who knew Lady Persephone was such a good cook?

'Given how busy her husband is, I'd say she has some time on her hands. And those could be doing a couple more useful in things with them in my opinion-'

Wade, let me advise you to stop thinking about your sexual fantasies for a second and remember that, even with your little healing factor that makes Wolverine go like "I wish I had Deadpool's healing factor, bub", our dear goddess will not hesitate to incinerate you in a column of hot fire and continue to do so if you somehow come back, which is highly doubtful.

Hiddle dee, hiddle dum, ashes and roses burn in a boat full of water.

What she said. Now then, how do you like them apples? And if you say anything related to Maddie's chest I will personally compact press you into an area the size of a dictionary and hand feed you to Cerberus.

'Uh, how about some reviews?

Excellent choice.

ajir12 – Me, too, but I think we're going to have to delay that a bit, unfortunately. Why do I feel so obligated to slowly transition between my chapters!? Damn you, my head! Damn you!

LegionnaireBlaze – Believe it or not, my much appreciated ally, the threat of the one-eyed Trinity Force has passed and we can all rest easy . . . at least until another one billion years or so have passed. But by then, the human race will no longer exist and neither will the universe, so I' think we're alright for the time being. Also, do I detect a bit of romance between our Wonderlandian friends?

Looks like someone has been reading Sigmu's work! The babbling brook reads to the minnows and cattails!

What she said.

Luffy1010 – Dat universe works in mysterious ways, don't it? Either way, Apple was somewhat intended to speak like that, as she was attempting her evil persona again that isn't really all that evil to talk to Cedar (which again, was not all that evil). For some reason, I really like an evil/bad/creepy Apple better than the one they give us in the webisodes, and I sense a lot of my readers do, too, like there's just some hidden desire to see the sweet, innocent, and naive turn into a twisted, demented, blood lusting monster. Regarding Cupid's Crystal Ball, wait no more!

Mr. Dark – First off, a lot of people found it to be interesting and were requesting it. Second, it is highly amusing in my and many other peoples opinion.

The cane toad tap dances while the jabberwocky sings!

'What she said?'

What she said.

storygirl99210 – Believe it or not, 'Bad Apple', as some have come to call it, is a very fun and interesting role for me to write; not where she's truly evil, but where she's attempting to be evil, 'channel her inner Raven', and fails miserably at it. And I know, right? The Forever Knights just can't stay away from the silver screen. As for your cold and your inability to keep track of which or how many Ever After girls there are in the harem, there is approximately six (Apple, Raven, Cerise, Maddie, Kitty, Cedar).

Zachery Hance – No promises, dude. Since the time of the Triangular-Dude-Whp-Must-Not-Be-Named has passed, there will be a significant decrease in a need for fighting; you may keep the Omnitrix though. I believe Looma finds it highly attractive on you (send her my regards. As well as a restraining order. Man, I am so glad I lost to her).

Jeptwin – The Forever King might have gotten stupider or he is using underhanded tactics. I'll leave that up for you to decide.

Isom – I'm sure our little princess has learned about meddling in the affairs of her boyfriend's affairs, but I can safely say that she has a little more ways to go before she'll be more open-minded; at least, when it comes to the whole destiny conflict. And you have our thanks, from me and Maddie, for the date. As soon as the great tale of the defeat of Ol' Nacho Chip is engraved upon the stone walls of the Underworld and carved upon the bones of his fallen warriors (ancient Wonderland tradition), we'll be more than happy to indulge in some tea.

On a side note, Savara Beast the Queen of the Forest is completed and up on my Deviantart account for your viewing pleasure!

'Lady Death? Pardon my French, but dost mine ears deceive me!? Holy /censored/ chimichangas! Forget you two loons, I'm goin' after my dream babe! Woo!' *promptly runs to the door and yanks it open to run out, only to find that it is closed off by a wall of solid, stone bricks*

That's gonna leave a mark.

'What the- who did this!?'

Hades. You can't leave, I can't leave, Maddie can't leave, Sphinx, even Mr. Nibbles can't leave until we're done disgracing Bill's name.

'CURSE YOU, HADES!'

Moving on . . .

Numbervania – You'll have to see how ol' Trinity Force went down in flames ;)

A lemon-flavored harem fic with River and several other ghouls and monsters, eh? Sound enticing, I'll admit. But then again, I'm the guy writing a lemon fic of my own! Who am I to judge? And hey, don't do anything I wouldn't do, alright? She's a good friend of mine and I don't want to see her getting hurt; in short, treat her well and I won't tie you into a knot. The denizens of the Underworld are like a second family to me and I don't need said family getting hurt by outsiders (no offense. Most of the undead don't take too kindly to the living, always getting jealous of the warm flesh and blood they don't have).

Rexfan1333 – Fun Fact, my good man: there are actually animals that are entirely female animals out on our very own planet. A species called the New Mexican Whiptail lizard are all in fact female, laying eggs that hatch and grow into healthy lizards without the need to be fertilized by a male; the offspring are exact and complete genetic duplicates of the mothers (clones!), with one female 'role-playing' as the male to stimulate the other into laying her eggs before they switch roles after a couple of weeks through a process called parthenogenesis, which can be found in a variety of arthropods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and even birds (mammals are unable to do this as of yet. Give it a couple million years, and we'll have to see what pops up).

StrongGuy159 – Your wish is my command!

Karlos1234ify – Congrats on your brother! Me and Maddie still have yet to tie the knot-

A Gordian Knot!

Uh, right. Either way, to answer your question, it's unknown at this time. I put it up to a poll, but I felt that didn't get a lot of answers, so I'll have to put it up again. I could really go either way, but that might end up being predictable, with the whole 'younger brother succeeding the older brother in everything that they do after being overshadowed all his life'.

Blazorna Ibara – Why you son of a-

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Creaturemaster, undead Tetramand author of various fanfictions that are meant to be a punishment but really aren't! Rathpool doesn't know where he is or what just happened, but if you don't fix it, Rathpool is gonna-"

For once in my undead life, can someone give me a break!? I'm just about ready to live! And what then? Who'll write these stories you like reading, eh? How's that for a problem!?

/Sticks and stones may break ones bones, but words fly like bats!/

Maddie? Translation por favor?

He said he pities you and doesn't pity you at the same time! The jub-jub birds talons are sharp and the monkey has no bananas!

What does that mean?

You don't wanna know. Hee hee hee hee!

mechazard01 – Once again, it's my story and I am free to chose who and what gets put into my stories. That being said, I hope Foxflare's appearance in Cupid's Crystal Ball was enough to satisfy your hunger for the time being :)

warprince2000 – Has it been long enough for you? XD

masterart – The patience is much appreciated, mi amigo. As appreciation, enjoy the following chapter!

Menatron the Angel of Ideas – The award for The Biggest Groaner goes to . . . Menatron!

'I dunno. I thought his joke was a little wooden!'

I stand corrected. The award for The Biggest Groaner goes to Deadpool.

'Viva la victory!'

Yes, well. Ahem. Either way . . . you naughty dog, you! Ben's not gonna be doing any of that until much later (whether this involves him picking splinters out of himself or not is up to debate). Anyways, I think Jeager and Lilith might share a few things in common, though she'll probably be more likely to slap him upside the head or yell at him the first time she meets him and finds out what he's been up to (granted, she's no better, but still). And don't worry, as soon as the next chapter is up and posted, the ghouls from Great Scarrier Reef will be added to the list!

Darkness Rissing – 'What? I wasn't gonna say nothing!'

The fish's lips are sealed but water leaks through the gills!

What my dear Hatter said. And yes, I believe once it's been driven through Apple's skull with a nailgun manned by a Vaxasaurian, she can be calm (in other words, you have to make it crystal clear and repeat more than once otherwise it just goes over her head; further development of character will be necessary and included later on in the story).

'And guess what, my little devil of darkness? Zombozo isn't here at all!'

Wade! Stop ruining the script for Creaty's readers! Honestly, I can't believe he hasn't written your schoodle-brained butt out of here already!

Wait, I can do that? Really? Seriously? I could do that!?

'No! Wait! I beg of you! The world can't continue on without my handsome looks and witty commentary!'

I'll keep that in mind. On a side note, you should keep in mind that I now wield the power to erase you from existence and out of life for good! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ahem.

Right. Sorry, babe. Either way, I'm glad you enjoyed the cameo of your OC (she will make an official debut later on) and the appearance of Ever After's versions of Statler and Waldorf. And now that I think about it . . . I had been get all that gear of mine back if I'm going to keep Briar from killing me . . . ancestors knows she's probably ticked. Regarding the Varjoain DNA, it will have to be applied with a shot to ensure it's injected deep within your bloodstream, and the transformation will most likely be unsettling or slightly uncomfortable, but it should last a little less than a few seconds . . . hopefully.

Aw, thanks! Maybe I should go bare-legged sometime!

I'd know it'd drive me wild, too. And for once, I don't feel the need to remind someone what happens if they try hitting on my girl . . . for some reason . . . WADE, GET YOUR HANDS OFF THE KEYBOARD!

'I didn't touch anything, I swear!'

Codecrash – Believe it or not, Snow is actually one of the few character I have little control over when it comes to writing; I just point her in a direction and she just takes off to Sphinx knows where . . . which is actually kinda frightening, now that I think about it. As for Ramona Badwolf, I imagine you'd be correct; no joining the harem however, as Ben is practically already snatching up every other available princess, witch, and maiden there is at Ever after High whether he's trying to or not. I imagine that she and Daring, once his egotistical personality is smoothed out, might be a suitable choice for her considering Cerise harbored a small crush on him before finding out that Ben was far superior (not being opinionated, it's fact!).

wolf – First off, the Ultimatrix was canonically removed and replaced with the fully complete version of the Omnitrix, which is the one that Ben currently has in Omniverse. The reason the Omnitrix keeps on mistransforming is because Ben has a habit of slamming down on the core every time and inadvertently, the scroll pad, every time he tries to transform, thus making it a toss up at which alien he gets transformed into (this is also, canon. Have you seen Omniverse?). Second, if I gave Ben the Ultimatrix, there wouldn't be much conflict or story or outside involvement if he could just go Ultimate every time, now would there? The ghouls wouldn't be involved, the girls wouldn't be involved, Sphinx, even Gwen, Kevin, and Rook might be rendered useless. The Ultimatrix, in my book and this one, is to be only used in dire emergencies when Professor Paradox dictates it is the right time.

marshman101 – Thank you for that small bit of madness-

'Yay!'

Anyway, the Forever Knights arrived in Ever After through a device they invented dubbed 'The Battering Ram' that they invented from scraps of alien technology stolen in Undertown to punch a hole through space/time to Ever After in the hopes of finding some method of ending the off world scum of aliens and finally defeating Ben once and for all; I believe this was explained in a previous chapter?

DracoAngelus17 – Glad you enjoyed the chapter, dude. Jeager's official artwork is in the works and will be published as soon as Achilles is finished and posted on my Deviantart account; on a side note . . . trust me when I say your pathetic, metal stick isn't going to cut it.

Creaty's right! My sister . . . doppelganger . . . clone . . . creature lurking under your bed . . . is more terrifying than you think! Granted, she loves tea just as much as I do, but she likes to blow stuff up (nothing big scale, just something about the size of the Queen of Heart's palace . . . it's happened once!), talk in absolute nonsense (the non-fun kind), and has a habit of turning into a gigantic, demented spider creature with her own head being able to rotate three-hundred-sizty degrees with a mouthful of anglerfish-like teeth whenever she's upset!

'So . . . fun, right?'

WADE!

Royal Rebel – Remember, reality's an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold!

'Whoa. So close to being slept with the fishes!'

Creaty, you forgot to tell Royal Rebel that Achilles was done!

Oh, yeah. Um, well, I guess Achilles of the Ten Blades is done and available on my Deviantart account? Awkward . . .

Kaiju Fan – Take it from a guy who practically lives in one. Get out of that straitjacket and experience some of the good madness Wonderland has to offer. As for the Queen of Hearts, the threat of the Clown Prince of Chaos is somewhat low considering he's been hiding out for the moment, quietly manipulating certain parties into play for the true madness to begin; once things start to act up, I think it's safe to say word will get out. And yes, I believe I can get the narrators to narrate during that chapter XD

As for your idea . . . words can not even begin to describe how freaking awesome it is. I thought the movie Zootopia (my family is a HUGE animation and Disney fan) was awesome, but this completely blows it out of the water; the only issue I have is that I'm attempting to try and write the Evil Queen in a slightly more positive light. For instance, Snow White was all but ready to throw away her destiny to date a 'bad boy' during her time at Ever After High (if you can guess who it is, I will be thoroughly impressed) until he never talked to her again for some strange reason, breaking her heart and allowing her to move forward with her destiny; perhaps the Evil Queen wasn't all that evil before either, like Raven, and was turned to the dark side by something nobody else understands or remembers.

If you can somehow make that work, then the light turns green. Either way, I absolutely love your idea (why you don't have an account on here and aren't publishing stories of your own is a mystery to me).

'Me, too!'

Quiet you.

Slappy – All that can be arranged, my good man! Er, puppet? Is that offensive?

'I don't know and I don't care! He gives me the creeps!'

Quiet, you.

Soos – There comes a time in every man-child's life, Soos, when his greatest moment is achieved and he sets out to find another . . . this is that time, dude. So take it from down here in the Underworld from all of us when we say . . . job well done, dude. Have fun running the shack!

'Quick! Get the earplugs and run for cover! Maddie's about to explode with happiness!'

*Sucks in a deep breath and proceeds to guzzle down an entire teapot of Wonderland tea* THANKYOU,SOOS! YOUARETHEBESTOMNIVERSALTEMPORARYHANDYMANOFTHEAPOCOLYPSEAHATTERCOULDEVERKNOW!

Yeah, good luck putting spaces between those words . . .

Titanzilla – You make some very thought provoking points. Cerise's main problem at this point though, is just trying to come to terms with how she feels and getting the courage to tell her best friend forever after and her boyfriend how she feels; the public announcement of the whole thing would come next. And yes, Venus and Jane will play a significant claw and talon in helping Cerise out.

Story Artist – Your question seems to be a common one that's come up recently, and I actually really like the idea; the ghouls all got one in WAM, so I don't see why the girls can't!

The Question – Your username is more appropriate than you know. Answers in the order you asked for them: Jeager is more of an ally at the moment, so Ben won't be likely to try and hurt him on sight and vise versa; the beast Jeager was hunting is not Krampus and shall remain unknown for the time being; keep reading and you'll find out; our Terrible Trio will appear sometime later, perhaps starting with small cameos and whatnot before jumping into the main plot so that everything doesn't seem as 'random' as WAM was at times; keeping reading and you'll find out. Just don't tell him you didn't get the punchline or he'll punchline you; I'm sensing the aforementioned characters are favorites of yours, no? Don't worry though, they'll get their turns in the spotlight; time just requires that spotlight to be focused on others for the time being.

NaruFuu Forever – Actually, that's going to happen sometime in the next chapter or two; considering how crowded Ben's bed and his dorm in general has become with his ghoulfriends now popping onto the scene every now and again and his girls taking a liking to sharing a bed with him, an upgrade might be in order.

Writing Warrior – Technically, Darling has appeared, but her official debut won't be until the end of Way too Wonderland, just like it was in canon. As for your question on Apple . . . well, you'll just have to wait for the inevitable lemon chapter that may or may not pop up much later in this story's life time. We'll have to see what everyone thinks.

Shadowman – I don't see why Maddie would be concerned about it. I mean, they may be the same person (sorta), but that doesn't mean one dictates the life of the other. Of course, that doesn't stop one of them from interacting with the other, much to my annoyance . . . Maddie, put the mallet down.

Awwww . . .

Smaug – Me and my big mouth . . .

'I know, right? You'd think you'd have learned by now!'

Fanfic Fan – And something tells me it's gonna be this chapter!

The Alliance – The help is much appreciated, it really is, but and I can't believe I'm saying this. To borrow a quote from the most infamous, tentacle bearded warlord the galaxy has ever known, "Your assistance is no longer acquired."

Curtis Payne – Granted, there are a lot of aliens and some fit the bill of the situation better than others, so that might be a recurring theme.

Guest – Finally, someone shares my sympathies! The triangular nuisance was starting to grate my nerves; he just won't die (until Fill came along)!

Harem Lemon – You make a good point. Then again, we're talking about a kid who's been saving the universe since he was ten-years old with literally the entire galaxy after his head and wrist.

Stretchy-Rat – I haven't seen it yet, but based on one of the stories I read, A Marriage of Convenience by Sigmu (if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do), my Snow White and the canon Snow White might as well be two completely different people; more than one person I've talked to is actually scared of her!

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese – Oh, she will, will she?

Does a jabberywocky secretly tap dance?

'What does that even mean!?'

KittyWolf – Nice to have you back!

Agreed.

'Get lost, cheapskate!'

SMACK!

'Mommy . . .'

Anyway, Deadpool was briefly turned into a poodle by Bill during our little skirmish and we were unfortunately unable to dress him up in any cute/black mailing outfits. And yes, Apple has thoroughly learned her lesson about messing with Ben's love life . . . still working on the whole destiny conflict, but that'll be fixed quite soon. As for Cedar . . . well, you're just going to have to wait!

Cartoonfan10 – That is a very compelling question, and I honestly have to say that I wouldn't know; the only piece of evidence I have is when Ben broke his arm when he was Clockwork and the damage carried over to his human form when he timed out. The next time he used the Omnitrix (Ultimatrix?) and turned into Swampfire in the same episode, his arm was wither and all bent out of shape, as if it were still broken. Another example would be when Tetrax destroyed Diamondhead to bring back Chromastone to resurrect Petropia and the Ultimatrix successfully repaired all the damage there was (Diamondhead was still alive and little more than a pile of rock, crystal, and a talking head beforehand). If the wearer of an Omnitrix was in pieces before transforming, I have no idea what would happen.

Killer Croc – In passing, several new and old characters will debut back with the ghouls in Ben's world and Astranova will appear farther along the story's timeline; as for other ghouls that are not part of the harem ending up in this little mess, well . . . all in due time I guess!

Cyber Ninja – I am well aware of this (Maddie wouldn't stop talking about it).

Great Scarrier Reef!

GAH!

maverickmoxey2000 – Wait, there's another Teen Titans reboot coming sometime that might potentially actually make sense!? Someone stop the presses and set my DVR to record this coming year! 2016's a great year for TV, baby!

'That's gonna be kinda hard to do since Mr. Nibbles started teething, Four-Eyes.

Wait, what!? NO! Not my flatscreen TV! That was a gift! *sigh* On a side note, those EA girl stereotypes (I'm not sure if that's what you could properly call it or not) are much appreciated and should help me further write this series, not to mention that I absolutely love the Cedar dream idea. And finally, someone who doesn't want to horribly mangle Grimm on sight and suggests that he help do something productive (eventually).

Aw, Lizzie likes you!

Yeah, in more ways than one. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, dude! Better yet, don't do anything Deadpool would either.

'Hey!'

Moving on, Teacher Tennyson will be both fun, absolutely hilarious, and downright terrifying to write (from his student's point of view), and with the proper incentive for the ghouls and girls, it's going to be a living nightmare for someone like Daring; on a side note, how funny do think it might be if Snow White joined in on a couple of these classes and easily managed to destroy Daring or Hunter in battle, baring the fact that neither of them would attack or hit a lady, much less someone as in power as her?

Next, the sleepover idea is just perfect and will definitely happen if I'm between 'dramatic arcs' without a good plot.

Finally, the rest of the deadly sins; I eagerly await their submission (Jason should appear some time after Way too Wonderland), but remember to make them actually beatable without Ben turning into one of his more powerful aliens such as Alien X or Atomix, because that's what some of them are starting to sound like. Another to try is to attempt to make sure that none or at least most of them don't have overlapping powers if they aren't related or members of the same species.

On a final last note, regarding Vanity, what is your opinion on a future look/outfit I've been thinking about giving her? Essentially, look up Mutants: Genetic Gladiators, find the wiki (because there's a wiki for everything these days), and look up 'Grim Reapress'; the outfit and massive scythe are what I had in mind, but I felt you should have a say in this. And if you haven't played the game, I suggest you look into it. So many monsters and mutants to chose from and battle, so little time . . .

Unknown – Not sure if Ascalon will appear, but it's a strong possibility. Concerning Duchess, she's not one of my favorite characters as she's just mean because she's jealous of other maiden's stories; at least Nefera lacked self esteem and suffered under the 'tyrannical' rules of her father about how she should live her life. Duchess' just mean because she can be and thus, like Toralei, I don't think will have much room for redemption sadly. Faybelle would be a pretty good place to start though . . .

luciayshadow – Yes, believe it or not, I am still alive and in one piece contrary to popular belief. And finally, someone kind enough to make sure that I don't tear my hair out from the sheer insanity that's going on around here; all I ask is for one simple, quiet evening with my girl with no mercenaries, sugar addicted ponies, bizarre monsters trying to bite my face off to ruin it. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK!?

Aw, you do care about me!

Who said I didn't?

'Deadpool.'

WADE! Ahem. Brooke does seem to like Ben, now doesn't she? XD And regarding Snow White, I am fully aware that the canon version is less than appealing compared to mine; one of the stories I read by Sigmu (I highly recommend you read their stories if you haven't, especially if you like this story) briefly talked about her and even ships her with the freakin' Evil Queen!

And yes, regarding Zootopia, I must praise Disney for being able to discuss such topics like that in a childrens movie of all things and make it feel like it just simply belong; this is something that you could take your kids to and they would understand what's happening, what's going on, and be able to compare that to the real world should they ever experience such issues. And for those that don't get it, they'll simply love watching the lovable and funny anthropomorphic animals parade around on screen.

And yes, I did know all that. I am quite the actual and theoretical biologist; I even have a theory on how dragons could possibly breath fire if there was a possibility of them ever existing.

Fill Cipher – You have no idea how happy I am to see you. Seriously, ol' Trinity Force was driving me us all up the wall and, no offense, but if I see another Cipher it'll be too soon.

Drop by anytime!

'Normally, I hate anything overly happy and excited and sappy (like a certain pony who shall not be named unless she wants a one way trip to the glue factory), but in this case I'll make an exception.'

Agreed. Now if you'll excuse us, Fill, I have an eyeball to mail to Jeptwin via harpy and a hat and cane to send to LegionnaireBlaze via fury.

cjboughton – In the words of Gigi Grant, "As you wish!"

Imagi – The ghouls will arrive one by one (one by one being either groups or individually), so don't worry! I have been trying to bring the ghouls that didn't get quite as much screen time in my previous work out into the spotlight some more, which is why Skelita is in Ever After and not Frankie or Spectra. Lorna herself might have to wait a little for what I have planned, but she'll definitely play a bigger part than in the webisodes and previous story.

There will actually be a moment when Lorna's ex meets Ben . . . and knowing him, it probably be when he's saving the day just to really give Fin an idea at who is suddenly being outclassed by XD

While I do have plans to bring a few more new ghouls into the harem to keep things interesting, Luna Mothews (I think I spelled that right) is not among them. Plus, why would Apple specifically ask to bring the moth man's daughter to Ever After? Plus, despite being free and being a genie, Whisp's power is greatly depleted and be unable to perform a task such as that without practically draining herself into a coma, something not even Whisp would be willing to do. While Whisp retains some of her genie abilities, such as flight, teleportation, limited shape-shifting, and various magic spells, she can't do anything large scale such as replacing the entire school with gigantic cookies and candies or counter the curse on Wonderland.

Sadly, I can not confirm Briar or Courtley, as there are many people who would rather see them with Ben than anyone else, and I have to agree. Don't worry about Hopper though, there's someone just as tough and Briar-like as Briar for him to love in the future ;)

Melody Piper unfortunately, as much as I love her character, doesn't have enough development in her personality, story, and general character for me to pair her with Ben; we don't even know why she's a Rebel. Being a member of Raven and the Rebels however, she'll have some development and appear more times than before, but she'll end up with someone else in the future (if you can guess who she'll end up with in the epilogue, you get a virtual cookie)!

Malchior the Bad – That's the plan!

Cyber Ninja – Seeing as how Ben has already been tangled up in the mess of Spring Unsprung and so much as happened already, I think it's safe to say that much chaos will ensue.

Lord Dominator – Believe me, I like that version of the Easter Bunny much better (badass, deadly with boomerangs, and from Austrailia!), but there's only so much I can put in before it becomes redundant. While I can confirm that the Easter Bunny exists somewhere in Ever After, it's not somewhere within range of the trouble-attracting magnet that is Ben.

Leon the Leo – Glad you're enjoying things so far XD As for Dragon Games, there are plans for it to be written into the story, but after that there's probably not going to be any more specials written in; as for the following special, Epic Winter, I have no plans to officially include, but there will probably be a rewrite of it for what I need around that time.

'Whew! I think that just about covers it!'

Finally. Now, if you'll excuse us, me and Maddie have a reservation for the Interdimensional House of Tea, otherwise known as the Mad Hatter's Wonderland Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe; Maddie misses her "Daddy" very much and wants to introduce me to him as well. I can only hope my sanity can handle a little more insanity before it explodes.

'Smell ya later, Four-Eyes! I gotta hot date with Lady Death!'

Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Deadpool. Then again, don't do anything that you'd usually do either. C'mon, Maddie, we're gonna- what are you doing?

We can't leave Mr. Nibbles by himself! We'd be bad parents if we did!

We aren't- you know what? Lets bring him, her, it, whatever, along. I'd rather have that thing within eyesight than leave it here where it most likely destroy everything in sight. Either way, I'm looking forward to a nice and relaxing evening, just like this chapter is going to be.

The fish don't know why they've stopped swimming.

Oh, right. I guess an explanation is in order. Well then, Way too Wonderland was intend to be posted this chapter, but I felt it was a little too early for that compared to recent events from previous chapters and that we were in need of a little light hearted chapter to ease the drama a little bit (although I know you all love it). Really, this chapter is mostly just fluff and love and a set up for the events of Way too Wonderland. And before anyone asks, Dragon Games WILL be written into this story as well, but this is where I draw the line; on a side note, some major rewrites will have to take place in order to write in my version of Snow White (who debuted before Dragon Games ever aired, just so you know) for the canon one (which is much more terrifying). And regarding Epic Winter, the official special that follows Dragon Games, I have no plans to officially include it, but there will probably be a rewrite of it for what I need around that time.

Also, me and an author by the name of Blazorna Ibara are doing a collaboration together. If you've read We Are Monsters you might remember the promise of a Xover between that story and his current Xover? Well, after an eternity of patiently waiting for him to get where he needs to be, it's finally happening, ghosts and ghouls!

Now Blazorna normally doesn't answer or respond to his reviews, but after finding the antics that happen to me in the reviews, both hilarious, humiliating, and torturous, he's willing to give it a shot! So if you have any questions or just wish to torture the lot of us, pop over to his story The Troubles of a Misplaced Hero and review for his latest chapter; we will only respond to the latest chapter, so remember!

WARNING: Blazorna's Ben 10 Xover is rated M and is crossover with Queen's Blade, an anime that some might find offensive or down right uncomfortable watching/reading about; there will be sexual references (no sexual scenes though), swearing, and some gore here and there, so be on the look out my pretties!

'You did not just say that, dude. And I thought I had respect for you!'

I thought you were on a date!?

' . . . I forgot my extra mask . . .'

Ugh. Alright, I think that just about covers it. As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! We love hearing from you guys and everything you guys say helps in some capacity, from keeping this story going to helping us come up with the little moments that everyone loves and adores.

Onward!

Cedar inhaled a deep breath and took in the sweet, Spring air as she spun around in a circle and felt the wind rush through her chocolate brown locks and curls stained with cheery, violet and pink streaks like those of the freshly blooming flowers at her feet until she allowed herself to fall and flop onto her back. The wind was slightly knocked out of her from the landing, but she enjoyed it nonetheless, hex, she loved it; she curled her fingers around clumps of cool, green grass, her real flesh and blood fingers coated in soft, earthy skin and muscles that flexed and contracted at her will as she gazed up and blinked her real hazel eyes to fight back the warm glare of the sun overhead as it caressed her with its sunny rays.

With a second breath she sat up and climbed to her feet, wiggling her toes in the grass before sprinting across the garden as fast as possible, racing for the nearest tree available; ancient, stone walls covered and coated with thick layers of ivy surrounded the wide, nearly bookball field-sized garden, guarding the rolling meadow of fresh, green grass, blooming flowers every shade and color of the rainbow, and the tall, shady trees like centurions long forgotten by the sands of time.

She heard the sound feet up beside her and she looked down to see a little boy that looked to be perhaps just short of being ten years of age with scruffy, brown hair and a pair of dark brown eyes like that of mud and moistened ear against surprisingly soft and pale skin scuffed and marred with layers of dirt and grime from rolling around in the grass; he wore a pair of old overalls and white T-shirt covered in grass stains from days of play time past with the cuffs of his pants rolled up to allow his bare feet to grab a sort of hold against the earth.

Catching up on her other side in their unofficial race was a girl several years younger, perhaps a little older than six, with brown hair like that of dried and gnarled bark that framed her deeply tanned skin and a pair of sharp, green eyes like that of fresh ivy and new growth along the ground; her little legs and arms were pumping madly to try and keep even with her mother and brother, her pink and yellow trimmed sundress flapping and buffeting in the breeze as she ran bare foot through the grass, stumbling every now and again in her futile attempts to keep up.

"Race you to the tree!" Cedar laughed as she sped ahead of her two children.

"Moooom, that's cheating!" the boy whined.

"No, this is cheating." a voice laughed from behind them; the two children spared a glance behind them just as a Kineceleran came racing through the grass at cruising speed, barely even putting up any effort despite that he easily surpassed the two children and would most likely be able to keep up with most vehicles at such a speed without having to actually try. Before the two children could argue and complain further, XLR8 teased them with a short raspberry and blasted off at top speed, the grass parting like the Red Sea before him as he shot past Cedar and straight up the nearest tree, wrapping his legs and prehensile tail around one of the highest branches before he was suddenly engulfed in a blast of green light and returned to his original form, that of a fairly muscled man with scruffy, brown hair, emerald green eyes, a casual, green T-shirt trimmed in black with shorts, and the Omnitrix fastened around his left wrist.

"Ben, you know better than that!" Cedar scolded her husband with a laugh. "Now you're going to give Willow and Ash ideas."

"Yes, that certainly would be a bad thing." a voice drawled in a dramatic, overly sarcastic tone from beneath Ben as the air shimmered and wavered on a branch below until Kitty appeared in full view lying on her back with her ever present, Chesire grin upon her lips; the feline was dressed in a loose, silver and white top decorated with black paw prints and a pair of wild, purple and lavender striped leggings underneath of a short miniskirt to accommodate for the nice weather while, like Cedar and Ben, her feet remained bare and exposed to the warm rays of the sun that she particularly enjoyed.

Lying on her stomach and cradled in her arms was a small bundle of swaddled blankets of which held a squirming and fighting little boy with cold, lavender eyes and light brown skin and fur that vaguely hid a pair of teething fangs that he was quickly setting to work on his mother's flickering, alluring tail whenever it came within reach. "Jaguar, let go of your mother's tail." Kitty scolded the little boy.

"Jaguar? That's what you went for?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

Kitty smirked. "As I recall, you were all for it because, and I quote, 'it sounds really awesome', unquote."

"She has you there, Ben." Cedar laughed as she came to a stop at the trunk of the tree and patiently for her two children to catch up; Ash wriggled out of her grip as he latched onto the tree trunk, claiming he didn't need any help as his feet and fingers found every last nook and cranny the bark yielded away from him, while Willow required some assistance and clung tightly to her mother's shoulders with her little legs hooked securely around her chest as Cedar began to scale the tree.

"I don't remember that." Ben argued.

"That may be because that was the week you were teaching a class and accidentally took a club to the head. I never knew Hunter and Ashlynn's son could be so strong." Kitty purred with her ever present smirk. "But if you don't like the name, I'm all ears. Our child only deserves the best, now doesn't he?"

"You're almost as bad as Duchess," Cedar rolled her eyes as she grabbed hold of a branch and hauled herself up, making sure that Willow's grip was tight and secure on her. "Almost." she added when she remembered the last time she had crossed paths with Duchess, the swan maiden now doing shows in a bar a couple villages over doing several very inappropriate and proactive dances that would have gotten her expelled from Ever After High had they not graduated several years prior; and to think, she could have had a fortuitous career as a ballet dancer had she not tarnished her reputation during one of the biggest dancing competitions in all of Ever After by cheating and sabotaging her main competitor. Now instead of dancing on a stage in front of millions she was dancing on a pole for dollars and whatever change she could get to scrape by.

Cedar pushed the thought out of her head as she stopped to rest on a low branch and look out over the expansive garden that adjoined to the large and spacious castle that her extensive family resided in; sitting around a large toadstool was a short woman with lightly tanned skin, wild and unkempt hair colored various shades of mint green, blue, and purple with two little girls sitting on mushrooms like they were chairs, giggling and smiling brightly with the vibrant green eyes they inherited from their father when they weren't drinking tea out of their sippy cups while their mother was in the middle of an intense game of Go Fish; sitting on another mushroom around the toadstool table was a taller woman with pale, ivory skin dressed in a short, black and gold skirt and black leggings decorated with red diamonds and clubs with royal red robes trimmed with gold to signify her importance as a royal of Wonderland, made evident by the extravagant gold crown covered in ruby hearts and obsidian diamonds. Sitting comfortably on her lap, a spot that would have gotten everyone but her fellow harem wives, husband, and extensive step-children beheaded, was a little girl perhaps a year or two older than Willow with pale skin, bright red hair split in two by a single, black streak, and a large, black diamond over the right side of her face, highlighting her bright, green eyes and small, red dress as she bounced eagerly upon her mother's lap.

"The tortoise has great patience but the hare is in a rush." Maddie eventually spoke up from the silence around the table, hunkering down to glare over the top of her cards in a dramatic fashion.

Lizzie tapped her chin as she casually glanced at her cards. "Hmmm. What move do you think mother should make, my little Ace in the Hole?" she glanced down at the little girl in her lap.

"Off with your head!" was the response.

"Just like mother," Lizzie smiled proudly before turning her attention back to Maddie. "Go Fish."

"Aw, schoodle butt!" the Hatter pouted as she drew another card from the pile at the toadstool's center.

Reading a book underneath of another tree not too were a pair of woman, each one more contradicting in appearance than the other; the first was clearly a prestigious royal of high class with long, flowing, golden locks that reached just beneath the small of her back and dressed in a more casual version of the royal red robes she often addressed her subjects and was dealing with important matters with other kingdoms and territories, sporting a pair of a bright, blue eyes as crystal clear as the sea, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as blood. Snuggled up comfortably on her lap was a little girl with hair as brown as earth, eyes as blue as the sky, and skin as white as ice dressed in a little, red dress and tiny crown that listened with closed eyes as her mother read aloud.

Sitting next to the queen was another woman who was, no doubt, of similar authority that chose to dress in far more casual wear than the job required, choosing to wear a lose, comfy gray T-shirt with a purple raven embroidered on the front, a short, purple miniskirt that showed off her long, ivory legs and arms, and a pair of headphones hooked up to her Mirrorphone that were currently draped around her neck and waiting use.

A little ways off a woman was instructing and taking part in a game of ullamaliztli with three children and a dragon covered in deep, purple scales and horns and about the size of a large dog, though the fire-breathing reptile was not what drew the most attention; what would catch one's eye was the fact that the woman was composed entirely out of bones, in fact being a living skeleton held together by forces that would take years to understand and comprehend. Her long, flowing, black and marigold streaked hair cascaded down her back just beneath her shoulder blades, held in place in a loose bun by a bright, blue headband attached to a golden flower. Draped across her neck was a wool collar of a variety of colors and hues hung over a dull, khaki colored top tucked into the waistline of a pair of jeans loosely held up by a woven belt with a sugar skull belt buckle.

One of the children also happened to be a skeleton, a boy from the look of things, with black and brown streaked and bright, green eyes the color of hot peppers that stood startlingly out due to the white bones that composed up his body as he made a move to strike the thankfully soft ball (instead of the traditional rubber one) with his pelvis that was wrapped up in a pair of cargo shorts and a khaki shirt with black sleeve trimmed with yellow stripes.

The other two seemed to be twins ranging from somewhere between the ages of four and five; the first was a boy with greasy, black hair that hung over his tanned face and a pair of amethyst eyes over gray bags that hid behind the dark curtain, his lips curled upwards into what one might perceive to be a cruel smile as he made a dive for the ball and rammed it with his head. He wore a loose, black T-shirt with tattered sleeves and hem with the purple symbol of a raven in the front and a pair of brown cargo pants with multiple pockets and straps. His sister however had frighteningly pale skin, a pair of soft, green eyes that seemed to be a dominant trait among most of her step-siblings, and long purple hair streaked with vibrant greens and pinks that reached past her shoulders clothed in a loose, purple shirt and black skirt over a pair of leggings while she quickly countered her brother's move with a swift kick.

" . . . And they all lived happily ever after. The end." Apple closed the book and gently aroused her sleeping daughter from her light slumber. "Tired, sweety?"

"No . . ." the little princess mumbled with exhaustion.

Raven chuckled. "Stubborn just like your father."

Cedar felt herself smile as she continued her climb, making sure that Willow's fingers held tightly onto her shoulders and shirt as she grabbed onto the branch above her and swung herself up, climbing higher and higher into the tree's bows. A series of loud howls caught her attention and she glanced down to see a trio of figures crouched on the ground with heads craned upwards towards the sky; the biggest figure was a woman with a layer of chocolate brown fur covering her from head to toe, save for her long, flowing locks that could have been an deep auburn in color had they not been died a vibrant, electric green and tied back into a ponytail that draped down her back and highlighting her sharp, golden orbs and a pair of pointed, canine-like ears. Her spike-like claws were painted a deep magenta in color and she wore strapless dress covered in faded paint splatters and tie dye colors over a shorter, purple skirt covered in neon green leopard print that reached just above her knees with a red and lime green plastic jacket for her top.

The other two figures were clearly siblings and children of their mother, albeit of opposite genders; the first was a ghoul roughly around Willow's age covered in a layer of dark brown, nearly black fur that amplified her amber eyes that shown like candles against her dark fur even in the daytime. In stark contrast to her abyssal fur, her hair was a striking orange-auburn in color, her bangs hanging low over her face with one side shaved off down to the fur and the rest swept over one side while she was dressed in a pair of gray pants with ragged clawmarks torn open over the knees and a short sleeved, pink T-shirt speckled with black leopard print around the shoulders and sleeves. The second was a boy with light brown fur the colored of dried earth with a pair of ivy green eyes that he inherited from his father; he wore a black, leather jacket over a white T-shirt with a black pawprint embroidered on the front and a pair of jean shorts while he and his sister sat with rapt attention towards the howling lessons their mother was giving them.

"Mommy!" Willow suddenly screamed, snapping Cedar out of her gazing state as she turned towards the sound of her daughter's alarmed cry just in time to see the little girl's grip falter and loosen from her back and shoulders, sending her plummeting towards the ground several dozen feet below; Cedar immediately felt her blood rush and her heart hammer in her chest as Ash yelled his sister's name, too high up to do anything else, as the other occupants all got up and charged towards Willow as she fell in the hopes of preventing her serious injury. Without thinking, Cedar let go of the branch she was on and jumped free of the tree, using her extra weight to shoot off after her daughter and grab onto her as fast as possible, pulling her close in to her chest and curling her body up to shield her from the fall. The Daughter of Pinocchio knew that no one was going to get there in time, that no one was going to be able to save them from crashing into the ground below, but she could at least hope that wouldn't be severely injured and that her beloved child was unharmed.

A blast of green light filled her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut in preparation from impact before she felt a slight jolt and then . . . oddly nothing. No sudden spike of pain from impact, no lingering pricks or jabs from a broken bone or pulsing feeling from a bruised organ or split skin, just nothing; finally daring to crack open her eyes, Cedar found herself caught and held tightly in the fury arms of a creature that mostly bore resemblance to a humanoid lemur, with a yellow, fury face with flexible ears, opposable hands and feet, and a pair of twin tails all wrapped up in a green and black pair of overalls with the Omnitrix fastened to a belt around its waist. Teleportail, if she remembered correctly.

"You alright?" the Vong Linducher asked, his ears twitching slightly.

Cedar took a deep breath and swallowed nervously to calm herself. "Y-Yeah . . . I'm fine. J-Just shaken up." she inhaled sharply before turning to the trembling, quivering ball that was her daughter. "What about you, dear? Does anything hurt?"

"N-No . . ." Willow shivered with fear.

Cedar sighed as Teleportail set her down on the ground moments before the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world. "I think that's enough tree climbing for today." she announced, an idea that Willow was all too eager to agree with; Ash took a little more convincing however, even after his sister's fall, until Ben finally managed to convince him that attempting a recreation of the fall was not in either party's best interests, especially since none of them were made out of wood like their mother had once been.

"I'm just glad you two are alright." Ben breathed with relief, looping his arms around Cedar and hugging her close to him as if afraid she would tumble right out of his grasp a second time, drawing a sharp breath from her. No matter how many times he did it, she never got over how comfortable she felt in his arms, how wonderful it felt to have him hugging her and to be able to hear his heart beat beneath his chest, how perfect it seemed to be, as if they were two pieces of a puzzle finally being put together; Cedar sighed happily and rested her hand in the crook of Ben's neck, already feeling her racing pulse drop dramatically.

With the crisis averted, the tense atmosphere began to ebb away as Apple sat back down and shifted her still tired daughter into a more comfortable position on her lap as Raven took a leaf out of Kitty's book and lay down on the grass next to the queen and princess for the afternoon nap that the crafty Cheshire and Jaguar were already ahead on, nestled in the branches high above the ground in a beam of sunlight that was just right for a catnap. "Not to hex us into next week . . . but this is the life." Apple sighed happily.

"Agreed." Lizzie nodded as she and Maddie returned to their game of cards where Ace was quickly shuffling the deck with surprising dexterity and skill for someone her age. "We have an incredible husband, wonderlandiful children and heirs, spelltacular friends and family, and a great deal of power across the realms."

"Not to mention scary cool influence, drop dead gore-geous looks, and a dragon's horde of wealth." Clawdeen added as she relaxed and bedded down in the shade of the tree for a well deserved nap after throwing her vocal cords and throat out with the howling lessons she had been giving to her two children before the incident had occurred; Lupa and Faolan were initially disappointed and took to pouncing on their mother and tugging on her ears with their teeth like excited puppies until she silenced them with a harsh bark that managed to goad them into giving her some peace for the moment while they decided to run off and join the game of ullamaliztli was organizing.

Ben placed a soft kiss upon her temple and Cedar felt herself blushing slightly. "And I wouldn't give it away for anything."

---

Cedar slowly began to stir, her eyes sleepily blinking with a soft clicking sound as her wooden eyelids slid back and forth in their sockets to blink the sleep that had accumulated in her eyes from her night's rest; she was dressed in nothing more than an oversized T-shirt splattered with paint stains and wild, tie dye colors and a pair of pink panties underneath, as her wooden figure didn't really ever require the need or usage of a bra in the first place. Her sleep attire was of little concern to her however as she snuggled back down into the sheets and pulled the warm blanket back up over her while groping and patting around with her other free hand.

She was trying to find Ben, some part of him that she could curl her wooden fingers around and hug close to her and latch onto like a lifeline, as if to reassure her that she was not experiencing some cruel dream or was in a coma due to an accident in Science and Sorcery class, but after several attempts to find his arm or shoulder or anything and finding nothing she cracked open her eyes and sat up in bed, taking in her surroundings with bleary and haggard eyes.

Skelita was still wrapped up in her comfortable, wool blanket near the window, a small smile upon her lips as she dozed as if she were having a nice dream while Clawdeen growled and grumbled softly in her sleep at the foot of the bed, the werewolf clad in a pair of black sweatpants and a loose, white top with purple sleeves; lying on the floor wrapped up in a cozy, ruby red sleeping bag was Apple, her arms splayed out wildly upon her nest of unkempt, blonde curls as she snored loudly, which might have been the reason why Clawdeen was tossing and turning so much in her sleep. If it hadn't been for the fact that the Daughter of Snow White had taken all five of Ben's ghouls out on a shopping spree using her own cut of her family's extensive fortune to try and begin mending their relationship with one another, the werewolf would have most likely thrown Apple out of the dorm in the most literal sense possible.

Lying next to her on her right side was Cerise wrapped up in her usual, crimson hood and the ripped and torn shorts and shirt that she wore for sleepwear; Cedar had always wondered why and how her roommate's clothes were in such condition, especially since her hood of all things didn't seem to suffer the same fate. Perhaps it might have had something to do with the way Cerise snarled and growled like some kind of wild animal in her sleep on occasions, tossing and turning the covers in a frenzy with her arms and legs as if she were chasing after something that Cedar couldn't hope to imagine.

Whatever theories or hypothesizes that Cedar had however were quickly forgotten about when she noticed something rather odd and down right bizarre. Cedar quirked up her wooden brow when she caught sight of Raven, clad in a pair of dark purple sweatpants decorated with black symbols and markings that the wooden puppet didn't understand and a loose, gray shirt w with purple sleeves, sleeping on her side next to Cerise, completely unaware of how the Daughter of Red Riding Hood was hugging and holding her from behind in her sleep.

It actually looked . . . cute.

A sudden round of Apple's obnoxious snoring tore Cedar's attention away from the touching scene, her focus briefly gliding over Kitty curled up at the head of the bed in place of Ben's pillow (Cedar still couldn't figure out why, even after two weeks since she had started a relationship with Ben, the Cheshire insisted on allowing Ben to sleep on her) before she noticed that not only was her boyfriend missing, but Venus, Jane, and Whisp were as well.

"Maybe I just need a little more sleep." Cedar sighed to herself once she glanced at the clock and noticed that it was still only seven on a weekend of all days; no way would anyone in their right mind get up that early on a Saturday. With a small yawn, she flopped back down onto the bed and drew the covers back up over her, hoping things would make more sense once she was full rested to what the requirements of a weekend demanded and was asleep within several minutes.

Cerise let her eyes slide open once she was sure that the Daughter of Pinocchio had fallen asleep and slowly rose from the bed, her movements careful and fluid in where she placed her hands and feet as she crawled across the bed and bodies and swung her legs down over the side to land crouched down on the floor enveloped in her hood; she instantly froze when Hunter, asleep in his own bed and oblivious to her movements, turned over in his sleep to wrap an arm around and hug Ashlynn closer to him; the princess snuggled deeper into his embrace as Cerise stalked across the floor on all fours, her legs bent to hold her body up evenly after years of running with her family's pack to chase down prey until she finally made it to the door and climbed up on her feet to slip out and into the hall.

"Things just got a lot more complicated." Cerise gave a soft, heavy sigh as slid down the back of the door to rest on the ground, resting her head in her hands as she massaged her temples. She had woken up several seconds after Cedar had risen, feigning sleep and holding her position right next to Raven for the few minutes it took for the wooden puppet to fall back into slumber; things only got more complex when she realized that Cedar had taken full notice of the way she had been holding Raven.

And that moment had been absolutely wonderful for Cerise. Not sense that fateful, Halloween night when she had excepted Ben has her alpha and future mate, had she felt so happy or warm with Raven next to her to sooth her worries and calm the feral, savage beast that lurked within; the witchling's wonderful, lavender scent and still, soft breathing continued to linger in her senses, clouding her mind with images of Raven smiling comfortingly at her, holding her hand, hugging her, even coaxing with curled finger to come hither in a seductive manner.

But that was problem. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the wickedly gorgeous, young witch out of her head, her mind a constant turmoil behind locked doors that not even Raven or Ben could see and pry open; Cerise had already come to terms about her feelings for both Ben and Raven and had accepted that she was, in fact, a bisexual maiden in a school for fairy tales where the princess or maiden in trouble for each story was rescued and often married by a prince or man at the end of their harrowing tale.

The only thing that kept her from feeling happy about her choices and decisions was what everyone else might think, specifically her boyfriend and her unrequited love. Ignoring the fact that it was greatly important that the populace of the school, especially the Headmaster, never find out about her heritage, she could care less about what their reaction might be should her feelings for both Raven and Ben become public knowledge, but it all centered around how those two would specifically react; there was the slight matter that Ben might be ticked off (though considering Jane and Venus' current relationship with one another and Ben she didn't think this would be much of an issue), but what really worried her was how Raven might react.

With a second sigh, Cerise climbed back up to her feet and made her way down the hall to head back in the direction of the dorm she shared with Cedar, deciding that what she needed was a walk to clear her scattered thoughts and that walking around outside of the girl's dormitory in nothing but her hood and pajamas was already cutting it close.

---

The Well of Wonder seemed to have once again flipped Ever After's seasons for what seemed to have been the hundredth time since Ben had come tumbling through her life, and Cerise was beginning to wonder if there wasn't just something on the other end of the well that causing this phenomenon in the first place considering it seemed to happen on a regularly basic schedule; really, it was a wonder that the weather and more importantly the ecosystem was able to adapt so quickly to the changes in temperature and climate.

Just weeks ago, the tall, ancient trees that made up the Enchanted Forest had been stripped bare of their leaves and reduced to gnarled, old claws that ached and scratched at the vulnerable underbelly of the sky, only to be budding and growing green once more with new life now that the temperature had risen and the golden glow of the sun bathed them in its warmth on a more regular basis, the mountains and fields of snow now reduced to lush, green grass stained with dew and a few, stray puddles left over from the sudden melt. Where the air had once been desolate and only lingered with the aching caws of crows and the sharp protests of blue jays, now red breasted robins fluttered along the branches among chattering gold finches and squirrels in search of fresh food for however long the Spring would last.

All of this allowed and help Cerise to clear her mind of her troubles and chaotic thoughts; she could already feel her unconsciously clenched and tense muscles relax a few hairs as she breathed in sweet, fresh air while walking along one of the trails of the Enchanted Forest; it was one of the lesser known trails that the woods had to offer those that ventured into its realm and the Riding Hood was confidentially sound that only Ashlynn knew a slightly less complex map of the network of paths and deer trails that wormed their way through the extensive forest that stretched onward for miles in nearly every direction.

She was quite deep in the forest, only a couple miles from the small cottage that her mother resided in, but the Daughter of Red Riding Hood didn't feel like going home for advice; not only would it raise some suspicions from her mother, who often expected Cerise to call about coming home during breaks and weekends, but she was pretty sure her parents would not be much help in advising her on how to solve her problems.

That also only added onto the slowly growing heap of problems building up inside of Cerise's head. Just how would her parents react t her feelings to Raven and Ben? To be fair, her parents already approved of her relationship with Ben and her mother had even offered to adopt Raven as their own child at one point so, that wasn't much of an issue, but the main problem was her family's pack; she hadn't forgotten how estranged and out of place she felt in her father's pack, how some of the members snarled and glared incredulously at her, silently telling her she didn't belong with them and never would and that she never would be accepted by them.

Of course, the second her mother picked up on such signals, she grabbed her fearsome ax and went on a hunting spree, returning back to the pack with five, full grown stags, a sack of rabbits, and a whole turkey tied together and drug along the ground by a rope strapped to her shoulders and back; after that, the majority of the pack had no qualms with her mother being their alpha's mate and often let her join them on hunting expeditions for fear of her great skill with the ax and the constant threat to neuter anyone who got her nerves with a rusty spoon.

Cerise was so lost in her thoughts and her memories that she hardly noticed where her feet had taken her until she took one step forward and very nearly lost her footing and took a dive into the pond that she had very nearly walked off the bank of. Once she had regained her footing and slowed her breathing after very nearly taking a dive, she looked around to find that she had walked all the way to Enchanted Lake, the shaded pond a fair distance from the Village of Book End that was unofficially claimed as Duchess Swan's property where she went to calm her mind and dance upon the water's surface through means no one quite fully understood. The pond was of considerable size, sheltered by ancient oaks and an apple tree that offered fresh fruit whenever Duchess got hungry, looming over stands of cattails and reeds that offered protection to smaller fish and frogs from the predators of the pond's ecosystem; one thing that Cerise was quite of however, was that a set of familiar clothes did not belong to any part of that ecosystem.

"Morning, Cerise!"

The Daughter of Red Riding Hood resisted the urge to startle and fall into the pond and calm her racing pulse, turning to look at Venus sitting at the base of an old tree on the edge of Enchanted Lake where the water was within reach should she so desire; the plant ghoul's legs were folded up into the lotus position with her wrists resting on her knees and her fingers lightly clenched in a relaxed position.

"What are you doing out here?" Cerise wondered. "Shouldn't you be with Ben?"

Venus shrugged slightly with a smile. "We all love Ben to pieces, but every now and again we just all need some personal space and alone time. Me and Jane chose to spend our time reconnecting with Mother Nature after a long absence."

Cerise blinked. "Jane?"

The sound of water moving quickly caught the attention of her sharp senses and she glanced down at the water just in time to see a faint shadow swim beneath the surface close to the shore before the water suddenly exploded in a wet shower as Jane resurfaced and gasped for breath, lightly soaking Cerise much to her annoyance as the shape-shifter pulled her dripping wet locks out of her eyes and smiled sheepishly at her. "Did someone say my name?"

"What are you doing?" Cerise wondered, crouching down to rest on her knees as Jane swam over to the edge of the pond to give her arms a rest from keeping her afloat.

Jane smiled fondly. "Back home in the jungle . . . my jungle, I suppose you could call it . . . I would spend hours just swinging on a vine and jumping into the pools and rivers, swimming and just enjoying the water with my creature friends. The elephants were quite friendly . . . the crocodiles, not so much." she added with a slight cringe. "Of course, they were usually suffering from stomach aches, so I probably wasn't something they felt like dealing with . . ."

"You do realize that this is Duchess' pond, right?" Cerise wondered.

Jane felt a slight frown cross her lips. "I thought I smelled swan . . . and I thought peacocks were self centered . . ."

Venus let one of her eyes blink open from her meditative state. "Are you sure Duchess wouldn't mind if we use her pond a little?"

Cerise shook her head. "Probably not. She's pretty protective of it."

"In that case, you better get out, Jane." Venus sighed.

Upon hearing that suggestion, the jungle ghoul's lavender face turned a deep magenta in color as she blushed and nervously twiddled her fingers, sinking a little deeper into the pond's depths. "Well . . . uh . . . I-I would, but . . ."

"Don't you have a swimsuit?" Cerise rolled her eyes, instantly pinching her brow and sighing when Jane sank into the water up to her chin with a sheepish smile and an intense blush upon her facial features. "You have got to be kidding me . . ."

"I-I never really had a need for one back home . . ." Jane twiddled her fingers nervously. "And there weren't any that fit me when Apple took us shopping, so . . ."

Cerise sighed and turned around with exasperation. "I don't know why I'm even doing this . . . just hurry up." she said without looking over her shoulder. Venus felt a small smile creep across her fang crossed lips as Jane took a deep breath and grabbed the edges of the bank, fluidly hauling herself out of the water as smoothly and as quickly as possible, only pausing briefly to wringe out her hair and attempt to shake herself partially dry and giving Venus an all too alluring look at her small breasts and curves before the jungle ghoul quickly slipped her clothes back on and allowed Cerise to turn back around while making the final adjustments to her attire.

Once she was sure that Jane was fully clothed once more Cerise turned back around and watched with wistful wantoning as the shape-shifter walked over to Venus and sat down next to her, crossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap while awkwardly resting her head on the plant ghoul's shoulder, as if still unsure of how to properly act in this relationship of theirs even after their time together; Venus gave a mischievous smile and wrapped an arm around Jane's shoulder and pulled her into her embrace, shifting the wielder of the Nemetrix onto her lap and resting her chin on her head in a comfortable position for both parties.

"Something wrong, ghoul friend? You look a little wilted." Venus remarked after a little bit.

Cerise shook her head and brushed it off. "I'm fine."

"Cerise . . ." Jane spoke up. "We can see it on your face. Something is clearly bothering you.

"Whatever's wrong, Cerise, we might be able to help. Ghoul friends help ghoul friends, right?" Venus continued to persuade her.

After an age of thinking and mentally arguing with herself, Cerise finally relented with a heavy sigh and crawled over to the two ghouls, lying down on her back when Venus patted the grass beside her with a comforting smile on her lips. "Maybe you can help me."

"We can certainly try." Jane reassured her. "What seems to be the problem?"

Cerise lay there for a few minutes, merely gazing up at the bright, blue sky overhead and contemplating her choices, choosing her words carefully to avoid getting an answer to a solution that just might turn out worse than it needed to be. "I guess . . . my problem is Raven."

Venus raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're feeling alright? I mean, you and Raven are Beast Friends."

Cerise shook her head. "No it's, not that . . ."

"Did something happen to Raven?" Jane asked, a waver of concern in her voice; while she was not as uncomfortable around blood as much as Draculaura was, the jungle ghoul was not exactly the violent type and was not fond of dealing with horrific scenes of mutilation and gore in most cases. This only seemed to apply whenever Ben, Venus, or Robecca were not in danger however and she took a somewhat awkward comfort whenever he and her fellow harem ghouls expressed their fear and awe at her power and strength when fully enraged.

"No, she's fine." Cerise reassured her. "It's more about what's wrong with me."

"Well enough beating around the graveyard. What's buggin' you?" Venus poked anxiously.

Cerise gave another sigh and decided to finally spit it out. "I-I'm . . . I'm in love with Raven." she whispered in quiet tone, instinctively tugging down the hood of her crimson cloak to hide her embarrassment as if she were expecting the two ghouls to suddenly start laughing at her.

Venus and Jane instead shared a look with each other, their faces shifting features and expressions every now and again as if they were having a mental conversation simply by reading the other's expressions before they turned back with Cerise with bemused smiles upon their lips. "And you want advice?"

"Y-Yes." Cerise nodded, her voice quiet and timid for once in her life that didn't involve acting.

Venus hummed. "Well, you'll first need a quiet place, preferably a dorm with a nice, comfy bed and dim lighting . . . some romantic music wouldn't hurt either . . . then strip down to your underwear and-" she was cut off as Jane clapped a hand over her mouth and threw her a look.

"I would advise not to listen to her." Jane suggested. "Spring air tends to make Venus a little more frisky than usual, what with all the foreign pollen floating about."

"Noted." Cerise agreed, casting a slightly irked look in the plant ghoul's direction. "So . . . do you think you can help me?"

Venus nodded and waited as Jane allowed her hand to be removed from her ghoulfriend's face and held warmly. "First off, how do you feel about Raven? Do you only like her for her body or do you see more in her? Because if it's the first option, you two might be better off being just friends with benefits . . . assuming she swings that way . . ." she added as an after thought.

"I've been trying not to think about that . . ." Cerise sighed wistfully.

"So how do you feel?" Jane pressed gently. "What goes through your head whenever you see her?"

Cerise inhaled a deep breath, closing her eyes and imaging Raven in her head, her consciousness digging deep into her memories of the witchling to remember every inch of her flawless, white skin, every last one of her curves and cracks and crevices, the way her clothes wrapped around her body, and the way her face lit up whenever she caught sight of the Riding Hood. "I . . . every time I see Raven . . . it's just . . . every time I see her, it's like nothing matters anymore; the destiny conflict, my family heritage, this whole mess with Ben's story . . . none of it matters whenever I see her. Everyday, whenever I wake up, she's the one to help me make it through the day. Whenever I'm down and crushed, she's there to help me up. And those eyes . . . that hair . . . those lips . . ." she felt her face turn red.

"Kind of like Ben when we first met him, eh?" Venus smirked.

Jane felt herself smiling. "He hid it well . . ."

"We got it out of him, didn't we?"

"Need I remind you that I was unable to walk properly for three days?" Jane chided her ghoulfriend.

Venus scowled. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"'An elephant never forgets,' as they say." the jungle ghoul quoted.

Cerise was shaken out of her brief daydreaming by the two ghoul's bantering, mentally slapping herself for going all 'helpless maiden' at the sheer thought of Raven in her arms, whispering sweet nothings in her ears. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"Remember that crazy plan Venus suggested earlier?" Jane asked, feeling her face turn a deep magenta in color.

Cerise covered her eyes, pushing multiple dirty images out of her head that specifically involved being alone with Ben and Raven in a dimly lit room together for hours on end. "Forget I asked," she mumbled between her fingers. "So . . . what should I do?"

"In my experience, chase your future ghoulfriend who has just discovered she has shape-shifting abilities all over a future dystopian base in the middle of a nuclear winter." Venus shrugged, earning wide eyes of shock and confusion from Cerise.

Jane coughed awkwardly. "What Venus means to say is, don't run away from this problem of yours. Tackle it head on and simply tell Raven how you feel."

"And assuming everything with Raven turns out alright, you're sure Ben won't mind?" Cerise asked. "I don't want to lose him. He's the only full decent guy around here; the others are either taken, unofficially claimed, too soft spoken for my tastes, or have narcissistic egos the size of the entire White Kingdom."

Venus suddenly burst out laughing, startling Jane as Cerise starred at her as if she had just lost her mind; the plant ghoul wiped a tear form her eye. "Ghoul, Jane's been snatching up ghouls left and right to add to her own harem within a harem and Ben could care less," Venus snickered as Jane covered her face with her hands to try and hide her blush from the intense embarrassment she was feeling. "It just means more hot ghoul on ghoul sex for him!"

". . . And this is what I put up with on a 24/7 basis." Jane mumbled from between her fingers with the feeling that her face could have quite literally been compared to that of a molten volcano, she felt so hot and bothered by her ghoulfriend's blunt words and lack of any censoring. "Honestly, can't you try and restrain yourself a little, Venus?"

"I know you like it," Venus purred seductively, curling a finger under Jane's chin and kissing her softly on her neck and jawline and giving a mischievous smirk when Jane moaned slightly upon having her overly sensitive skin caressed. "Don't try to deny it either. Robecca has all our special moments together stored in her memory banks."

Cerise raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing something here?"

Venus giggled as Jane buried herself in her hands to try and cover her embarrassment. "Lets just say there's one more member to our little party between us and Ben."

"You ghouls get away with too much." Cerise sighed, pinching her brow.

Venus shrugged. "Well, we don't have destinies to follow, so we don't have rules to follow. Monsters are a very free spirited species."

"I can see that." Cerise cast a look at the way Jane was trying to deny the way Venus' calculating fingers always managed to find her most receptive points and sensitive of spots that reduced her to mere putty in her ghoulfriend's hand; the Daughter of Red Riding Hood couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to touch Raven like that. "Either way, thanks for the advice."

"You're most welcome." Jane managed to reduce her heavy blush to a light tinge with a grace of a smile upon her lips as she made herself comfy on Venus' lap and nuzzled warmly into her frame.

Venus suddenly got a mischievous idea. "You know, if you and Raven don't work out, I'm always willing to try." she offered. "And if it does work out, maybe we could try some . . . experimenting . . ."

Cerise frowned as she cast a side glance at the plant ghoul. "Blondie and Duchess coming in at twelve o'clock in exactly eighteen seconds." she said casually; Venus gave a sudden grunt as Jane leaped off of her and immediately jumped for the safety of the pond, her pond morphing and shifting in a manner of seconds. Her fingers shrank back into her hands with a series of snaps and cracks until they were reduced down to the first joint, her nails growing longer and sharper as a sort of nearly invisible webbing formed between them while her skin faded to deep, brackish purple in color and split and crack into hundreds upon thousands of armored scales that wrapped around her quickly growing body and formed particularly durable upon her back. Jane's face bulged outward into a into a dully, pointed snout perfectly designed for capturing prey as tooth after tooth, fang after fang tore through her gums and replaced every last one of her original teeth for something perfectly shaped for grabbing and tearing; her throat swelled and bloated as her organs rolled around inside of her with wet sloshing and oozing sounds as they took similar, but different forms or disappeared altogether while rearranging themselves into a new position. Her eyes rotated to either side of her head on liquid skin as every last strand of hair was sucked back into her body like strands of spaghetti just as a powerful tail longer than her entire body sprouted from the base of her spine while her arms and legs shifted jointed with a grinding noise; the Nemetrix appeared as a collar around her neck, ending the transformation.

With a tremendous splash, the lilac alligator dove beneath the surface of the pond and sank to the bottom, hugging the mud and silt as the disturbance above dissipated and left no trace of her behind; Venus glared with irritation at Cerise, wringing out her sopping wet hair while the Riding Hood smirked and left Enchanted Lake behind to go see if she couldn't locate Raven before lunch.

Just as she left, Duchess came daintily strolling through the bushes with a stressed, stuck up pout on her face as she walked delicately on the toes of her ballet slippers that never seemed to leave her feet no matter the circumstance. Upon catching sight of Venus however, the swan maiden felt her lips curve into a light scowl, her hands immediately going to her hips to adopt a dominating posture of authority. "What are you doing here?" she snarled.

Venus bit back the venomous hiss at the back of her throat and the urge to encompass Duchess in a tangle of thorny creepers and vines to slather her in digestive juices and dissolve her body for nutrients; while her species had originally started out as vicious, ravenous carnivores before they developed the ability to uproot and move onto new hunting grounds when food became scarce, she and the rest of her kind had quickly evolved beyond the need to entice prey in with sweet scents and nectars every other week or so, though this did not mean they lacked the capabilities to do so.

The plant ghoul instead shrugged nonchalantly. "Just enjoying Mother Nature and all her beauty. Your lake is the jewel of her crown." she added; while Venus truly did admire the condition and beauty of Enchanted Lake, it hurt to compliment Duchess of all monsters or fairy tales.

A proud smirk crossed Duchess' face as she folded her hands over her bust. "Why, thank you." she purred. "Looks as if you monsters aren't as disgusting and uncultured as I thought." she gave a smug smile, oblivious to Venus' clenched fangs as she flexed and stretched before delicately and gracefully leaping out onto the pond and touching down on the water's surface; Venus half expected the swan maiden to sink beneath the surface like a rock, only to find that Duchess graciously danced and pirouetted across the water's surface with barely a ripple as if she were moving about on a stable surface. And while Venus hated to admit it, the swam maiden was an amazing dancer.

After a while however, even Duchess needed to rest; an old log that had finally managed to break free of the sticky mud and silt at the bottom of the pond and float to the surface provided a suitable platform for Duchess to relax her muscles and take a breather from her practice. "Hard to imagine that someone like you could attract someone like Ben." she mumbled to herself.

"Excuse me?" Venus raised an eyebrow from her location on the shore.

Duchess gave a mocking, apologetic smile. "Be honest, do you really think someone as handsome or brave or heroic as Ben could possible like you horrific monstrosities? He's probably just leading you on!"

"And why should I give a manticore's tail about what you say?" Venus scoffed.

Duchess smirked deeply and fluidly climbed to her feet, her hands traveling slowly and proactively over her slim figure, highlighting her long, delicate legs, wide hips and ass, her slim shoulders, lengthy arms, and finally stopping to cup her large breasts that were almost on par with Venus'. "Why bother with someone that's more likely to bite him than kiss him when he could have all this?" she cooed seductively.

"Why bother with someone who's more likely going to bite his head off than actually care about him specifically?" Venus countered with a smug smirk crossing her lips when she realized something very important; before she could do anything however, the brush and bushes rustled and caught her attention. The sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs was absolutely deafening to Venus, and whatever was coming did not seem to understand the concept of staying as quiet and silent as possible if it was even attempting to do so. Before long, none other than Blondie Locks came army crawling through the undergrowth in a pith helmet, an old T-shirt decorated with the faded images of bees and bears, and a pair of khaki cargo shorts with dirty sneakers and her Mirrorphone clutched tightly in her hand.

Duchess cocked an eyebrow. "Blondie, what are you doing?"

The Daughter of Goldie Locks grunted as she propped herself up on her elbow and climbed to her feet, her arms and legs coated with grass stains, dirt, and muck that she attempted to brush off. "I'm trying to find Jane," she explained. "For a girl, she moves really fast."

Venus rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. And this ghoul happens to not only have grown up in the middle of the jungle, but can also change into animals at will, and possesses a device that harbors the DNA of any of a million extraterrestrial animals with any number of powers and abilities that you are most likely aware of."

"I just want an interview!" Blondie sighed wistfully. "Is that too much to ask?"

Venus scoffed. "You know Jane hates cameras and being put in the spotlight."

"I know! I just want to do a written interview, that's all!" Blondie explained in a pleading tone before turning to Venus with a begging expression. "Can you please help me find her?"

Venus tapped her chin; to Duchess and Blondie, it looked as if she was actually contemplating about whether or not to betray her ghoulfriend and help the Daughter of Goldie Locks, when really she had already made her decision. As much as she absolutely loved embarrassing her little Sweet Mango, she had absolutely no intentions of putting Jane through that kind of torture and thus decided to remain tight lipped.

"I think she went that way." the plant ghoul pointed off in a random direction. Blondie squealed excitedly and quickly scurried off in the direction that Venus had pointed in, her Mirrorphone at the ready to take notes and a few pictures if necessary while the plant ghoul attempted to hold back her laughter; as if Blondie would ever get anywhere near Jane. She had seen her Sweet Mango swing through the trees with the greatest of ease, her feet functioning just as well as her hands, her agility unmatched, and that was when she wasn't in the form of an arboreal animal to help her flip and jump and leap through the canopy.

Duchess seemed to share similar sentiments with Venus, for once having something in common with the plant ghoul. "Just what about Jane is so interesting?" she scoffed.

Venus shrugged. "I don't know. But I have something that might be of interest to you."

"What?"

Venus grinned mischievous, pointing at the log beneath Duchess' feet. "I thought you might to know that that log you're standing on? It's not a log." she teased; before the swan maiden could even ask what that bit of seemingly random nonsense meant, the water exploded in a chaotic eruption as the log fully surfaced to reveal that it was, in fact, a very large and very irritated alligator that did not take kindly to having even Duchess standing on its back and proceeded to tell her this by snapping its bone crushing jaws at her as the swan maiden screamed and flailed, falling into Enchanted Lake with a loud splash!

Venus was rolling on the ground in laughter, her sides heaving in and out as Duchess resurface and wiped her wet locks out of her face before taking one look at the alligator in the water and promptly screaming a shrill yell as she fought and swam for the water's edge before scrambling back onto land while the massive, armored reptile swam a slow, patrolling lap around the circumference of her pond, growling lowly and never tearing its cold gaze away from her.

"There's a crocodile in my pond!" Duchess screamed angrily.

"Alligator." Venus corrected once she was able to hold back her laughter and breath properly once more. "You can tell by the fact that all its teeth fit into its mouth and that's snout is more U-shaped."

Duchess fumed. "I don't care!" she yelled, screaming once more when the alligator roared and lunged at her, snapping its jaws just half a foot away from her face; the aquatic reptile seemed to smile to itself as Duchess scrambled to her feet and quickly fled the scene, unaware of when the alligator climbed ashore and lugged its weight across the ground to rest by Venus's side before it disappeared in a whirl of tough, armored plating, teeth, and curly, unkempt hair and was replaced by Jane's tired and relieved form.

"Thank you." the jungle ghoul sighed.

Venus smiled lovingly and shifted herself up to sit on her knees. "It was nothing. I can already see why you're scared of Blondie; she doesn't know when to quit."

Jane shuddered uncomfortably. "That's an understatement." she swallowed nervously before scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "So . . . um, what do you want to do now?"

Venus tapped her chin thought, a slow smirk crossing her lips; she noticed that she had been doing a lot of that lately, and she really couldn't blame herself. Even with the lack of her beloved Robecca, she had finally found her missing boyfriend and still had her little Sweet Mango as well. "Maybe . . . a swim?" she suggested. "We have the pond all to ourselves."

Jane felt her face turn a light magenta. "B-But . . . I don't have a swimsuit . . ."

Venus purred and kissed Jane's temple with that alluring grin that Jane found herself submitting under. "Neither do I."

---

Ben yawned and scratched himself sleepily as he leaned on a croquet mallet and attempted to fight back the urge to simply turn right around, head back to his dorm, and fall back asleep with his ghouls and girls. This was quickly forgotten when he caught sight of Whisp taking a few wide swings of her own croquet mallet, which happened to be carved like that of a brightly colored flamingo similar to Ben's own mallet, and Lizzie Hearts carefully setting up the wickets for their morning match.

"So . . . what exactly are we doing?" Ben wondered.

That was a lie, actually. He knew exactly what they were doing out on the school's grounds this early in the morning, accompanied by Briar and Rosabella Beauty; the other members of the croquet team, consisting of Apple and Blondie, were preoccupied with either sleeping in like the former or hunting down their latest news report and not coming any closer to finding or catching her quarry, leaving Ben, Whisp, and Rosabella to stand in and substitute for them upon Lizzie's request, which only confused Ben even more as playing a sport as quiet and relaxing as croquet was not something he did on the weekends.

Usually those were taken up by finishing his grades at Monster High, filling out his Plumber duties, and fulfilling the needs of nearly twenty ghouls that all wanted a piece of him by the time he got home and flopped down on the couch to try and relax the few minutes he was granted before one of his many spouses came to snap him up and claim before anyone else could.

"We are playing Wonderland croquet." Lizzie replied; satisfied with her work, she picked up her own mallet, a wooden instrument that was carved to look more like a shoe-billed stork and was colored various shades of golden, red, and black to signify that it was of royal quality, and sauntered over to the gathered group with an air of authority. "I thought you of all people might enjoy this."

Ben swallowed nervously, remembering the small rumors he had heard about the Princess of Heart's temper and slicing capabilities. "Uh, not to be rude, but this kinda seems out of my league. I'm used to smashing things with a mallet, not playing a sport with it."

"In this case, you'll be doing both." Lizzie smirked as pulled a wooden ball carved and decorated to look like a curled up hedgehog and set it on the ground at her feet; Ben watched with confusion as she carefully took aim and lightly tapped the ball with the beak of her mallet in an experimental fashion before she gave a sudden battle cry and hit the croquet ball as hard as possible, sending it flying through the air, ricocheting off a tree branch, springing off of a nearby bush, and bouncing off a rock before it rolled through the first two wickets and came to a final stop.

Whisp grinned eagerly as Ben simple gaped and starred in shock. "I'm sold!"

"Remind me to have you teach me more Wonderland games." Ben mumbled.

Lizzie smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "I'll make a deal with you then. If you can beat me, I'll teach you more about Wonderland. If you lose, you become my personal servant for the day."

"You should know by now that I never back down from a challenge." Ben returned her cocky smirk, taking her outstretched and giving it a firm squeeze, only finding mild surprise in the fact that Lizzie had a grip just as tight if not stronger than his own.

"Oh, dear." Skurd muttered to himself while rubbing his gelatinous temples with his tentacles.

Briar and Rosabella shared a look with each other before the later took a step forward and pulled Ben back to have a word with. "Not to put a damper on things, Ben, but Lizzie is the best croquet player in all of Wonderland and Ever After. Even the Queen of Hearts herself can't beat her!" Rosabella warned him in a hushed tone.

"You'll get creamed!" Briar agreed.

"Not like the lad hasn't lost before." Skurd mumbled under his breath.

"Why now of all times have you decided to actually wake up before noon?" Ben wondered in an accusing tone.

The Slimebiote resting upon the Omnitrix shrugged. "Without the constant threat of combat, I have had to resort to other means of keeping myself occupied; sleeping got boring after awhile, and this seemed like a legitimate way to preoccupy my time with."

"I'm all for it!" Whisp grinned broadly. "In fact, I want in on this bet, too!"

"Wait, what?" Ben blinked with surprise as Whisp turned to Lizzie.

"If you win, you get three wishes from me, free of charge. If I win, you have to do anything I say for the rest of the day!" Whisp's broad smile increased to be on par with that of Kitty and the Cheshire Cat herself.

Naturally, just like Ben, the Daughter of the Queen of Hearts could not back down from a challenge, especially one that offered such rewarding offers if she won. It wasn't only that, however; being the heir to a place as wondrous, maddening, and powerful as Wonderland of all places meant that she had a reputation to build and upkeep whenever possible, and backing down from a challenge that involved her realm's official sporting event would only be seen as weak and unbecoming as a future ruler, but also as an utter disgrace and embarrassment to the royal family and her people.

Without hesitation, Lizzie shook the genie's hand and the bet was made. "Deal."

"This can't end well." Briar shook her head.

"My sentiments exactly." Skurd agreed. "My only question is why we are using sticks and balls instead of hedgehogs and birds? If I remember reading some of your primitive, human literature, those are the proper tools, yes?"

Lizzie cringed slightly. "Our ancestors did use to do that back when Wonderland mostly consisted of warring, nomadic tribes, but ever since the passing of the United Kingdoms Against Cruelty to Beasts Act was passed, we've switched to using more humane methods. That, and it was easier than having to stop matches simply because the balls got too dizzy or the mallets suffered from concussions."

Ben shrugged. "Make sense. Jane and Ashlynn would have your head if you even considered using the traditional methods."

"The irony is not lost on me, Ben." the Princess of Hearts rolled her eyes as she dug into the pocket of her royal dress and pulled out a green ball with the features like that of one of the many hedgehogs that the White Queen would often draw and present to her classes like some proud child (the pictures were often covered in polka dots and stripes of many colors and were not always colored within the lines). "Don't forget our little deal."

Ben smirked as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before finding the transformation he needed. "Oh, I didn't forget." he grinned as he slammed a hand down on the Omnitrix and was swallowed in a blast of green light that warped and shifted his DNA into something new and bizarre. His skin turned a dark gray in color as his skeleton groaned and cracked loudly as he slowly grew a couple feet taller, his ears becoming long and floppy like that of a rabbit's, drooping down on either side of his head before they stiffened and stood erect once more; his eyes shifted shape slightly, became more diamond-like and turning an emerald green in color. His arms grew until his knuckles just barely touched the ground, small spikes popping out of his elbows and his pinky finger slurping back into his wrist. A loud grinding noise came to Ben's attention as a skeletal tail whipped out from the base of his spine, fresh muscle surrounding the bare bone and wrapping it in tissue before smooth skin raced over to cover up the pulsing, red flesh. His toes popped back into his foot one by one as the bone quickly oozed to the surface like jelly before hardening into a solid hoof, like that of a horse, while his organs sloshed and squelched around inside of him as his expanding skull was crammed full with his pulsing brain. The final piece of the transformation was the addition of black and green arm and leg braces, chest plate, shoulder pads, belt, and a helmet that protected his skull while the Omnitrix and Skurd appeared on the belt a

round his waist.

"Why, this is merely child's play." Brains scoffed as he placed his ball down on the ground and looked out over the croquet course set out for him. His complex mind took note of each of the wicket's locations, the placement of stray rocks and the tree branches overhead, the amount of force he would need to put behind the ball in order to set it in motion, and finally the rate at which Headmaster Grimm was taking his morning walk not too far away.

With that being said and done, the Twins turned on his heel and wrapped his prehensile tail around the handle of his croquet mallet before giving it a mighty swing and sending it flying in the opposite direction.

Lizzie was thoroughly confused; this was weird, even by Wonderland standards. "Uh, Ben? The wickets are the other way." she pointed out.

"Patience is a virtue, lower life form." Brains reminded her, ignorant of the way the Princess of Hearts was turning a bright, ruby red out of fury; Briar and Rosabella however, did notice and wisely took several steps back while Whisp merely watched everything unfold with an ever smug smirk upon her lips. The green croquet ball when shooting across the grass before it ricocheted off of a rock sunk low into the ground and soared high into the air before it came plummeting back down to earth and landed in a nearby tree with a small explosion of leaves as the ball knocked and bounced around the branches to finally bounce off a particularly protruding knob and shoot off through the air like a rocket, conking Grimm on the back of his head; the ball then came plummeting back down to the ground and shot through the first, second, third, and fourth wicket, bouncing off their brothers and sisters to do so, much to Lizzie's amazement, as the ball started to lose momentum and roll at a slower pace through the fifth, sixth, and seventh wicket until it was at a crawl when it went through the eighth wicket and came to a teetering stop.

Briar smirked as Lizzie sighed with relief. "So close, and yet so far."

"Wait for it." Brains raised a finger as he rested on his bird-shaped croquet mallet like an aged man.

A slight breeze rolled across the grounds, rattling the leaves into a cacophony of rustling and crunching overhead and shaking loose a single walnut that plunged down towards the earth and graciously bounced off of the green ball, knocking it loose and giving it enough momentum to roll through the ninth and final wicket before just barely tapping against the stake.

"And that, is how it's done." Brains smirked as the girls all gaped in absolute shock while Whisp continued to grin broadly and clapped her hands with excitement; even Skurd was dumbfounded as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world in a flash of green light.

Lizzie was flabbergasted. "Wh-What . . . ho- . . . you . . . I mean, you . . . that's cheating!" she cried weakly.

Surprisingly enough, it was Skurd of all people that spoke up in Ben's defense. "If I remember correctly, dear, the Queen of Hearts was notorious for winning every single game of croquet anyone ever played against her by making her palace guards throw themselves over the rolling ball in the place of wickets in order to win. Technically speaking, my host's so called cheating remains sound."

"He . . . does make a point, Lizzie . . ." Briar piped up.

"Thank you for refraining from calling yours truly a booger." Skurd bowed deeply.

"I was thinking it." Briar admitted.

"I immediately withdraw my gratitude."

Lizzie was still at a loss for words. "I . . . you . . . lucky shot!"

"Not luck! Skill." Ben grinned. "I believe that means I've won our little bet?"

The Daughter of the Queen of Hearts and future ruler to Wonderland looked like she was going to blow a gasket, her face was so red that one could almost imagine steam to come powering out of her ears; that is, until everyone's attention was drawn to someone that even angrier than Lizzie.

"Mr. Tennyson!" Headmaster Grimm barked as he angrily hobbled over to them with his cane; despite suffering from a leg injury during the Christmas season (the Winter Solstice if one was of the witch culture), the old man still possessed a limping posture that required him to support himself with a cane in order to walk properly without any word from the school healer (who seemed to hold a grudge of some kind against the aging headmaster) on whether or not it would be permanent or otherwise.

Skurd didn't seem happy to see the headmaster either. "Oh, look. It's Mr. Cheery come to brighten up our lives." he mumbled sarcastically, folding his pseudopods over whatever passed as a chest for his species.

Whisp however, had a sly smirk upon her lips. "Don't worry. I'll handle this." she whispered before disappearing in a puff of blackened smoke.

"Um . . . should we be worried?" Briar wondered.

Ben shrugged. "With Whisp you never know."

"Yes, that is a comforting thought." Skurd continued to grumble.

A loud bang! caught their attention and they all turned to see a puff of black smoke erupt directly in front of the now hacking and coughing Headmaster Grimm as the ash quickly dispersed to reveal Whisp now clad in broad shouldered, tight, angular, blue tuxedo bedazzled with thousands of glittering gems and jewels that made ones eyes hurt just by looking at as she held a microphone in her hands.

"Welcome back to 'Rub the Lamp'! I'm your host Whisp Grant, and today our contestant is none other than the headmaster of Ever After High himself! Give it up for Headmaster Milton Grimm!" the genie exclaimed proudly, snapping her fingers and making dozens of pairs of decapitated, clapping hands flash into existence through a series of puffs of smoke that rattled the old man out of his state of anger.

"What in the kingdom-" he began before Whisp cut him off and sent the hands away in a puff of black smoke.

"Now, Milton, all you have to do is answer the final question before you win 'Rub the Lamp'!" Whisp grinned broadly before she pulled a small index card out of her breast pocket and assumed a somewhat more serious posture. "What kind of animal is often referred to as a 'ship of the desert'?" she read off.

The Headmaster was utterly confused. "I haven't the foggiest idea what this even-"

"Ten seconds!" Whisp interrupted as a gigantic, golden pocket watch appeared in her fingers from the end of a gold chain. "Clock's ticking, old man, you want that prize you better answer the question!"

Seeing no other way out of the genie's shenanigans, the headmaster finally gave in with a tired sigh. "A camel. The answer is a camel."

Instantly a series of bright lights and loud sirens flashed and wailed all around him from a series of hidden locations whose whereabouts would forever remain nameless to Grimm. "That's correct! You win the grand prize!"

"Ms. Grant, is it? I'm sorry, but I don't have time for these games-" the headmaster tried to worm his way out of the situation.

Once again the genie cut him off. "And what better way to make your grand entrance on the streets of Book End than riding your very own, brand new camel!" Whisp shouted dramatically as she snapped her fingers; before the headmaster could even protest or scream, he was engulfed in a puff of smoke and powerful magic that left him gagging and coughing and down right irritated until he realized that he felt oddly different than before. It wasn't until he looked over him and found that he now had four knobby legs with splayed, padded hooves, a muzzle full of sharp, grinding teeth, and a fatty hump upon which a saddle sat did he realized that, while retaining his royal blue jacket and ascot, he had undoubtedly been turned into a rather smelly and ill-tempered camel. "Watch out, they spit."

"Ms. Grant! I expect this kind of behavior from Ms. Queen every now and again, but-"

For the third time since he had gotten himself into the current mess, Whisp interrupted the camel again. "Hmmmm. Not enough." she tapped her chin in thought, ditching the grand and extravagant tuxedo and outfit before snapping her fingers once more and swallowing the headmaster in a puff of smoke to then turn him into a proud, white stallion that still seemed to harbor the same irritable attitude of his previous form.

"Still not enough!" Whisp cursed under her breath. "Oh, lets see, what do we have . . ?" she mumbled quietly to herself as she snapped her fingers repeatedly and turned the unfortunate headmaster into several various forms that included, but were not limited to, a duck, an ostrich, a box turtle, a griffin, and even the latest carriage model before finally returning him to his original form; by then, the headmaster had long forgotten what he was so annoyed about in the first place and was just trying to get away.

Unfortunately for him, Whisp had other ideas. "YES!" she exclaimed proudly as an idea finally came into her head before she turned to face the trembling headmaster with what one could describe as a somewhat demented or insane smile.

"Eezala mumbo, sheembe bumbo!" the genie chanted a spell before cocking her fingers like a gun and firing off a jet of smei-powerful cosmic energy at the now fleeing headmaster, successfully hitting him square in the back and encompassing in a puff of blackened smoke that filled Ben and Lizzie's entire vision for several seconds as they hacked and coughed and waved their hands in front of their faces to try and get some clear air.

Once the black, ashy smoke had finally cleared and allowed them to properly breath, all four of them and Skurd couldn't help but double over in laughter upon seeing that the headmaster had been finally turned into a mighty elephant wearing an oversized jacket, shirt, and ascot over his hulking, leathery hide; it wasn't until he realized that he had gained several tons in weight and had a trunk at the end of his face did the headmaster finally give up and go stampeding off towards the healer's office, trumpeting all the way as the ground thundered and trembled beneath him.

"Talk about your trunk space. Check that action out!" Whisp laughed, jerking a thumb in the pachyderm's direction as he attempted to squeeze through the school's front doors; after all, if Tiny the giant could do it, so could he.

Ben snickered as Rosabella tried to stifle her giggling; Briar however, was rolling around on the grass in laughter while holding her sides. "Now that's what I call a distraction." he grinned.

Whisp bowed proudly. "I try. Now, I believe Lizzie was going to teach Ben some more Wonderland games as per their agreement?"

"It would be nice to share my realm's culture with someone," Lizzie tapped her thoughtful before she swung her bird-shaped croquet up onto her shoulder and placed her hand on her hip in an authoritative position. "But not until practice is over."

"You're still sore about losing, aren't you?" Briar guessed.

"Tee up or it's off with your head!"

"Yep, she's still sore." Ben confirmed.

---

The air felt warm against Snow White IV's pale, white skin as she inhaled a deep breath and took in the sweet scents of blooming flowers and fresh grass. This was the kind of the day that she wished that she could spend more time out in, the kind of day that just made her want to kick off her royal robes and forget about her royal duties for a couple hours and just try and recall the lost years she had left behind back before she had met her beloved husband and had conceived her beautiful daughter and just remember what it felt like to be a princess again. To have no responsibilities for a few precious hours and truly unwind; while the royal treatments and spa her occupation as a ruling head of her kingdom were quite nice after a long, grueling day of ruling over her subjects and dealing with the responsibilities of an active royal, there truly was nothing like the great outdoors to help one relax.

This was one of those times that Snow White cherished dearly, when she had a gap between her duties as a queen and now a teacher, and was fully able to commit herself to some much needed down time. She had briefly considered spending some time with Apple, but figured the princess still needed some time to adjust having her mother but a few doors down from her own dorm surrounded by all her friends. That, and she assumed her daughter would be sleeping in like a majority of the students did on weekends after spending the weeknights frantically trying to get the homework they should have done several hours prior done in time.

Honestly, she couldn't even begin to count the corrections and failed marks she had to scrawl across various reports and tests with her ever threatening and mighty, red pen.

But that was not of her concern right now. At the moment, she chose to simply focus upon enjoying the warm, Spring weather and relax. Eventually however, through the chorus of bird song that flitted and fluttered through the canopy, she found herself walking down an old, familiar trail that slowly began to bring back memories to her of her school days at Ever After High, where the destiny conflict was little more than a trivial matter and simply trying to survive the classes themselves was the main problem. Snow White remembered how she would sneak away from her friends and travel this familiar trail or even sneak out at night after curfew in nothing but her undergarments and nightgown.

Soon she found herself counting the steps she had taken during the last time she had walked this familiar trail, counting off exactly fourty-three steps from the last turn of the path and finally coming to a stop near the base of an old, ancient willow tree that seen many years of feast and famine, drought and monsoon, rain and shine, war and peace, and as of recent, love and loss. Snow White still remembered the last time she had skipped merrily to this very spot and traced her hands over the brittle bark of the trunk in search of the broken heart-shaped knothole until her fingers closed around the last note that the small hollow had ever received.

As if feeling a need for nostalgia, Snow White IV took a few more steps to the ancient willow and inhaled a deep breath that carried its sweet, blooming scents to her senses as she hugged the trunk and rested her head against the bark with eyes closed in memory.

That last note . . . that had been one of the most painful moments of her life. But it had opened doors that may have forever remained locked had she not come to her senses and realized that she was being foolish with her life and had fallen into near absolute madness (and not the Wonderland kind); had she never found that note, she may have never gone through with her destiny and met her beloved husband and had never met the adoring face of her much loved daughter. In fact, if she had never found that last note, Apple could have very well ended up looking quite different than she did now.

As if on a whim, she traced the ever familiar path her hand had used to take and slithered it across the bark, every last nook and cranny feeling like the warm touch of an old friend she had reunited with after years, until her fingers finally grazed across the old knothole; the broken heart seemed almost fitting now as she slipped her hands inside and grasped around nothing, just as she predicted. But just as Snow White was about to pull her warm out, the tip of her finger grazed against something inside the hollow, briefly catching her attention as she groped about and felt her eyes widen when she felt her hand close securely around something that felt oddly enough like paper.

The queen yanked her hand out of the hollow with her treasure clutched tightly in her grip, her eyes widening with surprise when she found that it was a letter. The piece of paper looked to be slightly weathered and worn, suffering from water damage from the melting snow and slightly torn from a possible squirrel or bird that had taken refuge for a night or two during a storm, but it was surprisingly intact. With shaking hands, Snow White unfolded the piece of paper and nearly felt her breath stop and her heart skip a beat when she read over the only two words scrawled out across the paper.

Welcome back.

Those were the only two words on the paper, and most would have discarded it as a simple note that was of little use or concern to them. But it was written in his handwriting. The somewhat messy handwriting he only used whenever addressing her in the romantic sense that they had cherished and kept hidden away from the world, the handwriting that had been on the last note that their special hollow had held before all had gone silent.

"As if remembering all of the Arthur's ancestors and relatives wasn't hard enough." Snow White murmured to herself.

The queen was then shaken out of her thoughts and worries as the ground beneath her feet trembled with a mighty quaking. Birds instinctively fled the trees overhead in chaotic flocks as the sound of felling trees and crushed wood filled her ears; the air suddenly filled with a discomforting, foul odor like that of a person that had merely chosen not to shower for several weeks and not like that of the Enchanted Forest's wild trolls and ogres who had a distinct fear of water and soap due to their cleansing properties and gained most of the moisture they required from the meals they ate. In fact, so profound was their foul odor and the layers of filth that covered their bodies that they had often been employed as gigantic stink bombs during Ever After's previous wars and the layers of muck and skank that caked their bodies worked sufficiently well as armor.

Snow white quickly forgot about trolls however and pressed herself against the trunk of the blooming, weeping willow tree as a heard of frightened deer and stags came hurling past at high speeds, their antlers just barely missing her face and body as they fled from the commotion that even sent a pair of fearsome griffins fleeing into the air with their nestlings clutched tightly in their talons for fear of losing them. Daring to take a peek, the Queen pried herself loose from the trunk of the tree by a hair and looked back in the direction from where the herd of deer had fled from, her eyes widening with fear and horror at what she saw.

Blondie Locks was screaming at the top of her lungs as she madly scrambled her legs and pumped her arms wildly, leaping over logs and rocks and shoving aside bushes and brush in a desperate attempt to flee from the gigantic beast giving chase after her. Thundering through the undergrowth was a massive boar about the size of an elephant with a pair of massive tusks nearly as big as canoes and hooves the size of carriage wheels that hammered the ground and crushed anything underneath into absolute paste; the muscles were huge and pulsing under the layer of short fur that accumulated in a thick, shaggy mane around the shoulders and neck, and despite all this its eyes were all but tiny and weak like those of a rhinoceros. Regardless, it seemed to have no issue in locking onto and charging after Blondie.

Snow White felt herself go tense. "It had to be an Erymanthian Boar. It couldn't have just been a regular boar. It had to be an Erymanthian." she whispered to herself; without hesitation, she folded up the note and tucked it snugly between her large breasts (the one safe place for any girl or maiden that would never be pick pocketed by the likes of the Enchanted Forest's goblins and imps) and readied herself, listening carefully to Blondie's pleas for help until she was but a few feet away. The queen sprang forward like a wildcat with arms outstretched as she pounced on Blondie as she ran by, tackling her to the ground and just barely out of the raging boar's path as it sped by.

The two girls didn't move for several harrowing seconds with Snow White's arms hugged tightly around Blondie's trembling body as she clutched to the queen's chest with great fear as she attempted to gulp down a breath of air every now and again.

"Are you . . . are you alright?" Snow White panted.

Blonde swallowed nervously, still shaking. "Y-Yeah . . . yeah, I'm alright. N-Not just right . . . but fine . . ."

Snow White relaxed several degrees. "Thank goodness," she sighed with relief. "Now, just exactly what did you do to agitate a boar that big so badly?" she asked in slightly scolding, yet motherly tone she often used on Apple whenever the princess had gotten into one of her hair-brained schemes again; Snow White found herself using this form of tone around Apple more often nowadays than she normally had back when her daughter was just a little girl that spent her time scampering about the castle and playing hide and seek with the servants when she wasn't practicing her roll as a future queen over her collection of dolls and stuffed animals inside of a fortress of blankets, pillows, and boxes, often refusing to leave her little castle until she was tempted out with a plate of apple slices and peanut butter.

Blondie brushed a blond curl out her face and straightened the pith helmet on her head. "I . . . may have accidentally stepped on his tail . . ?" she winced sheepishly. "To be fairest, I thought his tail was a log!"

The sudden sound of the Erymanthian Boar's rampage getting uncomfortably close snapped Snow White's attention away from Blondie as she quickly looked around across the ground and quickly snapped up a stray vine and tugged it free from the branch it was securely wrapped around until she had a coil several times longer than she was tall and then a little more that she quickly tied one end into a loop. "I'm going to need you to trust me, dear. Can you do that? Can you trust me that I won't put you in any danger?" she asked Blondie.

The Daughter of Blondie Locks was confused as to what the queen was getting at, but slowly nodded. "Okay. I . . . I trust you . . ." she said as the two of them climbed to their feet.

"Good," Snow White said as she tightened her grip on her makeshift rope. "Just get ready to run."

"What does-" Blondie started to say before the queen gave her a rough shove and pushed her out of the bushes they had been hiding in, the sound of the blonde girl hitting the ground with a loud grunt catching the boar's attention; Blondie felt her blood run cold as the boar snapped its head up in her direction, its massive nostrils flaring and snorting loudly and its gigantic ears twitching every now and again to lock in on her before it pawed the ground with a massive hoof and surged forward like a freight train.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Blondie screamed as she instinctively covered her face and hoped that she just might be able to continue living with some serious, but temporary injuries.

Just before the gigantic Erymanthian Boar could bear down on Blondie and trample her into the dust, Snow White swung her vine over and around her head like a lasso and cast it forward as fast as possible, successfully hooking it around one of the boar's tusks and tightening the knot before running away as fast as possible and looping the other end of the rope around the trunk of a thick tree; the enormous boar squealed as it skidded in its tracks and nearly fell onto its side before its scrambling hooves were able to right itself once more at the cost of caking Blondie in several heavy layers of muck and undergrowth and allowing its momentum to be turned in the direction that Snow White had run in.

The queen however, was prepared and had unraveled the other end of the vine from the tree once she was sure the boar was heading her way and hauled herself up onto an overhanging branch that she hoped was high enough to avoid getting destroyed like a toothpick. With the coil of vine gripped tightly in her hand and the Erymanthian Boar fast approaching, Snow White threw herself from the branch with a loud yell and landed on the gigantic swine's back as it passed beneath her, landing just behind its head and in its filthy mane of shaggy hair; wasting no time, Snow White quickly threw the other end of the vine that she had tied once more into a loop around the other tusk, essentially creating a pair of reins.

"Now lets take you for a spin, Pork Chop." Snow White grunted as she pulled as hard on the reins as possible while driving the heels of her shoes into the back of the boar's skull; the gigantic swine squealed as it was slowly steered towards the left, bucking and kicking every now and again to try and shake off its unwanted passenger to no avail while flattening and crashing its way through the forest. Branches clawed at her arms and leaves slapped at her face from atop the mighty boar, but Snow White didn't care as her heart hammered in her chest and she rode the massive animal out of the forest. This was the most amazing, the most exhilarating, the most exciting moment of her entire life and she was loving every last moment of it!

Forget about being a queen! Forget about being prim and proper! Forget about following one's destiny! This was living!

"I know this isn't exactly becoming of a queen . . . but YEE-HAW!" Snow White howled with glee as she urged the boar on with a snap of the reins. Faster and faster she pushed the boar on until the animal erupted out of the Enchanted Forest with a massive roar and shake of its tusks, pounding the ground in oblivion as it went careening along across the school grounds at a breakneck pace that would have thrown Snow White off long ago if she hadn't been hanging onto the reins for dear life and laughing all the way.

"Gangway!" she shouted a warning at a small party gathered upon the lawn as she attempted to steer the Erymanthian Boar in another direction; the gigantic animal however, moved like a truck and was all but impossible to properly steer once it got enough momentum going in one direction to the point where it would take a mountain or a very solid wall in order to stop it.

Ben heard the warning and felt his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates when he caught sight of the elephantine boar barreling down upon them, its cloven hooves tearing up the lawn into oblivion as Snow White attempted to veer it off in a direction that would be less likely to cause a threat to student safety. This meant that, by his crude estimation, that Briar, Rosabella, and Whisp would be sparred from being flattened into paste beneath the boar's hooves, but left only him and Lizzie in immediate danger.

"Look out!" Ben cried as he threw himself at Lizzie and tackled her to the ground, the two of them going rolling across the grass as Lizzie, despite all the confusion and the presence of a monstrous boar, instinctively clutched his shoulders and chest tightly with her claw-like nails while Ben sheltered her body from the boar as it barreled past like an out of control locomotive. The Daughter of the Queen of Hearts, while more than capable of taking on a wild bandersnatch with a battle ax by herself if necessary, nonetheless hugged Ben tightly and refused to let him go until she was sure that the danger had passed and that they were no longer in danger of being trampled.

Ben sighed with relief as he finally released his tight hold on Lizzie and wiped his brow. "That was close," he remarked before turning to the princess. "Everything all in one piece?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes with a smile. "Please. Wonderlandians are notoriously known for fighting decapitated arms and legs in battle."

"Remind me to ask you to teach me about Wonderland history sometime, because this sounds seriously awesome." Ben noted with a tone of amazement as Lizzie oddly felt her face warm up slightly; she quickly blamed this on an increase of temperature as Ben tapped the Omnitrix and began to cycle through his roster while watching the Erymanthian Boar go charging off in the direction of Book End, ignoring any attempts from Snow White to try and move it off in another direction.

"At the moment however, I believe it is time for us to get in on some of the action, yes?" Skurd assumed as Ben found a suitable transformation and slammed a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a blast of green light that warped and scrambled his genetic code. Ben felt the bones in his hands cracked and crunch loudly as his fingers were forced together to form a pair of sharp claws and thumb that quickly solidified the rest of his skin as chitin traveled up his arms and across his shoulders, criss-crossing down over his chest and down his legs while his organs squelched and pulsed deep within his tissue; his bones and skeleton pushed themselves past his muscles and fat and fused with his skin, morphing it into a durable exoskeleton that turned a sickly, greenish-yellow that one would usually find if they were feeling ill and felt the sudden urge to vomit. His legs hissed and popped as they wrapped around each other, fusing into a single limb just as three pairs of stiff, jointed legs erupted out of his sides and chest like some kind of alien movie nightmare while his feet shifted and pulled and pushed into the form of a large, pointed stinger complete with venomous sacks buried just beneath the deadly spike. The back of Ben's shirt ripped and tore as a pair of gossamer wings pushed themselves out from beneath his shoulder blades, still glistening with his moisture when his skull shifted and repositioned itself to have a nasty underbite with several disfigured teeth to add to it. As if that weren't bad enough, two pairs of fleshy stalk eyes pushed themselves out from either side of Ben's head just as his face was covered in the remaining bits of his exoskeleton and he lost use of his original eyes all together; the transformation ended when the Omnitrix appeared upon his forehead and a black and green bodysuit enveloped him.

Briar, Rosabella, and Lizzie all immediately began to gag and cough horribly as Whisp snapped her fingers and summoned a gas mask over her face. "What is that horrific smell!?" Lizzie gagged while she pinched her nose.

"Yeah . . . that's me." Stinkfly chuckled awkwardly as the Princess of Hearts glared at him with disgust.

"Enough dawdling! We've a queen to save and an oversized slice of ham to stop!" Skurd exclaimed from the Lepidopterran's forehead.

Stinkfly nodded. "Right." he said before turning to the three girls. "So . . . uh, stay here and be safe? I'm not use to saying that. Mostly because my ghouls will beat the ever living goo out of me if I do."

"Fiddle dee dee and a bucket of fish toenails." Lizzie brushed a lock of ruby red hair out of her hair as deep scowl crossed her face.

The Lepidopterran was absolutely baffled. "Um . . . what?"

Lizzie apologized, an event rare in itself. "Sorry. I sometimes switch back to speaking my native tongue when I am deeply agitated." she said. "Loosely translated, you aren't going anywhere without me."

"Or me!" Briar chimed in.

Rosabella shrugged. "I suppose I-"

The sound of distant screams of panic followed by what could only be destruction to public property drew their attention towards the village of Book End where the shaggy hump of fur that was the Erymanthian boar's shoulders just barely poked up from behind several buildings and establishments as Snow White attempted to steer it down the wider streets and roads to avoid as much damage as possible. "No time!" Stinkfly exclaimed as he buzzed his wings and quickly snatched up Lizzie in his claws and flew off towards Book End.

"Well, you know what they say!" Whisp smiled cheerfully.

Briar raised an eyebrow. "What do they say?" she wondered.

The genie shrugged. "That would depend on who they are. On Vulpin they say 'Graaahh mgnaaaggh grrrrr raaaaagh gaaahhrr'." Whisp mouthed off in a perfect impersonation of one of the previously mentioned plane's ravenous and feral inhabitants.

"What does that mean?" Rosabella wondered.

Whisp shrugged with a goofy grin on her face. "Unless you happen to be a Vulpimancer, no one knows!" she laughed as if she had just told a joke, only drawing confused looks from the two cousins before the genie snapped her fingers and engulfed the three of them in a puff of blackened smoke.

---

Poppy O'Hair hummed softly to herself as she pulled the broom across the tiled floor of the Tower Salon, the hair salon that she and her sister ran after school and in their spare time, sweeping all the cut and discarded hair from fair maiden's heads into a dustpan and dumping it into a special trash can that was taken out twice monthly to have its contents made into wigs for fairy tales that just couldn't seem to grow the necessary head of hair they needed to feel fairest of them all. It was not a very tedious job, and Poppy didn't mind doing it in the slightest while her twin sister sat back in one of the barber chairs chewing on her pen and trying to properly write the next chapter of her latest fanfiction.

"Hey, Poppy?"

The Daughter of Rapunzel looked from her work. "What is it, Holly?"

"What's another word for 'muscular'?" Holly wondered, tapping her chin as she starred blankly at the notebook in her hands with absolute befuddlement; Poppy often wondered why her sister even bothered with fanfiction in the first place. After all, despite the technicality that it was actually Poppy who was the oldest, it was Holly that was to fulfill the legacy as the next Rapunzel and await her prince charming to rescue her from her tower while her sister would be left to mingle with the common folk. There was no prince charming to sweep her off her feet, no mighty stallion to ride away on into the sunset, no impending peril to be saved from, nothing dramatic or romantic or even overly exciting for Poppy. She was simply the other twin that preferred her meager existence in her sister's shadow.

"How about 'robust'?" Poppy suggested, finishing her task of sweeping the floor and deciding to take the few minutes they had of rest before their next appointment arrived for their monthly trim by plopping herself down in the chair opposite of her sister.

Holly nodded and quickly scribbled the word down before heading off on another writing spree that left the Tower Salon's atmosphere quite quiet and somewhat awkward; eventually, Poppy couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Alright, I'll bite. What's the story this time?" she asked.

"Well-"

"Is it another tale of Hunter and Cerise's adventures through Wonderland?" Poppy guessed.

Holly shook her head. "No, it's-"

"Is it another chapter in the great Witchling of Arabia starring Raven?"

"No-"

"Or how about the escapades of Ever After's most notorious thief, spy, and lady charmer, Daring Von Charming?"

"No, that one ended a month ago-"

"Or maybe-"

Holly finally lost it. "It's none of those!" she cut her sister off with exasperated breath; Poppy starred at her sister as Holly took a few breaths to calm herself and then sat back in her chair. "It's none of my previous works. This is a brand new one."

"So who's in it?" Poppy wondered; while she never gotten into writing fanfictions about her friends and family like Holly had, despite the fact that she never had a destiny to follow in the first place, she always found herself reading her sister's stories whenever she could spare the time, often finding them much more appealing and satisfying than some of the books she read or the drama sagas that every maiden in the girls dorm would gather around Duchess' TV screen to watch and fawn over (only Raven, Cerise, Ashlynn, and herself seemed to be immune to such sappy love stories).

Holly smiled sheepishly as she played with one of her long locks of dirty blonde hair (another reason why many assumed that Holly was to become the next Rapunzel instead of Poppy). "W-Well . . . it has you in it . . . and it's a pairing, so-"

"Who is it this time?" Poppy rolled her eyes with a smile. Her sister was notorious for being a closet shipper, silently chanting and hoping to pair up her friends and fellow students with their significant others, though most of them never came to fruition; when that happened, Holly often resorted to writing what she called 'one-shots' about those pairings that never made it into reality and had ended up pairing her own sister with several boys ranging from Daring to Sparrow and even a few girls that even included Apple of all people when, according to Holly, she should have already confessed her feelings for Raven to the witchling and gone on a date with her. Fortunately, those little ideas of hers always stayed locked away in the back of her head and down on paper.

"Well, it's a guy-"

"That's a relief." Poppy chuckled to herself. "Remember the last time you paired me Raven? I swear, you have the dirtiest mind some times."

"I said I was sorry! I get lonely sometimes!" Holly huffed indignantly with a red face before she recomposed herself. "And yes, it's with a guy. A brave, courageous, handsome, daring warrior-"

Poppy raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. "Is it Daring again?" she interrupted. "Because, no offense, that wasn't one I really enjoyed."

"Not my fault he spends half his time standing in front of the mirror and complimenting himself," Holly mumbled under her breath with her head in her hands. "But, no, it's not Daring."

"Hunter?" Poppy tried.

"Guess again."

Poppy hummed in thought and tapped her chin. "Sparrow? Dexter? Hopper? Alistair?"

Holly shook her head, a smile slowly creeping its way across her lips. "No, no, no, and nope! Not even close!"

"Genderbent Maddie?" Poppy guessed.

"I did it once! Once!" Holly defended herself against her sister's deep smirk of satisfaction. "And, no, it's not that either."

"Then I give up." Poppy sighed, resting her hand in her hand and drumming her hands on her knee; the stories that her sister wrote that paired her friends and fellow classmates occasionally did hold some value to her, and she often kept copies of the ones that starred herself with Daring, Dexter, Sparrow, and even one with Briar (that one had even surprised her) stowed away in a locked box underneath her bed that Holly was never able to open due to the fact that Poppy always hid the key extremely well out of embarrassment. Her true crush had and still was Sparrow Hood to an extent, but his arrogant attitude, obnoxious singing, and his horrible guitar playing often pushed himself away from her to the point where she was seriously starting to considering him to be nothing more than an old flame just waiting to be snuffed out. "Who am I paired with this time?"

Holly seemed to be vibrating with a joy, something that was usually only reserved for Maddie when she was really excited about something or when the Hatter had recently drunk an entire pot of caffeinated tea that may or may not have been drugged by Faybelle Thorn. "It's Ben!"

Poppy was silent for a few minutes as she processed that little thought. "Ben? As in the kid with an alien device on his wrist and a massive harem of monsters and girls?"

"Well, yes . . . but in this story he's single!" Holly defended herself, taking note of the somewhat expressionless look upon her sister's face. "What, you seriously haven't thought about it?"

Poppy shrugged. "I don't know . . . I mean, he's handsome, strong, smart, nice . . . and hot . . . and those eyes . . ." she trailed off with a dreamy tone that drew a look of confusion from her sister before Poppy realized what she was saying and snapped out of it. "What I'm saying is, what's so special about me? I'm just a hair dresser in a beauty salon and he's a universe saving hero . . . besides, he's already probably got his hands full . . ."

"Oh, come on. He's only been here for at least a month! How much trouble could he get in?" Holly scoffed. The ground trembled and quaked roughly, bits and pieces of plaster and dust raining down from the ceiling as the two sisters tightly gripped the arms of their chairs while searching for the cause of the earthquake; panicked screams from Book End's early risers caught their attention as several people fled past the window before a large shadow blanketed them, quickly followed by four gigantic hooves attached to powerful legs and a hairy, muscular body with a pair of massive tusks. Holly and Poppy watched with wide eyes as an Erymanthian Boar with a screaming queen on its back came barreling by with a frantic Lepidopterran in hot pursuit and a Wonderlandian princess in it claws.

"You were saying?" Poppy blinked with shock.

Stinkfly flapped his wings furiously as the wind whipped past his eye stalks, only mildly helping in keeping Lizzie from passing out due to the horrendous, foul body odor Lepidopterrans were renown and infamous for; regardless, the Wonderland princess still looked like she was going to hurl and only felt her green features return to their original, ivory white when Stinkfly alighted down on the Erymanthian Boar's back and set her down to rest.

"What the-" he started when he noticed Snow White was steering the gigantic animal.

The queen glanced over her shoulder and allowed a bright smile to cross her face. "Hi, dears! Fancy meeting you here!"

"This is strange, even by Wonderland standards." Lizzie mused as she attempted to stand up on the boar's back and nearly fell off before Stinkfly supported her with one of his wings. "Just how-"

"It's a long story, sweety!" Snow White grunted as she yanked back on the reins and all but threw her entire body to the left in an attempt to steer the Erymanthian Boar down a road to avoid trampling innocent bystanders and accidentally taking a chunk out of the corner of a building with the boar's tusks. "If you don't . . . mind, I could- use a hand here!" the queen to maintain control. "I will be honest, I've never done this before!"

Skurd chuckled. "Neither have we, and we have saved the universe on numerous occasions!"

Stinkfly rolled all four of his stalk eyes. "You only saved the universe once!"

"Twice!" the Slimebiote corrected.

"I believe our current problem is figuring out how to stop this beast!?" Lizzie cut Stinkfly off before he and his Slimebiote partner could get into another argument. The Lepidopterran nodded and quickly flapped his gossamer wings, taking off from the boar's back and flying a good distance ahead before Stinkfly whipped around and fired off a quick round of sticky globs of slime from the pollen sacks within his eye stalks at the ground; the elephantine swine was oblivious to the sticky trap and ran right into the block-sized puddle of slime, landing with an earth-shattering thud! when the boar slipped and fell, sliding several yards and squealing all the way before it managed to get its legs up underneath itself and continue running away once more.

"Damn it!" Stinkfly cursed moments before the boar collided with him and splattered the Lepidopterran like a big on a windshield on its oversized snout, blasting him with ragged breaths of thick, smelling breaths that rivaled the alien insect's own terrible body odor; with a grunt, Stinkfly fluttered his wings and grabbed onto a few wiry hairs near the Erymanthian Boar's snout to pull himself up and crawl up the animal's face until he managed to reach the head just as the Omnitrix timed out in a blast of green light that returned Ben to the world.

With a grunt, Lizzie reached and grabbed hold of Ben's wrists and slowly managed to pull him up while Snow White tried to keep the gigantic boar steady and keeping damage to a minimum; the queen only broke concentration when Ben grabbed hold of her ankle to help him stand up again. "New plan," he sighed relief. "Anyone got one?"

"You mean you don't?" Skurd poked at him, earning a flick upside the head.

Lizzie tapped her chin in thought. "Our best solution would mostly be to try and lure the boar out of Book End, where we can fully engage it without hurting anyone."

"Great. Any suggestions?" Ben grumbled sarcastically.

"I've got one," Lizzie smirked as Snow White hung a sharp left, nearly throwing them all off the boar's back as it sharp hooves skidded and scrabbled against the street before gaining footing once more. "Bait. Live bait."

Ben frowned slightly. "Lemme guess: that just happens to be me, doesn't it?"

"Do you have a better plan?" Skurd gave a snide remark; before Ben could retort with a snide comment of his own before a puff of ashy, black smoke exploded next to him and Whisp stepped out of the noxious cloud without effect while Briar and Rosabella fell to their knees hacking and coughing and trying not to fall off the boar's back, which was significantly harder than it looked.

Whisp however, hardly even seemed to notice the issue despite the fact that she had traded in her legs for the ghostly, wispy tail that sprouted from beneath her sash. "So here we are on the back of a giant boar. Anybody else got anything interesting happening to them?"

Briar scowled. "Not the time for jokes, Whisp!"

The genie rolled her eyes as she tapped the blue and pink Omnitrix fastened to her wrist while Ben simultaneously activated his own version of the wondrous device, the both of them cycling through their available rosters before selecting their desired transformations. "I swear, you fairy tale types are no fun."

"Whisp!" Rosabella cried as she tightened her grip on fistfuls of the Erymanthian Boar's fur.

"Oh, fine!" the djinni exclaimed as she and Ben slammed down on the cores of their respective Omnitrices, swallowing and encompassing the two of them in blasts of midnight blue and green respectively and warping their genetic codes into something new. Whisp's soft, segmented, pink skin faded and turned a smooth, chrome white with a soft crackling noise while her skin solidified, a more sickening noise catching Rosabella's attention as the genie's frame shrank and was compressed further and further with every passing nanosecond, her bones becoming shorter and more flexible until they were simply done away with and fused with Whisp's skin during a series of skin squelches and wet pops. Her lips split and widened as her head to a roughly football-shaped sphere as her organs oozed and sloshed around inside of her, beginning to squish together to their limits as her lungs bloated and grew to become the largest organs in her body. Her pointed ears were pulled back against her head, fusing together with her skin and swelling to large half domes on either side of her head that resembled headphones in a way that wrapped up over head in a way that simulated pigtails of sorts as her eyes dilated and shrank while the Omnitrix appeared on her forehead, completing the transformation.

Ben could feel his body shift and move dramatically as his skin was slashed and sliced into thin ribbons with a sickening squelching noise as his muscles and tissue were hacked apart into long ropes, as if he were being messily torn apart by a pair of gigantic blades. His circulatory system and organs melted together into thin strips of their own, stretching out to an incredible length before the thin strips of flesh that Ben had become began to bundle and wrap themselves tightly together, tying and moving themselves around each other to form a crudely masculine figure with long, exaggerated fingers and toes made of single strips of the badange-like material. He could feel his face harden once more and quickly flatten itself out into a rough, triangular shape that turned black and green in color as it sat itself on top of his broad, bandaged shoulders where a green and black headdress appeared on his head complete with a pointed beard,a wide collar that materialized around his neck, and a green belt attached to a Shendyt formed around his waist; the transformation ended when a set of black and green braces appeared on his wrists and ankles just as a pair of tendrils snaked out from his shoulders and back, the Omnitrix and Skurd appearing on his belt.

"Not what I was going for, but I think I can work with this." Snare-oh hummed as he glanced at his long fingers.

"Then work quickly, dear boy! Look!" Skurd as he pointed away from his spot upon the Thep Khufan's shoulder while still remaining firmly attached to the Omnitrix due to his gelatinous and elastic body; Rosabella and Briar glanced up from their uncomfortable and shaky spots on the boar's back to see several dozen yards down the street, only a few, frantic strides to an Erymanthian Boar, Lilly Bo Peep frenziedly trying to herd her mother's flock of sheep and lambs across the road as fast as possible. Considering the herds size and the boar's enormous strides and speed, there was no way Lilly was going to make it without losing several rams and ewes to the boar's heavy hooves, and this became increasingly clear on the shepherd's fearful face.

Snare-oh narrowed his eyes before he bent down to scoop up a small, female Sonorosian with a dark blue Omnitrix fastened to her forehead in his hands and place her upon his shoulder just behind her head where the two, elastic tendrils sprouting from his shoulders swiftly wrapped themselves tightly around Sonic Doom's waist while she fought to hold back a light round of giggles. "Not on my watch."

"Lets do it! We're the Amazing Snare-oh and Black Sonorosian, teaming up from different companies to unite against a common enemy!" Sonic Doom cheered.

"You've been drinking Madeline's tea again, haven't you?" Snow White grunted as she attempted to steer the boar away form the flock of sheep; Briar, Rosabella, and Lizzie all joined the queen at the reins, fighting to regain control of the animal's erratic movements while Snare-oh thrust an arm out, watching as the fingers stretched and elongated to an incredible length and hooked themselves around a lamp post before reeling him in like a grappling hook where he swung himself up onto the roof of a nearby building and began to follow the Erymanthian Boar from the roof tops.

The Thep Khufan grunted as he crouched down to all fours and leaped forward like a frog, tumbling through the air with Sonic Doom giggling madly to land on his feet and quickly scrabble up the sloped roof and keep pace with the massive boar. "Whisp! Crank up the volume!" Snare-oh cried as he quickly slid down the other side of the roof and used his momentum to throw himself into the air.

The Sonorosian nodded and sucked in a deep breath before she blasted it back out as a high-pitched scream at such volume that every window within ten yard radius cracked and shattered loudly; the plan however, worked in her favor as the boar came to a halt and squealed angrily as it pawed painfully at its ears before whipping its attention towards Sonic Doom and snorting angrily.

"Well, you have his attention . . . run!" Lizzie screamed.

Snare-oh barely heard her as he whipped his left arm out to an impossible length and wrapped his fingers around another street lamp to haul himself and his Sonorosian passenger across the gap over the road and sail over the Erymanthian Boar's head as Sonic Doom fired off another ultrasonic blast at the animal's ears, easily provoking the temperamental beast into chasing after the fleeing Thep Khufan and Sonorosian.

"Well, we managed to get the beast to chase us . . . now what?" Skurd mumbled.

"Try to avoid getting flattened!" Snare-oh yelped as he jumped over an alley way with his bandaged arms pumping madly as Sonic Doom hung on tight and fired off an ultrasonic scream every now and then to entice the boar to follow and chase them through Book End; the Slimebiote couldn't argue with that decision as himself did not feel like taking up a job as Erymanthian Boar toe cheese and quickly slithered and oozed himself down the Thep Khufan's back and grafted himself over his host's legs as he tapped into a genetic sample from the Omnitrix and felt the changes take place. The durable bandages that composed up Snare-oh's legs rustled and squelched softly as they fused back together to form soft skin that began to cool and turn a bright shade of blue as fleshy, tight muscles and sinew was transfigured from stray bandages and wrappings and increased the mass and powerful behind the legs while bones finally began to form to act as support for the new limbs. A loud cracking noise filled the air as a pair of sharp, curved talons sprouted from the new feet, the ball of the heel sliding forward and eventually separating into a smooth, black ball upon which the sharp talons gripped tightly. The transformation was complete as a pair of tight, black pants coated the multijointed legs and a long, whip-like tail slithered out from the base of Snare-oh's spine.

"Ride the wind, Bulls-eye!" Sonic Doom giggled.

"Take some advice, dear boy, and get her to a psychologist as soon as possible." Skurd murmured in what passed for Snare-oh's ear.

The Thep Khufan as he used his new Kineceleran legs to swiftly dodge to the right to avoid getting gored by the Erymanthian Boar's massive tusks. "How about I try not to get squished?"

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! REEET! REEET!

"Fair point." Skurd remarked as the boar squealed angrily.

Snow White had given up on trying to steer and bend the Erymanthian Boar to her will as it seemed solely focused on putting the terrified Thep Khufan and annoying Sonorosian in their place by grinding them into paste, and the queen had taken that opportunity to allow her duties as a teacher and a mother take over; she quickly wrapped the elastic vines securely around the waists Rosabella, Briar, and Lizzie to ensure that they would not suffer from any injuries should they take a nasty fall off of the animal's back anytime soon which, considering the way the boar was moving like it seemed dead set on flattening Sonic Doom, Snare-oh, and Skurd by association, was not exactly out of the question.

"I appreciate your concerns, your majesty, but there this is hardly necessary," Lizzie grunted as tugged at the secure vine around her waist. "Wonderlandians are notorious for being able to walk away from scrapes with rabid jabberwockys with nothing more than a black eye."

"I am well aware of that, Lizzie, but as your teacher and the only, responsible adult-"

"As I recall, you were the one that nearly flattened us." Briar remarked flattly.

"Nearly!" the queen huffed like a small child before regaining her regal composure. "As I was saying, seeing as I am your teacher and am thus responsible for your safety and well being, I'm going to have to insist that you stay where you are." Snow White seemed to recite as if she somehow had done this before just as Lizzie produced one of her notoriously sharp fingers and sliced right through the vine without difficulty.

Snow White pursed her lips. "Lizzie-"

"LOOK OUT!" Briar screamed at the top of her lungs as she instinctively threw herself down onto the boar's back and dug her fingers into the thick, shaggy fur. The Erymanthian Boar roared as it made a sharp turn in its pursuit of Snare-oh, its hooves scrambling to find any traction on the ground before it managed to find a foothold and surge on after the Thep Khufan; Snow White had been tossed onto her shoulder with a grunt, knocking the wind out of her as Rosabella threw herself at the queen and just barely managed to grab a hold of her ankles to prevent her from falling rewarding herself with a wonderful view of Snow White's undergarments as a result.

Lizzie however, was not so lucky, tumbling over the side, screaming all of thirty feet to the ground from the boar's back; without the presence of a harness, the fall would either kill her depending on how she landed or would leave her with multiple broken bones that would snap and crack like corn cobs on the cobbled street below. At least, that's what might have happened had Snare-oh not heard her cries and quickly turned on his orbital heel to rush back in a blue and beige blur and come to a screeching halt just as Lizzie landed in his outstretched arms with a soft oomph!

Snare-oh gave a mouthless smirk. "Perhaps you should hire me out to be your bodyguard? You seem to be suffering from a sudden string of accidents and near injury situations."

"J-Just . . . just keep running . . . OR IT'S OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

"Even after taking a fall, she's still feisty as ever!" Sonic Doom laughed as the Thep Khufan held Lizzie close to his chest – a gesture that the Princess of Hearts found oddly endearing – and sped off with a crack of his tail, racing up right behind the Erymanthian Boar and tearing right through and under the beast's legs and underbelly before dashing out from under the boar's lower jaw and back out into its line of sight, earning a startled squeal that turned into a more vicious growl as the boar quickened its pace; matters were not helped when Sonic Doom fired off another taunting, ultrasonic blast of sound at its face.

Snow White swallowed nervously, her heart hammering in her chest as she dangled from the gargantuan swine's back, her body thumping against the heaving sides of the animal at the mercy of Rosabella's slowly slipping grip; despite her love and work with animals and beasts, was by no means strong enough to keep the queen suspended there and from falling to the street below where she could possibly roll or slide beneath the boar's crushing hooves and be killed if kicked or stepped on in the right place. "Hang on, you majesty!" Rosabella grunted.

"I appreciate your sense of humor, sweety, but if it wouldn't be too much trouble to pull me!?" Snow White shouted over the constant grunting and squealing of the Erymanthian Boar.

Rosabella gritted her teeth and attempted to pull the queen up. "I'm . . .trying . . !" she gasped, her muscles straining and feeling like they were on fire. "Briar . . !"

No sooner had the word tumbled out of the Daughter of Beauty and the Beast's mouth had Briar all but lunged across the boar's rolling shoulders and snap her hands around Snow White's right ankle as her cousin's grip slipped and nearly sent the queen falling before Briar managed to plant her feet firmly into the shifting, pulsing hide of the Erymanthian Boar and gave an almighty tug that managed to pull Snow White up a couple inches; Rosabella quickly fell into Briar's rhythm as the two of them slowly, but steadily managed to pull the queen while she planted her hands against the shaggy fur of the boar and attempted to push herself up as much as possible to ease the strain until after what seemed a harrowing eternity the two princesses managed to pulled the queen back up to safety before flopping down and panting heavily.

"Thank you . . ." Snow White was just as shaken up, her finger curled tightly around tufts of the boar's fur to support her shaking arms; her pulse was pounding and she swore her heart was going to burst out of her chest like some sort of horrific, alien horror movie, but she had never felt so much more alive. It was the rare times like this that sitting upon a throne and listening to the complaints and problems of her subjects or sitting around a table and discussing trade routes with other royals or sitting and signing papers for new laws, amendments, articles, seemed far more mundane that they usually were. Sitting in general was mundane to begin with, but that was beside the point.

She quickly sucked in a deep breath and cracked her knuckles, feeling a rush of energy course through her as she turned to Briar and Rosabella and quickly untied them from the vines that had kept them from falling. "What are you doing?" Rosabella panted.

"Putting this madness to an end, that's what. Now hang on tight!" Snow White yelled as she grabbed hold of the other loose vine tied to the boar's tusks and waited until she could feel Briar and Rosabella's arms encircle themselves around her waist, hugging her tightly like a python constricted its prey to reduce struggle and movement; once she was sure the girls were safe, the queen gave an almighty battle cry and a heavy snap of the reins while driving her heel into the boar's back to urge it forward. The Erymanthian Boar was now conflicted upon whether to run to try and flatten the ever annoying bipedals in front of it or to run to try and get the bipedals driving it off of its back, but whichever one it decided, it involved a sudden surge in speed and power as the boar thundered through the streets.

"There!" Lizzie suddenly yelled.

"Where?" Sonic Doom struggled to look over both her own and Snare-oh's shoulder to see where the Wonderlandian was pointing.

"Over there! That road leads out of Book End!" Lizzie shouted.

Snare-oh nodded. "Then that's where we're going!"

Skurd chuckled victoriously. "Put that pedal to the metal, dear boy! Onward!" he thrust a slimy tentacle forward for emphasis as Snare-oh kicked it up into high gear, swiftly dashing back and forth, left and right to aggravate the boar into following him the last few dozen yards until they were well out of Book End and he could safely deal with the problem without the threat of possibly blasting someone with some kind of toxic chemical or accidentally stepping on them and crushing them should he misplace his feet or get thrown by the temperamental animal.

After what seemed like an impossibly short amount of time, even with the Thep Khufan's Kineceleran legs, they had finally managed to clear Book End with surprisingly minimal damage to property and public safety and successfully managed to lure the gigantic Erymanthian Boar out of the village's limits to an open field on the edge of the Enchanted Forest. Snare-oh felt himself giving a mouthless smile; now he could really cut lose. With that being said, he quickly came to a screeching halt and carefully set Lizzie back down on the ground and released Sonic Doom from his back before turning to face the approaching Erymanthian Boar.

"Get ready to jump, girls!" Snare-oh yelled as he quickly snapped his arms forward and wrapped his elastic fingers around the boar's tusks before jerking his hands to the side with all his strength and managing to pull the massive animal onto its side; Snow White and the two princesses were thrown off of the boar's back and sent flying through the air, the queen quickly grabbing hold of them by the back of their shirts and skirts and pulling them in close to her body as she curled herself up like she had previously done with Blondie to cushion the blow of the landing for them. Even if she was of royalty and fairy tale lineage, that only meant that it was her duty to put others needs before her own, especially if it was of the next generation of fairy tales that carry out their legacies and ensure that their tales and stories would live on.

Regardless, the queen hissed with pain upon landing on her back as Snare-oh's heavy duty bandages shot over the boar's back and plunged into the ground on the other side, strapping and pinning the Erymanthian Boar to the ground as the Thep Khufan cast another set of bandages over the boar's back and snout, pinning it further to the ground before swiftly wrapping his fingers around the animal's legs and tying them together to restrict all and any movement.

"Quick! While it's down!" Skurd yelled.

Lizzie smirked as she reached into the folds of her dress and produced a deck of playing cards that glinted suspiciously in the light. "I could not agree more!" she grinned as she cast her hand and sent the cards flying like shurikens through the air at a high speed; one such card sliced through the tip of one of the Erymanthian Boar's tusks as if it were paper, the ivory tip clattering the ground while another sliced a notch in the animal's ear. A wave of shimmering, dark blue light passed over Sonic Doom's body as she effortlessly and swiftly multiplied and duplicated herself into a dozen clones that quickly scurried to take positions all around the fallen Erymanthian Boar, each clone sucking in a deep breath before blasting it back out at high volume.

"Echo!"

"Echo!"

"Echo!"

"ECHO!"

"Echo!"

"Echo!"

"Echo!"

"ECHO!"

The boar's squealing of agony of having its ears assaulted was music to the Sonorosians ears, the clones increasing the intensity of the volume as Skurd swiftly returned the Kineceleran DNA to the Omnitrix before compressing his gelatinous body down upon the wondrous device and engulfing Snare-oh in a blast of green light that warped and shifted his genetic code into something new. Ben's frame cracked and crunched loudly as his body gradually grew taller, his bones grinding as they grew stronger and thicker to support his increasing weight and bulk, forcing his jaw to thrust out in an underbite that allowed his lower canines to curve out over his upper lip; a coarse itching snaked its way across his body as thick, shaggy hair began to grow all over him and only added to his impressive size while thousands of muscles and tissue packed themselves tightly across his arms and chest, swelling them to impressive proportions as his hands and fingers trembled and exploded in size and strength, each finger more than capable of crushing a soda can with a single flick. Metallic knobs and bumps thrust themselves out from his wrists and thick neck as his feet shifted with a series of snaps and cracks that moved his big toe out in an ape-like fashion while his brow grew heavy, giving him a permanently irked expression and suddenly sprouted a three-horned prong from between his heavy eyes; the Omnitrix and Skurd appeared around his waist in the form of a belt, completing the transformation.

"Time fer a little shock to yer system, eh!" Shocksquatch grinned as he clapped his hands together and furiously began to rub them to build up a static charge within his shaggy coat that he quickly released with a massive discharge; at the same time, Lizzie cast more of her deadly playing cards at the Erymanthian Boar, the two attacks combining together into one that made the cards spin like razor-sharp saw blades at such high speeds they were nothing more than colorful blurs that zipped and swooped through the air like boomerangs, the static charge they carried heavily attracted to the Erymanthian Boar's thick fur.

"Now that's what I call a positive charge!" one of Sonic Doom's clones grinned.

Shocksquatch rolled his eyes at Skurd. "And you say my jokes are bad, eh."

The playful banter that was passed between Lizzie, the Slimebiote, and two Omnitrix-wearing aliens however was not what caught Rosabella Beauty's attention, no, it was the pained squeals and cries of the Erymanthian Boar itself as it writhed on the ground in agony at having razor-sharp playing cards slice mercilessly at its skin and vulnerable snout while Sonorosians assaulted its assailable ear without relent. To hear those cries of pain from any animal, even a monstrous boar that had almost flattened her and laid waste to nearly half of Book End, was absolutely heartbreaking to her; not to mention it made her significantly more temperamental as well.

"Leave that poor beast alone!" Rosabella screamed, prying herself loose from Snow White and pouncing upon Shocksquatch, tackling the Gimlinopithecus to the ground with surprising strength that threw even Lizzie for a loop.

"Whoa! What's goin' on, eh! I'm on your side!" Shocksquatch cried as he easily held off Rosabella's attacks and lifted her off the ground with both hands wrapped around her waist and pinning her arms to her side.

"Then stop torturing the poor creature! He's had enough!" the princess snapped angrily; Shocksquatch dropped her as if he had been holding a highly irritated and venomous snake and took a step back as Rosabella turned on her heel and marched back towards the boar, pushing past the Sonorosians and throwing them a look that warned them of the consequences that would come if they did not give her space to do her work. Even Lizzie, arguably the most temperamental and easily angered student in all of Ever After High and Wonderland, backed off as Rosabella strode up to the boar and glared at it right in the eye, the animal returning the look with one just as poisonous.

That is, until Rosabella plastered herself up against the Erymanthian Boar's head and hugged it warmly.

Shocksquatch blinked with surprise. "Uh, what just happened?"

"Well, they do that music soothes the savage beast," Skurd mumbled. "Although I don't really see what this has to do with music in the first place . . . I can't believe I'm saying this, but forget everything I just said."

"No problem fer me, eh. I just kinda tune ya out most of the time." the Gimlinopithecus grinned as the Slimebiote fumed upon his shoulder.

Rosabella however, was occupied with the elephantine swine. "Whose a good boar? Whose a big, strong, powerful Erymanthian Boar?" she cooed lovingly; oddly enough, the gigantic beast seemed to enjoy the attention compared to the constant beating and battle it had received ever since some crazy lady had jumped on its back and decided to take it for a joyride; Rosabella continued to baby the giant animal as she produced a pair of safety scissors she always kept on hand for such emergencies and set to work on slicing and cutting through the Thep Khufan bandages that kept it firmly anchored to the ground while pulling out knife-like playing cards that were embedded at varying depths within its thick skin, bandaging each cut with the small medical kit she kept on hand through various hidden pockets she had sewn into her dresses, something that seemed to be a catching trend upon the female populace of Ever After High.

"Okay, are we the only ones confused here?" the Sonorosian clones all spoke in unison and equal amounts of befuddlement as they all morphed back into one duplicate mere seconds before the Omnitrix timed out in a blast of dark blue light and returned a completely baffled Whisp to the world.

Lizzie hummed and tapped her chin. "It has occurred to me that Rosabella is something of a animal right's activist," she recalled, remembering how the princess usually spent her time on various street corners handing out fliers listing the concerns about using beasts and animals as a work force among other things; the Princess of Hearts admittedly had to agree with some of the well thought points she made, knowing how some kingdoms lacked laws that kept such abuse in place. Even Wonderland, with its vicious wildlife and war torn past had a few similar laws, though those were mostly about which animals to avoid altogether. "I don't believe it would be too much of a stretch to say that she is an animal lover as well?"

"That's an understatement, eh." Shocksquatch rolled his eyes at the remark upon catching sight of Rosabella lovingly kissing the Erymanthian Boar as if it were a small child that had scrapped their knee while playing with their peers.

It was at that moment, like an angry mother whose child had recently been bullied, that Rosabella turned on them. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves!" she scolded. "Attacking a poor, defenselessly beast!"

Shocksquatch scoffed. "Defenseless? That thing nearly crushed you! Not to mention, almost destroy all of Book End, eh!"

Rosabella scowled. "And just how would you react if some maniac pounced on your back and started screaming like a madman?" she cast a glare in Snow White's direction, the queen smiling sheepishly; the question was met with awkward silence as everyone shifted uncomfortably and tried not to look the angry princess in the eye.

"But . . . it's gigantic-" Shocksquatch tried to say before Rosabella cut him off.

"Never judge a spellbook by its cover," she snarled, protectively hugging the boar to comfort it. "I thought you of all people would know that, Ben." she frowned, taking immense pleasure in noting how the Gimlinopithecus slumped slightly at being caught out; Whisp awkwardly scuffed the ground with a foot as Lizzie tried not to look at the massive mountain of Erymanthian Boar that Rosabella was coddling like a toddler.

Satisfied that she had made her point, the Daughter of Beauty and the Beast turned her attention back to boar and gave it a quick check up to ensure that she had managed to treat all of its injuries while occasionally throwing glance in Shocksquatch's direction that her point had been made. Once she was satisfied that the Erymanthian Boar was of healthy quality, she gave it one last hug of affection and sent it off on its merry way, ignoring the way the ground trembled and quaked beneath her wobbling legs as the mammoth animal trotted off back into the Enchanted Forest for a well deserved rest; with any luck, there wouldn't be any distracted blondes to disturb its much needed nap.

"Now then," Rosabella turned on her heel to address the others. "I assume a lesson has been learned here?"

Whisp grumbled with her arms folded over her bust. "You are going to make an excellent mother some day."

"Thank you." the princess curtsied before she was interrupted by a loud, long snore that instantly turned heads in Snow White's direction where the queen had propped herself up and was currently allowing Briar to use her lap as a pillow; it didn't take much of a genius to figure out that one of the Daughter of Sleeping Beauty's narcoleptic nap attacks had reared its ugly head once more and sent the princess spiraling into slumber.

"My thoughts exactly, eh. It's not even noon and I'm ready to hit the hay!" Shocksquatch yawned and scratched himself tiredly.

Whisp grinned cunningly and quickly latched onto the Gimlinopithecus' leg, scampering up his frame hugging herself close to his chest with a vice-like grip while the rest of her relaxed. "Good. That means you can give us all a lift back to school for a well deserved nap."

"I ain't no pack mule, eh!" Shocksquatch griped; unfortunately for him, none of the girls listened as Lizzie swiftly clambered up onto his shoulder and Rosabella followed suit by taking a position just behind his back and neck so it looked like she were hanging onto him like a large koala bear strapped to the back of a gigantic simian. Eventually figuring out that he wasn't going to get them to move unless he started to move himself, the Gimlinopithecus sighed, surrendered, and stooped down to take Briar from Snow White's arms and sling the sleeping princess over his shoulder while the queen climbed to her feet and immediately regretted it upon feeling a sharp spike of pain in her back that nearly sent her crumbling to the ground.

"Something wrong, my dear?" Skurd inquired.

Snow White hissed and attempted to reach back and massage her aching muscles. "I'm perfectly fine . . . I may have landed on a rock or two though . . ." she added as an afterthought upon realizing how badly her back hurt; how knights and heroes regularly took dives and rescued falling maidens and princesses that were too dumb to look where they were going before they fell without suffering from tightening muscles was a mystery to the queen. She did however, take small satisfaction in noting how Shocksquatch didn't even put up a fuss as he gathered her up in his other arm and began the long march back towards the school while grumbling obscenities under his breath.

---

It was just like they had left it.

Skelita was still comfortably wrapped up in her woolen blanket by the window, the sun's warm rays no doubt making her slumber quite comfortable while Clawdeen continued to doze peacefully from her spot at the foot of the bed; Ben knew that given half the chance, the werewolf would seize the opportunity to sleep closer to him, often filling the evenings they shared during the ghoul's nightly rotation with soft nips and rough kisses to keep him check when she didn't concede to his exhaustion and fell asleep alongside him.

Hunter and Ashlynn were still cuddled up together in their sleep beneath the huntsman's blankets and sheets, oblivious to the sudden intrusion by Ben and Whisp as Ashlynn rested her head upon Hunter's chest like a pillow and inhaled his deep, refreshing scent of warm pine wood and tree sap while he wrapped an arm protectively around her to him close in slumber; it were almost as if he were afraid she might be snatched away from him by some kind of dream demon.

Kitty still retained her signature spot at the head of the bed where Ben's pillow might have been, lying comfortably on her back and having moved closer to the edge and thus the window, as if drawn to the beckoning rays of warm sunshine like a potted plant whose shoots were just out of reach of nourishment; the Cheshire wore a small, white top decorated with black paw prints that exposed quite a bit of her midriff and a pair of faded pink and lavender shorts that were mostly worn specifically around the dorm Kitty shared with Maddie on the rare occasions that she was not feeling well enough to attend classes without being randomly teleported somewhere every time she sneezed.

Apple still lay curled up in her sleeping bag on the floor, her arms splayed out in a wild pattern among her unkempt, blonde curls while she continued to snore loudly to the point where one could have compared it to a motor engine; Ben had gotten rather accustomed to the princess's snoring fits that seemed to come and go like the phases of the moon, there one night and gone the next, while Raven simply fell asleep without any problem considering she already shared a dorm with Apple and had more than once had to employ the usage of earplugs to allow her exhausted body to get the necessary sleep it required to not face plant into her breakfast from lack of rest.

The witchling herself was still pressed up against the wall like she had been before Whisp and Ben had slipped out of the dorm to take part in the morning's seemingly endless run of random events; the witchling hadn't stirred from her spot since they left and it seemed she was oblivious to the departure of Venus, Jane, and even Cerise as well, leaving a considerable amount of space upon the inviting mattress that had more than enough room for a genie and a certain Omnitrix wielder whose resident parasite had fallen asleep long ago.

Ben wasted no time in kicking off his shoes and socks and slipping off his shirt while Whisp snapped her fingers and engulfed herself in a puff of black smoke to slip into her nightclothes, an outfit that consisted of an old, black T-shirt with the faded advertisement of a Broadway musical whose logo seemed to be a once golden genie emerging from a lamp and a pair of gray sweatpants that greatly highlighted her midnight blue locks and pale, pink skin. With that being done, the two of them quickly slipped back into bed and under the covers without missing a beat, Ben resting his head on the spot that Kitty had once occupied without complaint and nearly falling asleep right then and there on the spot had it not been for Whisp's roaming hands.

"Seems like you managed to attract quite the attention today." she purred.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ben denied because, in truth, he hadn't the foggiest idea at what the genie was getting at.

Whisp however, seemed to love toying with him. "Is it my imagination, or have both you and Lizzie suddenly taken an interest in each other?"

Ben tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his face. "Yeah, right," he scoffed. "It's not my fault Wonderland's so cool."

"Alright, then what about Briar? She seemed to be getting quite cozy with you on the way back here." Whisp smirked.

"She was asleep," Ben countered. "People do strange things when they're asleep! Need I remind you of what you do whenever you're not spending the night with me? I swear, Nefera spent a small fortune on those locks to her room that still don't seem to work; every morning she finds you cuddling up to her like some kind of teddy bear!"

Whisp pouted. "You know I hate it when you play that card," she huffed childishly. "And it's not my fault her breasts are so soft!"

Ben rolled his eyes, knowing there was no further point in arguing. "Whatever. I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep until dinner." he mumbled as he lay back down and closed his eyes, his body habitually beginning to decrease the rate of his breathing and slow his pulse while hie eyelids grew heavy; Whisp decided that sleep was more important than saving her pride for the moment and lay down to snuggle close to Ben, using his arm as a pillow she pecked him on the cheek.

"Good night." she murmured.

"Good night." Ben mumbled, too tired to point out that it was noon and not night.

As if on cue, while Whisp and Ben drifted off into sleep, Clawdeen stirred at the foot of the bed and inhaled a sharp breath, stretching out her body and yawning wide to expose her sharp fangs. Once she was satisfied that all her tense muscles had been stretched and relaxed, the werewolf sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her sensitive ears pricking to pick up the slightest of sounds to alert her of possible danger; finding nothing but Apple's obnoxious snoring and the occasional rustling of the covers whenever Ashlynn or Hunter moved in response to the other, Clawdeen glanced at the clock and found that it was close to lunch: normally Ben was up at the time, no matter where he ended up.

"Wonder what's got him so tired?" she mumbled to herself upon catching sight of her boyfriend's comatose state.

---

Milton Grimm had never felt so humiliated in all of his life.

He supposed it was a step up from being stuck as a chicken-man for the better half of the afternoon and signing papers in literal chicken scratch until Raven had finally managed to figure out how to reverse the transformation after cooling down for a bit and apologizing afterwards as well for good measure, but it was embarrassing nonetheless. Not only had he now just cost himself a hefty price by trying to squeeze his gigantic bulk through the irritatingly tiny door of the healer's office, but having said healer scurry about like some kind of ancient mole that grumbled obscenities and curses under her breath was not exactly something he enjoyed.

"Now open wide and say 'ahh'." Healer Sternum instructed with a tongue depressor in her gnarled fingers.

With a roll of his eyes, the elephant curled back his trunk against his head and tilted his chin up to open his mouth and give off a low, gurgled growl from deep within his throat; the healer barely even flinched at the horrid breath that followed and quickly pressed down the headmaster's tongue with the depressor before reaching into the pocket of her lab coat and pulling out a flashlight that she shone inside the pachyderm's oral cavity.

The aged crone mumbled something incoherent under her breath as she withdrew and quickly scribbled something down on her clipboard. "I'll be honest, Milton, I'm not a zoologist. I don't the faintest idea at what I'm doing, much less how to fix this fine little mess you've gotten yourself into."

"It's not my fault!" the elephant protested with an annoyed trumpet from his trunk.

Healer Sternum didn't seem to be buying it. "Mmm-hmm. And what about the unicorns? Or the troll tears? Or the beanstalk thorns? The griffin? The little incident with Tiny Giant? I assume none of those were your fault either?" she listed off with her hands on her hips.

The headmaster shifted uncomfortably, the exam table creaking and groaning underneath his seven ton weight. "That's different . . ." he argued weakly.

"Says the man who now has a trunk dangling from his face and suddenly has to invest in an incredible amount of dental floss to take care of his new tusks." Sternum scoffed, turning to scribble something else down on her clipboard before she marched back into her office with a look that could have made even the most hyperactive of imps and gremlins instantly sit still for fear of incurring her wrath, giving the headmaster more than enough time to think about things.

It seemed he was losing more and more ground every day in this waging war between the Royals and Rebels, the future generation of fairy tales that held the fate of their world in their hands. More and more royals were starting to lose interest in upholding the promise of tradition, finding flaws within their stories that seemed minimal to most but were in fact enormous factors and problems to them; the Rebel side was steadily growing stronger as a result, and it did nothing but make Grimm more stressed over just how he able to maintain order.

If it was any consolation, it seemed Raven Queen, the unofficial leader of the Rebel faction, was just as stressed out as well. Then again, the witchling wasn't currently a seven ton elephant sitting in the healer's office trying to figure out how to change back.

The young witch was a mystery to him. Despite his constant threats and demands and even eventual pleadings she stood like a statue, tall and firm in her beliefs and had deflected any attempt to change her mind with startling ease and precision, as if she had trained herself to be all but immune to his attacks and persuasions. And whenever her defenses were somehow bypassed by his trickery, the nuisance that was her boyfriend and that damn watch of his always got in the way!

It wasn't like he was trying to be the villain of this ongoing fairy tale. He was only looking out for the betterment of all of Ever After, trying to prevent its destruction! Was that so wrong?

"Infernal genie. I thought I saw the last of them ages ago." Grimm grumbled under his breath.

"What's that, Milton?" Healer Sternum raised a suspicious eyebrow as she came strolling out of her office with a series of jars, bottles, beakers, and a syringe tucked under her arm and in the pockets of her lab coat.

The elephant rumbled dismissively as he absolutely dwarfed the ancient witch. "Nothing. Just . . . cursing the genie that did this to me . . ."

"One of our latest students, if I remember correctly. She's quite amusing," Sternum hummed as she set to work. "A tad on the crazy side, though being stuck in a bottle for thousands of years will do that to anybody."

"Yes, thousands of years . . ." the headmaster trailed off, nearly wandering off into his thoughts before he shook his head to clear them, flapping his fan-like ears as he did so and nearly taking off the healer's head with his large tusks. "How long will this take?"

"You're just lucky I happen to have a degree in Reverse Transfiguration, Milton. Otherwise you'd be eating three-hundred pounds of food a day." Healer Sternum mumbled to herself under her breath. "Honestly, Milton, how do you get yourself into these things?" she asked in an exasperated, rhetorical tone as she almost mindlessly mixed and stirred various liquids and ingredients together into a beaker from memory; without warning or even asking him for permission, the healer yanked a single nose hair from the elephant's trunk and deposited it into the beaker, barely even noticing the pained bellow that followed as she stirred the concoction together.

Milton sorely rubbed the tip of his flexible trunk against his trunk. "Was that really necessary?" he grumbled.

"Do you have a degree in Transfiguration?" Healer Sternum countered as she gave the mixture a few quick stirs and watched it closely as it turned an odd shade of yellow that was suspiciously the color of urine before she filled the syringe and made sure the needle was sharp enough to pierce the headmaster's thick hide. Once again, the old crone didn't hesitate the plunge the pointed tip of the medical instrument into the elephant's foreleg, once again earning a loud trumpet of surprise; Sternum hardly paid attention as she set about cleaning up and putting things back in their designated places, barely even seeming to notice how the headmaster was suddenly engulfed in a flash of bright, pink smoke that sparkled like glitter and smelled oddly enough like cotton candy.

Headmaster Grimm hacked and coughed loudly, waving his hand in front of his face to clear away the smoke. It was then that he had actual hands and not gigantic feet that were perfectly designed to stomp and support his massive, hulking weight or a long, flexible trunk attached to the front of his face that was more than capable of tossing a tree or plucking a single flower from a mound of lawn clippings. He found that even though he still supported a considerable girth, he no longer made the now heavily damaged examination table creak in protest and bow underneath his weight; of course, this only lasted about five more seconds before the table gave a groan and finally died, crumbling to the floor with the headmaster with it. Even with the sudden din, the portly, old man could have sworn he heard Healer Sternum snicker.

"About time," he grumbled under his breath as he helped himself up and dusted his pristine jacket and suit off. "Well then, thank you for your help, Healer Sternum. If there's nothing else, I shall be on my-"

Without even turning to look at him the witch cut him off. "Stay right where you are, Grimm. Unlike your much more responsible, younger brother, you've failed to come in for your annual medical examine. Hopefully your little accident will implore you to stick to that diet I put you on." she added as a snide remark, prompting the headmaster to glare down at his girth.

"I am perfectly fine, Sternum. I'm as healthy as a horse!" Headmaster Grimm argued.

"A horse, no. A donkey or an all too stubborn mule, yes." Healer Sternum cracked at his expense, silently enjoying the fuming anger she could tell was building up within the old man; granted, it probably wasn't good for his blood pressure, but it was small moments like these that she decided that it would be worth the risk. Having already anticipated such a tactic the moment a seven ton elephant had shoved its way through the door into her office, she grabbed her trusty clipboard and pulled out the headmaster's medical records while tapping her chin in thought as she read over them. "Lets get down to business, shall we, Milton?"

Without even looking up, Sternum knew that the headmaster had made his escape through the gaping hole in the wall where her door had once been; when it wasn't the seemingly endless line of excuses that prevented him from ever coming in for his appointments, it was his surprisingly sneaky escapes that always managed to get him out of the tight situations she placed him in. Healer Sternum sighed and tossed her clipboard over her shoulder without care, instead opting to reach into her pocket and pull out a small hand gun and a case full of tranquilizer darts that held just enough sedative to down a man of Milton Grimm's size and age.

Before she even begin her hunting trip in search of the ever elusive Headmaster Milton Grimm, a sudden shout caught her attention.

"Boys! Boys! I don't care if it is Breakfast Taco Tuesday in the Castleteria, there is no need to be running and throwing a bookball through the-EEEEEYYYEE-UH!"

Healer Sternum smirked and quietly and quickly pocketed the tranquilizer gun and darts before gathering up her clipboard and slowly counting down on her fingers from five until she reached one; at exactly that moment, Headmaster Grimm came hurriedly walking back in, slipping off his suit jacket as he did so. "I . . . I think a medical examine is just what I need." he mumbled incoherently to himself.

"Noted." Sternum smiled smugly. "Step on the scale. Lets see if you've lost any weight since you sprouted tusks."

Finally! After an eternity, it is complete! Can any of you guess who Snow White's previous lover was? XD

C'mon, Creaty! We're going to miss our reservations! Mr. Nibbles, stop trying to eat my dress!

Give me a sec, babe, I gotta close out. So, apologies for the slow update, but as I promised I needed to update my other works and when I was working on the latest chapter of my Total Drama story (of which I assume a human identity through means nobody quite knows), I ended up with a severe case of writer's block and ended up working on this chapter before I ran itno writer's block again.

Writer's block seems to be the natural predator of authors, doesn't it?

Knick-knack, paddy whack, give a bandersnatch a bone, the frog skips all the way to the barber shop.

You speak Riddlish! CREATY SPEAKS RIDDLISH! Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay!

I've been practicing. Hardly understand a word though.

Maybe I could give you some . . . lessons?

I don't like that look you're giving me. Either way, we have reservations, Deadpool's off somewhere doing who knows what, and a chapter has been posted after a month. Knick-knack, the story's back!

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!

Hasta Luego!

To dinner!