The Dethroned King's Tale, Part One

"What now, boss? Looks like we're on our own."

The 'boss', holding the back of his neck, didn't reply at first. He eyed his surroundings - the desert wasteland stretched beyond miles and borders. The heat stole energy from all four men standing adrift in the dunes, and if they didn't take shelter soon, they could face severe dehydration and sunstroke and other desert symptoms. On top of that, their only mode of transportation, having served its purpose, lay stuck in the sand.

And it also lay on top of two men - two former enemies of his, with one of them stretching a robotic limb out like the Wicked Witch of the East. Reginald Copperbottom and the Right Hand Man were no more.

The boss stared beyond that gruesome sight to stare into the blue sky, scouting for a red dot. And he spotted it - the airship. It shrunk as it flew farther away from his grasp. And the more he stared after it, the more despondent he grew.

His companion - shorter in height and possessing a large head and somewhat impaired eyes - followed his line of sight. "I know, Henry. But you know we can't go back. It'll mean trouble if we do. And we gotta act sooner rather than later; I don't want to stay here forever."

Henry nodded and sighed. After that fiasco on board the airship set forth thanks to a decision he made that came back to haunt him, he knew that the remaining Toppats would be out for his blood. And those of his companions. Geoffrey, wearing a small black top hat and known for his pruned voice and signature brown pipe, was smart and also known for coming up with bright ideas and was a force to be reckoned with. Nearby, another Toppat member who remained firmly loyal to him, stood tall and wore an equally tall hat - Thomas Chestershire; a gentleman who distinguished himself as a man of class thanks in part to his wearing twin monocles, keen insight and polished tone. The man kept busy talking to the last member of Henry's group. Not a Toppat, but he might as well have been now.

Dave Panpa - a former police officer turned museum night guard turned prisoner of the Toppats turned fellow fugitive. Dressed in a black uniform that slowly deteriorated from his imprisonment, Dave presented himself as an eager beaver. Wanting to do a good job, but not always keeping track of his actions and somehow seemed to possess a lot of rotten luck. But he never lost his soft-spoken and somehow sweet-natured way, even though he was tossed into a prison cell for doing his job of guarding. The man was speaking to Thomas, but he looked exhausted and out of it to fully engage with Thomas.

Henry himself - a mostly silent man and once lone thief who became the leader of the criminal organization after betraying the government and failing their objective to bring the Toppats to justice - puzzled over their situation and looked over his options, a signature trait of his.

But he could find no items available for use on hand. He could only ponder the best course of action - call for help? Yeah right, for who, a team of ghost catchers? Walk across the desert? Like that would help them in this heat! Wait until dusk to move and try to find some nearby civilization?... well what else could they do? Although the escape pod was equipped with emergency supplies for occasions such as this, they would only last for so long until the men needed a real shelter that would offer them more food and water, a place to rest and in Henry's case, a plan on what to do now that his reign as Toppat King was taken away from him thanks to her.

He motioned to Geoffrey and whispered into his ear the plan.

"Good idea. I'll let the others know."

Later that day, the group took a rest inside their makeshift shelter - the escape pod. Although tight within the pod, the men managed to make room for each other. Thomas and Geoffrey sat against the back of the pod. Four backpacks filled with emergency supplies like food packs, water bottles, small medical kits, tiny flashlights and other items lay next to each other as the two Toppats checked over the items to ensure their usefulness and functionality. Thank goodness that the escape pod came equipped Meanwhile poor Dave sat on one side of the pod, lying on his side and trying to sleep despite the uncomfortable position.

Henry, by contrast, curled up next to the entryway on the other side of the pod and he just stared into the wide desert for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the sun to fall past the horizon. As he waited, he let his mind wander...

"I surrender the airship to you."

...
...

"Oh you wanna know?! He was locked up at the Wall with me!"

...
...

"I say we throw him overboard! Who's with me?!"

He trembled from the memories, although he hid it well from his peers.

The bottom of the sun edged near the horizon. Although dusk wouldn't come anytime soon, a few stars twinkled into being. The colors started to melt and meld like an artist mixing colors on a paint palette - a lazy blue turned into brilliant gold and bold red turned into gentle pink. The sun cast long shadows over the land, the shadows becoming naturally made towers of nature in their own right.

An incredible sight that Henry would have appreciated for the purpose of beauty alone had he not appreciated the shadows for their utility. The heat lingered and it caused Henry to develop a small headache. He rubbed his head to dull the pain; the memory - er, heat - was really annoying, but at least it wasn't oppressive as it was earlier. It would make the trek that he and his small clan were going to embark on tolerable. Even Dave, the poor man who was affected most by the heat as Henry noted, seemed to have more pep in his step.

He even had enough energy to ask, "So uh... I-I know I shouldn't ask this, but... do you know where we're going? I-I mean, not to sound disrespectful, and I'm glad you guys are letting me tag along with you, but since we're in the middle of a desert, I-I just thought…" He trailed off, already hating how stupid he was sounding.

Assuringly, Henry let them know that he thought of that problem during his vigil. Henry couldn't proclaim to be a master at surviving in the middle of a harsh climate like this desert, but he certainly held enough knowledge to to get him by in his days as a thief. He pointed to the southwest.

"Southwest? Why, uh, why's that?"

"..." The man looked into the horizon, past the sun. Dave didn't see the thousand-yard stare of memory glaze over Henry's eyes, but Thomas did.

The latter stood to the former's side. He briefly studied Henry's face before answering Dave's question, "I think I know why. Henry, do you know where we are in this desert?"

Henry shrugged in a so-so motion. He was only familiar with one part of it and one part only, for that part was the start of his thieving career long before he became a Toppat. And now it dawned on him, this was likely the same desert where he started his Toppat career as well, way back when the government thought he would help bring down the Toppats. He almost scoffed at the irony. Yet he hoped that with his experiences, the general location he was going to lead everyone would be that same general location where refuge would be found. However, due to his ex-criminal kingly title clinging onto his shoulders, and his past association with the area in question, he aimed to steer clear of one infamous landmark that landed him in a jail cell...

But not in the mood to bring that part of his past up, and risk making his headache hurt even harder because of the past's additional ironic twist, Henry only brought up his vagabond travels and familiarity with natural landmarks like large and unique plateaus and rolling cacti-dotted sand dunes. He would also bring up the sun's position in the wide open sky - the sun's ability to act as a natural compass with its never-ending journey from the east to the west would also benefit them.

Impressed by the man's particular knowledge of these few facts about the wild world - and thus his respect for Henry growing higher - Thomas smiled encouragingly and said, "That's very good to know. I think we should give it a try. After all, we can't stay here; everyone aboard the airship will eventually find out what happened and come looking for us."

Geoffrey added, "Thomas is right, especially since we uh… accidentally took down Reginald and the Right Hand Man."

As if caught in a trance to return a stare at a train wreck, the four men returned their gaze at the lifeless forms of the aforementioned parties. It was so strange to see and they could not wait to get out of the area before they faced the wrath of the entire clan.

Geoffrey was the first to turn away from the crime scene one more time. Brushing off his pipe, he said, "Well, looks like we'll have a long walk ahead, so we better get started. Lead the way, boss."

Henry nodded. Adjusting his own emergency pack, and glancing over his equally prepared crew, the former Toppat King took a deep, deep breath and faced the west. And their journey to a new land of opportunity began.

Another search. The journey was long and time-consuming, as well as soul-consuming. Up and down the paths did she look, all thoughts out of her mind save one - to find him and bring him back. She wanted to see him, somehow.

But when the search proved useless, just like this one, she could now only wait and wait and wait for him to come to her. There was little she could do to help herself aid in her escape, save hear news from the outside world and hope beyond hope that some day, she would leave this prison.

A raven cawed mockingly in the distance, pulling her out of her dream. The nightmare continued on.

The sky underwent a gradual metamorphosis - the sun winked behind the mountain range, taking its warmer tones with it and replacing it with a deep dark blue sky, with white stars dotting it. The four travelers used it to keep track of time. The westward settlers never said a word of how long time passed for them.

The land also transformed - rising in its place, the moon bathed the land into a spooky pale blue light. It turned the once beige sand into a white sand and cast the rest of the earth far away from everyone in a much darker shadow. Still no one said a word of how long time passed.

Night finally arrived. The upside of it? It felt much nicer now for the heat was gone. The downside? The cool breeze that would sometimes decrease in temperature even more; it made the walk across the land seem more like the Arctic snow than the southwest dunes. He absolutely detested the cold.

And Henry was far from the only one. Although he and the others had protection with their suits, and in Dave's case his uniform despite its battered appearance, they would rub their arms up and down from time to time, trying to warm up their upper bodies. Henry acknowledged this and declared that they should take a break. Relieved, the others agreed. During their journey, they found a tall orange rock jutting from the desert floor that would shield them from the wind's chill and protect the fire they would create. If they could manage the task, that is, as neither twig nor branch existed behind the rock.

But thinker Henry immediately called upon one of his most reliable abilities - his options and unorthodox way of thinking. Everything froze in time and place and four options appeared from thin air before him: 1) a trashcan, 2) timbers (How convenient.), 3) a fire arrow, and 4) chili peppers (What.)

The chili peppers? He ate them and his throat caught fire and nearly burned the others before he passed out! A failure! Somewhere out there, he could have sworn he heard a sarcastic comment said in a very faux accent, something about spicy meatballs.

The trashcan? It was a tiny little thing and the flame was extinguished much more quickly. A failure! He heard another comment, this time with no accent, and it was about how not all large things came in small packages.

The fire arrow? Nearly gave Henry a third degree burn when he touched it! A failure! The last sarcastic comment? 'That's what wearing protective gloves are for, dummy!'

The timbers? The most simple of the options, but they served the group well. Success!

Henry laid the timbers down and everyone helped to pitch in making the fire: Thomas and Dave retrieved the loose and small rocks broken from their bigger cousin to form a ring around the fire while Henry and Geoffrey dug a deep hole into the earth for the fire pit. Geoffrey finished the job by feeding the timbers with a flame-lit match. Soon, they had a warm shelter to rest in and Henry was satisfied with his work and everyone else's too. It was a comfort, though a brief one, he could take in after today.

Unbeknownst to him, a new era of Toppat monarchy dawned.

A/N: Westward ho! The gang may not have a wagon, but they are certainly heading to a new frontier. What will they find? And will Henry's bad memories catch up to him as they haunt him?... Well of course they will!

So recently, the anniversary of when the second game in THSC, Escaping the Prison, was released back in 2010, has come to pass. It was also the anniversary (well, near anniversary, the ride actually opened on the 12th) of when the Disneyland Paris attraction, Phantom Manor, was first opened to the public way back in April of 1992. I decided to publish a chapter in honor of these two properties.

While this chapter does focus more on the Henry Stickmin portion of the crossover, there is a small nod to the ride here through one section here. There is also an acknowledgement to ETP, through a brief history of Dave's career as well as Henry's thieving start. All of which will come together into something bigger as this story progresses.

For now... Happy Anniversaries to Escaping the Prison and Phantom Manor!

References:

- A number of The Henry Stickmin Collection callbacks. They include:
1) The Wall. Not the song by Pink Floyd (although I'm surprised there was no reference to the song in the games proper), but the prison complex in the fifth game of the series, Fleeing the Complex.
2) "He was only familiar with one part of it and one part only, for that part was the start of his thieving career long before he became a Toppat." - The desert in Breaking the Bank is calling Hen home, but Escaping the Prison and Infiltrating the Airship are different matters. ETP is especially a pain for Henry at this time.

-"Yeah right, for who, a team of ghost catchers?" - Sorry, Henry, the Ghostbusters can't help you there!

-"Somewhere out there, he could have sworn he heard a sarcastic comment said in a very faux accent, something about spicy meatballs." - Mr. Jim Carrey's delivery of this line in the 1994 film The Mask is so goofy that tossing this in made a nice fail salad.

*Bonus!* To paint this story into the canvas of readers through a fairy tale theme (and because both The Henry Stickmin Collection and Phantom Manor have terrific sound scores), I will be posting links to musical/sound pieces in the chapter notes to set the stage for every chapter, if you will. I'll also discuss at which lines or points they can be played as you read each scene. Not all of the links will feature musical pieces from either property, and not all of the links will even feature music (some may be sound effects and other compositions), but they will portray the atmospheres and moods for each moment I write.

Chapter One:
1) Title: Fractured
Album: The Henry Stickmin Collection
When to Play: The beginning of this chapter, as this score was played when Henry and co. escaped.
watch?v=BitUrLpddCs&ab_channel=12345qwert

2) Title: Desert Wind Sound Effect
When to Play: 'Night finally arrived..' The night wind has come.
watch?v=hZu3SIZcPKY&ab_channel=Stupidladasoundfx

Enjoy! :)