The Vengeful Queen's Tale, Part One
In a kingdom far away from the former king's presence, and before the sun set...
It was better than looking up at the man's face glowering into his own as he nursed his hurting head with an ice pack.
"So he freed Thomas, Geoffrey and that security weakling?"
The injured man, Floyd, explained, "That's right, Sven. And they all fled in an escape pod too. I saw the empty launch pad after I woke up and tried to look 'round for 'em." He groaned as his head ached.
So did Sven Svensson. The young Swedish man rubbed his temples and then, taking off his blue top hat, ran a hand through his messy blonde hair as he scowled over this new development. "That complicates things... not only are those four alive and on the run, but Reginald and the Right Hand Man are missing."
"Well? What do you propose then?"
Sven thought about the situation. All of this was a lot of hassle to deal with! He sighed to keep his nerves steady. He then faced the woman who spoke, the fiery redheaded Ellie Rose. "Since our leaders haven't come back yet, I think a few of us should go down there and look for the escape pod and any signs of Reginald and the Right Hand Man." He took out his cell phone, called up two Toppat members and instructed them on what to do. After that was accomplished he asked Ellie, "I'll accompany them to the desert floor. Want to help us find everyone?"
The woman bared her teeth, her fangs sharpened and shining into a fierce and bloodthirsty grin. "Oh YEAH. Sign me up!" With the entire Toppat crew siding with her, save for a select few who betrayed the clan by siding with him even after what he did, her victory was guaranteed.
He shared her devious sentiment. "Okay then. We'll turn this airship around and launch a search party. In the meantime, feel free to borrow one of our guns from the armory and load up. Harold!"
The Toppat in question stepped up, tipping his peculiarly-shaped blue hat that resembled one half of a pair of dice from a fantasy board game. "You rang?"
"Go with Ms. Rose and let her choose her weapon. Collect what's needed for our team and then meet me in the airship control room."
"Right!"
After the two left, Sven addressed Floyd, his smirk replaced with a glare. "And as for YOU - go find Wendy and tell her that we need to patch the holes up before they get bigger."
Floyd glared back but he didn't respond back. He moved around to leave, muttering under his breath.
"What was that?" Sven inquired threateningly.
Floyd panicked and hastily replied, "Nothing! I'm on it!" And then he disappeared from Sven's sight.
Sven sighed again, dropping his anger. Now that he was alone for the moment, he could concentrate and allow himself to absorb everything that just happened, including the view of the giant gaping hole that was torn asunder within what used to be the security guard's brig cell room. The bright blue sky could be seen outside and the brisk howling wind built up inside the room, producing a high-pitched banshee scream.
Meanwhile, Ellie raced on her heels, winning her make-believe race against the Toppat accompanying her to the armory. In a lightning second, they reached their destination.
Her mouth gaped open in awe by the sheer collection of arms the Toppats possessed, such as shrink rays, assault rifles, golden pistols and unique weapons such as hammers and nunchucks. In the middle of the room, Harold allowed Ellie to explore the room and to, of course, choose whichever weapon she wished, just as long as she did not choose a weapon belonging to a specific Toppat.
But Ellie cared less about the latter, as tempting as they were to take and try out, and chose one of the golden pistols as her trusty choice. As she held the gun up in admiration and greed, she spotted her Toppat guide eying her curiously.
"What? What are you staring at?"
Her tone was a little sharper than intended, as he flinched a bit. But after awkwardly adjusting his hat, he regained his composure and asked, "Nothing! I'm glad you chose the pistol. But I was just curious about why you chose it. It's smaller and Toppats usually go for the rifles because -"
"Rifles are bigger compared to them? Fair enough. I did think about going for the rifle like before because of that. But after seeing the pistols, I changed my mind." Her voice mutated into a low snarl as she hissed, "I want to see him slowly suffer and squirm in pure agony for leaving me behind to rot at that Wall. And this - " Ellie held the gun up a little higher and caressed as if it were a precious pet - "Will help out with that. Now are we going to stand here talking, or are we going to go down there and take him and his merry little band down?"
Holding his hands up as a sign of good intentions, Harold replied, "Hey, I'm with you. Let me grab a couple of guns for the search party and then we'll be on our way."
Feeling bad about snapping at him before, Ellie offered, "I've got a free hand; I'll help you carry some of these. Let's get this show on the road!"
The duo found Sven waiting for them in the center of the control room and stationed in the pilot's seat, eyes glued to a computer screen. When Harold called his name, Sven looked up.
"Great, you're here. While we're waiting for the others, I'll bring you up to speed on my findings."
Ellie raised a confused brow. "Findings?"
"About where the escape pod landed. Here I'll show you." Waving Ellie and Harold over to his position, he stood up and presented to them a map of the landscape from underneath the airship's wings. On the green screen in front of him, they all could see a red dot fading in and out over a long stretch of barren earth. Small numbers and the four navigational directions encircled the dot. Sven pointed and explained, "According to this map, they landed in this spot, right in the desert and in the middle of nothing, except..."
An impatient Ellie asked, "What? Except what?"
"There's only one place in that whole desert near where they landed." He then pointed to a large clump of darker green shapes that stretched to the west. "That whole area is known as the Big Thunder Mesa National Park."
Harold questioned, "So what about it? What does this have to do with Stickmin and... ooohhh. You think that's where he'll be going with his group?"
"Yeah, assuming that Stickmin knows the desert. It's the only real location around for miles."
"And also assuming that he and his crew hide who they really are, they'll try to get help from the park rangers there or at least find a place to hide and lick their wounds. " Ellie finished. She held her chin in thought. "And maybe even plan something against us." She shook her head, returning her attention back to the moment. "But I say we check out the pod first. We don't know what they're planning and for all we know, they could be hiding in the dunes and waiting to spring a trap on us."
"Not to mention we still have to find Reginald and the Right Hand Man, and they could be fighting with Stickmin now," A voice said from behind everyone. Ellie, Harold and Sven turned around and saw two Toppats standing and looking ready for action.
The female half of the team, Carol Cross, stood with arms akimbo, her short and slightly wavy black hair shining underneath her black hat. "So I agree with Ellie on this."
The male half of the team, Kabbitz, towered above everyone like a modern day Goliath with meaty fists and a confident smirk. "Right. They're no match for us; we're a team of five and they're a team of four." He slammed his fists together. "So let's go take care of them!"
By the time the airship did an about face towards the direction of the missing escape pod, the afternoon sun moved in coordination with them, and the Toppats passed through a random cluster of clouds. This deterred them from reaching their destination for some time, but when they moved out of the clouds, the sun had sunk even lower into the sky.
But so did the airship: arriving on time, a smaller red pod burst out of the ship's seams and departed for the sand below. When it hit earth, the door popped open and four Toppats (and Ellie) hopped out with weapons at the ready. They moved as one as they searched the missing ones.
A vengeful Ellie dominated the trail as the tiny pack prowled the dunes. Sven acted as her right hand man, eyes narrowed. Carol acted as her left hand lady, her determined scowl echoing Sven's wary position. Harold and Kabbitz brought up the rear, almost walking backwards as they gazed across the wide sea of sand and kept their backs facing their comrades in arms.
So far, all everyone found was dead silence, save for the occasional desert wind screeching and blowing the sand into the air.
Creak.
The creak made the small band jump and narrow their focus to the source. Ellie noted that the sound came from over a dune in front of her. She threw a hand towards the dune, signaling everyone to move out. Then she whispered to her troop they would throw a surprise ambush on the count of Three.
Two...
One.
Surprise!
But the team discovered a little surprise waiting for them.
An upside down red shell stood upright in the sand. They discovered that the sound was born from the shell's hull rolling back and forth gently in the sand thanks to the wind pushing it somewhat downwards. There was an empty space from within. It was the escape pod.
The team scanned the area around the pod, looking for any hidden traps or traitors waiting for them. But none were found. Looking this way and that, they slowly approached the pod like it was a sleeping dragon. But just as one of the Toppats was about to suggest going inside to check for anything suspicious, Sven froze in fright and his face paled. He made a small and scared sound.
Harold, who was behind him, didn't like what he saw and heard. "Sven? What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
Sven tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't release any words. He took a big gulp, and he said shakily, "I think I know where the Right Hand Man is."
Although Ellie shared Harold's confusion about Sven's deer-in-headlights mannerisms, she was happy to hear that the Right Hand Man was found. "Great!... So... where...?"
Her thoughts of gladness turned to horror as the Toppat pointed to underneath the fallen craft. She gasped, as did the other Toppats.
A metal arm peeked out from underneath the pod, the fingers curled up and frozen in place.
Kabbitz immediately took action. "Let's get this off him!" Putting his weapon down, he grabbed the pod and began lifting. The others followed his example; Sven and Harold crowded around Kabbitz and helped him to lift up the pod. Once it was off the ground, the men pushed it to its side, and it fell with a groan and a smash of sandy dust.
Ellie and Carol pulled the Right Hand Man's hand, and with his hand came the rest of his broken cyborg body. His cybernetic eye was completely smashed, the red light now dull. The rest of his face - both flesh and metal - was dealt a series of punches and dents from the pod's weight. His black top hat was the only item that, although squished, could easily be repaired.
But he didn't move. Carol pressed two fingers into the left side of his neck to find any sign of life. Then she held up his left hand to find a pulse there. But both places yielded the same results.
Carol sadly shook her head. Ellie placed a hand on Carol's shoulder in sympathy.
"Carol, Ellie..."
Upon hearing her name, Ellie gaped at the trio's discovery.
Another Toppat lay motionless. His squished grey top hat shielded his eyes, but his brown and curled mustache stood out from underneath the hat. The man laid down on his side, his jacket torn slightly.
Reginald Copperbottom, the former leader of the Toppats before Henry.
Harold kneeled down Reginald's body and pressed two fingers to the man's neck. But like the Right Hand Man, no life beat from within. Harold sighed and bowed his head.
Ellie barricaded a whirlwind of emotions raging inside of her as she observed the Toppats grieving for these two men - sorrow, anger, frustration, determination. She just met Reginald and the Right Hand Man, yes, but she owned them immensely for their support for when she called Henry out for his actions in front of the entire clan. And now... they were gone.
Biting her lower lip to control herself, she faced a still-pale Sven. Her face softening, she gently shook his shoulder to snap him out of it. "Sven."
...
"Sven," she said again, only much louder.
That finally woke him up from his state. "Huh? What?"
"What do we do now?"
Sven averted his eyes before casting another downcast gaze on the former leaders. A hot breeze brushed over them, lightly blowing through their hats and mustaches in the light of the falling sun. Bits of sand covered them from the sunlight. Sven watched them for a second, thinking to himself. He was aware that the other Toppats were watching and awaiting his answer.
"We... should bury these two here and pay our respects. After that, I don't know."
Carol folded her arms as she mimicked Sven's glum gaze. She asked, "Should we bring the whole clan down here too? So they can say goodbye?"
"I don't think they'll like seeing these two like this. Broken and crumpled up. No, let's let the clan remember them as they were before: tough and true leaders loyal to the Toppats."
Although initially hesitant, the Toppats found themselves agreeing with this plan to keep the images of Reginald and the Right Hand Man at their best alive in the clan; it would be good to keep the clan's morale up. But Ellie paused, frowning curiously.
"Wait a minute. Without Reginald and the Right Hand Man, who will be the leaders of the Toppat Clan now? Do you guys vote for that or something?"
Sven explained, "Well, not exactly. That can happen on occasion, but it usually comes down to leading a line of succession. I was actually in line after Reginald and the Right Hand Man." Carol and Kabbitz slung dirty looks his way, and he hastily wrung his hands and said, "But don't get me wrong, I don't want the job! I don't want to lead the clan! I-do you have any idea how much paperwork and details I would have to go through, especially for the really big projects that were planned by the leaders? Mountains of paperwork! I wouldn't know how to pick up a project left behind by someone else! And don't get me started on Stickmin's way of running things. He often planned and delivered on big heists, but other times, I was in the dark about what he wanted to do! If any of you want to lead, go for it!"
By this time Sven was breathing frantically from his rant.
"Okay, Sven, okay! You made your point, just calm down."
Kabbitz backed Carol up. "Yeah, we believe you. But that doesn't help us get us anywhere. Anyone else have ideas?"
No one did, save one.
Harold considered himself the face of the Toppats, and because of this assumed role, he took it upon himself to think over who in all of the group held the best qualities that would certify them as leaders. But none immediately came to mind. What they needed was someone who wouldn't backstab and had the group's best interest at heard... someone like... like... he paused as the idea struck like lightning. Could it work? "Hey. I may have an idea. I know it's crazy, but...
"Why don't we nominate Ellie as the new head of the clan?" He motioned to Ellie with a hand.
Ellie was sure she heard wrong. "Wait, what? Me?"
"Sure! We do have a rule that says a leader can be chosen through conquest, and you did overthrow Stickmin when you threatened him to jump off the airship. I saw his face when you accused him of leaving you behind at the Wall; he looked guilty and didn't do anything to object, like he was caught stealing from a cookie 's proof enough for me. And you also had Reginald's support, so you'll have mine too!"
Kabbitz brightened up. "Hey, that's true! I like the idea. You took down Stickmin so hard and scared him so much that it makes me laugh at his weaknesses. We need a strong leader and I think you're it!"
Carol smirked and nodded. "We could use someone with your attitude. You broke out of the Wall, you followed him over land, air and sea, and you defamed his name right in front of everyone with no fear of us. It takes someone that daring and persistent to lead the Toppats!"
Ellie just stared at them, unsure of what to say. Sven patted her on the shoulder and complimented with an earnest smile, "The rest of the Toppats will support you, I know it. And we'll vouch for you too. You're our leader now, Ellie Rose. Congratulations!"
"I..." Ellie held a hand to her temple, overwhelmed at the vote of confidence from the four Toppats. Out of the corner of her eye, Reginald's helpless and dead form peeked out from his sand-covered spot. She looked at him for a minute into his hidden face before she closed her eyes and faced everyone. "Thank you everyone. I accept this nomination." Her eyes hardened and became steel. "And I promise to lead the Toppats as best I can!"
The Toppats all cheered for her. She smiled and bowed gratefully towards them.
So she would give her first order. "Okay... then let's get down to business. Sven, I choose you as my Right Hand Man for now; you did say you were in line after the old leaders before I came along, so I want your help in knowing what they did, and what he did - or didn't do - too."
Although Sven wasn't too happy to be entirely out of the spotlight of leadership, Ellie would be carrying out the major orders and making the big decisions - not to mention he didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath like Henry was - so he wasn't about to complain too much."I accept."
"Glad to hear it. Now...let's bury Reginald and the Right Hand Man," Ellie ordered with a bit of strain in her throat. She cleared her throat to combat the sadness and present a strong front, "But let's take their hats and bring them back with us to the airship. That way, we'll honor their memories and keep them alive in a way. Plus, this'll encourage the others to fight that much harder to get revenge on Stickmin!"
Everyone cheered once more, their energy slightly lessened, but no less pumped up to avenge the fallen friends.
The wind pushed more sand over the pit, which prompted Carol to act first. "I'll pick up the hats." While she picked up and watched over the hats, Ellie asked the others to bury the dead. And she led the way.
Night finally arrived. The moon now hung in the sky, its glow as big and large enough to light the whole sky and overshadow the stars. The wind was at work; clouds clustered and hovered around the moon as if they were the followers in a settlement, listening to their rulers.
That was a reason why Ellie admired the moon: not for its beauty but also for its significance in the sky. It looked so hauntingly glorious and proud of itself. And it was also one of the few things capable of keeping her nerves steady, like it was now.
Although last minute, a coronation was set up in the airship control room to welcome the newest member of the Toppat Clan. The members with the needed skills to prepare for this grand event worked as hard and quickly as they could to make it a joyful if brief one. Small banners now hung above the doorway, all connected together with small rose bouquets. Everyone stood together in front of the large windows and controls, save for the elite members of the clan. Those members stood by the pilot's seat, with Sven the closest to the seat.
And Ellie?
"Everyone, I'd like to welcome our new member, and leader, of the Toppats! Ellie Rose, step forward and kneel down."
Ellie obeyed and she dropped onto one knee.
Sven stepped forward also, and in his hands, he held Ellie's new crown - a light purplish pink top hat adorned with a ring of deep purple roses. "By the right of the clan, and by the rule of conquest, I now bestow you the rank of Toppat Clan Leader!" He placed the hat on top of her head and he walked backwards. The whole court applauded their lady as Ellie stood up and ready to rule.
Their enthusiasm died down as they waited for Ellie to make a speech. She said, "Thank you all for letting me be a part of the clan - no, letting me lead your clan. When I first came here, I didn't know what to expect, and only wanted to get my revenge on Stickmin. But seeing all of you standing with me and against him was not only gratifying, it was humbling and I'm grateful for that. But... I wouldn't be standing here if it had not been for Reginald and the Right Hand Man. And so I ask for a moment of silence to honor them and all they've done."
She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the crowd, letting herself feeling the grief again.
The rest of the clan also bowed their heads, some of them taking their hats off in respect.
Upon arriving back to the airship, the small band of Toppats returned to deliver the bad news about the leaders' demise and the disappearance of Henry and his band of rebels. Needless to say, the whole clan reacted strongly with so many emotions. It took the news about Ellie taking over the clan as the new boss to tame them, and much to Ellie's delight, they eagerly accepted this notion.
After the melancholic seconds passed, Ellie reaffirmed her vow. "And now I know what to expect with all of you - loyalty, tenacity, action and a thirst for something bigger. So I swear to you that I will do whatever I can to lead us, just as Reginald and the Right Hand Man have!"
Cheers and whoops of jubilation echoed across the room. Ellie grinned as they reveled in their pride. But Ellie's grin faded a bit as she laid out her rules. "But to do that, we'll need to find Stickmin. I'll make this clear now that when we find him, I'll deal with him first - he betrayed me. If any one of you even thinks about stealing that from me, I'll throw you out the airship myself with no hope of second chances, " Ellie growled, her eyes burning, her teeth gritting in anger and ready to tear someone's head off. "UNDERSTOOD?"
Many of the Toppats shuddered or yelped at Ellie's intense threat. They saw how dangerous and true to her word she could be and there was no way any of them would dare to cross that line. So they all nodded or murmured their consent.
She nodded confidently. "Good! But no worries - you'll all get your chance to mess with him too. But not now. Even if we have reason to believe he's heading west, according to Sven's research, we don't know what he's planning or where he's going. And I don't want to waste the time and resources to look for him during this hour. It's been a long day and we need to have fresh eyes and clear heads on how to deal with this problem. But once we find Stickmin and make him pay, no one can stop us! I don't know what kind of things he did in his time here, but I'm going to do things in a much better way than he did - we'll soar to bigger and better things: successful raids and unstoppable power! So let's hear it for the Toppat Clan, the BEST of the BEST!"
The wildest and loudest cheer echoed throughout the room, the ship and the whole air. The sound carried far out into the night along the wind, with only the moon and stars as silent witnesses to the event.
The queen smiled as the crowd chanted her name. She was going to like this job.
A/N: She'll like it for now, but just wait until the paperwork comes.
This week, I will be posting the latest chapters in all of my Henry Stickmin stories, including this one, in honor of the third anniversary of the final game in the Henry Stickmin Collection, Completing the Mission, with a focus on the 'Toppat Civil Warfare' ending.
The story is still focusing on the Henry Stickmin portion of this crossover, but this is to explore the establishment of Ellie's leadership in the clan, as was seen to the ending title card for this path in CtM. There's quite a bit of symbolism in this chapter, but I'll save that discussion for either another time... or on my new blog! Read to the end of these notes to find out more about my fanfic blog.
References:
- So many faces from CtM show up here. In order of appearance, we have Sven Svensson, Floyd Winters, Carol Cross, and Kabbitz. Harold - better known as Handsome Harold - made his debut in Infiltrating the Airship.
-"The Toppat in question stepped up, tipping his peculiarly-shaped blue hat that resembled one half of a pair of dice from a fantasy board game. 'You rang?'" - this line is a twofold reference. The shape of Harold's blue hat is, according to his bio on the Henry Stickmin wikia, a reference to the fantasy tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons. I'm not too familiar with the game, but I am familiar with the response he used. 'You rang?' is Lurch's catchphrase from the original The Addams Family 1960s show.
-"And as for YOU - go find Wendy and tell her that we need to patch the holes up before they get bigger." - Wendy is a welder, just like the real life Wendy the Welder. Wendy is a cousin to a more recognizable icon, Rosie the Riveter.
-"But Ellie cared less about the latter, as tempting as they were to take and try out, and chose one of the golden pistols as her trusty choice." - Henry Stickmin and James Bond fans will know this one, but for those who don't, the golden pistols nod back to the 1974 James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun.
-"That whole area is known as the Big Thunder Mesa National Park." - Okay, my mistake: there is one line focusing on the Phantom Manor side of the crossover, and that's the name Big Thunder. Big Thunder is a reference to another theme park ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which sort of ties into Phantom Manor if only by genre association.
-"...towered above everyone like a modern day Goliath with meaty fists and a confident smirk" - Not only is Goliath a reference to the Biblical antagonist, it's also a foreshadowing. I'm not saying how, but I can tell you right now, if you know the story about Goliath, it's NOT going to heavily focus on the protagonist who shares his name with a character from the games. XD
Musical pieces-
Chapter Two:
1) Title: Exterior Area Music
Album: Phantom Manor 20th Anniversary (Soundtrack)
When to Play: "A hot breeze brushed over them, lightly blowing through their hats and mustaches in the light of the falling sun."
watch?v=PnRygCiVSpQ&ab_channel=DamM012
About the blog I brought up, I have created a new blog where I talk about my fanfics! The link can be found in my bio. I'll be talking more about the making of this crossover and some other goodies will be present there once I update all my stories, so if you want to know more about the special features of this story - and other stories I'll be discussing there - please swing on by.
Enjoy! :)
