It's. Finally. Here. Took a long while, but this chapter came out. Thing wouldn't go out without a fight, but there was scenes I was wanting to write, and I made it work. Even if it all seems a little patchwork.
While the real show hasn't been put on just yet (chapter after this is going to be even bigger of a doozy), this one isn't pulling any punches. As chapter 50, of course it's going to be dramatic. But hey, I have some playlists ready at the end.
There will be warnings for the next chapter later in this fic for chapter 51 too. Seriously, read them.
Now, without further ado, let's get on with this chapter.
When the book basically swallowed everyone in the hall inside, Ghoulia wasn't sure where they would end up. Considering magic could be chaotic at times, especially when it comes to older magic, she hadn't the faintest clue.
She supposed that waking up in a lone tower that seemed to be covered in vines was as good as place as any.
"Oh, thank Ra you finally woke up." The zombie blinked as she saw Cleo moving around, putting a handout to bring her up. "I was about to say, I didn't want to be the only one awake here."
"Sorry but getting transported without my permission will cause me to get knocked out if I'm not careful." The zombie rolled her shoulders, feeling stiff. She was starting to understand Double D' teleportation sickness now. "What do you mean by being the only one awake?"
"Because the only other guest we have in here with us doesn't appear to be stirring all that much," Cleo pointed to something behind Ghoulia, grimacing at whatever it was. "At least I know where we might be, if that helps."
Ghoulia turned to see an unconscious woman lying on a perfectly preserved bed. While the tower they were in seemed heavily damaged, aged by years of misuse, the woman didn't appear to be concerned, her chest rising and falling imperceptibly. Morbidly, the zombie noted that she looked eerily like Briar.
"We're in Briar's story? That shouldn't be possible." Ghoulia tapped her chin in thought, making a note to stay away from any sharp objects. Who knows if those were cursed to put them to sleep too? "Briar's mother already committed to her story. Is this some form of projection?"
"It's as good an explanation as anything. As long as we aren't on the receiving end of it, it doesn't matter to me." Cleo looked out the window, frowning. "I think we're nearing the climax of the story, and I haven't found a way out of the tower. There's a dragon flying around, and it doesn't look friendly."
"I'm sure there's a way we can get out of this unscathed. We just have to think about this logically." Ghoulia could hear wings loudly beating outside, sending her on edge. She forced her voice down into a whisper just in case it could hear them. "Have you found anything while we were stuck here?"
"I found this." Cleo handed off a sheet of paper to her friend, looking at it with suspicion. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be a torn page from a book. "It was written in some kind of scrawl, but it looks like some form of incantation. I'm starting to think this is what Giles wanted us to find."
A boom could be heard as something landed on the tower, causing them to shrink back. It sounded closer this time, and they had a feeling it wasn't going to be long before the fabled Maleficent decided to make a visit.
"How much time do you think we have before she touches down?" Ghoulia could see a clear exit out of the tower, though the amount of vines would be difficult to parse through. Looks like they were going to have to make it through silently if they had any hope of escape. "Any sign of a prince anywhere either?"
"I haven't seen anyone, but we should avoid him too. Shouldn't disturb a magical reenactment." Cleo pulled out her iCoffin, cursing as she noted the lack of bars. "Do you have your phone on you? Mine isn't getting anything."
"I dropped it in Heritage Hall. I made sure to press the emergency button before we got sucked up." Ghoulia pointed a finger at the mummy's face before she could respond. "Yes, emergency button. It was Ed's idea. Figured if something with the fear gas happened again, it would lead to a better response time."
"For sooth, evil creature!"
A roar erupted from outside, and a horse let out a loud noise. It looks like the hero arrived after all.
"We need to go. If we're lucky, that fake prince should get roasted before we do," Cleo wasn't ready to test her staff on a dragon, real or not. Not to mention if the dragon wasn't a problem, the prince would be. "Is that cruel of me to say? I'm assuming this isn't real."
"It isn't. Just a magical construct." Ghoulia stumbled as earth moved under her. Cleo immediately grabbed her, starting to pull them down the stairs. "A very good one, though. We need to leave before it gets too real."
Without another word, they descended the stairs, hoping someone got the message before they were turned into roasted Monsters.
Seeing Milton get what he deserved was a fantastic moment in Ed's book and made every little bit of angst until now worth it. Even if he didn't hate the guy like Eddy did, it was just worth seeing his friends be so happy to tear into him like rabid dogs.
Giles had been describing his stay under the school for a good while now, with Maddie happily translating everything he had to say as the crowd's general opinion started shifting away from their headmaster.
"And how would you say you felt about your imprisonment after the first few months?" Eddy was doing his best to treat it seriously, but anytime he could see Milton's ashen face, his lips quirked into a grin. "After you got over the initial fear, I can't imagine your brother doing this was good for your relationship."
Giles said something in Riddlish that none of them had any hope to understand. Maddie nodded along, taking it all in before translating for the crowd.
"He says that he wasn't sure how long it would take for someone to find him, so he immediately started writing in all of the books Milton gave him," Maddie looked at Giles, who nodded, giving her permission to continue. "While he can't say he wasn't comfortable and mistreated, he did feel trapped during the procedure."
"Headmistress Bloodgood, could you please ease up on the seats? You break it, you buy it, you know." Clawdeen wondered if they'd have to bar Bloodgood from speaking just in case she tried something. The werewolf had never seen her get this mad. "And maybe not commit murder too. Just a suggestion."
The scene was like this for the most part as Milton had his career being torn to shred before his very eyes. The guards that were going to take him into custody wouldn't be far off now, Ed figured. Whether they'd do it immediately or let the show go forward was up to them.
"I'd almost feel bad for this if this, but I really don't." Cerise put her hand under her chin, giving the others a look. "Are we sadistic people? I can't imagine anyone else would think this is okay."
"I wouldn't call us sadistic- well, except maybe for Eddy," Double D figured that maybe that should be something to address after this was all over. Or not. Depends on the results of this. "This just makes sure no one could push this under the rug, so to speak. Milton probably would've found a way to hide all of this."
"Is Thronecoming canceled after this?" Ed frowned, keeping track of the livestream Blondie and Spectra had set up. He could see the little line near the bottom that mentioned other news happening and cringed. "Yeah, it's canceled. Sorry about, Cerise."
"Whatever. I never wanted to go to that anyway. Besides, with a missing Book of Legends and a disgraced headmaster, I don't think anyone would've gone anyway." Cerise shrugged. It was a shame since it could've been fun to see what kind of chaos would erupt, but other than that, she was glad to avoid dressing up. "Do we have any plans after this? For the book, I mean."
"Probably try and search for it smarter rather than harder. Something that powerful must have a high magical signature, and the only reason we didn't make something to detect it was due to time constraints." Double D figured that they'd have plenty of time to search after this. At the very least, they'd have time to plan. "We still can't let it stay in the wrong hands for too long. Especially if they start going after roles with high seats in power."
"Yeah, but I don't think we'll have to worry about it too much. If it's so hidden that we can't find it, I highly doubt anyone else will." Ed felt a buzzing in his pocket, prompting him to take out his iCoffin. "Looks like I've got a call."
"Shame on you. It's rude to take a phone into a courthouse." Cerise joked, giving the boy a punch on the shoulder. The smile disappeared as she saw him look at the phone in concern. "Please tell me another thing didn't just shoot up."
"Ghoulia's activated the alarm we were going to test." Ed showed off the screen, seeing the flashing emergency symbol. A map was at the bottom, showing where they were. "It doesn't look like they left Heritage Hall, though."
"That's concerning." Ghoulia wasn't someone to call wolf at times like this. Double D moved up, looking into the crowd. "I can see the guards from here. It looks like we're going to cut this short for now."
"Ed, you get the others while me and Double D head for the hall. We'll send a message to Daring and Briar to meet us at Heritage Hall and see what's going on." Cerise got her phone out, starting to jog away. There wasn't a moment to lose. "Hopefully this is nothing but good news, but I personally doubt it."
The boys could only agree as Double D began to follow and Ed moved to shut the trial short. Something about this made it feel like a stone had fallen into his stomach and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. As far as he was concerned, nothing that had happened up until this point could be considered too bad. Things were even going smoothly!
A little voice whispered that was usually when something would go wrong, and clearly something had. And they were going to have to fix something else, whether they liked it or not.
"At least things can't get any worse." Ed felt himself shiver as he realized what he just said.
Later, he would realize how much worse it could get.
Briar wasn't sure how long she had spent staring at the Book of Legends in her lap, but it was probably too long. But it was probably justified since, out of all the places, she hadn't expected to find the actual one.
"It was supposed to be a diary." She mumbled, rubbing a finger on the pages, but not daring to open it. Despite her disbelief, she was ecstatic. "She literally hid it under the floorboards. And nobody knew a single thing."
It was a genius move if she was going to be honest with herself. Who would look for something so valuable in such an obvious hiding spot? Not to mention nobody knew this existed anyway, so it would've never been found if Briar hadn't seen the yearbook. But she did, and she looked into it, and now the book was in her hands.
Briar stood up, moving the floorboard back where it was supposed to be. It was mostly on autopilot since she didn't actually know what to do next. She knew what she had to do, but it wasn't like she would get the materials to edit the book properly today. Even if she got them marked for express, it would probably still take a day or two.
"Briar! Are you in there?"
The girl jumped, holding the book close to her as Daring knocked on the door. It took her a second to recognize it, another to form a proper sentence.
"Y-Yeah! Just going around my room first! Figured it'd be good to get out of the way." That was a perfectly acceptable lie, she figured. "Just checking with Ashlynn if I can look through her side of the room."
"Yeah, well, don't bother too much. Looks like we need to head out immediately." Daring informed her. It set Briar on edge, making her wonder why now? "Something's gone wrong at Heritage Hall and I'm going to make sure Milton gets taken in. I think they'll want you at the hall just in case."
Briar did feel a spike of worry for Apple since she was at Heritage Hall itself, but it was quickly drowned out by the worry about them finding the book. She gulped, thinking it over before asking Daring a question.
"What about the book? Shouldn't one of us be searching for it still?" Briar figured it wasn't a good thing the lie came so easily, but it did. She thought about putting it under the floorboards again just in case. "We probably still have enough time to get through the trial."
"Double D said he was planning on making something that should track it after this is over. If we're lucky, the whole spectacle outside should make sure nobody even notices it's gone too much longer." Daring's voice started to vanish slowly, most likely heading off to the next part of the adventure. "Don't wait up! I'm gonna see if I can talk one of the guards into letting me help with the arrest."
As the glory hound walked off, Briar was short circuiting as she realized the plan had already gone completely sideways. She knew the whole thing was supposed to be a distraction, but if Double D did have long enough to actually build something to track it, then she'd be done for. Sure, she can put it back where she found it, but as soon as they did, she'd be doomed. Thronecoming was going to be cancelled, but that didn't mean Briar wouldn't be pressured or even forced to sign the book.
She didn't doubt that they'd be able to make something that would find the book. Old magic could be detected, and the Ed's were good at engineering. But that meant she didn't have as much time as she initially thought.
Briar moved towards the door, backup plans entering and leaving her mind in quick laps as she did. She couldn't let her life end the way it did in the pages of this book. She refused.
A thought entered her mind as she remembered the maps that had been updated during the initial search. She pulled out her MirrorPhone, looking through it before settling on her destination.
She had a feeling that no one was going to be at Monster High right now with the news going about. All she had to do was get there before the excitement wore off...
Raven didn't expect to wake up in a small cottage considering where she'd been before getting knocked out. However, that was where she was, and she wanted to curse whoever put her in the one place where the furniture was made for someone much smaller than her.
It hadn't taken her long to figure out that she was in a dwarves' cottage, and if she was correct on any guesses she had about the Storybook, it was most likely the seven dwarves from her and Apple's stories. Seven chairs, seven beds, and one bathroom. Raven sincerely hoped that they didn't actually have to live in this.
"Apple's family better be paying them a good amount of cash." Raven didn't think this was humane. Some of this furniture was extremely old. "You'd think with all of the mining and jewel hunting, they could afford a better place."
Raven knew it was really just a set piece, and not even the real one, but she didn't have much to help her other than humor. She didn't know why she was in the dwarves "home," nor why she was inside of it. Wasn't this supposed to be the other way around? She'd normally be on the other side of the front door, getting ready to-
Knock, Knock
The sudden sound caused Raven's hair to stand up. She looked at the front door with raised eyebrows. That was… a little too coincidental.
Raven made sure her magic was up and running as she cautiously moved towards the door. She knew it was a mistake, but she figured that there was a slight chance this wasn't what she thought it would be. She reached for the doorknob, opening it slowly to see who was outside.
The sorceress was disturbed to note that it appeared to be an old woman.
Wearing a black cloak and a pristine smile, a wrinkled face looked up at Raven with fake sincerity. She was holding a basket of apples close to her chest, humming softly as they met eyes.
"Well, hello dear. I was expecting someone else if I'm being honest." The old woman said in such a kind voice. She tilted her head, looking in the direction of the kitchen. "You wouldn't mind helping me with something, would you?"
"I'd be glad to." Raven would not be glad to help this woman. She knew her own story well enough to figure out this was her mother in her old woman disguise. Or it was a version of her. "Wha-What is it you need exactly?"
"I've been trying to sell off my stock of apples, and I was told to head here," The old woman grabbed one and held it up to Raven. "I'm honestly a little tired and want to go home, so I think maybe you and your friends can have the rest. Maybe you can even make a delicious pie out of them."
"Not sure about that. The guys here prefer cake more than anything." Raven debated incinerating the apple as it was almost thrusted into her face. "Don't have any place to store them either."
"I'm sure there's some place you can keep them. At least have one before I go." The old woman smiled wider, and Raven could see her eyes burn bright with magic. "They're delicious, I can assure you."
The sorceress paused. She looked at the woman, the apple, and then back to the woman as she debated on her next move.
This is when Raven slammed the door in the old woman's face.
Raven didn't have a lot of time to ward the door before a loud bang could be heard on the other side. It was from some powerful magic, a familiar one that made her knees buckle. Raven powered through it anyway, the ward being put up for all the entrances. They buckled against their frames as a storm started outside, magically induced or not.
The sorceress dove for the kitchen as parts of the ceiling almost came down on her. Raven figured the house wasn't built for an actual attack, or whatever this was. Something told her it wasn't that simple.
"Okay, there's got to be a way out of this." Raven didn't know if slipping out the back door would help. She stopped when she noticed something glowing on the counter. "What the heck is this?"
As the sorceress reached for it, a portal in the ceiling opened up, and something slipped out. Raven almost blasted it instantly before realizing it was Double D, who was rapidly trying to stand up.
"Not one of my nicer landings, but at least this time I'm not getting teleportation sickness." Double D stopped when he noticed Raven, putting his arms into the air. "Thank goodness, I don't have to go looking for you! Raven, where are we?"
"Dwarves cottage, and we cannot stay long." Raven waved the glowing piece of paper quickly, moving toward the portal. "Some fake version of my mom is outside and she's about to break in and kill us both if we don't."
Another blast of magic could be heard outside, shaking the house once more. Double D didn't need to be told twice, grabbing Raven immediately, maneuvering the metal legs to move upwards.
"Did you find what you were looking for? I don't think we should head back there with… well, that." The house shook again, and Double D almost shot them into the portal. "I can only assume she'd make it much harder."
"Has to be it. Glowing things are always important involving magic." Raven was joking, though it wasn't like it wasn't wrong either. "Now, if you would…"
Double D obliged, putting them through the portal moments before the house collapsed.
Apple wasn't sure how, but she had woken up running for her life. It was a jarring experience, and she almost tripped the minute she regained consciousness, but was able to stop herself from falling face first into the brush.
Despite not knowing why she was running; she didn't bother to stop. She took a brief look behind her to see what looked like many different animals running her way, hooves, feet, and other appendages hitting the earth hard enough to make it quake. Small forms of dwarves could be seen, but Apple wasn't sure. The cloak was getting in her way, making it hard to see.
"Why am I wearing this?" Apple didn't mean to say it out loud. It wasn't even the most important question once she thought about it hard enough. "I wasn't wearing this when we went inside… inside the book?"
A pickaxe was thrown her way, luckily missing her, and hitting a tree to her right. She forced herself to run faster, not caring to figure out if their aim would get better.
"I can't run forever. Where's my wand?" Apple was able to grab it from her pocket, as well as search the cloak for something useful. She felt some paper in there, but she didn't know where it came from. "Alright, first time actually using a blessing on this. Let's see how it works."
Apple tapped herself with the wand, letting one of the charms put inside glow briefly before it set into her body. The trees started to go past her much quicker than before, and her legs went at a blur.
"There's a speed setting on this?!" Apple looked at it briefly, laughing to herself before sighing. "I really should've started using this a long time ago. It'd make getting to class so much easier."
The fun thought dissipated. She could hear shouts behind her now as the distance grew longer.
"You get back here!"
"Where is the antidote?!"
"You can't just poison her and walk away!"
Apple felt a chill go down her spine as she realized she was in her story. She was just on the wrong side of it.
"I didn't poison anyone!" Apple shouted, despite figuring it would be useless. She had to try anyway, if only to clear her name. "I'm not the queen, I swear."
She was answered by more shouting, which thankfully kept getting quieter. She simply focused on running, trying to figure out what to do next. Apple wasn't certainly planning on getting caught, since that would mean she'd either be put into prison or taken to God knows where to be executed. She couldn't run forever either since she doubted the dwarves would give up in trying to find her. As of right now, the only thing she could do was run.
Apple's footfalls kept her thoughts steady and were the only sound that she could hear for a scant few minutes. However, it didn't take long for another noise to take the place of the roaring that had been behind her. The princess forced herself into a stop, moments before she was facing the edge of a cliff. Jarred from her thoughts, she wondered if the Storybook was messing with her at this point.
The only thing she could see in front of her was a dark sea that disappeared into the dark clouds in the horizon. Wind sharply flew around her, whipping at the borrowed cloak, forcing her to close into herself. The salt in the air made her balk. She didn't have to look over the edge to realize where she'd end up.
"No, no, no." Apple had never been to the ocean before. She could barely stomach being at the lake at Gloom Beach, she could never imagine herself stepping near the coast like this. "Where do I go, where do I go?!"
Apple's unofficial prayers did almost get answered as a portal opened up above her, depositing Eddy's form at her feet. He was accompanied by loud curses as he got up, the portal closing behind him.
"God, I always figured books were the enemy, but did it really have to do that to me?!" Eddy rubbed at his arms, looking around wildly at the new surroundings. "And of course it makes sure that I'm freezing after too. Just typical."
"Eddy?!"
The boy looked over at Apple, eyebrows raised. "Oh, there you are, Princess! Here I was, thinking you were goofing off. You find that page yet?"
"Page?! Eddy, we need to get out of here!" Apple pointed towards the forest, listening to the sound of an oncoming stampede. It looks like they were catching up with her after all. "I don't know how long it'll take for them to get here, but if we don't, we're both going to be in deep, deep trouble!"
"Who's 'them?' Look, did you get the page or not?" Eddy raised his hands at the princess's frantic display. He could hear it too, and he didn't doubt for a second that it wasn't a good sign. "As long as we find it, we can get out of here with another portal."
"Fine! I think I have it with me already." Apple forced her hands into the cloak pockets, grabbing the paper. She felt a little overjoyed to see it glowing, meaning it was what they were looking for. "Where's the portal? The dwarves did not look happy last time I saw them."
Vrrrp!
The sound of a portal opening caught their attention, though neither of them could see it directly. They looked over the edge of the cliff, greeted with the sight of it opened a good several feet below.
"...On second thought, maybe we could try talking to the dwarves." Apple started to turn around so she could disappear into the forest. "I'm sure they're a lot fairer than us missing and ending up in the cold hands of the sea."
"Nope." Eddy grabbed onto Apple with a generous amount of magic, catching her in one arm. He put one foot off the cliff, letting them both drop. "I'm not dealing with this nonsense any longer than I have to."
The last thing the storybook world heard was Apple screaming bloody murder before immediately being silenced by their exit.
Briar had made it. Despite the few close calls, she was able to get to Monster High without being seen.
The girl didn't pay much attention to the creepier aspects of the place, knowing that it was more decoration than anything. Her eyes were set on the room that their search party marked off as being the source of the Well of Wonder.
Opening the door, she made sure to take a good look at the spectacle the well had brought, taking a deep breath. It was beautiful, but she'd have time to appreciate it later. Carefully stepping over rainbow colored water, she moved towards it with intent.
"Just have to find a place to store this before they get done with that stuff in the hall." Loose stones, floorboards, whatever else that could hold the book for a short while. Briar wasn't too picky as long as it didn't get wet. "Don't have much time to wait."
Briar figured that if they did use some kind of magic detector, it wouldn't be able to find the book with Wonderland magic practically covering it up. As long as the Well of Wonder stayed in this spot, the book wouldn't be found until Briar was finished with it. If things went right, the book would be found, changed but unharmed, before a panic set in again.
That was supposed to be the plan. Then something else decided to play its hand.
"Is anyone down here?"
Briar froze, head jerking towards the entrance of the room. Someone was coming down, despite the fact there should've been no one. She'd double checked that the arrest was still going on from the livestreams alone.
The princess looked around, moving to a wall that didn't appear as structurally sound as the others. She grabbed at a brick, struggling to move it, surprised to find it airtight. She moved to another, and another, finding that it was impossible.
"I can hear someone down here! I'd like some kind of response."
Briar was breathing hard, moving back to the well. This wasn't fair. This plan was supposed to work. But some idiot actually decided to come down her and ruin it!
The footsteps kept getting louder, and Briar looked at the book. She picked up, gripping it tightly with white knuckles. She could probably shove it under some vines. No, that wouldn't work. That curtain over there? No, if they cleaned this place up, they'd find it. She could- She could-
Briar made a decision when the footsteps got too close. Before she could think further, she threw the Book of Legends into the water of the well. The princess instantly regretted it, watching it sink with a mute horror. She didn't have much time to think about it before the intruder finally came into the room.
"For goodness sakes, this place is a mess." Lizzie Hearts commented before noticing Briar's hunched over form. "Briar? What in the world are you doing here?"
"…Wanted to see the well." Briar said dully. Her face was turned away from the Wonderlandian, hiding her blank face. "Search party found it and I wanted to see it for myself."
"Understandable I guess. It's been a while since I've gotten to see it myself." Lizzie was put off enough to stop being haughty. She put a hand on Briar's shoulder, tugging her away from the well. "You might want to take a step back. If you fall in, there's no guarantee you'll end up somewhere safe."
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." Briar jerked away, turning back towards the exit. She suddenly felt like going to bed. "I think I'm going to stay in my room for a while. Today has been an absolute nightmare."
"That we can agree on. I wonder if Giles is going to take over for Milton. I'd figure that they wouldn't let him work here anymore." Lizzie didn't get a reaction, despite doing her best to change the subject. "I'm pretty sure I saw Daring try and get involved with the arrest too. I think he's getting a little desperate for attention."
Briar just let her friend talk, refusing to think. Thinking hurt and feeling hurt.
She just wanted to get some sleep.
Ghoulia was starting to think that maybe dragons weren't her thing. The fact that one was trying to breath down on her, Cleo, and the recent arrival of Ed was completely unrelated to this.
"We're not far from the portal!" Ghoulia had to be carried by Ed while he literally fought off the dragon with everything he had. It wasn't a very comfortable ride if she said so herself. "Cleo is everyone on the other side?"
"Yes, now hurry up!" Cleo shot off a few blasts from her staff, giving them some extra time. She didn't want to smell anything else burning for the next week if she was honest. "Ed, you think you can hold that thing down?"
"I'll do my best!" Ed threw the zombie towards Cleo so he could fully shift into his monster form. He gave them one last look before roaring and pushing back at the dragon with all of his might.
"I don't know how long he can hold that thing back." The two closed in on the portal, though Ghoulia instinctively looked back. Ed seemed to be dodging more than fighting, sapping away the confidence she had in getting away. "We're going to need back up."
"I'm sure someone will show up." Cleo didn't think anyone would actually show up. Preferably, no one else would have to deal with a fire breathing nightmare. "I'm sure the others got out of the book too."
That was when Eddy and Apple appeared, screaming, after a portal opened above them."
"…You were saying?"
"Oh, quiet!" Cleo used her staff to prevent those two idiots from falling into the ground. Eddy recovered with a burst of magic, running besides the two. "So, any reason why you two smell like the sea?"
"No particular reason." Eddy was doing his best to pretend he hadn't been saved, while Apple appeared dazed. "Running from forest critters and dwarves can be exhausting."
"I can only imagine. Meanwhile, we were having a breeze with the dragon." Ghoulia pointed behind them. It would've been funny seeing his eyes bug out at the sight if she wasn't exhausted. "Mind helping Ed out? I don't know how much more he can take."
"Got it." Eddy looked down at the girl in his arms, smiling widely. "You fit to run again, Princess, or do I have to throw you?"
"No, I think I can move." Apple pulled out her wand, moving out of Eddy's arms. She waved a spell over all of them, using it to propel all of them forward. "Please don't get hurt. Or hurt the dragon too badly."
"No promises!" Eddy launched himself away, using transmutation to build columns up higher and higher before hitting an apex. The tallest bent forward, heading towards the dragon. "Hey, ugly! You want a breath mint?!"
"Of course he goes for a one liner." Cleo wasn't surprised to see another portal appear, depositing Raven and Double D. "At least you two don't smell like salt water. Double D, keep the main portal open."
"On it!" Raven was easily put down so Double D could launch himself toward the portal. Using metal tentacles quickly, he grabbed the edge before they could close. "I'd suggest moving quickly before this thing closes on me! I don't know what'll happen if it does."
The girls didn't have to be told twice, moving as fast they could to jump through. One by one, they launched themselves inside it, Double D sweating at the exertion.
It was when the last girl fell through that disaster struck. The minute Apple, the last to fall through, ran out, the environment cracked, and the fake sky darkened to pitch black. The shift caused Double D to lose footing, Eddy and Ed tripping as the dragon suddenly glitched and vanished.
On one side of the portal, the Ed's saw it close on their friends' terrified faces before their vision was cut out.
"No!"
Maddie almost leaped toward the Storybook before being caught by Cerise, who pulled her back. The book suddenly shutting scared everyone, especially at the sudden shift. They'd almost pulled off a victory there.
"Let me go! We need to get them out of there!" Maddie wasn't making any progress with Cerise being a lot stronger than her. It was almost pitiful how she struggled. "We can't leave them in there!"
"Maddie, I'm sure they're going to be just fine." Bloodgood didn't know this. By all accounts, she was lying, considering she'd never even seen the large book act like this before. "If it's any indication, most likely it'll deposit them after putting them through some kind of story."
"We don't really know that, though." Cerise let go of Maddie when she stopped struggling, feeling queasy. This could be bad depending on how the book reacted. "The book reacted to Apple and Raven's story, and the only reason it probably put Ghoulia and Cleo in Sleeping Beauty story because we were around Briar."
"I'm with Maddie. I think we need to break open the book." Clawdeen shifted from one foot to the other. "Even if they get put into different stories or whatever, we don't know what they'll be. It might get confused since…"
The werewolf cut herself off, realizing what she was about to say. Everyone looked at her, causing her anxiety to skyrocket.
"Clawdeen, what do you mean it might get confused?" Apple may have been dazed and confused, but that didn't mean she didn't notice it. "Is there something we need to know?"
Clawdeen grit her teeth, looking away. She didn't want to spill it, especially right now. Her eyes darted around as she struggled for a lie.
When her eyes caught Maddie's, though, the hatted girl came to a conclusion that made her still.
"…This is because you think they're human." The statement caught everyone off guard. The jump seemed insane, but Maddie said it so seriously, they knew she wasn't just saying it for fun. "You told me- are they actually human? I thought you were giving me some examples when we talked about that."
"Have you two completely lost your minds?! Of course they aren't human." Cleo scoffed, the idea being completely ridiculous to her. "I know Ghoulia found that Human Integration Protocol file, but that doesn't mean anything. You wouldn't actually try that, right Bloodgood?"
The headmistress failed to reply. The mummy turned her head to the woman, jolting when she saw the startled look on Bloodgood's face. She looked at Clawdeen, making the werewolf look down and kick the dirt.
"How did you figure it out?" The headmistress ignored the gasps. They'd been had, but they could salvage this. After they cured Giles, they could find a way around it. "What do you actually know."
"…Only some things. I only learned about them being human after listening to…" Clawdeen paused, eyes darting to Cerise. "After overhearing some conversations."
Cerise felt the realization knock the wind out of her chest. She didn't feel like she could breathe as everyone turned to her, Raven looking scandalized most of all.
"Cerise, is that true?" Raven didn't think the girl being capable of secrets. Mistakenly, she always figured her friend was pretty open. "That can't- you would have said something. This isn't right."
"The protocol. You did go through with it. That whole thing with the council announcing our presence to the world, everything else." Ghoulia felt pieces click. God, it was so obvious. All those things they said about before they arrived here, the weird questions from Ed. How they reacted to what she said. "The secrets out in ten years. You're trying to prepare humanity through them."
"As much as can. Quite honestly, I don't think we'll be able to make it five years before someone gets caught on camera." Bloodgood didn't mean for it to sound harsh, but it did. This was important to her, to show they could cooperate with humanity. "I needed to make sure things went smoothly. Having examples, especially ones that have helped this much, would make the transition easier."
"No. No, no, no. This is a joke, right?" Cleo laughed sharply. It sounded rough on everyone's ears with how shrill it was. "Ed can turn into large monster, Double D and his tech, Eddy and his magic. None of that can't be real."
The conversation continued to sour after, each person's voice rising and falling as they tried talking over one another. Apple just watched, feeling dizzy again. One question slipped through her lips.
"Why would humans come here?"
The rustling of pages answered her and silenced others, causing them all to look towards the Storybook. The pages began to open in front of their eyes, no portal in sight as it began to spread. Nobody, at first, was sure what to make of it, despite the fact it was something surprisingly mundane.
Because instead of showing a scene of a battle or the romance of a true loves kiss, what they saw was a simple cul-de-sac.
Told you it was going to be a big show. Hope you were ready for it. Nothing is going to be same, especially after next chapter.
Speaking of which, here are some general warnings without spoiling anything; abuse, neglect, and illusions to alcoholic substances. Nothing too graphic (not exactly shown) but strong allusions are strong allusions. If you want to avoid it, feel free, but it's a big part of the story to me. If you have anything specific you want to avoid, feel free to tell me and I'll say whether they're in there or not.
Now, onto less heavy stuff. You want some playlists? Let me show you some.
Here's a playlist for next chapter (along with the title drop): playlist/0jHKP551WNVkRvoEIyWOSe
Here's one for you fans of Briar: playlist/376ZudCByJ4QXRS2cAz4PI
Here's one for you shippers. Feel like I should confirm something since I'm about to put you through some hell: playlist/0YQ5OnC6w7iriA60hVgVcn
I'll see you all next chapter. Prepare yourselves.