Chapter 18: Crisis in Multiple Pages
"You'd better transform and fight," said Irvin smugly as Kaiza advanced menacingly towards our heroes, "because only a Rider can defeat a Dark Rider."
"He means you, Chad," said Lance as our heroes clustered around the unconscious Manny, "so get your game on!"
"I…I…" said Chad as he looked at Kaiza fearfully.
"What are you waiting for?!" exclaimed Heath, "dial the darn phone and shout 'Henshin!' already!"
"He can't do it," said a recovering Scarah, "he can't fight another human."
"What do you mean he can't fight another human?!" exclaimed Invisi Billy, "that guy wants to kill us!"
"He still can't fight a human," said Scarah, "even if that human is evil, our Chad can't bring himself to spill another human's blood."
"Well, isn't this a delightful turn of events," said Irvin with wicked glee, "Richter, if their Rider won't fight you of his own free will, perhaps some persuasion is in order."
"Gladly," said Kaiza as he pulled out his X-shaped weapon, the Kaiza Blaygun. Gripping it like a pistol, he pulled on one end, aimed and fired a blast of yellow energy at Chad, intentionally missing him by inches but forcing Chad to jump back in terror.
"Fight me, you coward!" shouted Kaiza as he shot two more blasts at Chad, then aimed the Blaygun at Scarah and Invisi Billy, "maybe I need to kill some innocents in order to motivate you!"
"NÓN!" shouted Rochelle as she flew at and delivered a bone-shattering punch to Kaiza's head, yet the blow merely made the Dark Rider stagger back a few paces.
"How dare you threaten innocent lives, you foul creature!" said Rochelle, "human or not, I will not allow you to hurt my friends or anyone else!"
"You are not my target, Gargoyle," said Kaiza, "but if you stand in my way, I'll show no mercy."
"Oh, let her stand in your way," said Irvin, "I want to see how well you can do against one of Frankie Stein's tougher friends."
"As you wish," said Kaiza as he aimed his blaster at Rochelle.
"En garde, démon!" the valiant gargoyle shouted as she rushed toward Kaiza, who shot three blasts from his Blaygun at her, all missed as Rochelle got within striking range. She threw several punches and kicks at Kaiza, whom blocked them all and countered with several punches and kicks of his own, occasionally striking with his Blaygun, yet none of his attacks seriously hurt Rochelle.
"Ah, her stony exterior is a tough nut to crack," said Irvin.
But then Kaiza pulled off the phone on his belt, opened it and dialed.
1 0 3
SINGLE MODE
Kaiza converted the phone to a blaster form and fired a three-second-long burst of energy right into Rochelle's midsection, forcing Rochelle back several paces and making her bend over in pain as she clutched her cracked torso.
Kaiza then dialed again.
106
BURST MODE
The Dark Rider then fired a three shot burst from his phone, then two shots from his Blayun, followed by another three shot burst from the phone, all of which hit Rochelle and knocked her down, her body covered in painful cracks.
"ROCHELLE!" shouted Lance. He then glared at Chad, "if you won't fight, then I will!" he grabbed the Faiz Gear from Chad and put the belt on.
"You're gonna pay for this, jerk!" shouted Lance as he dialed the phone and hit Enter.
5 5 5
STANDING BY
"Henshin!" shouted Lance after lifting the phone up high, then connected it to the belt.
COMPLETE
Red energy lines flowed from the belt, transforming Lance into Faiz.
"And so it begins," said Kaiza as he but both Blaygun and phone back onto his belt. He and Faiz then exchanged blows.
"Now this is entertainment," said Irvin eagerly as he summoned a bowl of popcorn. He then saw that the eleven Orphnochs in the area were standing around, watching the fight.
"Oh, I almost forgot about you lot," he indicated Heath, Abbey, Rochelle, Manny, Invisi Billy and Scarah, "get them!" he said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
"Oh, this bad," said Heath as the Orphnochs closed in on him and the other Monsters.
"We can still fight!" said Abbey as she stood defiantly.
"You're right, babe!" said Heath, "let's get these goons before they get us!" his fire aura flared up and he began tossing fireballs at the Orphnochs, while Abbey shot beams of freezing energy. Two Orphnochs were frozen solid, while a third took a fireball to the face and fell down. The remaining eight Orphnochs rushed at our heroes, but one of them tripped on something unseen.
"We can do this!" shouted Invisi Billy as he briefly became visible, then went invisible again as an Orphnoch swung a clawed hand at him.
"Don't just stand there, Chad!" shouted Heath as he burned an Orphnoch that tried to grab him, "do something!"
"I…I…" said Chad, still paralyzed with uncertainty.
"Some Rider you are!" shouted Kaiza, whom then delivered three point-blank blasts from his Blaygun to Faiz, knocking Faiz down, canceling the transformation and leaving Lance exhausted, scraped and bruised on the ground.
"He's not much of one either," said Kaiza as he walked up to Lance and stepped hard on his right hand. Our heroes heard bones crunching over Lance's scream of agony.
"NOOO!" shouted Chad with righteous indignation. He ran up to where the Faiz Gear landed, picked it up, ran back to the briefcase and pulled out the handlebar-like energy sword, the Faiz Edge. Chad then dialed the phone and pressed Enter.
5 5 5
STANDING BY
"Henshin!" shouted Chad as he held the phone up, then brought it down to click into place on the belt.
COMPLETE
Red energy lines flowed from the belt as Chad transformed into Faiz. He then pulled out his Mission Memory chip from his phone and connected it to the Faiz Edge.
READY
A red blade of energy ignited from the grip and Faiz charged at Kaiza.
"Now we have a battle," said Kaiza coldly as he stepped away from Lance. He then pulled the Mission Memory chip from his phone and attached it to his Blaygun.
READY.
A blade of gold energy ignited from the Blaygun and the two Riders dueled. But it was soon clear that Kaiza was the superior swordsman, forcing Faiz onto the defense and dealing a few damaging blows, while all of Faiz's attacks were blocked and countered. One heavy blow forced Faiz to drop his sword.
"Pathetic!" snapped Kaiza. He pressed Enter on his phone and cocked the hammer on his Blaygun.
EXCEEDE CHARGE
Kaiza shot a gold beam at Faiz, trapping him in a web of energy, while overcharging the blade on the Blaygun.
"Death awaits you!" shouted Kaiza as he rushed at the immobilized Faiz and delivered three strikes, each one delivering massive amounts of spark damage, then one final strike that produced a small explosion. Faiz shot several feet into the air and landed hard, canceling the transformation, leaving Chad battered, bruised and bleeding on the ground.
"Bravo! Bravo!" sheered Irvin as he clapped enthusiastically, "a spectacular performance!"
"It was pathetic!" said Kaiza as he walked over to Chad, whom was struggling to get to his feet, "you call yourself a Rider, yet you are not worthy of the title."
"Chad! Get out of there!" shouted Invisi Billy, only to be kicked in the midsection by an Orphnoch and knocked to the ground next to Scarah, while at the same time heath and Abbey found themselves restrained by more of the creatures.
Chad tried to run but tripped over his own shoelaces, falling on his side. He looked up in terror as he found the Blaygun aimed right at his face.
"How can you live with such shame is a mystery to me," said Kaiza, "I shall end your shame for both our sakes."
"Oh just finish him before the little boy wets himself," said Irvin. He then frowned in confusion as he heard a loud engine revving nearby, "what the…?" he turned around and barely dodged a huge Humvee with a leopard print paint job. The massive car's brakes squealed as it skidded into the area. Atop the roof of the Humvee was a large energy cannon that locked onto Kaiza with a laser sight, blasting the Dark Rider with green energy and forcing him away from Chad.
At the same time a radar-controlled .50cal machinegun aimed and peppered the Orphnochs with armor-piercing bullets, damaging the creatures and forcing them away from our heroes without harming them.
The driver's side door opened and revealed Lilith von Hellscream at the wheel. "Get in!" she shouted to our heroes.
"Allons-y, Manny!" shouted Rochelle, whom had recovered enough to help the blond minotaur up and to the car.
"Come on, Chad!" shouted Heath as he and Abbey respectively helped up Invisi Billy and Scarah.
"I…right, coming!" shouted Chad. He then saw Lance was standing, his right arm held at his side while recovering the pieces of the Faiz gear with his left. Chad hurried over and helped recover the pieces, placed them back in the briefcase and they both ran for the car.
"Sorry if it's a little cramped in here," said Lilith as our heroes squeezed into the Humvee, with Chad, Lance and Abbey in the front with Lilith, while Rochelle, Invisi Billy, Scarah and Heath barely had room around Manny's bulk. Once all the doors were closed, Lilith slammed on the accelerator and the car shot out of the area with screeching tires.
"You have got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Irving as he watched the Humvee disappear into the fog, "how dare they make a fool of me!"
"They made a fool of me as well," said Kaiza as he got back up and got onto a sidecar motorcycle that wasn't there a moment earlier, "but not for long!" he revved the engine of his motorcycle, the Side Basshar, and took off after our heroes, leaving Irvin alone with the remaining Orphnochs.
"Where'd you get this monstrosity of a motor vehicle, Lilith?" asked Rochelle as the car speed through the fog-shrouded streets.
"My racist of an uncle," said Lilith, "he wanted to build an anti-monster army and needed equipment to counter Monster powers. Fortunately, he never got his army and this is the only hummer he received. I figured he wouldn't mind if I borrowed the prototype, considering he's stuck in a psychiatric institute for the very, very nervous. Now, before anything else happens, where are we going?"
"Hang on a second," said Lance through gritted teeth as he awkwardly held his phone with his left hand, "we're going to The Steam Vault, just as soon as I…"
"Uh…guys?" asked a worried Heath as he looked out the rear window, "I think we're in trouble."
Everyone looked behind to see Kaiza chasing after them.
"Oh, he looks mad," said Heath.
"How can you tell?" asked Invisi Billy.
It was then that the Side Basshar transformed into a biped mecha armed with quad-miniguns, heat generating pincers and missile launchers. The mecha accelerated towards the hummer and fired it's miniguns, peppering the car with hundreds of bullets.
"That's how I can tell!" exclaimed Heath as our heroes flinched at the near deafening sound of bullets hitting the car.
"It's alright, we're bullet proof!" said Lilith as she made a hard turn, nearly knocking our heroes over. Yet Kaiza followed them, continuing his vicious assault.
"Fire back at him, Lilith!" shouted Lance.
"Umm…I can't," said Lilith, "the laser cannon and machine gun can't turn around that far, but I've got other cards to play!" she pressed a button on the dashboard, causing caltrops to drop from a compartment in the hummer's rear.
But Kaiza's mecha merely ran over the caltrops.
"Oh, right," said Lilith sheepishly, "well, how about this!" she pressed another button and the hummer released an oil slick on the road. The mecha slipped on the oil and nearly fell over, allowing the hummer to pull away.
"How do you like me now?!" Lilith called back at Kaiza, only to squeak in fright as the mecha fired six sidewinder missiles at the hummer. It was all Lilith could to do maneuver the car and avoid a direct hit, yet the car was damaged enough to slow down.
"Oh, this is bad," said Heath as the mecha closed in, it's heat pincers extended to crush the car.
"If only we can get out his eyesight for a minute!" said Invisi Billy, "just a few seconds and we can lose him!" he looked at Scarah, "if you're up for doing that thing we talked about earlier."
"I think I can manage," said Scarah.
"Whatever you're gonna do, do it quick!" shouted Lilith as she swerved the car to avoid being grabbed by the heat pincers. She swerved again but the car shook as one pincer gouged the car deeply to damage the chasse. "My insurance company is gonna crucify me!"
"We're not dead yet!" shouted Lance, "I've got an idea! Lilith, you got any more oil!"
"Enough for another oil slick," said Lilith as she swerved to avoid another grab, "but it barely worked on that thing."
"We just need it to slow down a bit," said Lance, "Heath, when I say so, throw a fireball."
"One fireball? Just one?" asked Heath, "one won't do anything against that creep!"
"One's all we need," said Lance with grim confidence, "Lilith, slick the street!"
Lilith pushed the button, releasing another oil slick.
"Heath! Now!" shouted Lance.
"Okay, here I go!" shouted Heath as he threw a fireball out the window. It hit the oil slick and set the street on fire, which the mehca ran right into. Though Kaiza or the mecha wasn't hurt by the flames, he was briefly blinded by the intense flames. When he cleared the burning oil, he was surprised to find no sight of the damaged hummer.
Stopping the mecha, Kaiza looked around in frustration, before letting out an angst-filled grunt of defeat. The mecha transformed back to its motorcycle form and he drove off.
Nearby the hummer became visible and drove away.
"That was brilliant, Invisi Billy!" said Rochelle, "having Scarah's powers enhance your power of stealth to camouflage the car.
"Yeah, but it drained our powers," said an exhausted Invisi Billy, while Scarah looked equally tired.
"We'll be safe soon enough," said Lance as he texted with his left hand, "I'm asking Robecca to get the portal ready; we're coming in hot."
…The Steam Vault…
"This is just great!" said Clawdeen irately as our heroes got ready for the return of their friends, "we've got incoming wounded, and our best healer is back at her old stomping grounds!"
"I hope Lance is alright," said a worried Jessie.
"He'll be fine," said Ian, "I hope."
"He won't be fine if we can't get him to a hospital to fix his hand," said Jessie irately.
"What am I, chopped liver?" asked Alicia Starbright, "I'm way better a healer than Apple, not that she's not good either, she is pretty good, but faerie magic beats human medicine."
"You ever worked on a minotaur, a gargoyle and a ghost?" asked Clawdeen.
"Uh…no," said Alicia, "but I'm ready to try."
"We're ready for them," said Robecca as the door opened, revealing the fog-shrouded streets, "though I don't know what Lance meant by 'open wide, we're coming in for a landing.'"
"Hey, what's that bright light?" asked Lagoona as she saw a pair of high beam headlights approaching the portal.
"They got a car?" asked Howleen, "wait…they're not…"
"They are!" exclaimed Twyla, "they're coming in!"
Our heroes scrambled away from the portal and the middle of the room as the hummer squeezed through the portal and skidded to a halt inside The Steam Vault.
"What is this…this thing?" exclaimed Robecca as she looked at the hummer, "and why is it in my father's lab?"
"Sorry, Robecca," said Lilith as she and the others exited the car, "my uncle's taste in cars is about as big as his ego."
…Monster High…
"How could this have happened?!" exclaimed Irvin as he paced back and forth irately in Bloodgood's office, "how could you lose them!?"
"Like I told you, obviously," said Richter.
"So much for your superior Dark Rider," Draculara teased at Dr. Ulfberht.
"Kaiza is superior in every way to Faiz!" exclaimed Dr. Ulfberht, "superior strength, superior speed and reflexes, superior weapons, even a superior motorcycle!"
"And yet he was outsmarted by a bunch of teenagers," said Valentine.
"There's no way he could have anticipated the brats using fire to cover their escape," said Emory, "I would have, but as you know, fighting isn't my forte."
"They fooled me this time, it won't happen again," said Richter, "send me out again and I'll drag back Faiz's broken corpse!"
"By now they're back wherever Hexiciah Steam's lab went," said Irvin, "they won't try anything on this world for a while," he stopped pacing and looked at Richter, "I'm afraid your next battle with Faiz will have to wait. Instead, I have a different mission for you. It's clear that your first venture as a Dark Rider, while impressive, could be improved on. I believe you need to stretch your muscles, gain some experience, before clashing with a Rider again."
"I'm experienced enough to crush that pathetic fool or any other Rider!" said Richter.
"Are you?" asked Irvin, "because while Chad's weaknesses were made clear, Avery Manning and the other Riders are no pushovers. No, you need to sharpen your skills for the battles to come. Your new mission, Richter Ives, is to track down the renegade Orphnochs."
"Those twenty-six traitors?" asked one of the loyal Orphnochs, "we have leads on where they and the fugitive Fangire went, but not enough hunters to chase after all of them. And some of the traitors are pretty strong."
"Which makes this the perfect opportunity for Richter to get stronger," said Irvin, "to practice and hone his skills on the fugitives, so he'll be ready for whatever Avery Manning and his foolish friends throw at him."
"If that is what you wish, I obey," said Richter, though it was clear that deep inside, he would rather do anything else than chase after rebel Kaijin. He bowed and left the room.
"So now what?" asked Neffra, whom had been lounging nearby, filing her nails.
"We carry on as usual," said Irvin, "hunting renegade Monsters and enthralling them to the dark side, mutating enthralled to make stronger Monsters, and obtaining the Star Pieces! The Obsidian Council is getting impatient, and I intend to deliver!"
…The Steam Vault…a few hours later…
"How bad is it?" asked Lance as Alicia examined his damaged hand. Lance insisted that Alicia help Manny, Rochelle, Invisi Billy and Scarah first, with each healing forced the young faerie to rest before she could use her magic again.
"Two broken fingers, three fractured metacarpal bones and five fractured carpel bones," said Alicia, "could be worse." She then channeled healing magic into the hand.
"At least it's over," said a relieved Heath.
"It's never over, you dolt!" snapped Ian, "it's only gotten worse! We got our collective asses kicked!"
"No, Chad and I got our asses kicked," said Lance, "but that's not the point."
"Point is we were soundly beaten," said Rochelle as Venus applied a healing salve to her cracked skin, "oh, mon deau, that feel so much better!"
"Just a mix of healing pollen and contact cement," said Venus, "you'll be right as rain in no time."
"Wish we could say the same for all of us," said Clawdia as she and the others saw Chad sitting alone, his face and shoulders heavy with depression.
"I should go talk to him," said Clair.
"Leave him be," said Elissabat, "he needs to figure this out himself."
"There's nothing to figure out!" snapped Clair, "he got beaten up by a bully, it's not the first time! I should have been there to back him up, like I always have since we were little! Ugh! I should have gone with you guys! I should have been there to help fight!"
"I doubt any of us would have stood a chance against such evil," said Robecca, "not with the enemy having the element of surprise."
"Well, I'll be ready!" said Clair, "open the portal up, I'm gonna go fight that Kaiza jerk!"
"We're not doing anything!" barked Clawdeen, "not until Frankie and the others get back."
"She's right, we should wait," said Lagoona, she then sighed, "I hope Frankie and the others are having a better time than we are."
…The Realm of Ever After…
"Oh, my ghoul! I am so bored!" exclaimed Frankie as she, Avery, Hunter, Dexter and the others waited around an enormous book.
"How long have they been in that big thing?" asked Dexter.
"Too long," said Avery, "I feel so helpless. Who knows what's happening to them in The Storybook of Legends?"
"Wait a minute!" said Lizzie, "that's the only exposition we're getting?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Cerise as she sat away from Daring.
"I, or should I say we," said Kitty, "is that a lot happened while the readers were busy reading what happened to our friends elsewhere. Isn't that right, Mr. AndrewK9000?"
Oh not you too, Kitty! It's bad enough Maddie keeps bugging me! And don't you start, Lizzie!
"The readers deserve a quick recap of what they missed," said Lizzie, "and if you won't do it properly, then OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"
"Then who'll tell the story?" asked Kitty, "look, I'll do it. Hello! Hello, all you readers out there in the real world! Okay, here's what you missed…
"We got a letter from Giles Grimm, headmaster Grimm's brother who's under a babble curse; he can only speak in Riddlish."
"They know that," said Lizzie, "I'll tell it. The letter instructed us to bring The Storybook of Legends to Legacy Hall and place it on the platform. We did and the book got big, real big," she then indicated the large Storybook of Legends.
"The letter, according to Maddie's translation," said Kitty, "which I couldn't make out very well, it was a rather archaic dialect of Riddlish anyway…."
"Giles Grimm asked Apple, Raven, Briar, Maddie, Cedar, Cupid, Blondie and Ashlynn to go inside the book and bring out eight scrolls," said Lizzie, "the scrolls, when put together, form a spell that should cure Giles Grimm of his curse, after which he promises to give us the secret to the power of the true Storybook of Legends. There, is that a quick enough exposition for you, Mr. AndrewK9000?"
I was perfectly willing to explain in my own manner, it's not my fault you're all impatient.
"Well, excuse me for wanting things to move a long!" said Lizzie.
Well, excuuuuuse me, princess!
"Are all people from Wonderland so…so…eccentric?" asked a worried Frankie as she watched Lizzie and Kitty talk to no one.
"We're talking to you, AndrewK9000!" said both Lizzie and Kitty.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Cedar after she emerged from the large book.
"They're talking to the narrator," said Maddie after she emerged from the book, "it's a Wonderland thing."
"Are you two alright?" asked Avery as our heroes rushed over.
"I was nearly torn to splinters by three angry bears," said an irate Cedar, "no, I'm not alright!"
"I didn't have a good time either," said an exasperated Maddie, "I'll tell you, Cupid's job is not all hearts and kisses. One wrong arrow and you'd better run for the hills and dales!"
"Wait, what happened to you?" asked Tobias.
"I could be wrong," said Avery, "but I think they were inside different stories."
Just then a terrified Blondie emerged from the book, "No! Not my head!" she then looked around, "oh, I'm okay," she smiled and looked at Lizzie, "No offense, but your mom is NUTS!" she then looked at Maddie, "and you, I don't ever want to go home with you on break." At that Maddie giggled and hugged Blondie.
At that Cupid and Ashlynn emerged from the book. "Oh, thank heavens!" exclaimed Ashlynn as she touched her face and arms, "flesh and blood!" she looked at Cedar, "no offense, but I don't ever want to be on strings!"
"So that's what it feels like when the slipper's on the other foot," said Cupid.
Just then Raven emerged from the book, sighing with relief as she slumped to the floor.
"Raven!" exclaimed Maddie as she bounced over and hugged her best friend.
"What happened to you!" asked Dexter as he and the others gathered around.
"I…I was in Apple's story," said Raven, "I was Snow White, and the Evil Queen, the original, my many times great-grandmother, she was throwing poisoned apples at me, saying I couldn't deny my destiny," she smiled, "but I showed her. Last I heard of her, she was screaming down that cliff," she held up a scroll of white parchment, "after I grabbed this."
"We got our parts of the spell," said Blondie as she, Cupid, Ashlynn, Maddie and Cedar held up white parchment scrolls.
Just then Briar emerged from the book. "Raven, I…" she said in a deeply disturbed but understanding tone, "I had no idea how awful it's been for you. I thought I did, but…I really didn't get just how horrible it was to be the Evil Queen. I don't want anyone to have to go through that, even if they are a villain to begin with."
"I think we've already made it clear that our destinies are our own to write," said Raven, at which Maddie and the others nodded.
"Wait a splinter," said Cedar, "where's Apple?"
"My God! She's still in there!" exclaimed Avery.
"But what story?" asked Tobias.
"Cedar was Goldilocks," said Frankie, "Raven was Snow White, Briar was The Evil Queen, Ashlynn was Pinocchio, Cupid was Cinderella, Maddie was Cupid and Blondie went to Wonderland, which means…"
"Apple's in my story," said a shocked Briar, "she must have pricked her finger on the cursed spindle and fallen asleep!" her face then set with righteous determination, "I'm going back in!"
"No! It's too dangerous!" said Raven, "I saw my ancestor in Apple's story, and she almost got me!"
"This is The Wicked Faerie we're talking about!" said Tobias, "freaking Maleficent for crying out loud!"
"I don't care if there's a thousand cursed spindles in my way!" said Briar as the Henshin Brace appeared on her wrist and TheBee Zecter hovered over her shoulder, "Apple's my best friend and I'm gonna save her!" With that she and her Zecter jumped back into the book.
"Not alone you're not!" shouted Avery as he ran towards the book, his Henshin Belt already around his waist and Kabuto Zecter perched on his shoulder.
"Avery! Wait!" shouted Tobias but was too late to stop Avery from jumping into the book. "Oh man, if Maleficent does her dragon thing, I'm gonna be very upset!"
STANDBY
Sasword Zecter scuttled across the floor and jumped onto Tobias' shoulder, his Sasword Yavier in one hand as he ran into the book.
"This has to be the weirdest adventure yet," said Hunter as he held Ashlynn's hand.
"You don't have to tell me twice," said Ashlynn, "I mean, no offense, Cedar, but being made of wood is hard."
At that Maddie laughed heartily at Ashlynn's unintended joke.
Cedar chuckled to, "yeah, it's not easy, and that's the truth. At least you didn't have to worry about termites, and don't get me started on…FRANKIE! NO!"
Everyone looked and saw Frankie dash into the book.
"Okay, now it's the weirdest adventure yet," said Hunter.
The next thing Frankie knew she was in a vine-encrusted corridor of a castle. She heard footsteps running ahead. With nothing else to guide her, Frankie followed the echoing footsteps through the corridors. It wasn't long before her dash led her up a spiraling flight of stairs to a large chamber atop a tower. What she saw made her bolts and stitches run cold.
There, on a bed in the middle of the room, covered in vines, lay an unconscious Apple, the index finger of her right hand spouting a drop of blood. And there, next to the bed, struggled Tobias and Avery, both restrained by thorny vines.
And there was Briar, standing terrified before The Wicked Faerie herself.
"That's not Maleficent," said Frankie.
"Well, duuuuuh!" exclaimed both Avery and Tobias with an accompanying donkey bray.
"Oh, more guests," said The Wicked Faerie. With a nonchalant wave of her hand, more thorny vines appeared, ensnaring Frankie before she knew it.
"Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted again?" asked The Wicked Faerie, "Ah yes," smiling with wicked glee at Briar, she then summoned a large needle that glowed with dark magic, "fulfilling your destiny."
Before the horrified eyes of Frankie, Avery and Tobias, Briar, as if in a trance, walked towards The Wicked Faerie, her hand outstretched to touch the poisoned needle.
"Why is she doing that?!" exclaimed Frankie, "I thought Briar didn't want to sleep for a hundred years!"
"This is her story," said Avery, "it's almost as if she did sign The Storybook of Legends."
"You mean she can't help herself?" asked an appalled Frankie, "that is so wrong on so many levels! Briar! Don't do it! Don't touch the needle!"
Tobias and Avery joined Frankie in shouting to Briar to keep away from the needle, but vines crept around their mouths, gagging them from speaking.
"No more interruptions," said The Wicked Faerie, "my triumph is at hand!" she then laughed at her own pun as Briar slowly but surely closed in on the poisoned needle.
Desperate, Frankie bit through the vine gagging her, then spat out the foul-tasting plant, "ugh! It's like sour prune juice!" Her neck bolts then sparked as inspiration struck, "they're juicy! You guys! The vines are juicy!" she then electrocuted the vines ensnaring them, the inner moisture of the vines conducting the electricity like high tension wires. Within seconds, Frankie was free from the vines.
She then shocked the vines holding Avery and Tobias, then shouted to Briar the first thing that came to mind, "THERE IS NO FATE BUT WHAT WE MAKE!"
This seemed to snap Briar out of her fugue. She blinked, saw just how close she was to the poisoned needle, then swatted it out of The Wicked Faerie's hand, "I don't think so!"
"You Fool!" snapped The Wicked Faerie, "you think you can deny me the satisfaction I am entitled!? Your ancestors snubbed me by not inviting me to Aurora's christening! I had my satisfaction when I poisoned her, and I'll have satisfaction by destroying you!"
The vine-encrusted room vanished, leaving our heroes and the unconscious Apple in a barren wasteland filled with rocks and enormous, black vines covered in razor-sharp thorns, the sky overhead overcast with dark purple thunderheads that flashed with insidious lightning.
The Wicked Faerie then summoned dozens of wooden robots made from spinning wheel parts and clawed hands tipped with poisoned needles, while the Wicked Faerie herself mutated into a creature made of poisoned vines.
"Frankie, keep Apple safe!" said Avery as he, Tobias and Briar stood against the vine monster and the spinning wheel creatures, "we've got this!"
"HENSHIN!" shouted Avery, Tobias and Briar as one as they connected their Zecters to their transformation devices.
HENSHIN
"Cast Off!" the three riders shouted as Kabuto flipped the horn across on his Zecter, TheBee flipped the wings and turned her Zecter around and Sasword pressed the tail down on his.
CAST OFF
The outer armor of the three Riders blasted outward like a triple-barrel shotgun blast, destroying several spinning wheel monsters.
CHANGE: BEATLE
CHANGE: WASP
CHANGE: SCORPION
"Come on, wake up!" shouted Frankie as she tried to get the unconscious Apple to her feet, while watching the three Riders fight. Kabuto and Sasword were battling the remaining spinning wheel monsters, while TheBee grappled with the vine creature.
"This is one of those times when being by yourself sucks," said Frankie, "if I could just…" that's as far as Frankie got before a wheel from a destroyed creature hit her on the head. Frankie saw stars before she blacked out…
…and the next thing she knew, it was daylight, and she was on an enormous battlefield where millions of humans, hundreds of thousands of chariots, war elephants and cavalry horses were locked in a cataclysmic fight to the death. Even more shocking was when a whole regiment of normies marched right through Frankie as if she were a ghost.
"What's going on?" asked Frankie as she looked around at the chaotic carnage, "am I dead or something?" she then turned around, looked up and was surprised and awed at who she saw looking at her, "Indra? The Hindu god of storms?"
"Frankie Stein," said Indra as the Hindu deity knelt to look down and speak to her, "thy mind's eye hath been cast into The Mahabharata. What thou art witnessing is the sixth day of The Kuruksetra War."
"What?" asked a confused Frankie, "how'd that happen?"
"It matters not, thou shall return to thine body in due course," replied Indra, "What does matter is thou must believe in thyself!"
"But I do believe in myself," said Frankie, "I always have, even when my friends aren't around, I always have confidence, because my friends," she held her hand over her heart, "are here with me."
"Oh, well," said a slightly embarrassed Indra, "that pretty much sums up mine entire speech."
"Really?" said Frankie, also feeling embarrassed that she showed up a living god. "Well, okay, so what now?"
"Now, I musts apologize for wasting thy time," said Indra, "not often do gods make mistakes, even less frequent that we admit our mistakes to mortals. Before I return thee to thine body, I feel obliged to grant thee a boon,"
With a flash of lightning that produced no thunder, a glove that would fit Frankie's hand appeared in Indra's. The glove was of the finest leather and encrusted with gold and several jewels that shone with the colors of the rainbow.
"Take this, a new Celestial Weapon of mine own design," said Indra as he presented the glove to Frankie, "with it thou will call upon mine power and strike down an enemy with the full might of a thunderstorm." He then bent further to whisper something into Frankie's ear, "speak this mantra and the power of the heavens will be thine. But be warned, thou can only use the weapon five times."
"Only five?" asked Frankie as she looked at the glove in her hands.
"As the five Panduva Brothers dedicated their lives to righteousness," said Indra, "so shall thee command the righteousness of heaven five times, any further use may prove dangerous, even for such an extraordinary creature such as thee."
"I…I don't know what to say," replied an awed Frankie, "except thank you. I promise, I'll only use the weapon in an emergency."
"And now we must depart," said Indra as he stood up, "farewell, Frankie Stein, and know that thee and thine friends have allies across time and space."
Frankie blinked and found herself back in the thorny wasteland, only things had gotten much worse. The vine creature had ensnared TheBee in crushing tendrils that extended from one arm, each thorn producing spark damage as the vines tightened around her, while more and more spinning wheel monsters were forcing Kabuto and Sasword further and further from helping.
"Now you die, scion of Sleeping Beauty!" shouted the distorted voice of The Wicked Faerie as the vine creature raised its other arm, the vines focusing into a point aimed to pierce through TheBee's armor and deliver fatal poison right to Briar's heart. "With your death, the cycle shall be broken, and I shall be forever victorious!"
"Okay, definitely an emergency!" said Frankie as she put the glove on her right hand. Closing her eyes in concentration, Frankie spoke the mantra Indra gave her. The dark purple thunderheads above turned black and thunder rumbled like a thousand drums. Instinct told Frankie to raise her glove hand, just as a blinding bolt of lightning shot down towards her, the bolt striking and absorbing into the glove.
"Take this, you thorny jerk!" shouted Frankie as she aimed her gloved hand at the vine creature, the blinding bolt shooting from the glove and striking the abomination with the force of a thunderstorm. The creature cried out in agony as it fell down, releasing TheBee from the ensnaring vines.
At the same time the spinning wheel monsters, weakened by the vine creature's broken concentration, all but ceased their attack.
"Rider Slash!" shouted Sasword as he pulled up, then pushed down the tail on his Zecter.
RIDER SLASH
The Sassword Yavier crackled with tachyon energy as Sasword pressed the button on the side of his belt, "Clock Up!"
CLOCK UP
Accelerating into hypertime, Sasword delivered devastating slashes to the time-slowed spinning wheel creatures.
CLOCK OVER
With time returned to normal, the creatures struck by Sasword exploded into burning splinters.
But then, a handful of spinning wheel monsters damaged earlier combined into a larger creature and stalked towards Kabuto.
"I don't think so," said Kabuto confidently as he pressed the buttons on his Zecter.
1 2 3
"Rider Kick!" said Kabuto as he flipped the horn on his Zecter, then flipped it back, creating a charge of tachyon energy that shot up from his belt to the horn on his helmet.
RIDER KICK
Kabuto then delivered a tachyon-powered kick that shattered the giant spinning wheel monster.
"I'm ending this chapter once and for all!" shouted TheBee as she pressed the button on her Zecter, "Rider Sting!"
RIDER STING
The vine monster, still weakened by Frankie's attack, was helpless to stop TheBee from running up and delivering a tachyon-powered punch to its face, causing the creature to explode and leaving behind the spirit of The Wicked Faerie.
"NOOOOOOOO!" cried the loathsome spirit as she dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a white scroll that Briar, after powering down, picked up.
"LOOK!" shouted Cupid as Briar, Frankie, Avery and Tobias, the latter two holding the unconscious Apple, appeared outside the book.
"Apple!" shouted Briar as she rushed over to her friend, "please, Apple! Please wake up!"
Apple did just that, opening her eyes and smiling at Briar, "I heard everything, Briar! You were magnificent," she looked at Avery and Tobias, "as were you," then at Frankie, "and you too. You all saved me."
"Of course we did," said Frankie, "we're friends after all."
"Best of friends," said Briar as she handed the eighth scroll to Apple.
"Forever after and beyond," says Apple as she, Briar, Raven, Maddie, Ashlynn, Cupid, Cedar and Blondie all held up their scrolls in triumph.
…Beneath Ever After High…
In a secret library accessible by magic, our heroes stood with Giles Grimm, the cursed brother of Milton Grimm overjoyed at the sight of Apple and the others presenting him the eight scrolls.
"So now what?" asked Dexter as he and the others watched Giles combine the eight scrolls into a bronze tablet designed like an unrolled scroll, which hovered into Raven's hands. She read aloud the spell written on it.
"Speech Return, Words You Say, Break This Curse For Our New Day!"
A wave of magic passed through the area with no visible effect.
"Nothing happened!" exclaimed a frustrated Briar.
"Oh, but it did, my dear," said a smiling Giles, "at long las, I am free of the curse!"
"He says he's free of the curse," said Maddie, whom then gasped in delighted surprise, "oh my stars and pantyhose! You can talk, Giles, I mean, like everyone can understand you talk!" she bounced over to and embraced Giles.
"Yes, Madeline, I am cured," said Giles, "thanks to you and your friends. Your combined courage and determination overcame the challenges in the book and restored my voice."
"But why were you cursed in the first place?" asked Apple.
"It was because of my brother," said Giles as he walked over to and picked up a picture of him and Milton as boys, "when we were little, my brother and I disobeyed our father and explored a troll cave, fully aware of the dangers. Milton didn't want to at first but I pressured him into going inside. To make a long story short, I became trapped and Milton had to run back to father for help. I was okay but my brother was forever changed."
"So that's why he's so nuts about replaying the same stories over and over again," said Raven, "he's scared of disobedience."
"But apparently not anymore," said Giles, "you see, despite my inability to communicate with the outside world, I have been keeping an eye on things in The Realm of Ever After. Thanks to my own magic mirror, I saw young Raven and her fellow Rebels defy my brother's irrational obsession. I saw as your desire for self-determination change the hearts of those who wished to stay rutted in tradition and destiny, and I watched as you battled the vile machinations of Obsidian."
"You know about The Obsidian Council?" asked Avery.
"Yes, and I know why they want The Storybook of Legends," said Giles, "and why your mother stole it in the first place, Raven, or at least I have a theory."
"We're all ears, Giles," said Raven.
"No, now we're all ears!" said Maddie as she held her hands up to her head like bunny ears.
"Maddie! Please!" said an annoyed Apple. She looked at Giles, "do go on."
"The Storybook of Legends is an extraordinary artifact of magic," said Giles, "a book that can bind anyone who signs it to a predetermined fate, forcing that individual to play out actions and speak words laid out for them."
"We know that," said Raven, "that's why I didn't want to sign it in the first place; I don't want to be evil!"
"But do you know that new stories can be added to the book?" asked Giles, "new destinies penned?"
"No, I didn't," said an astonished Raven, "I thought all the stories had been told and retold over and over."
"Did you also know that someone other than the intended character can be bound to a story?" asked Giles, "that, for example, young Apple can become Sleeping Beauty? Or you can be Snow White?"
"Is that why you had us go into each other's stories?" asked a horrified Ashlynn, shuddering at the memory of life as a wooden puppet, "so we can know just what the book can do to us?"
"Indeed," said Giles, "anyone can sign the book and become a character. A hero can become a villain and a princess can become a wicked sorceress. Your mother, Raven, she wanted the book to rewrite the stories, to create a world where evil always triumphed over good. She also wanted to write new stories, new unhappy endings, new villains more powerful than those who came before, but subservient to her will.
"But most of all, Rebecca Queen sought to undo my brother's worst crime, something so terrible that Milton cursed me so I couldn't tell anyone of his sin, the sin of separating a child from her mother. Raven, you have a half-sister."
At that Apple and the others gasped in horrified shock, while Raven's already pale complexion paled further, "I…I have a sister?" she asked as she was forced to sit down.
"Yes," said Giles, "your mother had an affair before she married your father; a traveler from another dimension came to Ever After, seduced your mother and left. The product of that one night of passion resulted in a girl, whom had more potential for dark magic than any villain ever seen before in our world.
"But whereas the girl inherited your mother's wickedness, she inherited her father's pure goodness. Somehow, that man, whose name I cannot remember, he shone with an inner light that, for only a short time, overcame the evil in Rebecca's heart and filled it with love. When I saw the girl child, I knew she was special, for she had both pure good and pure evil balanced in her heart.
"But my brother would have none of it. Any defiance of his natural order was to be cut out. He couldn't kill the child, no, my brother wasn't that irrational. Instead he did the next worst thing. He banished the girl to another world and erased her from the memories of everyone who knew, including Rebecca. I resisted the memory wipe by sheer strength of will, but the effort left my magical defenses drained, so my brother, before erasing his own memory, cursed me to remain silent. He thought it'd be poetic justice to leave me unable to communicate."
"Mom had another baby and doesn't remember?" asked Raven, "what happened to her? Where did the headmaster send my sister?"
"Alas, I know not," said Giles, "and I've tried to find her over the years. I can only hope your sister found herself on a world where her potential for good outshines her dark half. Whichever side she chooses, light or dark, she has the potential for greatness."
At that Raven stood up and walked towards the library door.
"Where are you going, Raven?" Dexter asked.
"And why do you look ready to commit murder?" asked a worried Apple.
"I may just commit murder," said Raven with hardened determination, "I may just end up killing Headmaster Grimm." With that she exited the library.
"We've got to stop her before she does kill the headmaster!" said Briar as she and the others, and Giles, hurried after Raven.
"But why is she gonna kill him?" asked Dexter.
"Haven't you been listening?" asked Blondie, "the headmaster took Raven's big sister from her mom when she was just a baby, then made everyone who knew forget. Oh, what a scoop this'll make!"
"Forget your scoop!" snapped Briar, "don't you get it? Raven is going to make the headmaster tell her where he sent her sister."
"But he doesn't remember," said Dexter.
"I don't think Raven cares," said Apple, "she's gonna force him to remember, and I'm afraid she'll enjoy it."
…Dynatron Enterprises…Dimension 216…
"Yes, Raven, give in to your hate," said Rebecca as she watched the irate Raven head upstairs in search of Milton Grimm, "make that pompous, fat bastard pay for what he did to me!"
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Clare, "that I was born with light in my heart?"
"I didn't think it was necessary," said Rebecca, "besides, do you feel any light in your heart? After all the misfortunes and misadventures of your troubled youth, after the trials and tribulations you've endured since coming to Ever After, do you feel good in you?"
"No," said Clare, "not enough to make a difference. But again, why care about Raven when she's so often defied you?"
"Again, you are both my children," said Rebecca, "why settle for one evil daughter when I can have two? Do you honestly want to be an only child?"
"Well, not really," said Clare, "but again, Raven will have to learn her place as the younger daughter, if she does join us."
"She will," said Rebecca as she saw Raven reach the upper halls of Ever After High, "deny it as much as she will, there is darkness in Raven's heart, and that darkness will not be denied."
But then, much to Rebecca's and Clare's surprise, they saw Milton Grimm and Ophelia emerge from a secret passage. Milton grabbed Raven and Felicity injected a sedative into Raven's arm, knocking her unconscious before she could resist. Both scrambled back into the secret passage, just as Apple, Dexter and the others ran into the area.
"Well, this is an unexpected turn of events," said an astonished Rebecca, "I may have to make my move sooner than I thought."
…Ever After High…
"Get this thing open!" exclaimed Dexter as he pounded on the wall where the secret passage opened.
"It's locked from the other side," said Blondie as she looked for a means of opening the door, "I can't open it from here!"
"Why did he do it?" asked a horrified Apple, "why did the headmaster take Raven?"
"And who was that awful woman with him?" asked Cupid.
"That was Dr. Felicity Baumann," said Giles, "I saw them together in my observations."
"The head shrinker who let Grimm out of the loony bin?" Hunter asked, "guess they're working together."
"It's worse than that," said Giles, "I couldn't hear very well in my observations, but I fear that my brother is in a relationship with Baumann that goes beyond what is appropriate between a doctor and patient."
"It's much worse than that," said Tobias in a shaken tone, "didn't any of you recognize her? Felicity Baumann is Ophelia D. Katzenberg, proxy to Obsidian!"
"Oh yeah, I thought she looked familiar," said Kitty.
"Well, this is just prime," said Avery grimly.
…The End Is Just The Beginning…