Chapter 2: A Whole New World

June 4, 2022

The next morning, Kirby and I got up first around 7:00am. I was making breakfast for everyone. Eggs, bacon, and toast were the items. I don't look like it, but I am excellent at cooking bacon even if I haven't turned 12 yet. I wasn't sure if it was the case, but the good smell of food got Franny up. After Kirby woke up Alice and Sarah, we all ate. Once we were done, we all put our dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them out.

Later that day, we were playing outside. I was going down the slides, Kirby was playing on the ladder hill, and Franny and Alice were playing on the swings. I finish going down the fourth slide of six when Kirby comes to talk.

"Ace, I have a question," said Kirby.

"Ask away."

"Have you always wondered if there was the possibility to go to new worlds?"

"What do you mean?"

"That dream you mentioned before, do you think we'll be able to go there?"

"Kirby, it may be possible, but we can only dream about it right now. The journey to Mars is years away, and I'm not sure when that will happen."

"I've always wondered if there is other life out there in space."

"I've thought of that too, Kirby. We call you a superstar warrior because you're the bravest of our team."

"You really think so?"

"Yes."

As we were about finished with our conversation, Sarah came out to watch us.

"Is everyone okay here?" asked Sarah.

"We're okay," said Franny.

"I'm going to head to my room now," I said. "I'll be back in a few minutes.

"Take your time, Ace." said Alice.

I head to my room to clean it a little bit. It has been dirty since my friends came over, so having it clean means it doesn't have to smell like horrible body odor. In the pile of disaster is a staff I made in my spare time. I carved this from a fallen tree branch to look like something the wizards held on TV. It doesn't function like a real staff, but it does replicate the feeling of holding one. Eight minutes later, it was getting cleaner and more organized when I uncovered a strange wooden tablet. I leaned closer to see it had a name on it: Merlin. Strange as my birthday isn't for another 3 weeks, and no one sends birthday cards until the 16th. I thought it might be from last year, but there was the possibility of it being a scam too. I hesitantly decided to grab it. It's weirder too as no one I know uses wooden tablets to write letters. The only time I received a physical letter or note was from Sarah's relatives asking me how I was doing or from my friends when we decided to not use social media. Each of us has a phone to contact each other when we can't meet up. This was not from any of them. I grabbed my replica staff, ran outside my room, and head outside to tell Sarah about the note. When I got there, she was not there, and I could only find my friends. I told them to head into my room.

"Kirby, you won't believe what I have in my hand!" I yelled out.

"Calm down, Ace," said Kirby. "What is it?"

"Someone named Merlin sent this wooden tablet."

"That sounds strange," said Alice. "Sarah has left to buy groceries a minute ago."

"Is he related to Sarah?"

"Not likely, Kirby," I said. "Let me read this. Ahem. To whoever gets this note: I've been searching for someone who has been missing for years. He had amazing skills I could dream about, and I'll need him soon. I've done research from my tower and have found out the demon king has been stirring up trouble again. Should this tablet ever concede between worlds, it should activate a portal that leads to where this came from. I hope someone can find it and step through for an adventure of a lifetime. -Merlin"

"Merlin? You mean the Merlin?" asked Franny. "Should we go through if what was said is true?"

"I could say the same thing about a magical wooden tablet."

"Kirby, how will we find this place?" asked Alice.

"We may have to wait, and Ace hates waiting."

5 minutes passed, and there was nothing going on.

"There's still nothing going on." I spoke. "I doubt this could be real."

"Patience, Ace. It might not be ready yet. Franny and Kirby are waiting for something to happen."

"I'm not a fan sitting here doing nothing, but there is nothing that can be done now. If what was said was true, there should be-"

Suddenly, it floats up, and a portal materialized in front of our eyes.

"-a portal appearing…"

"This must be it. Alice, Kirby, please be careful."

"Alright, Franny." said Alice.

"Roger!"

"It's almost like this came from one of my dreams. There's no going back from here. Here it goes. Charge!" I yelled out as I ran towards the portal. Kirby, Franny, and Alice followed shortly after.

It seemed I was asleep for a while, but when I woke up, I noticed I was in an open field. There is so much grass and creatures I could never imagine seeing in my life, but something felt wrong. This place almost feels like I'm in some sort of wonderland, a place I'm not supposed to be at. When I look around, I don't see the others. Where are my friends? They all came through the same portal. I took no time getting up and decided to travel with the only thing I could see was grass. The only things I have on me are my phone and my replica staff. It was more of a whacking stick than anything else since I can't do anything with it, but it helps when I can't reach objects out of my reach. After about 5 minutes of nothing, I came across something strange. There were hills and some colorful jelly creatures with eyes, just like my dream. Whatever they were, I wasn't sure, but I've got a feeling they look similar to the Puyos in game. Walking for hours can be tiring, but it gives me a reason to search for any towns.

I ended up in a forest after about 3 hours of walking, and it all seemed familiar to me somehow. The leaves in different colors and the ones that are on the ground indicate it's Autumn around here. I decided to stop for a break to go sightseeing. Unfortunately, my phone doesn't seem to work here. What was this strange world, and why was I sent here with my friends? I think about where they could be, but I wasn't the only one thinking about that as shortly after I left the area, a horned figure with wings and a horned woman came out from behind the rocks.

"Who is that kid?" the horned woman asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he might be of use for our plan in the future."

"What about Ichi?"

"She's not our concern. I, the 'Prince of Darkness' can deal with her later."

"One day, I'll challenge her and her daughter to a beauty contest."

"You shouldn't be too concerned right now about that. The important task here is when the day comes, the Underworld will reign supreme. I've got plans to force everyone to battle with Puyo Puyo for entertainment. Miss Ichi won't be able to stop me this time, and there will be no one that has a chance of defeating the Prince of Darkness."

"The boy sort of looks lost. Maybe he's looking for something."

"Forget him. Focus on your order. For now, he'll play into my plan, along with her."

"He'll hear me rawr like a dragon."

"Draco, how about you go back and clean up the throne? I would like to have it ready for when I decide to start monologuing."

"But there's so much water to fly across."

"I fly across all the time, so it shouldn't be that difficult. I'll make sure you don't fall on the way back."

"Fine."

She leaves, and the horned man asked something.

"Who could this be, Lilith? Could it be someone new here? No, it couldn't be. I can sense it. He doesn't seem to be normal. I'll investigate this kid later."

I start to stumble when walking for 5 hours without food as I thought about the jelly creatures staring at me. What are they? I thought as I stop once I get to a grassy field. There was greenery for miles with sheep-like creatures spanning out a mile across. As I look at my surroundings, I'm getting more desperate for food. I should've remembered to eat something before going in the portal. Without food, my stamina will be gone, and I won't be able to get help. I tried to run but to no avail. My vision started to get blurry, and after a few seconds, I collapsed onto the ground. I couldn't take this anymore.

Author's Note: Though I am basing it off my original completed unreleased script, it is a lot different than the original. I make sure that whatever happens with future chapters, I will make each one interesting. The date for the chapters will only be for the first two chapters. Every chapter after this one uses a different system as I updated them using A.A. instead.