Operation: MASKED, Part 7: A Child's Paradise

Chapter 7: A Child's Paradise

Alternate Sector V Treehouse

Cheren awoke to the sounds of buttons mashing and TV explosions. His eyes weary, he glanced to his left to see Kellie and Melissa playing games on the living room TV. "Guys? W-What happened?"

"Hey, you're finally awake." Melissa said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Harry brought you back after you conked out."

Cheren glanced to Harry, who waved from the chair beside him. "Why was I unconscious? And, for how long?"

"You just sort of fainted after you picked up that mask that was left by the giant monkey." Harry replied.

"Harry brought the mask home, too." Thomas said. "We're keeping it in a locked case 'cause it looks a little suspicious."

"Anyway, you've been out for about six hours." Harry finished.

"What?!" Cheren jumped to his feet. "Why didn't you guys wake me up sooner?! We could've been spending this time searching for Miyuki!"

"You looked tired from the fight, that's why we let you sleep." Celeste replied.

"Well, you shouldn't have. We need to be searching for Miyuki."

"Well, it wouldn't have mattered anyway." Harry spoke once more. "Miyuki wasn't in the temple, and we have no more leads."

"Did you guys ever figure out why she went in there to begin with?" Kellie asked.

Cheren didn't speak for a minute. He looked away in thought. "Wait… When I was asleep… I had this dream where… this Giant thing spoke to me. He said that I… saved him. …Where did you say that mask was?"

"It's over-" Melissa pointed, but-

"YAAAY!" Kellie cheered in victory, having bested her opponent.

Melissa glared with annoyance. "Sigh, it's over there."

The seven of them walked over to a glass case on the living room counter. The wooden mask which belonged to the monkey monster was rested inside of it. "I guess some monkey went a little overzealous on Halloween, huh?" Harry joked.

"Guys, I…I think this mask… was holding the Giant prisoner." Cheren said.

"The one from your dream?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah. Miyuki- er, Majora-or-whatever, must've entered the temple to curse him. And my Song of Healing set him free."

"But why would Majora want to curse this Giant?" Thomas asked.

"The Giant said that only they can stop the curse. I'm not sure what it all means though."

"Well, I'm not sure either, dude, but I have some great news!" Celeste exclaimed.

"You do?" Cheren smiled slightly.

"Dudes, what is every kid's dream, multiplied by kajillion times the average size?" Celeste asked as she pulled out a poster of a carnival. "Le Carnivilia! The biggest carnival event ever held in all of Europe!"

Cheren's eyes furrowed. "Eeh." He sighed. "You guys, I do not have time to go running around at some carnival like some little kid when a demon is on the loose!"

"Dude, you've been acting way too obsessed about saving Miyuki." Harry said. "You need to lighten up. That's why Celeste proposed she take you to Carnivilia where you can have some fun, and act like you're supposed to: as a kid."

"You want me to waste time screaming on cruddy kiddy rides instead of HELPING A TROUBLED FRIEND WHOSE LIFE IS IN DANGER??" Cheren screamed, slight flames appearing around his body.

"Well, technically, the other reason is that Sectors F and E claim they spotted some unusual activity going on there." Celeste explained. "So it might be a clue. And anyways, going to the carnival might actually do you some good. You've been getting too worked up about all this. We know you care about your friend and all, but one of these days, you might get a little TOO obsessed."

"What does that mean? That I'll turn into Anakin Skywalker? That'll be the next Darth Vader?"

"Ehh, you're getting there." Thomas joked.

Cheren sighed and mumbled, "I am not even a psychicbender. But fine, whatever, I'll go to the stupid carnival."

"SWEET! Race you to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.!" Celeste exclaimed, playfully pushing the alternate Supreme Leader as she ran off. "Last one there is buyin' treats!"

Cheren's head slumped as he begrudgingly followed Celeste. "Man, dude sure is serious for a 9-year-old." Melissa said. "What's it like in his dimension, anyway?"

"Considering they deal with demons… it all sounds pretty wacky." Thomas replied.

"Well, I'm sure Celeste can make him feel better!" Kellie happily grinned.

"I just hope he doesn't try anything with her." Harry stated.

"Hm? Try what?" Thomas asked.

"Nothin'."

Captain Slag's Ship

"So, young scallywag, what tale have ye that be so fascinating, we let ye onto our ship, ay?" asked the chubby robotic pirate captain.

"My name is Nerehc EiznekCm." The Negative said as he kicked back on the chair. "And I am the Prince of Demons."

"Prince of Demons?" Slag questioned. "Spawn of the Devil, ye be?"

"That's right." Nerehc cockily smirked. "I am the ruler of the Underworld. These demons running around here? They actually belong to me. But it looks like this other demon beast decided to start a rebellion. So now I'm forced to resort to you lowlife scum."

"Arrrgh!" a pirate angrily aimed his sword. "This lad be no Devil! Oi bet 'e still wets 'is bed and cries to 'is mummy!"

Nerehc glared at the pirate and charged lightning in his fingers, launching a mighty blast to the pirate's chest and knocking him to the wall. Nerehc whooshed his hand and stopped the lightning, blowing the smoke from his fingers. "Do you know who I am? I'm spawned from the Devil himself/herself. I have this mark to prove it." He showed them the back of his right hand. The pirates stared in wonder at the glowing Triforce mark. "I can exterminate the lot of you like millions of little bugs. And we love to squish bugs."

"Arrrr. Ye be puttin' up the good arrrgument, I'll give ye that." Slag said. "What is yer request, O Heir of Satan?"

"Well, first of all, I'm not supposed to be in this dimension. I was minding my own business in my own universe when I suddenly popped up here."

"An intriguing tale. And ye wish that we find ya a way back?"

"Not yet, though. But you saw the kid that looked like me in the jungle, right? Cheren? I have a feeling he is responsible for my being here. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. So we're going after him!"

"Arrrgh! We'll SKEWER this scallywag somethin' fierce!"

"HARR!" the pirates cheered.

Nerehc's eyes widened. "N-No, no, no skewering! Just.. bring him back to me alive."

"Awwww." The pirates moaned.

"Okay then." Slag said, disappointed. "Raise the anchors, boys. Let's be after this Cheren scallywag."

"Would you fancy a pint of grog, Your Demon Royalness?" Rusty Pete asked.

"Umm… got any soda?"

"ONE soda for the lightning-fingered prince!" Pete called.

A pirate tossed a can over to Nerehc as he cracked it open. "Ahhh, this is the way to live. I wonder how my family's doin'?"

Back in the other universe

At this time, Arorua Onu was frantically running around the city, showing people pictures of Nerehc. "Have you seen this twerp?? Have you seen this twerp?? HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TWERP!!"

Alternate Sector V S.C.A.M.P.E.R. (Play the "Gummi Ship" Theme from Kingdom Hearts.)

Aerial Defense, Act 2

Mission: Evade the pirates and make it to France!

As the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was taking off over the seas under the starry night sky, space-pirate ships were already moving into the area, assaulting the two operatives. Celeste piloted the ship and performed barrel-rolls to deflect the enemies' lasers while Cheren worked the defenses and fired at the ships. It was hard for Cheren to stay focused on the enemies' vessels as they kept firing homing missiles, which stayed locked tight on the operatives, so Cheren had to shoot them beforehand, or Celeste outmaneuvered them with barrel-rolls and made them hit each other.

"Why are the pirates still attacking us?" Cheren asked. "They couldn't be after this Bananarang, could they?"

"Maybe they're out for revenge?" Celeste guessed.

Up ahead, larger pirate ships were attempting to block the group's path, so Celeste stomped the gas pedal and made their ship boost forward, narrowly evading the ships. A group of four small ships, surrounding a bigger ship, appeared in front of them, with the big ship generating barriers to protect the smaller ones. The small ships were safely able to attack the operatives, who were forced to fire on the big ship first. After dodging the attacks and taking it out, they were able to attack the smaller ships and defeat them.

The way ahead seemed pretty clear, they noticed several shining objects coming down from the heavens. Celeste stomped the brake pedal just before these giant cannonballs shot into the ocean, creating humongous splashes. When the splashes cleared up, it was safe for them to proceed. They suddenly found their selves between two flagships that came up from behind, blasting cannons at them. They dodged the cannons as the ships released smaller ships from their hulls, which Cheren launched bombs at to do away with them more quickly. More of those meteor-like cannonballs were shooting down and crashing in the water, but Celeste slowed them down to avoid the large splashes. After continuing a bit further, the two parallel flagships turned away.

"Arr, we be late for our accordion recitals, boys. Let Treasure Trove Trevor take care of them."

A ship emerged from the water before the operatives, designed like a giant treasure chest with three roulette slots and a lever on their left side. The ship flipped the lever, and the roulettes turned before stopping on three-and-a-row flames. As a result, the chest opened and unleashed a massive flame-wave at the team, but the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. evaded the flame long enough for it to vanish. The chest closed and the roulettes began spinning again. Cheren decided to shoot the roulettes himself, and they all stopped on gold coins. The chest shot open, turned upside-down, and dumped a ton of gold doubloons into the sea.

"Arrgh, it be many a moon before we gather up that many coins again." The roulettes spun again as the operatives proceeded to shoot them. It landed on three-and-a-row cores, causing the chest to open and reveal the core. The operatives shot the exposed antenna and dealt some damage on the ship before it closed again. A generator appeared on the right side of the ship and created a barrier around the roulettes. The operatives started to shoot the generator as the roulettes spun and landed on three missiles. The chest opened and unleashed a swarm of missiles into the sky, coming straight downward as the operatives had to dodge around them. They were able to avoid the rockets and shoot the generator to disable the barrier.

They shot at the exposed spinning roulettes and scored three cores again. When the core was exposed this time, they did another round of shots that wiped it out, causing the ship to fall into the ocean. "Ooooog! Oi never got me last accordion grade!"

"These pirates really need to step up their shtick." Cheren said, rolling his eyes. (End song.)

An unknown cave area

"You fool! HOW could you let them get away?!" Miyuki/Majora yelled at his/her trembling minion.

"I-I almosht had him, M-Mashter, he cut me with his shword, PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEE!" Gekko screamed, covering with his arms.

The possessed being sighed and placed a hand on the minion's back. "Gekko… Never, in all my existence, would I dream of killing you."

"Heh?" Gekko uncovered his eyes confusedly, still keeping his evil, wide-mouthed expression.

"But mess up again, and you will be punished."

"Oh, no worriesh Masstah! Wash-a our nex plan?"

"I am nearly finished securing all the temples around this globe. Now that this one has been secured, I must journey to one more before I enact my ultimate plan. Stay here, in case that wretched boy comes." Gekko watched as the child drifted into the cave's darkness.

Outskirts of Paris, France

The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. came for a landing just beside the entrance to a massive carnival. As they stepped off, Cheren's eyes fixed on the endless series of colorful tents and amusement park rides. Many people, families of children and adults, roamed about the park, and kids' screams were heard as coasters zoomed across the tracks. The glares of colorful fireworks reflected off Cheren's glasses, and he had to take them off for a second to rub his eyes.

"WHOOOOA!" Celeste screamed. "Man, this place is even bigger than I thought it was!"

"It is pretty big...big as the jungle, almost." Cheren replied. "But I don't see any demons. You guys didn't just make that up, did you?"

"Yes, it was Sectors E and F that sent the report, blame them if they lied. Besides, there was no way I was gonna miss out on this!"

Cheren sighed. "This better not be a huge waste of time."

"Quit worrying. Now I wonder what we should see first?"

"COME ONE, COME ALL!" Everyone looked up at a huge TV screen, which showed the image of a scary-looking gnome-like figure with a big, spiky beard, pointy red nose, red Viking helmet with horns, and black pants and shoes, with red points on the shoes. "To Booster's Bigtop to see the AMAZING Acrobat Sackboy!" The screen showed the image of a small obstacle course, and a little brown, toddler-sized creature, made entirely of yarn and black beads for eyes, a zipper on its chest and a wide smile on his face, jumping trampolines as he raced across the course. "Watch as he makes tricky dodges and jumps, flies through rings of fire, and grapples his way to stardom, in BOOSTER'S CRAZY CARNIVAL EXTRAVAGANZA! So bring all your family and friends taday!" The screen showed Booster again. "And if ya don't! ...Heeheehee! The monsters will getcha!"

Immediately, the carnival was swarmed with packs of Miniblin and other demons designed like the carnival scenery, terrifying all of the park-goers around. "Well, you wanted a party." Cheren said.

"Heh." Celeste smirked. "They'll have to do a lot more than scare us with THESE creeps! Come on, let's have some fun!" (Play "The Fun Fair" from Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.)

Stage 7: Le Carnivilia

Mission: Explore the massive carnival!

The two of them charged into the carnival and began wiping out a group of Miniblin in circus uniforms on unicycles as they chased some terrified families. They saw a huge balloon tied to a barrel and ran to grab its rope, slicing the other end of it as the balloon lifted them over a long circus tent. The colorful fireworks were clear in view over a ferris wheel in the distance as Miniblin hung onto neighboring balloons and tossed pitchforks at them. Celeste shot their balloons with her S.C.A.M.P.P. and sent them falling as the two operatives slowly took land on the other side of the tent. They continued across a curvy snakelike path as more Circusblin rolled out of barrels, juggling small bombs and tossing them at the operatives. Cheren and Celeste simply caught the bombs before throwing them back.

At the end of the path, they boarded a ferris wheel and slowly rode it upwards counterclockwise. They took this moment to relax and unwind as they admired the amazing view of the expansive carnival, the stars glittering ever brighter in the night sky above the colorful park. In the distance of the park was a massive tent, its color unnoticeable due to the lack of lighting around its area. All of these vibrant colors looked really pretty in Cheren's eyes, and it seemed to relieve some of the stress he's been feeling.

However, as the wheel was coming downward, they noticed three bars of flames in the way ahead, singing the ferris wheel slots that came down. Cheren noticed a row of big balloons drifting close to them. Feel a strange rush of excitement, he exchanged smirks with Celeste as both took hands and leapt to the first balloon. The balloons popped and sent them higher as they bounced off of them, and they went over another long carnival tent as more balloons were released into the air. As they were coming to the other side of the tent, they took land on the ground.

"Heheh! I don't get a ferris wheel like that very often!" Cheren laughed.

"Haha, me either! ...Oh, Harry wanted me to give you this." Celeste remembered as she pulled out a 4x4 weapon, designed like some fruit snack with a bullet hole from a 4x4 gun, and gave it to Cheren.

Cheren inspected the weapon. "Hey! It's the-"

Kids Next Door: M.U.M.B.L.E.R.

M.A.R.B.L.E. Using Machine Busts Lively Enemy Rump

"A friend of mine lent it to me before I left."

"Sorry we didn't give it earlier. We had to see if we could trust you first."

"Heheh, 'nuff said. This thing packs a punch!"

The two approached a tent that's entrance was blocked by a pile of barrels. Cheren aimed his new weapon and shot a M.A.R.B.L.E. out as it rolled toward the pile of barrels and exploded, blowing the entrance open. Inside the tent, a group of harlequins balanced on balls as they bounced on a large trampoline. Cheren and Celeste ran onto and started bouncing on the trampoline as the harlequins tossed boomerangs at them, designed like their jester hats. Celeste stylishly did flips over the trampoline as she aimed and shot her S.C.A.M.P.P. at one of the clowns, while Cheren excitedly bounced his way to another one and kicked it off its ball.

Cheren and Celeste bounced by each other and high-fived before using the trampoline to bounce up to the wooden ledge above. They climbed a small ladder to a higher point where a tightrope connected to another platform. Cheren turned into a Kateenian with his mask in order to cross the rope, while Celeste was able to balance across it on her own. Cheren removed his mask as they walked out onto a bridge outside the tent. It connected to another portion of the tent, where they found a much larger trampoline and more Harlequin Balancers.

The operatives began bouncing on the large trampoline as Cheren tossed his Bananarang to knock some off their balls. Celeste swiftly bounced and dodged the others' boomerangs as she bounced and sat on their shoulders and kicked them in the face. As soon as they were all knocked down, they tried bouncing up to the next ledge above, but it was much higher than before. Cheren and Celeste exchanged nods before both locked hands as Celeste spun and hurled Cheren above her. He made it onto the ledge as he kicked a thin rope down. It dangled from a nail it was tied to on the ledge as Celeste bounced up, grabbed the other end, and climbed up, with Cheren pulling her up the rest of the way.

They walked onto an outside area above the tent, going onto a platform where a target floated above the beginning of an extensive tightrope, with the bright letters, Balloon Bursting Rope! above it. Celeste shot the target once with her S.C.A.M.P.P., causing a series of balloons to be released from below. Cheren went into his Kateenian form and got onto Celeste's shoulder as the girl began grinding down the tightrope, fireworks launching into the heavens as they breezed over many tents and attractions. Cheren was given Celeste's S.C.A.M.P.P. as the boy began shooting as many red, green, and blue balloons as he could, while a floating score-counter above counted 1's, 2's, and 3's respectively. When Cheren shot a balloon with Majora's Mask on it, they lost 4 points.

The rope was going slightly lower until it stopped at a pole near the ground below, where they grinded off. Their total score counted up 65 points. Cheren and Celeste high-fived before Cheren changed back into a human. They looked around this next area of the carnival and found many attractions, such as Pinky Pie's Pony Farm, John & Dave's Harlequin Hilarities, and The Shadow Man's Mystical Tent. They exchanged glances and shrugged before walking into the dark-pink tent with yellow stars.

The inside of the tent was rather dark, decorated with several mystical items and a crystal ball on a round table in the center. Someone's back was turned to them, a choco-skinned man in a black jacket, and black magic hat with a purple feather. Cheren's eyes widened, recognizing the man as he spun around to greet them.

"Greetings! Bonjour!" the Shadow man exclaimed. "A tip of the hat from Dr.-"

"UNCLE FACILIER!!" Cheren suddenly shouted with excitement.

"Huh?" the witch-doctor looked confused. "Boy, I ain't yo' uncle!"

"No-no, I meant the Gilligans' uncle; Mrs. Gilligan's uncle... to be precise- Oh, you know what I mean! Stop joking with me!"

"Ah see all, kid, but I can't see the logic in yo' words."

"Yeah. I think Melissa would mention if her mom had an uncle like this." Celeste stated.

"But, you're-" Cheren stopped himself and took the moment to think. "Oh, you must be the Facilier from this dimension..." he whispered to himself.

"'This dimension'?" the Shadow Man questioned.

"N-Never mind. Sooo... you work here?"

"Oui! After a long time away from mah homeland, Ah decided to come home and, voilà! I got work as a fortune in this carnival! Ah have Friends on the other side, you see, and they grant me the powers to see into the past, the present, and the future." He said in a whisper, waving his hands around the crystal ball on his table. "Ah can give you brief clues as to where to go next on yo' travels. ...But sadly, this crystal ball here is runnin' low on the... /magic spice!/ If y'all c'n be so chivalrous as to find me a new one, I would happily ways with this handy li'l mask here," he pulled out a strange mask of a shadowy figure with white eyes under a brown hood, "which allows me to speak to the dead."

"Well, it looks cool, but the Kids Next Door doesn't really help adults. I mean, we're mainly helping Cheren here since he's a kid." Celeste explained.

Cheren grinned nervously. "Actually, I'm also here 'cause I'm sorta running an errand for an adult."

"You are?"

"Well, it's mostly to save Miyuki. Anyway, we'll keep an eye out, Dr. Facilier. We'll come to you if we need you."

Side Mission unlocked: Find a new crystal ball for Dr. Facilier.

The duo left the tent and searched around the area for another attraction. Celeste pointed to a tent that read Jigglypuff's Musical Dream. Stay awake and win a prize!, and the two decided to head over. Inside was a small, round stage, with a round-shaped light-pink creature, with curly hair and huge, round cyan eyes, and stubby hands and feet. She also wore a strange frog hat on her head, and held a small microphone in her right hand.

"Jigglypuff, Jigglypuff!" exclaimed the happy little creature.

"Awww!" Celeste 'awwed'.

"Heh. Hey, there." Cheren greeted with a nervous smile. "Are you here to sing for us?"

"Jiggly-Jiggly! Puff-Puff!" It spun around and puffed a little.

"Well, let's hear it!" Celeste encouraged. "I bet it's great!"

"Jiggly! Ahem…" Jigglypuff closed her eyes and calmly began to sing.

"Jiiiiggl-ly Puuuff, Jiiii-ggly Puuuff… Jiiiiggl-ly Puuff, Jigglllyyy…"

Cheren and Celeste became entranced in Jigglypuff's beautiful notes, their eyes growing heavy. With heavy yawns, the two lied down and placed their heads on their hands, drifting into sleep.

Jigglypuff stopped her singing and noticed the sleeping operatives. Furrowing her eyes, her cheeks puffed in anger. "Puuuuff!" The little balloon creature plucked the top of her mike open and revealed a black sharpie, walking over and drawing pictures on their faces.

After a few minutes, the two woke up, rubbing their tired eyes as they looked at each other. "AAAHH!" they screamed, seeing the surprising drawings on their faces: Cheren's face had the image of a bearded demon and Celeste's face had a picture of a pointy-nosed monster with sharp teeth.

"Jiggly-puff!" Jigglypuff huffed angrily. They wiped their faces clean as she folded her stubby arms in anger, turning away.

"I guess we aren't winning that prize, then." Cheren said, blushing.

"Hehehehe!" Celeste grinned sheepishly.

Side Mission unlocked: Listen to Jigglypuff's song.

They left the tent and approached a set of spiraling teacups ahead. They hopped into one of the teacups and spiraled around with it on the rotating platform before jumping to the next set of spiraling teacups. There were some red balloons with angry faces floating around, and as the operatives came close, the balloons just over to them and exploded, knocking them down. They stood up and shook their heads before trying to focus on the next platform, which stood over the edge over a river down below. They jumped to this platform as more Bombballoons flew over to explode, but Celeste quickly shot them with her S.C.A.M.P.P.. They waited awhile until their dizziness from the cups wore off before looking to the next set.

These next teacups were on a much wider circle, which had a large hole in the center that dropped into the river. However, the ride wasn't moving at the moment, for they saw that a boulder was blocking one of the cups. They jumped onto one of the cups as Cheren fired a M.A.R.B.L.E. to the boulder, blowing it up and allowing the ride to spin away. A pack of Miniblin stood at the entrance to the ride and tried to chuck pitchforks at the duo, but they were able to duck as they got off the ride and laid waste to the Miniblin.

They followed the stone trail to a tall fence gateway. The double-gates were sealed with a chain lock, with the lock on the opposite side. Cheren tried to shake the chains, but that clearly wasn't getting them anywhere. They looked to their left to find some barrels with stacks of crates beside a short tent. Cheren slipped on his Kateenian Mask as Celeste held her hands open for him to stand on, and for her to haul him onto the wobbly plates, his shortened height allowing him to keep his balance as he climbed onto the tent. The part of the tent on his right also had a fence going through the roof, so he went around the left and jumped down on the other side.

As he tried to walk around the tent, a giant crab suddenly crawled out of the tent's entrance, doing its usual "Nope, nono" routine as it stepped sideways to stay in his way. The sign beside the tent read, Giant African Crab. $4 per person. Since Celeste wasn't with him, he saw no way of getting around the crab. He remembered his new M.U.M.B.L.E.R. and launched a M.A.R.B.L.E. below the crab, which exploded and knocked him upside-down. Cheren decided to leave the crab (since it seemingly belonged to someone) and walked to the other side of the gate, opposite of Celeste's. Cheren decided to shoot a M.A.R.B.L.E. at the lock, and was able to blow it off, causing the gate to open.

They continued following the trail and saw some stairs that led up to a great, wide pool with fountains. Close to the edge of the pool were six lilipads, and the center one had a yellow frog who looked depressed. The sign by the pool read, Rainier Narboneta's Froggy Sonata. Closed temporarily.

The kids approached Rainier Narboneta at the stand as Cheren asked politely, "Excuse me, Sir, why is this attraction closed?"

"Well, all of my frogs went missing one day, and I just couldn't do the show. I even decided to lend my mask to the Jigglypuff in one of the tents."

"Want us to keep an eye out for them?" Celeste asked.

"You could if you want. But they won't exactly cooperate with you unless you have that mask. Unfortunately, the Jigglypuff's been so upset with people falling asleep to her, she won't give it back."

"Boy, are we gonna be busy in the future." Cheren sighed.

Side Mission unlocked: Find all of Rainier Narboneta's frogs throughout the world.

The two swam across the pool to reach an attraction designed like a giant toilet, which was labeled The Roddy St. James Experience. They jumped inside of the huge toilet, spiraling around as they were flushed into the drain. The two held their breaths as they swam the tunnels underneath, resurfacing inside of a sewer area. They climbed onto a dry foothold, overlooking a wide chasm of rushing water. They saw a grabbable ledge to the left and grabbed ahold, carefully climbing across. Snapdragons tried to snap them, but Cheren easily sliced them with his sword. At the other end of the chasm was a pile of boulders blocking a drain, in which water was trying to squeeze out. Cheren shot a M.A.R.B.L.E. at the rocks to blow them up, and a great gush of water came sprouting through the tunnel above. The kids hopped and shot STRAIGHT out of the sewer, right before a roller coaster.

The two hopped on the coaster and began to zoom at high speeds across the park. The tracks zoomed all around in midair over the park, going up loops, doing twists, basically dangerous stuff to be doing right over a park. The tracks became straight again as they zipped over the water over the shore, but Cheren saw there were rock piles in the path ahead. He held his M.U.M.B.L.E.R. out and had to quickly shoot M.A.R.B.L.E.s to blow the rocks away. He didn't shoot quick enough for some of them, and they ended up taking damage as they crashed through the rocks. A few Miniblins hovered beside them on balloons, but Celeste helped to keep them back with her S.C.A.M.P.P. while Cheren dealt with the rocks.

Finally, the roller coaster came to a stop, and the kids stepped off with excited expressions. They hurried back into the park, approaching what looked like a candy mini-game.

"HEY, KIDS! Step right up to King Candy's Spirally Swirlies and win yourself some tasty sweets!" exclaimed a short man with a big round nose, white hair around the side of his head, but a bald scalp, a gold crown, a big red bowtie, dark-purple jacket, and a candy-cane cane. Cheren smirked as he manned a small turret and fired lollipops at spiraling lollipop targets. After a minute of playing, Cheren was able to score 10 hits on targets. "ConGRATUlations! You both win some cotton candy!" With that, he handed Cheren a blue cotton candy, and Celeste a pink one.

"Ma-an, this place is AWESOME!" Celeste fist-pumped as they ate their cotton candy. "Monsters or not, Carnivilia is every child's dream, hands down."

"Hehe! Well, to be honest, I am having a lot of fun. I guess I was just relieving the stress of jumping to another dimension or something."

"Well, it's not somethin' you do everyday." The sandy-brown-haired chuckled. "Let's sit down over there, my feet are tired."

They had a seat on a bench that was beside a go-kart attraction labeled Turbo Track. On the poster was a short being with pale grey skin, a white racing jumpsuit with red stripes down the middle, arms, and legs, and a white helmet with a red stripe through it. The two ate their cotton candy and stared up at the starry heavens, the colorful fireworks lighting the park, from green, blue, and yellow to purple. "This place really is beautiful. It's too bad they don't have a park like this in my dimension."

"Maybe it does, you were just too busy to notice!" She joked.

"Haha! Shyeah…" Cheren looked away in thought. "I wish I could've brought a few of my friends along. They would've loved this place."

"Maybe you can bring them here, after you get back. …When we find a way back, I mean."

"Heh… You know, I felt kind of doubtful I would get home, but being here… somehow, that's changed. I feel like I can get home if I just believe… and bring Miyuki with me, too."

"Meh, if Peter Pan's dreams can come true, I don't see why yours shouldn't." she grinned, showing the pink cotton wrapped around her teeth.

Cheren looked up, and something caught his attention from several feet away: it was another owl statue, like the one from the jungle. Celeste raised a brow as Cheren walked over to the statue. He hit it with his sword, and it flashed as it opened its wings. He sheathed his sword as Celeste went over beside him. "Whoa. What was that?"

"I have no idea." Cheren replied. He then looked at the Stork child and randomly asked, "So, is there somethin' goin' on between you and Harry?"

She looked shocked. "Why would you ask that?"

"Well, in the jungle… he sorta flinched when I mentioned your name. He was pestering me about someone I liked, so we…"

She looked disbelieved. "You boys have some weird conversations when you're alone."

Cheren grinned sheepishly. He looked around the park a little bit until a particular tent caught his attention. It seemed bigger than all the other tents in the park, save for the enormous, dark tent that sat in the far distance. "Hey, check it out." Cheren pointed to the tent. There were spotlights showing the colorful sign above the tent, which read Booster's Bigtop. Today's showing: The Amazing Acrobat Sackboy.

"Oh, yeah. The guy that was on the big TV."

"He's the one responsible for the monsters around the park. I wonder if he knows anything about Miyuki? Or even about the Giant in my dream."

"I don't see how anyone in this carnival would know about any Giant Spirit. But that guy just spells 'suspicious'. Let's check him out." With that, the duo proceeded to enter the red-and-white striped bigtop. (End song.)

Booster's Bigtop; Booster's Quarters

Inside his private quarters, the gnome-like ringleader, known as Booster, stared at his mirror as he touched his face up with makeup. Behind him were his henchmen, Grate Guy, a pink jester balancing on a ball, and Knife Guy, a yeller jester who juggled knives. "Hahahaha! This is SPECTACULAR! Thanks to the monsters that masked girl lent me, the seats are filling with people just dying to see some sack freak get torn up and singed." The gnome spun around on his stool and hopped off, approaching his henchmen. "Now on to the next order of business, boys: the issue revolving around the Grand Bigtop. I can't have my show goin' Broadway without the Bigtop to give me bigger performances!"

"Ehh, Boss, I think it may be a good idea to just ignore that place entirely." Grate suggested. "That place's been crawling with monsters. It's too dangerous for anyone to go in there, that's why they shut it down."

"Bah! No one shuts me out of MY own circus! I'll reclaim my Bigtop one way or the other! But first, I have a show to do. The fans are calling me!" With that, Booster went out into the circus stadium, the sounds of the cheering audience sounding throughout the tent.

The seats were filling with audience members as Cheren and Celeste were also fighting their way through the crowds, finally finding two open seats right next to each other. As they took their seats, a short, kid-sized man walked into the center of the stadium. He wore blue overalls, a big brown tophat, and his face was almost covered in a spiky grey hair, from his head, his eyebrows, mustache, AND a beard. "Ladies and gentlemen!" the man spoke into his mike, his voice echoing through the tent, with an accent that sounded slightly Italian, "Velcome to Booster's Bigtop of Carnivilia! I am-a Colonel Flounder, and we have a big show for you tonight, folks! Now, allow-a me to introduce, your faaavorite freaky host, please give a round of applause to, BOOSTERRR!" the crowd erupted with applause as the spiky-bearded gnome walked out onto the stadium.

"Thank you, Flounder!" Booster spoke, "And welcome one-and-all to Booster's Bigtop! Today's showing features a man unlike any you have EVER seen! But he's not a man, really, he's a boy! And not just any boy: give it up for… SACKBOY!!"

Everyone looked toward the eastern side of the stadium. In stepped a short, fascinating creature made of brown yarn. He had beady black eyes, and smiled to his fans as they erupted with applause. The Sackboy approached Booster, as the ringleader handed him a small booklet. Sackboy stood on a blue, square shaped pad on the floor, kneeling down as he closed his eyes and pressed a stubby hand to the pad. The stadium floor was littered with piles of junk, and before everyone's eyes, the piles of junk flew around in the air, forming together to create an obstacle course designed like a child's playground.

The child made of yarn began to do the obstacle course, jumping trampolines, swinging handles, and using his powers to move certain things around. When he finished the obstacle course, he dropped back down beside Booster and used his power to change the playground again. This time, Sackboy unraveled himself into a single strand of yarn to slither through a tiny, worm-sized tunnel. After dodging several obstacles, like buzzsaws that cut through the tunnel, he came out at the top floor, which had several flamethrowers on the sides shooting fireballs. Sackboy hurried to the slide at the end, but his right foot was pelted by a fireball, making the audience gasp as he tripped and fell down the slide.

Sackboy landed beside Sackboy again with a thud, his right foot having been scorched black. "Eh-oh." Colonel Flounder frowned. "Eh-hem, um, that'll be all for Sackboy, next up, we have-"

"NNNOOO!!" Booster shook furiously. "Not yet! ! We gotta keep 'em GOING! Hurry up and fix Level 3!" he demanded, holding the instruction book to Sackboy.

"Booster, eh, he cannot go anymore!" Flounder tried to reason. "He needs to be treated."

"HE'LL get treated as soon as I hear more CHEERING!" Booster kept his frantic grin as he pulled out a whip. "Now GET your yarny butt up and make me some GOLD!"

Sackboy frowned pleadingly, shaking his head 'no'.

As a response, Booster whipped him across the cheek, scratching the yarn. "You've already got 'em riled. As my star performer, you have to KEEP 'EM GOING!"

The Sackboy shook 'no' again. This resulted in another whip across the cheek. "You better give me a show-" Sackboy looked away as Booster raised his whip again, "OR I'M GONNA-"

Cheren dashed over as fast as lightning, and the moment Booster lashed, Cheren caught the whip around his right wrist. "You're not gonna do anything." Cheren stated with a hateful glare.

"What?! Get out of my arena!! You kids are ruining my show!"

"You're not gonna HAVE a show if you keep THIS up!" Cheren declared.

Celeste walked over and knelt down before the injured Sackboy. "Boy… he seems really hurt."

Cheren looked down at the boy of yarn. Sackboy's face looked so sad… Cheren could only feel sorrow for him. He knew what he had to do. He pulled out the Spirit Flute and played the Song of Healing.

Doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo, do-do-doooooo.

The pain began to fade away from Sackboy. Sweet, warming memories began to fill his mind. (Play "Song of Healing" from Majora's Mask.)

Sackboy was very carefully and thoughtfully woven by a group of children. They cheered joyously upon his creation, and Sackboy smiled as he was brought to life. Hundreds and hundreds of kids cheered as they carried him across their crowds. He used his magnificent powers to forge them many playgrounds, and the kids played for days without end. Later, the kids gaped with amazement as Sackboy formed enormous treehouses, and the kids had even more fun. In time, these treehouses served as the Kids Next Door's bases.

In time, the Grand Bigtop was created, and Sackboy smiled widely at his new home. He happily waved to the kids as they waved back, and the tent curtains shut. An expansive carnival was created around the area, for many children and adults to enjoy for generations. (End song.)

Sackboy had vanished into a light, and all that remained was a mask that fell before Cheren and Celeste's feet. Cheren picked the plastic mask up and studied it closely.

You got Sackboy's Mask! This mask contains the spirit of a beloved children's creation. Let the imagination flow as you put on this mask and be able to shape whole environments! But it can only be used in certain areas.

"Whoa…" Celeste stared, amazed. "What was that all about?"

"I healed him… apparently." Cheren replied, still barely understanding.

"Hmm… so what happens, now?"

Cheren stared at the mask curiously. He wondered… would it work? He put the mask on his face, and pain surged as he felt the transformation. He shrunk down to a child's height as his skin transformed into brown yawn. In seconds, he was in Sackboy's body, but still had his brown hair, glasses, and red jacket.

"WHOA!!" Celeste fell back on her bottom, surprised.

"Whoa…" Cheren studied his new form. "This is so weird…"

"Zoni." At that instant, the Zoni appeared and surrounded Cheren.

"Aw, not you guys aga-" Before he could finish, the aliens zapped him and put him to sleep.

Land of Wind and Shade

"Mmmm…" Cheren moaned as he awakened, still in his Sackboy form as he found himself wearing the yellow jumpsuit again. "Where am I?" (Play "Land of Wind and Shade" from Homestuck.)

A starry night sky hung over the heavens, just like in Carnivilia. But this wasn't the carnival: the land was a purplish-blue and covered with many fluorescent, light-blue mushrooms and trees. A calm breeze blew across the landscape as the bright full moon loomed above.

"Wow… definitely a lot nicer than before. But why would the Zoni bring me here? Hmmm… guess there's only one way to find out."

Stage 8: Land of Wind and Shade

Mission: Find out why the Zoni brought you here.

Cheren began his journey across the mysterious realm, already arriving at an open area, where several strange salamander citizens were being terrorized by dark, shadowy imps in jester outfits. Cheren ran to battle them, but all Sackboy had in his reserves was a colorful, squeaky toy hammer. Cheren swung the hammer frantically at the first one, but it was strong enough to defeat it. The next Imp hurried over to slash its knife at Cheren, but Cheren dodged behind the creature and swung his hammer to take it out. The last two Imps tried to attack him together, but Cheren decided to switch back into his human form and clash using his sword, easily wiping them out.

The salamanders cheered and danced around Cheren excitedly, making the boy feel kind of sheepish. There was nowhere else to go, but the next path appeared to be above a high ledge. A box sat in the middle of the field, and when Cheren rolled into and smashed it, one of those blue pads was revealed to be underneath. Cheren changed into Sackboy and knelt down on the pad. He suddenly had a vision of the area overhead. A large block sat atop the ledge he had to get to, and Cheren was able to grab the block and place it below the ledge. When Cheren got out of his Arrangement State, he saw that the block had actually been placed there. He reverted to human form and used the block to climb to the path.

He walked along a narrow path between walls that led downward to the right, finding a minor swamp area. The water was midnight-blue and very still, with the full moon and starry sky glittering on its surface. The water was so clear, it almost looked like staring into a sky below their feet. Cheren's never seen water so clear and reflective before. He fantasized going for a swim in that water, and he was about to do so, but the minute he set foot in the dark-blue, a squad of piranhas immediately began to munch him.

Cheren was forced to step out, to his dismay, proceeding to hop the small platforms over the water. The last island was bigger, and had only a teeter-totter with a salamander seated on it. The seesaw and salamander was faced directly at the next shore ahead, too far for Cheren to jump. Cheren changed into Sackboy and smashed the other end of the seesaw with his hammer, sending the salamander flying across. He still had no way to get himself across, but a thought strangely occurred to him: Cheren changed back to a human and sent his Bananarang across to the salamander. Oddly, the salamander was attracted to the banana, and when it returned to Cheren, the salamander shot his tongue over to stick to the skinny stalagmite beside Cheren. With that, Cheren changed into a Kateenian to balance across the tongue, and over the water.

Cheren stepped off on the salamander's shore and continued to another wide-open area. There, more salamanders were being threatened by Shadow Imps. Still in his Kateenian form, Cheren dashed up to the first Imp and grabbed to its back, making him swing his knife aimlessly and slice up another Imp. Cheren kicked off and reverted to normal as he proceeded to clash with the Imps normally. He performed a Parry Attack and rolled behind one of them to slice it, then flipped behind another to attack. For the last one, he changed into Sackboy and bashed the Imp rapidly with his hammer, eventually knocking him out.

There was another high ledge on the north side of the field, and three patches of dirt aligned before it. Cheren looked over and noticed a salamander tending to a garden of glowing mushrooms, in the southeast end of the field. There was an Arrangement Pad seated beside it, so Cheren went over to kneel on the pad in his Sackboy form. As the salamander farmer was struggling to pluck a particular mushroom, Cheren used his power to pluck it for him, making the salamander frantic. Cheren set the mushroom over on the first soil patch as the salamander tried to pluck two more mushrooms, and Cheren plucked them for him again. Cheren set those mushrooms on the soil in the order he plucked them, reverting to a human and walking over. He watered the mushrooms with his S.Q.W.I.R.T. as they grew into platforms, in a perfect order from shortest to highest as he used them as steps to the ledge.

He appeared to be in a small village of many salamanders. There was a shop on his left side which seemed to be selling various items that would be helpful on his journey; like extra M.A.R.B.L.E.s, arrows, potions, etc.. The path continued on Cheren's right, so he followed that route, passing by two salamanders who were talking with each other. "Many sweeps ago, there used to be a legendary salamander who stayed up days after days, and never grew sleepy! It's said the secret to his power lies across the Chasm of Wind!"

"Do you think that's true?"

"Who knows! But I bet 'e played a whole lot of games like that! He could do the whole Zelda series in just one night!"

Cheren followed the narrow, curvy path to a vast, deep dark chasm, in which he had to jump several platforms to cross. However, the center platform pointed an alternate route, in which several huge whirlwinds blew over the abyss, leading to a higher cliff. The sign before him read, Chasm of Wind. Beyond lies the secret of the All-Nighter. Cross at your own stupidity.

The path looked very treacherous, but Cheren was ready to cross it, anyway. He took a few steps back, and ran for the ledge, jumping into the first tornado. Immediately, he was spiraled around and sent falling to the dark abyss. "AAAAHH!"

Thankfully, he reappeared back on the foothold, at the cost of one of his hearts. He shook back to his senses as he stood up. "Okay... guess I'm not going that way, yet."

Side mission unlocked: Cross the Chasm of Wind.

Cheren crossed the rest of the footholds before reaching a ledge overlooking a longer chasm. The next path was directly across from him, but all there was between them was a tall, skinny stalagmite sticking up from the chasm. An Arrangement Pad was there, too, so Cheren became Sackboy as he knelt onto it. He had an overview of the trench, where a purple plum, half his normal height, hung from a branch over the chasm to his left. Cheren picked the plum up and stuck it atop the stalagmite's tip. Cheren changed back to a human and was able to use the plum to hop across the pit.

He passed another pathway between walls before reaching a dead end. The path was protected by a Green Imp which spawned out of nowhere. Cheren ran to slash against the stronger Imp, but the creature warped right behind and kicked him away. Cheren shot back to his feet to face it again, but it had already warped, and Cheren jumped away when it appeared to the side. Cheren clashed against its blade, but the Imp zipped behind to kick, but Cheren back-flipped and swung more blows. The Imp warped again, but Cheren sensed he would appear behind, so he dodged to its side and turned into Sackboy before rapidly bashing the Imp's head with his hammer. When the Imp became dizzy, Cheren reverted to normal and dealt the final blow, destroying the Imp.

A door opened in the wall and revealed a pathway, leading Cheren to a towering cliffside. There, another owl statue sat, so Cheren proceeded to whack it, causing the owl's wings to open. To Cheren's left, a strange, brown owl was perched atop a stone tablet. Cheren sheathed his sword and approached the owl. (End song.)

"Well, well… what have we here?" the owl inquired. Cheren raised a brow in confusion. "Why, I don't believe I've seen you in quite some time."

"Um… I never met you." Cheren said.

"You haven't? Hmm… Must be recalling back to an earlier time. Siiigh… time can be so confusing. As time flows, you see so many faces, but can only remember so few. In time, so many faces start to look the same. …Would you like to hear what I said again?"

"Um… no."

"Hoo hoo hoo. But your face seems ODDLY familiar. Like a face you've worn across many other lifetimes. It's only a face someone with truly remarkable courage can bare. …Would you like to hear what I said again?"

"W-Wait a second." Cheren shook his head. "Are you saying you knew my ancestor… Link?"

"Link? Hoo hoo. It's difficult to say. I haven't seen him in many years. It's hard to remember a name after such a long time. As time flows, things change. New memories replace the old. And new times are born. …Would you like to hear what I said again?"

"No!"

"Hoo hoo hoo. But no matter how much times change, it's important to remember your old times. You must never forget the times that were most precious to you. Even the places you've visited still bare importance. The song carved at my feet is one which will allow you to revisit those places. I hope you've been finding the owl statues I've laid around the realm. …Would you like to hear what I said again?"

"No…" Cheren looked annoyed.

"Good luck, Cheren. May your courage touch this land for the better. Hoo hoo hoo!" And with that, the owl flapped his wings and flew off over the horizon.

Cheren approached the stone tablet and proceeded to read it. It was a set of notes, which were aligned as second-lowest, third-highest, second-highest, second-lowest, third-highest, and then second-highest. Cheren pulled out his Spirit Flute and blew in the correct pipes: green, red, yellow, green, red, yellow.

Doo-doo-DOOO, doo-doo-DOOO!

You've learned the Song of Soaring! With this song, you'll be able to warp to anywhere you activated an owl statue! Say good-bye to all those long backtracking journeys!

Cheren stuffed the Spirit Flute in his jacket, as he found the Zoni surrounding him again. The strange creatures dealt him a shock, and another vision played before his eyes.

Miyuki/Majora was zipping across the hyperspace with their demonic followers following behind. The possessed child still had the Master Sword clutched in her hand, but after a few seconds, the blade began to glow. "Huh… NNNN!" Majora immediately released, feeling a painful burn.

The sword landed in the middle of a vast, snowy field of blizzards. "She is waiting for you on Holoska." Cheren could see the silhouette of a ponytailed girl in the distance.