B-12. For the Second Time

This chapter is OPTIONAL reading. It's neither very exciting nor plot relevant in any way, except for some small foreshadowing we get from Henry Churchill. This chapter is the last one of the Darkness Seeker Arc. I sort of regret putting this Wendy level after the Lucifer fight, because I consider Lucifer the main boss of this arc, it's just it makes more sense for Wendy's level to come after considering the story. (Takes place before Chapter 19.)

Floop's blimp

Floop's blimp was designed like a green dinosaur head, whose eyes were wide and mouth shaped like an 'o'. There were fins on the sides that looked like the paws of cartoon dogs, and skinny metal legs with shoes hung from the bottom and ran in midair. The guestroom where Chelia, Wendy, the Ice Climbers, and Carla were staying had a round couch with cushions designed like hands. Wendy was nervous at the thought of them dragging her to a cold Underworld. The drinks in the refrigerator were set inside gaping mouths, and the planted palm trees had tongues for leaves. Wendy had never seen anything weirder than this man's mind.

"WOOOOOW!" Chelia gaped in adoration. "This is the weirdest thing I've ever SEEN!" She was holding Carla high. "You look like a kitty, but those wings make you look like a Nimbi! Are they actually real??" She tugged the wings.

"Ow! Yes, please, stop it!" Carla shook out of her grasp and fell to the floor.

"And you talk, too! Wendy, where did you find a thing like that?"

"I just found her egg washed up on a beach." Wendy answered. "I was pretty surprised, too. You've really never seen anything like her, Chelia?"

"No. Why, are there a lot of them where you come from?"

"N-…" Wendy processed that sentence. She never asked Facilier where she was actually born. "No. But…" She looked up at Chelia, "I kind of thought you would know. You just feel… really similar to me."

"We do have a few things in common, don't we?" Chelia sat beside Wendy on the couch. "That reminds me, that was impressive airbending! I thought I had the tournament in the bag before you came along. And you weren't even using Haki or God Chi!"

"Chelia, what is Haki and God Chi, anyway?"

"Hmhm, you probably wanna know the second one first." Chelia held her right hand open and spun a mini whirlwind. "It's called God Chi because it belongs to a god."

"But doesn't everyone get bending from a god?"

"Yes, but the gods actually have two forms of their own chi: a weaker, undeveloped form that they give to mortals for them to develop their selves… and a stronger form that the gods keep and allows them to maintain the balance in their own realm. The God of Airbending is Rayquaza."

"But how did you manage to get ahold of Rayquaza's chi?"

"Easy." Chelia winked. "I challenged him for it."

"And he actually agreed?" Carla inquired.

"Sure! …Well, it was more like this."

Chelia was 11 years old when she approached Sky Pillar on a terribly blustery day. She wore a pair of hiking boots and thick clothes, and had a mirror shield on her back. Through the raging dust-filled wind, she saw a giant, green armored snake flying above. "E-EXCUSE me! I've come to see the Sky God, Rayquaza." Chelia yelled at the snake.

"I am he."

"My name's Chelia; Chelia Blendy. I'm an airbender—you probably know that, and I was reading an old book, and I read… If a bender can defeat the god in a one-on-one fair battle of their strength, the god has to give the bender a portion of their chi. I don't mean to sound conceded, but I'm a pretty great airbender, and I would love to become stronger."

"You read correctly. If you can best me, you will earn a portion of my God Chi. If you lose, I take your bending away. The deal has been the same since the decision to grant benders their power. Do you accept?"

"Yes, yes I do." Inside, Chelia's heart was racing nervously.

"Very well then… en garde!"

Rayquaza lived up to his name, for his method of bending was unparalleled. The field became an endless hurricane as Chelia struggled to push against it using her supposed great bending, flown into the air when Rayquaza swooped down with momentum. Whirling around like a piece of paper in the wind, Chelia tried to compose and shield in an airball, until Rayquaza zoomed around her in his snakelike body and spun her dizzy. Chelia collided on the ground, not giving up, getting to her feet to throw gust after mighty gust. Rayquaza felt some slight breeze on his armor, but nothing more. He snaked around in the clouds to bunch them together, lightning striking the ground. Chelia frantically dodged these strikes, running in rapid circles to spin tornadoes to suck Rayquaza down, but the god flew down on his own and shot past Chelia fast enough to roll her on her back. Rayquaza was back for the rebound, before she could stand up, he blasted a solid air blast that sent her away farther, landing on her front.

Rayquaza ceased his onslaught and floated calmly before the struggling girl. She faced him with tears streaming her face. "Okay, you won, but PLEASE don't take my bending away! The kids where I live were teasing and saying I'd never be a good bender, so I wanted to become stronger to prove them otherwise, I'd never be able to show my face again if I go back without bending, PLEASE DON'T!" She bowed with deepest respect, tears hitting the ground.

"You should know better than to make bets beyond your knowledge. I'm hoping this lesson will teach you that."

"No! NOOOOOO!" Chelia was utterly helpless, lost for strength or for hope as Rayquaza touched fingers to her head and chest, a white light shining. Chelia's eyes popped open, and grinning maniacally, "REVERSING MIRROR!"

The shield on her back shone, Rayquaza knocked back as his energy suddenly dropped. Chelia stood up filled with pride and power, for an incredible wind blew inside. "Sky God's ROOOOAAAAAR!" She unleashed a powerful storm of wind from her lungs, solid as stone as Rayquaza was struck, injured, and sent flying back.

He collapsed onto the ground, unable to get up. "Heheh… I found this Reversing Mirror." Chelia blushed. "It rebounds or reverses the affects of any power. I challenged you to battle and lost so you'd try to take my chi, then I could take YOUR chi instead! Part of my strength is my keen intellect, eh he he."

"Nnnn… you have deceived me, Child. Very… clever. You have earned the rights to… my God Chi."

"All right! Great!" Chelia jumped with joy. "Thank you so much! This is the happiest day of my life!"

"Then a few years later, I mastered Armament Haki." Chelia turned her right hand to an iron black, and the whirlwind turned the same color. "It's a martial art that's pretty common. It has to do with channeling your inner strength, but I won't bore you with a lesson."

"…Chelia… it sounds like you kind of stole it from him." Wendy said.

"Just what did you do with powers like that?" Carla asked with a reproving look. "Become a school bully? Tear down a village?"

"N-No, no, nothing like that!" Chelia said in a frantic fashion. "I really don't know why I wanted Rayquaza's power! I guess I just felt like challenging him… and I won."

"You cheated."

"I won with my brain." Chelia argued. "But since I got the power, I've been feeling really great. I almost never get exhausted because I never run out of breath. I enter contests at my school like the Triwizard Tournament or the Dragon Dances… I hate to gloat, but I'm a really good dancer." She smiled. "They even put me in some magazines. …But I never do anything bad with my powers, honest."

"Yeah, but you sound like you're pretty competitive." Wendy said. "Just how many people have god powers to help them win things? It sounds kind of unfair…"

"Well, if I hadn't been in the picture, I'm sure you would've come around!" Chelia laughed. "You smoked everybody in that tournament. You would've been the best in any physical contest you entered."

Wendy blushed at this praise. "Thanks for saying that… but I'm not really that competitive. I get so nervous all the time and I just started learning magic recently."

"Well yeah, you're still young. …But now that I think about it, how come you're on the wanted posters?"

"I think it's because my dad is a wanted criminal. They probably think I'm just like him, or they wanna use me to catch him. And even worse, I have this curse that makes wind blow around wherever I am. It's better now because of these Chi Stabilizers, but I was homeless for years."

"That's really sad." Chelia frowned. "You really don't seem like a bad person, Wendy."

"Thanks. Neither do you. …" Wendy stared at her Lamia Scale wand reflectively. She then reached in her pocket and pulled out a blank piece of paper. She didn't need to read it to memorize what it said.

Observation: Floop has numerous children acting on his television program. These children are named and credited, but they are not known to act on any other show. The show's website does not provide information on their origins, and no person anywhere that recognizes their names has been found, nor are they known.

Conclusion: The World Government has accordings with unknown orphanages, who deliver children to Floop to work against their will.

Mission: Rescue the children and destroy Floop's castle.

"You can't possibly expect Wendy to do all that herself!" Carla said angrily.

"I don't!" Facilier argued in a low voice, so none of the townspeople would hear. "Her daddy did, I told him it was too risky, but he insisted!"

"Well, do you have anything to help us?"

"Yes…" Facilier reached under his jacket. "Assuming he's right and Floop is keeping children hostage, you can rescue them with this." He pulled out a small satchel, reached in, and extracted a blue treasure chest with a star.

"What's that?" Wendy asked as the box was handed to her.

"This box is connected to a bigger box in my sister's basement. Use the Shrink Spell, Reducio, to minimize the kids and put them in here. They'll warp to that other box at normal size. You can use it to get away yourself, too."

"What about destroying the castle?"

The doctor sighed. "Honestly… I really don't know if you're up for that. If all else fails, just come home."

"Hey, Chelia?" Wendy turned to the older girl. "Do you watch Floop's show? What's it about?"

"Oh, it's just a silly kids' show about random kids talking to random monsters (guys in costumes), and they get into random situations." Chelia explained while brushing the air with her hand. She clearly wasn't speaking highly about it. "There's not really a continuity and character development is little kid quality."

"How come you wanted to visit his castle?"

"Some of the fillers have a fancy stage where kids dance." Chelia spoke with a more positive tone. "I thought if Floop saw how I danced, he'd let me on the show and I would be a star!!" Her blue eyes became stars. She then gasped, "OOO, we should do a dance together, Wendy! He might let both of us on!"

"What about the children who already work for him?" Carla inquired. "Do you know how he picks them off?"

"Uhhh… not really. Well, maybe he'll tell us if we ask!" Chelia grinned.

"Wendy, look!" Sonny and Donna bounced over and opened their coats: dynamites and guns were strapped on the inside.

"We stuffed our coats full of things that go boom!" Donna cheered.

"We looked up demolition websites and know exactly where to plant them!" Sonny followed.

"We're gonna make Floop a REAL star!" The twins' devilish eyes became stars.

"You guys, shhhhh!" Wendy jumped over and gestured them to hush. "We're supposed to keep it a secret!"

"Wendy, is something wrong?" Chelia asked.

"Eek!" Wendy flinched and turned around, sweating with anxiety. "Hehehehe, they're just kidding, we're not planning anything, hahahahaha!"

"Hm hm hm! Who are those kids, anyway, your cousins?"

"No, they're… Well, I dunno what they're for."

"Comic relief." They chorused.

Negaverse; DNK Moonbase

"Is this true?" the majestic moon bird, Cresselia asked with an echoing voice. "Medusa was causing chaos in this world? Using your body as a disguise?"

"My cousin feels terribly violated!" Ynohtna shouted. "He's going to need therapy, stitches, and all that stuff that's awesome in this universe! Ahh!" Nerehc kicked him away.

"Listen, Moon Chick, you know about the Apocalypse that's coming up this month, right?" Nerehc asked the spirit rudely.

"Oh… You are aware."

"Yeah, I have a couple questions: first, when did you gods plan to tell us about something like this?"

"Hmmm… It was our intention, but we didn't know the correct time. The Apocalypse is beyond the gods' control. We did not know when, or even if, the Twenty Keys Prophecy would be unveiled by some other means. Even Dialga did not know… and it resulted in many fights between him and Palkia. And guess who had to work THOSE out. Me. Perhaps we were mistaken, keeping the secret. With only a month until it is time, we wonder if the prophecy will still transpire."

"I was told about the prophecy from a person called Sanula. Said he comes from the First Dimension. He said that the Apocalypse would happen when the Space Gate crumbles apart in someplace called the Netherverse, and then the moons would explode. Would the Moon Goddess know anything about that?"

"Yes. She would. I created the moons as the primary locks and gateways leading into the Netherverse. I regulate the supernatural energy projected by the moons. But Palkia's powers are stronger than mine, so if his Space Gate explodes, my moons will not withhold. Children, I'm sorry I do not have more knowledge to divulge unto you regarding this matter. But I promise to inform the other gods of Medusa's-"

"Before you do," Nerehc intervened, "know that we've already accepted her help. She seems very knowledgeable on the Thirteen Darknesses, so we have no choice but to rely on her guidance."

"Do not let her deceive you. True, Medusa has this knowledge, but she-"

"-Feels like the only god who hangs with us more than any other god in this world. I hate to say it, but in the Negaverse, rules are a little backwards. Medusa might get in trouble for messing with people in the Posiverse, but in here, she can do whatever she wants. …Not that we would let her, of course. Only until we find the Darknesses."

"…The tides are truly changing. In a time like this, even I'm not sure if ancient rules still matter. Perhaps this was part of the prophecy. But I strongly caution you, children."

"Got it. One last question, Moon Chick: what are the Original Worlds?"

"The Original Worlds are dimensions that are said to have been created long before this one. Even we have never seen them, for they were designed by other gods. We have always believed that Arceus – or perhaps a different deity entirely – designed this world based on fragments from those Original ones. We called this phenomenon the Dimensional Fusion. People, locations, energies in this world have an original parallel from those worlds."

"Did they come before the 'First Dimension'? Or after?"

"The First Dimension is so named because Arceus created it before this world, or any of the others under his eye. However, even we do not know when the Original Worlds were born. We do not know if Arceus was the ultimate creator or not."

"Even the gods don't know…" Nerehc mumbled softly. "…Do you know if there's any way to get to those worlds?"

"30 years ago… one man has. Dialga and Palkia sensed it through a series of tremendous rips through the Dimensional Byway. His name was Stanford Pines. I did not ask them how he did this."

"A Positive, huh? …Well, thanks. You don't have to stay, anymore."

"The Tides of Time are changing, my children. Make sure your boat remains steady… or you will be destroyed." The goddess flew into a glowing white portal and vanished.

"…Do all these gods leave with a metaphor?" Nollid asked.

"So what are we going to do now, Master Nerehc?" Ininap asked.

"Hold on!" Sipa spoke up. "Before all this happened, weren't we bringing Egroeg and AlyakAm to the Posiverse?"

"Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about them. Are they even here?"

"We haven't seen them all since yesterday!" Alol answered in her perky attitude. "Probably blew us off like a couple-a airheads!"

"I wonder if they're meeting their Positives right now?" Nerehc said. "I guess we should go check on them."

"Maybe you should rest." Nollid suggested. "What with Medusa turning you into a toy and violating your body…"

"Huhuhu." Nerehc shuddered. "I wanna lie down just to get that idea out of my head."

"Sorry. I'll just fly to Dnaleci and make a portal to its Posiverse to look for them. Any of you guys wanna come?"

"Meeee!" Ikuyim jumped over to him. "I'd love to visit my Positive!"

"Alright, you guys go ahead and do that." Nerehc figured. "As for the rest of us… I guess there isn't much to do but wait for Medusa."

Posiverse; Foogly Mountain

"Wendy, look! There it is!" Chelia pointed excitedly.

"Huh?" The red-eyed girl and her friends raced up to the window.

The blimp was flying over a steep, mountainous region, approaching a castle that was perched precariously on the side of a mountain. From far away, it looked like a group of stone needles, for its pale brown color matched that of the mountain. "It doesn't look luxurious." Carla said.

"I agree, it's a weird place to film a TV show." Chelia said. "Why do you think he set up here?"

"Duh, because he's an evil mastermind- OOMP!" Donna said, before Carla snapped her mouth shut.

A large hatch opened on the side of the castle's base, ready to allow the blimp inside. "Hold on, is the balloon even gonna fit in there?!" Wendy asked with worry.

Sonny gasped, "We've fallen for his trap!! SAY YOUR PRAYERS!"

"NO, I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Wendy cried.

"Wait, Wendy! Look!" Chelia yelled.

A platform extracted from the hatch and allowed the blimp to land. The balloon and bottom legs retracted into the vessel before the platform pulled it inside the hatch. Everything turned darker as they felt their room pulling in further. Then, with a loud CLANK, they stopped.

A faint light shone on the kids so they were able to see each other. They looked around in the darkness until Wendy spotted someone else under a spotlight. "It's Mr. Floop!" she exclaimed. They faced the backside of the man wearing the red velvet coat, sitting in the blimp's pilot seat. "Mr. Floop!" Wendy jogged over to him. "Is this part of your castle?"

The chair swerved around—Floop's eyes were bulging, his whole body puffed like a balloon, and POPPED. A small, mechanical device remained. "YEEEEK!" Wendy nearly fainted from shock. "Whaddid-I-do, whaddid-I-do!!"

"So it was a balloon all along?" Carla asked as she approached the device. It had blow holes on its top and sides, and long thin metal sticks. "Astounding… Was it actually a balloon during the Glitz Pit, too? If it was, how was he able to animate it so realistically?"

"Maybe Mr. Floop is magic!" Wendy guessed.

"Are you children tired of the world outside?" a man's voice spoke from nowhere. "Tired of the parents yelling, the bullies pushing, and the teachers assigning homework? The critics critique, the dogs bark, and that apartment above yours keeps playing loud music while you're trying to sleep? Then you don't have to be. Not anymore. Welcome… to my home."

Lights came on—before the kids knew it, they were standing in an orange sky. There was a spinning platform designed like a tornado, floating several meters above. Fegan Floop stood on the platform—actually, he floated a few inches above it. His back was facing them, but his arms were crossed, and they could see his gloved hands. Each hand stuck up its index finger, which had a white smiley face drawn on it.

It's a cruel cruel world

And all you little boys and girls

His thumbs stuck out.

And some mean, nasty people

Want to have you for their supper

He stuck a new finger up after every few words, then he whipped around and shouted,

BUT if you follow me

You can all be free…free…

You can all be free

As a bird on a big TV

If you dream… my… DREAM!

The kids were uplifted on giant eyeballs that rose from below. Wendy and Chelia flailed their arms and legs, unable to balance on the spinning balls, but the balls positioned so they wouldn't fall over. Strange, humanoid creatures with misshapen, miscolored faces and clothing that clowns would wear were balancing on small, flying planets. As Floop danced and directed his arms and legs, the flying spheres spun and zigzagged around the air. Attached to Floop's platform were bikes that were being pedaled by children, spinning circles around their host.

It's a cruel cruel world

Full of little boys and girls

And the selfish mean, nasty people

Nasty nasty nasty NASTY

BUT there's a way

You can make your day

You can laugh, you can smile

You can come and stay a while

Sonny and Donna began cartwheeling in midair above their eyeballs, and Wendy was going to barf if this spinning kept up. They moved faster and faster around the center, the orange sky turned brighter, and Floop's smile grew bigger.

You can dream my dream

You can have it all with me!

You can dream MY dream!

You can dream MY dream!

DREAM… MY… DREEEEAAAAAAM!

The brightness increased at the raise of his voice until white completely swallowed the area. Floop clapped hands—the momentum immediately stopped as the kids plummeted to the floor of what they assumed was the hangar. "Of course, that's just the beginning." Floop said with a grin, viewing the guests from his floating hand platform. "Wendy Marvell and Chelia Blendy, I am delighted to welcome you and your guests to Fegan Floop's Whackatorium! This is the place where all of the wondrous magic happens!"

"So you really ARE magic, Mr. Floop??" Wendy said with admiration.

"Uh-hov course I am, my dear!" Floop chuckled, showing his bright grin. "How else do you think a man can FLOAT so perfectly?!" He leapt and performed a splits while floating in midair.

"Perhaps those strings that are attached to you have something to do with it." Carla pointed out.

Floop looked at the ceiling, where the strings that were clearly holding his body originated from. "Oh, those? No no no, those are just…?" A question rose in Floop's head. "Who said that?"

"I did." Carla said firmly.

The host cocked a brow at the talking kitten. Floop flew down using his strings and set foot before the visitors. He bent down, picked Carla up, and raised her high. "A cat… with wings… who speaks… English… By far the weirdest creature I've ever seen."

"I am about tired of everyone saying that about me. Just look at all of these so-called 'actors.'" She glanced at the misshapen humanoid creatures, who were speaking in squeaky and squiggly voices. "Weirdest costumes I've ever seen."

"Yes, but 'guys in costumes' can only sell so well." Floop shrugged. "But this cat is a real flesh-and-blood creature! Isn't she?"

"She's been that way ever since she hatched from her egg." Wendy replied.

"An EGG! HAH! Well, then it's settled, this fluffy creature will be the newest addition to my show!"

"Can me and Wendy be on the show, too??" Chelia asked brightly. "We would be perfect dancers! Er, I would at least, I haven't seen how she dances. I mean, I could train her either way."

"I really don't want to be on your show." Carla said. "Now please, put me down."

"But I HAVE to study you!" Floop swung Carla around, his face shining. "I have to do X-rays, know where you're from, know your lifespan, then I'll make tons of CLONES of you!"

"ABSOLUTELY not!" Carla jumped away and got beside Wendy. "What kind of man are you to treat creatures like pieces of machines that you can study? Is that what you're doing to the poor, innocent children here?"

"Carla!" Wendy silenced.

Floop seemed to flinch at that accusation. "Ho ho, you've got it all wrong!" he said more spiritedly. "The children here love it in Floop's Whackatorium! You, Rodrick, come here!" He gestured a tall brown-haired boy in casual attire to come over. "Don't you love it here in my castle?"

"Hyeah I do!" Rodrick replied with enthusiasm. "Floop's Whackatorium is the best! I don't ever wanna leave!"

"And what do you like most about it?"

"What I like most is… uh…" Rodrick was lost for words. "I like… I… uh-oh… I can't remember my line!" The boy was starting to panic. "Don't remember! Whaddo I say! Ohhh- eeeett!" Wendy and Chelia stepped back when he began twitching.

"THUMB-THUMBS!" Floop snapped his fingers. Two humanoid creatures, whose head, arms, and legs were all thumbs, wearing red shirts, marched in to grab and take the boy away. The Thumbs bumped into the wall beside the door, but resumed carrying him. Floop turned to the kids with a bright smile. "Thumb-Thumbs! Very reliable, despite being all thumbs."

The kids were a little horror-struck by what just happened. They didn't say anything about it. "Mr. Floop, where do all these children come from?" Wendy decided to ask.

"The children come from here, of course! They live here, they eat here, they love it here, so nothing else matters! The outside world is cruel, but here, the children are safe! They play together without a care in the world! And best of all, I can film all their crazy antics and make one heck of a popular show! (Which, naturally, pays the bills.)"

"But the children do have parents, don't they? People to teach them right from wrong?"

"Heh heh, don't you watch my show? The Fooglies do that! See?"

A black-haired boy was holding a bat ready as a blonde girl hurled a baseball. "Weegily-de!" A purple Foogly with a stretched mouth jumped in the way. The ball got lodged in its stretched mouth, then the boy swung his bat and struck the right side of the mouth. This forced the left side to stretch longer, causing the Foogly to fall in that direction. The floor pressed the extended side, forcing the right to grow longer, and for the ball to fly out. It fell into a coffee cup, which was drunk by a Foogly with a big mouth. When the ball got stuck, another Foogly performed the Heimlich maneuver and shot it out like a bullet. It bounced around aimlessly before breaking through a window.

"Now, kids, this is why you don't play ball in the house." Floop spoke informatively.

"We're sorry, Mr. Floop." The kids bowed.

"I've heard of cartoons that make kids seem more competent than adults, but this is just uncharacteristic." Carla said reprovingly.

"HAH ha ha! Come on, Carla, it's funny!" Chelia laughed. "Maybe we're a bit more mature, but it would be fun to explore it a little! Plus, we can make a few extra bucks."

"Well, since you're excited about it," Floop said, "I'll look and see if I have some room to squeeze you. I'll just be a moment, so wait here until I get back!" The man threw his arms up, and flew away with his strings- "OW!" He bumped his head on the floating platform. "Oh, Floop!" he swore as the strings pulled him into a wall hatch. "Children, take five!"

The children fast-walked in a weird fashion and piled out of the room, leaving the Fooglies to watch the kids.

"Wendy." Carla whispered. Wendy bent down to her level. "I hate to say it, but there seems to be a little truth to Mr. Facilier's writing. They took that Rodrick boy away like he were a broken machine."

"You're right, Carla." Wendy whispered back. "I wonder if Mr. Floop is using magic to brainwash these kids."

"Well, Rodrick forgot his lines, so it looks more like child slavery. Also, I haven't seen one ounce of real magic in this Phonatorium. I'll be surprised if little kids even buy this crud."

"That guy was totally flying!!" Sonny and Donna exclaimed.

"Hey, Donna, if we pull our eyes out, will they fly and spin and dance, too??"

"That's something worth checking out, Sonny!" Donna drew out a screwdriver.

"Stop!" Chelia got between them to hold them back. "That's not a good idea, guys!"

"Wendy, we should look around for any of the kids and try and get answers out of them." Carla suggested.

"You're right." Wendy and her cat approached a door on their right, but two Thumb-Thumb guards stepped in the way. "Uh, would it be all right if I went to the bathroom?"

"I would like to go, too!" Chelia yelled, happily jogging over.

"Me three!" Donna joined them.

"Me!…" Sonny was about to come over… but his expression sunk. "Wait… I just realized something."

"What's that?" Chelia asked.

"Without Mister Facilier… I'M THE ONLY BOY IN THIS GROUP!!" The male Ice Climber gripped his head and rolled around on the floor. "I'm gonna turn into a girly boy and want girl things and want to hang out with girls! QUICK, BRING ME A FOOTBALL!"

One of the Fooglies casually tossed him a football. "Get ahold of yourself." Carla stated. "At least you still have a separate bathroom. Come on, let's go."

A Thumb-Thumb walked from the front, and another from behind as they escorted the kids to the restrooms. The parallel restroom doors had a "?", and an upside-down "¿" respectively. The girls decided to enter the latter, while Sonny took the "?" bathroom.

The toilets inside the stalls were designed like tornadoes of different color. "…I sure hope we don't get sucked in!" Chelia said perkily.

"Me, too…" Given their suspicions about Floop, Wendy and Carla felt like they would be.

"Hey, is your kitty potty trained? I'd love to see that!"

"I'm curious as to whether or not you were trained." Carla retorted. "Privacy, please."

Chelia took the far right stall, Donna had the middle, and Wendy and Carla the left.

"Wendy, up there." Carla whispered, pointing her paw upward. There was an air vent on the ceiling. "You can turn small with the Reducio spell and I'll carry you up and through that. Then we can search around the castle."

"Good idea." Wendy said softly. "But how will you open it without Chelia noticing?"

"Wendy, if Floop is the madman we think he is, Chelia may be in danger, too. Perhaps now is the time to tell her the truth."

"What? Carla, I can't! What if she doesn't believe me, or thinks I really am a criminal?"

"But Chelia's powers can benefit us. Plus, it's only fair to warn her so that she can keep her guard up."

There was a knock on their stall door. "Wendy, is that you two whispering?" Chelia asked. "What're you talking about?"

"N-Nothing!" Wendy said panickingly.

"Wendy, just tell her!" Carla insisted.

"I…I can't! I'm just getting to know her and she seems really sweet, but if I tell her what I'm trying to do, I…"

"You want to tell me something? Wendy, what's going on?" Chelia asked again. "Are you having trouble with the toilet?"

"SHEESH, Wendy, when'd you become a big girl all of a sudden?" Donna remarked jokingly.

"N-NO!" The statement made Wendy flush, and her anxiety grew. "Uh-I-I, uh, I… REDUCIO!"

"Wendy, what's-…?" Chelia barged and Donna peeked from behind. A tiny Wendy and Carla were on the toilet's edge.

"O-kay, maybe not." Donna followed.

"DARN IT, Child, you shrunk me, too!"

"I'm sorry, Carla!" Wendy tried to balance. "I was feeling a little claustrophobic and- AAAAAHHH!" She grabbed her cat and fell back in the toilet.

"WENDY!" Chelia ran in and tried to grab her, but the tornado-like toilet slurped them down impossibly fast.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!" Wendy and Carla swirled around and around as though the pipes were purposely designed like a spiraling waterslide. "IS THIS WHAT ALL OUR POOP GOES THROUGH?"

"A LADY SHOULD NEVER ASK THAT, WENDY!" Carla cried.

"WHOOOA!" They flew out the pipe and into a sewer river that washed them along.

"HANG ON!" Carla grabbed the red-eyed girl and forcefully flapped her wings to pull them both out. She managed to fly up and set Wendy on the sidewalk before she quickly tired out.

"Phew… Thank you, Carla." Wendy breathed to ease her racing heart.

"My pleasure, huff…" Carla gasped for air. "Now change us back to normal."

"Right." Wendy grabbed her wand. "Re…" She realized something. "Wait a second… I DON'T REMEMBER THE COUNTER-SPELL!! AAAAHH what're we gonna do, Carla!! We're gonna be stuck small and get eaten by one of Floop's crazy-looking sewer rats, waaaahhhh!"

"ENGORGIO!" Carla shouted. "I remember the doctor using it on a pebble during one of his demonstrations.

"Oh… phew." Wendy's anxiety faded again. "Engorgio." She stretched them both to normal size.

"Sigh. That could've gone worse. Now let's get back upstairs and search this loony museum."

Floop's Throne Room

"Mister Minion!" Floop spoke spritely to the man in white clothing, black hair, and glasses. "Fashionably still here, as usual!"

"Mr. Floop, fashionably late." Mr. Minion bowed. "I've been observing the cameras, and I see you brought quite the party with you. The Sky Dragon Wendy Marvell." He gestured to the small screens that were around Floop's hand throne. One had an image of Wendy's curious expression. "The daughter of Red Eye that former Corporate President, Norman Osborn reported all those years ago. The portal to Mariejoa is functioning perfectly. What are your plans for detaining the child?"

"Actually, I don't think I want to do that just yet." Floop clamped his hands and spoke in a sure and professional manner. "Wanted felon though she may be, that hair and those eyes are WAY too beautiful to throw away! They pack a kind of weirdness that Floop Industries admires. She and that pink-haired girl, Chelia, would become the most popular characters on my show! And a talking cat with wings, HAH! MARVELOUS! Those little coat twins seem like a fun bunch, too! Mr. Minion, withhold telling the World Leaders until I make actors out of these kids."

"Mr. Floop, you can't be that demented." Minion said seriously. "This girl is the daughter of a dangerous revolutionary. For all you know, she could be in here on her father's orders, you could be in danger!"

"Mr. Minion, can I ask, when this 'daughter' of Red Eye's was reported 11 years ago, did President Osborn provide us any physical description?"

"N…No."

"Mr. Minion, I've heard of numerous people, girls even, who have red eyes, so what singles this one out? I mean, Red Eye doesn't even have blue hair!"

"She is an airbender, clearly possesses magical abilities, and her speed is rivaled only by the legendary Mobian, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"So maybe she's Sonic's daughter! She does have pointy ears. I heard he fell in love with a human princess called Elise, maybe they had a daughter. Plus, didn't Sonic's Super Form have red eyes?"

"MR. FLOOP, it doesn't even matter whose daughter she is!" Minion shouted. "We are under orders to capture her and turn her in to the Government! It is because of this girl that Master Churchill's first apprentice, Norman Osborn, was killed! If you aim to fill his shoes, then Master will respect you greatly if you capture the child that caused him grief!"

"SHE was a BABY!" Floop yelled. "SHE could not have been old enough to kill him! It was RED EYE that killed President Osborn! And my castle is meant to be a world of fun and dreams. I will not treat my guests rashly."

"Mr. Floop! The Sky Dragon is in the castle sewer!" a man from the PA reported.

"WHAT?" Floop ran to his throne and saw one of the monitors depicted Wendy and Carla running down a sewer passage. "How in the world did she get down there?"

"This is exactly what I was talking about!" Minion stated. "We have to catch her before she starts causing damage! We have to call the Leaders."

"NO." Floop raised a hand, gesturing 'stop.' "I can handle this girl. Mr. Lisp, activate the defensive holograms! Even if I have to trap her, I want to speak to this girl myself." (Play "Labyrinth of Deceit" from Kid Icarus: Uprising!)

Stage B-9: Labyrinth of Weirdness

Mission: Find out Floop's intentions.

The sewer passage was lit with wall torches, and seemed to stretch on for miles as Wendy dashed through. She sidestepped to avoid the Foogly-designed Lockjaws, then a Dash Panel redirected Wendy down a left hall. "The castle really does not seem that large from the outside, how is there this much sewer underneath?" Carla questioned.

"I told you, Carla, magic!"

"And I told you I don't believe it." Wendy eventually ran up a river that sloped at 90 degrees, and the passage after that swerved up and over like a loop. She ran into a Spring Pad that rapidly bounced her around several springs across a bright passage. The last spring shot her into a polished hallway with a red floor designed like jigsaw puzzles, and white walls. "Phew, we made it back." Wendy sighed as she kept running. "Let's look for the children- AAAAHH!" The floor ahead of her crumbled away, exposing a deep chasm—Wendy took a tremendous leap, Carla grabbed her and tried to carry her over… "AAAAH!" The cat lost her grip and dropped Wendy.

"AAAH- uuh!" Wendy hit solid floor. She sat up and stared confused; the endless pit was just an illusion. "…Sigh. That's my third jumpscare today." She got back on her feet and turned a left corridor. The hall was growing wider, and as her speed increased, the dimension stretched, turned blurry, and white. "WAAAH!" She suddenly ran off an edge—she was in a dimension where the sky was one of those stretchy, abstract paintings. Wendy collided onto a floating red platform designed like the floor of the actual castle. There was a group of Flyer Fooglies (with round centers that had propeller blades) making a path, so Wendy bounced across them to a new platform.

There was a lone Flyer Foogly beside this platform, and the next path seemed to be higher above. Wendy began spin-jumping on this Foogly, and her airbending conjured a whirlwind that propelled him upward. She noticed one of the other Fooglies in the row had a Fire Soul above him, so Wendy decided to do the same maneuver to collect it. She returned to the previous Foogly and used it to float up to the new path—she needed a moment to let her sick stomach settle. This road had huge, rectangular blocks on either side (the top of the left ones seemed to have collectables), and the central path was guarded by Thumb-Thumbs. Wendy boosted straight through, arms outstretched to either side as she unleashed wind beams to knock them down.

At the path's end, Wendy began grinding across an ever-extending tongue coming from a screaming Floop face. Ignoring how disgusting this was, the tongue spiraled downward and directed into a dark-red twister statue. Wendy ran around and around down the twister as it brought her into a new hallway. "This man just enjoys toying with our minds." Carla said. "I think finding an exit should be our main priority."

"We can't leave the others behind. Let's just keep looking." The hall seemed to go straight, Wendy ran along and dodged left and right to avoid the opening trapdoors. She dodged some giant Floop heads that swung down from the ceiling, then had to perform a drift when the hall swerved left and downward. "Look, Carla! It's the Children's Quarters!" There was a huge label over said door in the distance. "Pretty soon, we'll know if—OOF!" She collided with the wall painting of the hall leading to the Children's Quarters. "Owwww… okay… Wait, there it is!" Wendy saw another Children's Quarters on her left, so she ran the distance, sidestepping the floor panels that popped up on the way.

"Wendy, DON'T!" Carla was quick to catch up and pull Wendy to a halt. She stopped just before colliding with the wall painting. "Honestly, dear…"

"Sorry." Wendy turned a right route, which had bars over the floor that she had to jump—she saw the glares of glass over some of the bars, so with those, she had to crouch and slide under. When the hall turned left, it seemed straight and empty, but the floor sunk partway, it sunk again, and inch-inch-inched a bit lower as Wendy kept running. Finally, the jigsaw ground broke away, and she ran across a dark, metal passage that swerved right. She halted before a chasm where rows of waterfalls poured out of pipes. "Glacius!" Wendy cast a freezing spell on the falls so she could Wall Jump across them. Once across, she entered a tunnel that sloped down, and the bright sky of outside hit her eyes.

"Whoooooaa!" The sight was amazing in Wendy's eyes. She was now sprinting across a beach, viewing the beautiful sunrise in the distance. "We made it outside, Carla! And it's so amazing!"

"Ooooooooo. . ." A whale leapt out of the ocean, and its four tails flapped up in the air as it slowly splashed back in. A majestic golden eagle screeched in the heavens, creating a strong breeze with the flapping of its wings. Wendy basked in the extraordinary atmosphere, running with no desire to stop. She felt so free in this beautiful world. No one or nothing could ever-

"OW!" She crashed into a wall when the world literally turned black. The area blinked, and the two appeared in a big, but ordinary castle room. "The holographic simulator in Wing 32 is faulty. Any available staff are requested to fix it."

"So is everything in this nuthouse holographic?" Carla asked. "As I suspected, there isn't a shred of magic behind this."

Thumb-Thumbs dropped in from the ceiling, and Wendy breakdanced to kick two of them off their, well, thumbs. "Sky Dragon WING ATTACK!" She spun her arms to extend twin cyclones and blew the other Thumbs down. Carla lifted her owner onto a taller platform, and from there, Wendy followed a hall that turned right and led to another 'Children's Quarters.' "Another one?" Wendy questioned.

Carla flew over to the door and tried to jiggle the knob. "It's locked, but it seems real this time."

"Oh, what is that spell Mr. Facilier said that opened things? Uhh… Alohomora?" A small light came from her wand and opened the door. The two girls entered a room where dozens of children seemed to be playing freely. A boy and girl were throwing a ball back-and-forth, a circle of kids played Duck Duck Goose, and two more kids were touching each other's shoulders and repeating, "You're it." All of the children bore blank expressions.

"They don't look too upset." Wendy observed.

"Well, let's go up and talk to one."

"Okay." Wendy approached one of the boys playing stand-still Tag. She tapped his shoulder, "Excuse me, could you tell me why everyone-"

"ERROR. ERROR." The boy shouted. "Tag Mode only scheduled for F0625! Default detected! ERROR."

All of the children directed their attention at Wendy, and their eyes sparked. The children began to make stylish Kung-Fu moves, rolling at Wendy and throwing punches and kicks. Wendy dodged the kids and tried to run away, but they kicked on rocket shoes and flew at her. "Protego!" Wendy conjured a pink bubble that the kids haphazardly crashed into. One of them weakly got up, and his head twitched as there were sparking sounds.

"Wait… Wendy, use a fire spell on one of them." Carla requested.

"Why?"

"Because I don't think these children are real!"

"Er, okay… Incendio!" Wendy singed the recovered boy with fire. His fake skin melted off and exposed the robotic skeleton. "They're robots!"

"I've had enough of this man's tomfoolery! Wendy, just blast them all!" Wendy cast Reducto curses to explode many of the robot children, then she boosted out of the room through an opposite door. She was suddenly running across a treadmill, which was moving the opposite direction and making her slow down. She jumped the robot children that were being carried across, and Carla observed the rest of the room. Kids' heads were opening like lids while metal claws placed small, mechanical brains inside. "I have to commend his engineering, at least."

Wendy jumped to grab a metal claw above the treadmill, and it carried her above a chute and dropped her down. She dashed down a round passage, drifting right and left when it snaked. They saw orange light shining ahead, and found their selves running across a cloud-covered ground under a twilight sky. "Is this a hologram, too?" Wendy asked.

"It would appear so. Do not be deceived- AAAAH!" Carla screamed.

"Carla, what-" Wendy looked up, "AAAAAAH!" (End song.)

"Hi there!" Floop greeted them with his charming smile. He was 50 feet tall, but the lower half of his body was below the clouds. "Things are beautiful up here, aren't they?"

"HE'S A GIANT!" Wendy panicked.

"It's not real, Wendy, it's not real!" Carla's fur was tingling.

"Can you really say what's real and what isn't real? How do you know the sun isn't a gigantic spotlight? Or if the sky isn't a projection?"

"Stop acting like you own a whacky chocolate factory and start being straight with us! We already discovered the secret behind your so-called 'children'! They're about as real as anything else in this place! I wonder if the World Government uses your crummy show to brainwash kids."

Floop raised a brow. "Brainwash?"

"Carla!" Wendy shouted.

The cat clamped paws over her mouth. "Oh, my… Were we still undercover?"

"It's true that I have connections to the World Government… but why on Earth would you insinuate that mind-control is my goal?"

"We didn't!" Wendy shouted. "We just… W-W-We… sigh, Mr. Floop, can you please tell me what you do up here?"

The giant smiled and held a hand down to the child. "Allow me… to show you…"

With clear concern on her face, and wondering if this was still a hologram, Wendy stepped on the hand. It slowly lifted her and Carla up to Floop's eye level. "Look…" He turned to face the horizon. The sun slowly set under an endless ocean, whose waves brushed the shore. Millions of stars slowly formed in the sky. A cold breeze touched their faces.

"This is the world I created." Wendy's heart jumped when a normal size Floop appeared beside her, and they were standing on a tall rock. "Inspired by many, like Walt Disney or Willy Wonka… I've always believed in imagination. Imagination… gave me happiness as a child. And all I wanted to do was create a show with my own artistic talents… Sigh, but the studios weren't fond of my ideas. And for a while, my talents went unappreciated. Until I met… Henry Churchill."

"He's one of the World Leaders." Carla remembered from Facilier's paper.

"He isn't just a Leader. Master Churchill is a very brilliant author. Of course, he was unappreciated, before he attained his position. He told me he was fond of my creativity. So he had this castle designed. He gave me the technology to build robot children, and I purchased the Fooglies from a company called Nightmare Enterprises. My show was on the air… and it was a dream come true…" His expression was bright as the artificial sun, lost in memories. "…And then Master Churchill wanted to use my robots for the Government's army. I had to make them… violent…" His smile faded. "And since then, I felt… a strange tear in my heart…"

Wendy and Carla looked at each other, feeling his change in tone. Floop turned to them. "Ms. Marvell… you seem like a marvelous girl. Would you and Ms. Blendy really like to be on my show?"

"I-I'd love to-" Wendy returned to her ditzy, sheepish self, "but I'm really not great at acting, y'see-"

"Oh, Mr. Floop! I see you've found our little straggler. Would you bring her to the throne room? Her friends seem awfully worried about her."

"I will; thanks, Mr. Minion!" Floop called. His smile faltered again as he turned away. He looked a bit nervous. "Ahem… This way, if you will." Floop clapped his hands and switched off the hologram, revealing the true appearance of this green room. After the platform they were standing on sunk down, Floop led them down the castle corridors.

After turning a corner that had a statue of a green, headless giraffe, they were greeted by Chelia. "Wendy, THERE you are!" the dancer shouted. "What was that business in the bathroom all about? Did the toilet decide to shrink you and suck you down??"

"U-Uh, I-"

"Mr. Floop, there you are!" They were approached by Minion. "Would you join us in the room please, we have a guest." He returned the way he came.

"W- Wait- Guest?" Floop rushed after, and the girls joined as they made it to the throne room. "I wasn't expecting any other guests, who's visiting?"

"Chapter 3 of Introducing Characters:" Floop stopped and stared at the throne with a mix of fear and surprise. There was a man in blue jeans and a blue patterned shirt reading a book. He clamped the book shut to show his charming blue eyes and shiny brown hair. "Dramatic Entrances." Henry Churchill concluded.

"W- I- Wai-" Floop was lost on words, looking at Wendy, then Henry. "M-Master Churchill!"

"Master Churchill?!" Wendy said, horrified.

"The World Leader?" Carla whispered with the same amount of horror.

"I came as soon as your minion called and told me the exemplary news!" Henry walked toward them with his arms open. "The Sky Dragon… ensnared like a bear in a venus flytrap. I knew you were more clever than people perceive you."

"Mr. Minion, I didn't order you to-"

"Yes, and you wouldn't have." Minion stated. "I called Master Churchill on my own accord because, unlike you, I was not concerned for the ratings of your petty kids' show. The World Government hired me to work for you, but I only serve the Government. And any loyal citizen would bring a criminal like her to justice."

"Hold on a second!" Chelia shouted. "Wendy isn't a criminal, and I don't think it's right for you to judge her just because she's related to one!"

"She signed up for the Glitz Pit tournament, in disguise, to win a trip to your castle, then she somehow sneaks into the sewer during a 'bathroom break.'" Minion summarized. "This girl is clearly aligned with the Revolutionaries!"

"NO, she is NOT!" Carla argued. "She is a wizard in training and she only entered the tournament to study!"

"Whether she is or she isn't affiliated with them, I do not care." Churchill said in his soft, calm voice. "That isn't why her wanted poster was created."

"W-…" Floop looked surprised at that statement, as was Wendy. "Whaddo you mean?"

"True, I marked that as the reason for her bounty, but only to hide the existence of our secret… item." Henry smirked. "You see, we World Leaders have the ability to see the past and future. We knew, the minute this girl's identity was learned, she would be a danger to us. According to that which the Octogan has shown us… this very girl, Wendy Marvell… is going to kill me."

"K-Kill you?!" Wendy responded.

"The Octogan does not lie to us. Your father killed my first apprentice… then, you humiliated my temporary apprentice, Bob… I was so afraid that Mr. Floop would meet a terrible end… but instead, he delivers you directly to me. Perhaps three… is a charm. Thank you, my apprentice." Henry's body began to break into papers that blew around the air. "I will take the Sky Dragon to Mariejoa… to be executed."

"EXECUTED/EXCUSE ME/SAY WHAT?!" Everyone yelled a reaction. Wendy gripped her neck, feeling a sudden, but imaginary tinge.

"Master Churchill, I thought you wanted to use her to capture Red Eye!" Floop argued.

"And I'm sure Red Eye will be horribly traumatized for the child's death. His darkness will destroy him inside. We won't need to do a thing." Henry's papers scattered about, then began to wrap around Wendy like a mummy. The girl's arms were binded, she desperately shook while the others tried to pull the papers off.

"INCENDIO!" Chelia cast a fire spell to burn the papers. Henry Churchill reformed into a human, shaking frantically to get the fire off.

"Hothothothothothothothot!"

Minion pulled out two Tasers and "Y-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZT!" shocked Chelia and Wendy.

"Mr. Minion, I order you to stop-" Floop began.

"I don't think you'll be in anymore position after this." Minion smirked. "From now on, I will be Master Minion, and you will be-"

A giant snowball blasted in and smashed both Henry and Minion against the jigsaw windows. "The comic relief twins are here to save the day!" Sonny and Donna popped out of the snowball.

"Deus ex-machina for the home stretch!" Donna cheered.

"If only it were that simple." The snowball suddenly melted, and the twins fell. There were red papers floating around Henry. "But paper is made from all sorts of trees and plants. Even Sun Trees retain their natural heat after death."

"Wendy, we have to escape!" Carla shouted. "Shrink us down so we can get in the box!"

"The robot children are coming!" Floop yelled when the human-like kids with sparking eyes were marching from down the hall.

"WENDY, WATCH OUT!" Chelia lashed her arm and blew Henry's papers away with black wind. "I'll distract him, you just do whatever you said with the box!"

"I have it right here!" Carla threw the small treasure chest on the floor and opened it. Wendy grabbed her wand and cast "Reducio!" on Carla, the Ice Climbers, then Floop before putting them each in the box.

"It worked, Wendy, it's safe!"

"Chelia, hold still!" Wendy readied to zap her.

Chelia turned around- "AAAAAH!" The papers quickly overcame her.

"CHELIA!"

"NNN!" She tried to rip some off with Haki, but they latched back on just as quickly. "Wendy, I'll be okay! You just go!"

"WHAT?! I don't wanna leave you!"

"It's okay, I know how to handle myself! Plus, even if I came, they could always chase you inside the box. You jump in and I'll destroy it from this side!"

"But Chelia, what if they kill you?!"

"I told you, I can handle myself! And I'm certainly not gonna let them kill you! Just GO, Wendy!"

"But why are you even doing this?! We just met, we barely know each other! You don't even know if I AM a real criminal!"

"Yeah, well… even if you are…" Chelia grunted, trying to fight the papers and grab the wand on the side of her skirt. "You're the only one who… lasted longer than one minute against me… so if I'm still alive… I wanna challenge you… to a rematch… eh…" She finally grabbed her wand and yelled, "REDUCIO!"

Wendy was zapped down to size, and she fell into the little box, which closed shut. "Reducto!" Chelia blew the chest to smithereens.

"Whooa!" After Wendy fell in, the gravity shifted upwards, and she landed on the floor of a dark basement, facing a bigger version of the chest. After Floop helped her stand, Wendy opened the chest in a panic. The inside of it was totally plain. "Ch…Chelia…"

"At least her sacrifice wasn't in vain, Child." Carla said. "Now they can't follow us."

"True, but… couldn't they have just destroyed this box?" Floop questioned.

"Oh… Perhaps…"

"Died in vain." Sonny said cluelessly.

"Pointless gesture." Donna followed.

"Life is cruel."

Wendy began to cry over the empty box. For the second time this week, she was forced to abandon a friend.