B-13. The First Expedition

So this is the start of the Original Worlds Arc in the Side Stories… kinda. Well, this Wendy scene happens during Chapter 19, but the chapter is meant to be read after 20. This arc is actually meant to be pretty long, too.

Unknown basement

"Come on, how does this thing work!" Wendy demanded as she felt around the chest's bottom. "Do I need a spell or something?!"

"Chelia probably already destroyed the other one like she said." Carla stated. "Quit wasting your strength trying to make it work, she wanted you to escape!"

"But I could've helped her!"

"As a matter of fact, why did you save THIS lunatic? !" Carla pointed accusingly at Floop—he was curiously searching a dusty cardboard box, then flinched at the mention of himself. "You brought Wendy to your castle in the first place to hand her to your master."

"Look, it's true that my master put Wendy on the wanted list," Floop said, "but I had no intention of handing her over immediately. Granted, I found it curious that she would want a tour of my castle, but I planned to have Wendy and Chelia on my show! You think it's easy to make robotic children behave like REAL children? I wanted real child actors from the start, but no reasonable child would want to climb up that secluded mountain every day. A couple of airbenders wouldn't have had trouble with that, however. Besides, you children are a riot!" he yelled excitedly. "Almost summer and those two are STILL wearing parkas!"

"It's not summer in all places." Sonny said with a glare.

"You dunno where we're from." Donna followed.

"We need to find out where we are." Carla said. "Come on, Wendy, let's go."

"Sigh… All right." Wendy shut the chest and followed her friends.

Once the group found some stairs up, they appeared in a living room of an average house. "W- bobble-gibble now who the heck are YOU kids?" an old African-American man asked them with an… odd way of talking. "What're you doing in our basement, with the dust and the poor lighting and the- d'aww, you know what Ah'm talkin' about, be-babbly goo."

"It's Bill Cosby!" Sonny exclaimed.

"No, it's Kevin Michael Richardson!" Donna contradicted.

"Oh, zey must be ze people my brother said vould pop out of that old box in ze basement!" his wife said with a French accent.

"Brother? Miss, are you talking about Dr. Facilier?" Wendy asked.

"Yes, I am Harvey's sister, Clarice. He and I used to play with zose boxes all ze time, with ze magic and ze poofy smoke and ze, aww you know what je parle de!"

"It's nice to meet you." Wendy smiled. "I'm your brother's student, Wendy. This is Carla, Sonny, Donna, and-"

"Fegan Floop, nice to meet you!" The show host shook Clarice's hand.

"Say, haven't we seen you on the tele?" Dr. Lincoln asked. "You had the Fooglies and the Booglies and the Oompa-Loompas…?"

"His show has hit a snag in production." Carla mentioned. "We'd love to stay and tell you about it, but we must be going."

"We're sorry for disturbing you." Wendy bowed as they headed out. "We'll tell your brother you said 'hi'!" They shut the door as they left.

"…Garret, did zat cat just talk?" Clarice asked.

"Mum-bum, Clarice, our children have gihugic 50-foot treehouses on the moon." Garret replied while reading his newspaper (the tagline read Chaos in Dressrosa). "I think it's best not to question things and be the oblivious adults we've always been."

The edge of the horizon was orange while the rest of the sky was indigo with stars. The four humans and cat walked out into the middle of the neighborhood street. "Wendy, I really must thank you for getting me out of that place." Floop said. "The only reason I took the job as Churchill's apprentice was to have the resources and freedom to build my show. I wanted my show to inspire fun and freedom to the world's kids… but for some bizarre reason… it didn't have enough heart behind it. I was missing something… and I didn't know what. Then I brought you and Chelia… and I think I knew."

"What were you missing?" Wendy asked.

Floop put a hand on his head and turned away. He spoke musingly. "Is it even possible… for two girls to know each other for less than a day… and bond in so short a time that… one sacrifices for the other?"

Wendy felt a tug in her heart. The events transpired just moments ago, and she still felt bad. Floop turned to them with a humorous smile. "It's just weird! I don't know human relations to develop so quickly! It's the kind of thing you would only see on TV. And the best part about it is… you were actually human. Kids would find you so relatable. …Maybe that's why I wanted you on my show."

Wendy looked down, silent for a second. "…Mr. Floop? What're they gonna do to Chelia?"

Floop's smile faltered, thinking about his own response with remorse. "…Since Chelia is a magic user, they'll probably lock her up in Azkaban."

"Azkaban?!" Wendy shouted.

"Isn't that the wizards' prison?" Carla asked.

"The one where the phantoms eat your soul?" the Ice Climbers quivered.

"Actually, ever since the Government became friends with the magical community, it's become their main prison." Floop said. "Of course, that'll be the nicest thing to happen to her. She's fighting a World Leader. A World Leader is powerful enough to take on a whole country. And Master Churchill was going to kill you, so…"

Wendy clamped a hand over her mouth to hold a scream. She began to cry. "…Maybe I should go." Floop figured. "The Government will probably be after me for treachery, so…"

"You don't think we're going to let you wander freely, do you?" Carla stated. "You could still be in league with Churchill."

"Heh, please, Charlie, give me a little slack!" Floop grinned.

"The name is Carla."

"Well, at least I'm not the only one full of hot air." Floop puffed up and POPPED.

"HE EXPLODED!" Wendy panicked.

"It's okay, I'm over here!" Floop appeared from behind a bush.

"IT'S ANOTHER TRICK!" Donna leapt forth, hammer ready.

"LET'S POP IT!" Sonny drew his own hammer.

"BOOOF!" They smashed Floop's head from either side and knocked him out cold. "…Or maybe it wasn't." Donna said as the man lay with his tongue hanging out.

"Oh, Floop."

"You kids take him somewhere hidden." Carla told them. "We shouldn't let him into Dr. Facilier's hideout. I'll take Wendy back."

"No prob, Bob!" The twins saluted before dragging Floop along the ground. ("Get it, 'cause you're a cat!" said Donna.)

Facilier's Voodoo Emporium

After dashing into the city, Wendy found the alleyway and opened the emporium entrance. "Mr. Facilier! I'm back from-!" She immediately halted upon the sight of two visitors: a girl with aquamarine hair and a brown-haired boy in a red jacket. "Oh… I didn't realize you had company over, I'm sorry."

The boy gasped. "Hey, you're that girl I saw while I was driving!"

"Oh!" She sparked in remembrance. "I didn't expect to see you again! My name's Wendy." She held a hand out.

"Nice to meet ya again, Wendy!" He shook. "I'm Cheren, this is my friend, Sugar."

"Hi, Sugar." Wendy held a hand to her. "You have pretty hair."

". . . Um. . ." Sugar stared at her hand nervously.

"Suuugaaaaar. Whaddid I teach you about manners?" Cheren asked scoldingly.

". . ." Sweating, Sugar shook Wendy's hand. "Hi, Wendy. Pretty cat."

"Thanks. She's my friend, Carla. We're trying to-"

"GREAT, y'all are crossover buddies, and I'm sure you'd love to fill each other of your respective story arcs, but we gotta get movin'!" Facilier hurriedly gestured Cheren and Sugar out of the shop. "Good luck, kids! Bring home the good news!" He slammed the door. The witch-doctor immediately jumped back into his chair. "WENDY, you're back!" He spoke with his usual energetic grin. "So how was the mission?"

Carla shot up to his face and shouted, "YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE to send Wendy on a dangerous mission and ask that question so casually!"

"Mister Facilier, did you really think I could've pulled that mission off?" Wendy asked with hurt in her voice. "I mean, the info was totally wrong, and worse than that-"

"Wendy, Ah'm sorry I tricked you into that!" Facilier interrupted. "And to be honest, I really didn't think you were ready for somethin' like that!"

"Then why did you let Wendy do it?" asked Carla. "And please don't say it is because her father wanted her to."

"He-… ugh…" Facilier had no other answer. "Wendy, it's…it's only because yo' daddy has faith in you."

"Then why doesn't he come up to me and say that?"

"Because he's an international criminal! The only person who's worth more than him on the posters is some bozo called Ragaj Gnik! I dunno who that guy is, but they gotta give SOME kinda reason for makin' him worth two billion dollars."

"Mister Facilier, when'm I gonna be allowed to see my parents?"

"I… don't… know! Sigh…" The doctor looked at Wendy's downtrodden look with regret. "Look, y'all are probably hungry. I brought some food with me back from Glitzville, so how 'bout we eat and… just tell me what happened."

"…Okay." Wendy said. "Just let me change out of these 'Wendell' clothes."

Wendy changed back into her emerald dress with diamond patterns, eating dinner as she explained the story to Facilier. "So the whole time, Floop wa'n't even a bad guy." The doctor recollected. "Really does seem like a waste, don't it." He sipped some coffee. "Ah'm really sorry about Chelia."

"Don't be. It was my fault it happened." Wendy replied depressedly.

"Don't say that, Child." Carla said. "You told Chelia to come along, but she insisted…"

"No, it was my fault! Something bad has happened to almost every person I met! I hurt Lee Andrew, I ruined Orchid Bay for June, now there's Chelia, and even Mr. Floop could be in trouble with the Government now… I thought wearing these Chi Stabilizers would help me make friends better, but they haven't! It's like the universe is really saying I'm not allowed to make friends. Carla, what if something bad happens to you or Dr. Facilier, or the twins? I couldn't bear it if… sniff-sniff…" She started to cry again.

"WENDY!" Facilier smacked the table with his cane and scared her upright. "Now, girl, a teacher can only give you so much sympathy before it starts to sound like pity. I don't want you to feel upset, but I ain't gonna be able to provide ya comfort all the time. Now I agree that these are a series of unfortunate coincidences, but when it comes down to it, these people made their own decisions in the end. Only you can decide if you're a walking bad luck train, otherwise you just gotta suck it up and be glad the universe is still letting you run around."

". . . ." Wendy didn't respond, and she didn't feel like shedding another tear. She resumed eating the peas and mashed potatoes the doctor laid out for her. "So, um… do you know those two people?" she asked.

"Oh, well, that Sugar girl was goin' through her own problems. But that boy…" Facilier smiled and spoke with high regard, "That boy was Cheren Uno. Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door. His daddy was one of the best people alive back then, and his mama is one of the best people alive… and let me tell you, that boy did some pretty amazing stuff. Wendy, if you had that boy as your friend, then you would have nothing to worry about."

"Why do you think that?"

Facilier smiled thoughtfully, stirring his coffee with a teaspoon. "Well, from what I heard… he's everybody's best friend." He took a sip.

Prehistoric Earth

Nel had guided the Marzipan Pirates and Aisling to a valley, where they saw a mountain with a gigantic nest in the distance. "That Terry mountain." The cavegirl said, still riding Augustus's shoulders. "It look like Terry not home. Can Aughsucks cross valley?"

"IT'S AUGUSTUS!" the boy shouted. "And watch me! The Marzipans are about to become the first explorers of Planet Earth!" (Play "Terrydactyland" from Banjo-Tooie!)

Stage B-10: Primordial Rock

Mission: Find the Rock Nut.

The pirates followed a passage within a small, narrow trench. They encountered a Bargasaurus, a burgundy-colored stegosaur-like dino with green eyes and spikes along its back, guarding a ledge. The Bargasaur charged at Augustus and pushed the captain back a few feet. "Grrrr." He drew out his Gobstopper to throw at the dino's face, but the angered Bargasaur withstood the attack and rammed him again. However, the Baby Trio, Nel, and Aisling seized the chance to run around it and make it up onto the ledge. "Ain'tchu guys gonna help me??" Augustus yelled when the dino returned to its position.

"Ain'tchor Haki come back, yet?" Rallo asked.

"Ha ha ha! Aughsucks can't beat small Bargasaur!" Nel clapped.

"Ugh. I'm wedging you brats when this is over." Augustus got up and held his arms open when the Bargasaur charged again. He pushed against the dino and stayed firm on his feet as he tried to channel Haki to his arms. While his arms didn't color black, he showed an enhance in strength, and was able to throw the dino aside. The captain quickly ran up to and jumped on the ledge with his allies, and Nel climbed back up on his shoulders.

The explorers crossed a wider area, avoiding the Bargasaurs that were roaming around. They watched as Aisling sprinted across the plain and the following platforms, once again intending to bypass the stage and watch the humans endure the ordeals. The kids jumped up some tall, natural stairs, which became narrow platforms over the thin trench below. Soarasaurs, which were greenish-yellow pteranodons, attempted to push the crew off, but a quick whack with the Gobstopper could knock them senseless. At the end of the platforms, they faced a greater plain of Dodongos, which were huge green lizard-like reptiles. However, they looked into the trench and saw a Gold Wonka Bar being guarded by a caveman, who was covered in thick green armor and wielding a spiked club.

"That member of Rocknut Tribe." Nel said. "They big bully cavemen. Only weak spot is their butt, but need hit really hard."

"Stewie, do you still have your missile launcher?" Augustus asked.

"It's out of ammo." Stewie replied.

Just then, a large Life Saver candy hit the ground near the edge of the plain. "What's that?" Rallo asked as they hopped over. The Life Projector projected a hologram of Princess Zeira.

"I thought you guys would need help getting through. So I'm warping Magic Candies to points around your area. You can use this Pop Gum to attack some enemies." An orange bubblegum bounced out of the projector. "You just have to chew it up and spit it out."

"You chicas really come in handy sometimes." Augustus smiled.

The hologram bashed him with her ladle. "Don't call me chica! I still want you to bow to me."

"Screw you!" The hologram vanished. "I just have one problem, guys: I cannot spit well…" the captain said with embarrassment.

"You throw a jawbreaker with perfect aim, pilot a plane, and suck on lollipops all day, but spitting's out of the question…" Stewie configured.

"What pretty pebble?" Nel picked up the orange gum. "Nel taste." The cavegirl tossed it into her mouth and began chewing. "Ulp!" Her cheeks puffed with the burning sensation.

"Hang on, Nel!" Augustus picked up the child, holding her horizontally with his arms around her belly. He decided to approach the first Dodongo in the field, and when the dino opened its mouth to breathe fire, Augustus squeezed Nel and shot the gum out of her mouth like a bullet. It went down the Dodongo's throat, exploded, and knocked the creature out. "Guess what, Nel, you're the world's first projectile weapon!" He stuffed more Pop Gum into Nel's mouth to shoot into the other two Dodongos. He then decided to return to the edge of the plain, aim down at the Rocknut caveman's exposed rear, and shoot a Pop Gum at it to knock him out in one blast. The captain jumped down to retrieve the Wonka Bar and could bypass the caveman safely before jumping the platforms to get back up.

"Wait a sec, if they're called the Rocknut Tribe, do they have something to do with the Rock Nut?" Augustus asked.

"Nel don't know. But Rocknuts maybe not tell us."

The path to follow from the Dodongo plain was along the left, on a narrow walkway over a chasm. There was a Rocknut patrolling back and forth along the cliff, so when it was turned away, Augustus used his "Nel Launcher" to shoot the caveman's rear and send him falling. After crossing the walkway, the crew entered a dark cave that was lit by a fire deep inside. There was a short caveman with black hair and a large beard, wearing a red loincloth.

"It's Oogle Boogle!" Nel pointed. She jumped off Augustus's shoulders and said to it, "Oogle Boogle! Oog oonga, ooga booga, boongu nuguh?"

"Oog. Ooga looga booga boo."

"Gronka-lonka Oompa-Loompa Willy Wonka CHOCOLATE BAH!" Rallo shouted. "Hah ha! Caveman talk."

"Why little caveboy insult Oogle Boogle's mother?" Nel asked.

"THAT WHAT I SAID?!" Rallo screamed. "Tell 'im I didn't mean it!!"

"Oogle Boogle said he hungry. He want food that make him fat."

There was a tunnel up on a ledge behind the caveman, so Augustus climbed into it first, with Nel on his shoulders again. Torches lit this passage, and they could see the narrow bridge over the dark chasm. A Bargasaurus was guarding a bushel of Fudgepuffsicles, and when the dino charged at Augustus, he pushed back and channeled what he could of his Haki. He shoved the dino over the side into the pit, then grabbed a fudgesicle. He brought the inflating ice cream back to the Oogle Boogle, who happily took a bite. The caveman puffed up like a balloon and floated over a nearby spiked floor. He deflated over a platform with a switch, which he held down to make some areas on the spikes flip over to flat ground.

The Oogle waved at them in thanks as they jumped across the flat spaces. They made it to a pool of water, where Aisling was waiting. Since the Baby Trio plus Nel couldn't swim, Aisling and Augustus helped carry them underwater. After swimming through a tunnel, they got to a wider area where electric eels (called Frazzles) were swimming around, lighting the dark with their sparking bodies. The tunnel ahead was patrolled by Frazzles, so they deemed it too dangerous to enter. The crew was able to resurface, and Augustus saw a rugged wall that he could climb around to reach a high ledge. The captain swam to and climbed around this wall, and when Snapdragons obstructed his path, Maggie grabbed Nel and used her as a weapon to smash them.

After making it to the cliff, they found a pack of Pop Gum. Augustus poured them all into Nel's mouth as the child began chewing. "I'm guessing this stuff will work underwater." He held Nel in his arms while Maggie held his neck as he dove back underwater. He aimed Nel at the Frazzles and shot slow-coming Pop Gums that were effective enough to knock the eels out. There was an alternate left route, guarded by a Frazzle which Augustus shot with their last Pop Gum. On the surface above this tunnel was a Gold Wonka Bar. With that, they resumed the main path and surfaced in a new tunnel.

Aisling released Stewie and Rallo before running ahead once again. There was a huge dinosaur egg that Augustus could lift in his arms. He decided to take it with them as they exited the tunnel to a large area enclosed within walls. There was water in the chasm below, and a narrow stone bridge led to a sealed barred door. There was a switch by the door that the egg could hold down. When Augustus was about to carry it across- "NNNNNRRRREEEEEE!" a dinosaur with a very long neck, brown backside and yellow underside, and ravenous green eyes, emerged from the water and unleashed a deafening roar. The captain backed up into the cave when the Chompasaurus attempted to snack on the egg.

"Dafaq is that thing?!" Augustus yelled.

"Chompasaurus like food that crosses their water." Nel said.

"I can't get this thing across with them sniffin' around. Maggie, is the powder in your gun dry, yet?"

"Mw-mw!" Maggie saluted. The crew peeked out into the gorge and saw a small ledge high up on their right. Maggie launched her grappling hook to the ledge and pulled herself up. Augustus carried the egg in both arms and began to balance across the bridge. The first Chompasaurus emerged from the water, giving its loud roar. Maggie aimed at its eye and shot, and the long-necked dino sank back down. Maggie kept defending her captain from other Chompasaurs until he made it to the other side. He set the egg on a switch as the gate opened.

His teammates caught up with him as they wandered onto a rugged plain with Lightfoots, which were yellow raptors that hopped around like rabbits. One jumped Augustus and took his glasses, another jumped Maggie and took her pacifier. The baby started bawling on the ground, and the sun hurt the captain's eyes. Since Nel confirmed these ones weren't her friends, she helped Augustus direct his vision to the Lightfoots so he could hit them with his Gobstopper. After recovering their stolen items, the pirates hopped up some natural stairs leading to a walkway along the wall over the field. A few Soarasaurs obstructed their progress, but the path led them to a cave guarded by a caveman wearing a purple loincloth and wielding a huge stone Q-tip.

"That Unga Bunga!" Nel pointed, crawling over to the caveman. "Ung dunga bunga?"

"Bug, bugga bugga, Unga Bunga!" He pointed at the future humans.

"Bug bugga?" Nel asked.

"Bug bugga."

Nel crawled back to her friends. "Unga said no can bring silly foot things in cave."

"You mean we can't even take 'em off and carry them?" Augustus questioned. "I don't even do sandals! Let's just go that way."

The cliffside walkway went farther, leading to a ladder where a Rocknut caveman guarded the top. They returned to the plain below, finding a crater in a corner where a Bargasaurus guarded a cave. Augustus dropped down and wrestled with the dinosaur, but there wasn't room in the crater to shove it aside. However, Stewie quickly ran into the cave to swipe the Pop Gum, then they escaped the crater. They returned to the ladder, but to expose the Rocknut's rear side, Rallo stuck his boombox in the wall and caused a tremor. The Rocknut fell headfirst over the ladder's edge and landed upside-down. Augustus used Nel to shoot his exposed rear and K.O. the caveman.

At the top of the ladder, they found Shrink Sweets placed on a rock. "Hey, if the four of us ate these, Nel could sneak us in the cave herself." the captain said.

"How can Nel help?" she asked.

"Watch this!" The four Marzipans each ate a piece of the candy and contracted down to jellybean size.

"Whoa!" Nel stared at them with awe. "Why is Aughsucks small now?"

"Will you stop calling me that!!" he squeaked angrily.

"Hee hee! Aughsucks sound like baby dactyl. But Nel thinks this work." She lifted the four mini humans and hid them in the empty sockets of the skull mask on her head. She climbed down the ladder and approached the Unga Bunga.

"You ditch weird cavemen?" His Cavetalk was clear in Nel's ears. "Okay. You good." He stepped aside so Nel could enter the torch-lit cave. There were Unga Bungas sitting at tables and coercing, some were playing poker using rocks with various symbols.

"Unga Bunga, Unga Bunga!" The next passage had parallel rows of the cavemen, holding large flat stones as they charged into and rammed their rocks into their counterparts' rocks, resulting in a booming collision. They wobbled back as the process repeated over and over. "Is this some weird caveman game?" Augustus asked.

"Unga Bunga play Unga Bunga." Nel answered. "They smash bedrocks into each other until one falls. Nel will be careful." Nel waited for each group of cavemen to ram each other before moving forward. There were a few close shaves that made Nel's heart bounce, but she made it. She followed a new tunnel that led to a cave where the ground was covered with red sticks. There was an Unga Bunga asleep on the other side, holding a whip. Above him, an Oogle Boogle was trapped in a round bone cage.

If Nel stepped on the sticks, the Unga would wake and attack her with his whip. There were torches set around the red sticks, and Nel could grab the thin core on their pillars. She climbed around so her back faced the next torch, then she kicked off, whipped around, and clutched the pillar. She repeated the process until she was near the Oogle Boogle. "Me need food to regain strength. Find good rock." he said. Nel proceeded to jump the rest of the torches, and the last one that was close to the wall was next to a Ringtrot. Nel picked the Ringtrot out of the wall and jumped her way back to the Oogle. She handed the caged caveman the Ringtrot, so he began to suck it.

Filled with adrenaline, the Oogle Boogle ran around and around the round cage, spinning it as it flopped about in the air. The Unga Bunga awoke to the commotion, and he screamed when a chunk of the ceiling where the cage hung from collapsed and crushed him. The bone cage rolled and smashed a bone gate blocking a new tunnel on the left of the room. With the Unga defeated, Nel was free to walk around the red sticks. She could cross to and enter this cave, finding that it sloped upward. However, the only jumpable platforms were big torches. Nel felt the heat strongly as she was forced to balance along the sides of those torches, and her heart raced with being so close to these flames. When she jumped to a higher torch, she whirled her arms and stood on her tippy-toes in trying to stay balanced. "Don't lose your cool, Nel, you can do it." Augustus told her.

Nel didn't know what that phrase meant, but she kept her steady posture and made it across the tunnel. She heard a creature jittering the bones of a large corpse at the end, and saw the back end of that grayish-white creature sticking out. When Nel got to it, the creature turned out to be Aisling, who looked up at her with a start before scampering out of the tunnel like a frightened kitty. Nel made it outside, and to her left was some Growth Gum on a rock. She put her tiny friends beside it so they could eat and stretch back to normal. "Thanks for the lift, Nel." Aughsucks patted her mask. "Have one of my lollipops."

He unwrapped a green lolli and gave it to Nel. …The cavegirl shoved it up her nose and pulled out a long string of snot. "And now I don't want any more." the captain said. "Too grossed out. My defining character trait, ruined."

He let the cavegirl ride his shoulders as they climbed up some natural stairs. They were at the base of Terry's mountain and could begin the climb up its precarious path. "Uug-OOOOOOG!" There was shouting coming from the plains around the mountain, and they saw Rocknut Tribe members hauling catapults loaded with boulders. The cavemen began launching the boulders in attempt to hit the pirates, so they moved quickly and avoided them. Stewie put on a set of goggles that projected markings where the boulders would crash, and let his friends know where they were.

Some stalagmites blocked their path, so they had to trick the Rocknuts into launching boulders into them. They reached a dead end with some Bounce Gum. Augustus saw a crack in the wall above them, so he bounced level with that crack so the Rocknuts would try to hit him, and smash the wall open. The five explorers bounced up into this opening, where they could climb a rugged wall. There were holes in the parallel wall, which the Rocknuts flung their boulders through in further attempt to smash them.

There was an exit back onto the mountain path up top, and a Bargasaurus was guarding a route between the wall and a shorter wall. The shorter wall prevented Augustus from shoving it off the edge, so the captain pushed it all the way back against the protective barricade of the next turn. There was an opening in the other barricade, and the Bargasaur was struck by the Rocknuts' boulder. The explorers found Aisling by the entrance of a tunnel into the mountain, but before entering, Augustus sidled across a thin ledge past the entrance. A boulder crashed into a cracked part and exposed a Gold Wonka Bar, so the captain collected it before accompanying his friends into the tunnel. (End song.)

"Thanks once again for helpin' us through all that, Lazy Fairy." Augustus told Aisling with sarcasm.

"I helped those two swim, didn't I?" Aisling replied angrily.

"This cave take us to mountaintop." Nel said as the tunnel sloped upward. "Maybe we get rock before Terry come home."

"I still don't understand why Nel is the only caveperson that knows English." Aisling said. "It's so… unnatural!"

"But it's still the least unnatural thing I can think of." Augustus said.

At the end of the cave, they were at the top of the mountain, just below the giant bird nest. They found an entrance to the nest, seeing four huge eggs lain inside. "Nel found rock in middle of nest." She pointed. Augustus approached and moved the sticks aside, finding a round, flattish stone with an empty core. "That it!"

"This is the Rock Nut?" Augustus asked, picking up the heavy sweet.

"Mw mw!" Maggie beamed.

"You're right, it looks like a doughnut!" Stewie realized.

"So the first candy was a doughnut? …Well, this is going in the Adventure Databook!" Augustus licked the rock. "It really is tasty!!"

"REEEEEEK!" They were almost deafened by the screech of a massive, light-brown pterodactyl with green eyes. The reptile suddenly snatched the Rock Nut in its long and pointy mouth, swallowing it.

"YOU STUPID PERRA DE AVES! GIVE THAT BACK!" Augustus yelled.

"Raaaaaaaet! RAAAAAET!" Terry shouted.

"He's calling us Rocknuts!" Aisling yelled. "He thinks we're with the Rocknut Tribe!"

"Tell him we're not!"

"All right! Ah-ACK, ACK, AAAAHH!"

"RAAAAAACK!"

"He won't listen; he thinks we're trying to hurt his babies!"

"Watch out!" Augustus yelled. (Play Terry's Theme from Banjo-Tooie.)

Boss fight: Terry

The prehistoric avian hacked giant globs of spit that would leave the humans sticky and immobile if they were struck. Maggie's bullets didn't have effect on the reptile, and Augustus's Gobstopper bounced right back. However, after spitting seven globs, the pterodactyl had to catch his breath. Augustus chucked the Gobstopper up his throat, causing Terry to choke. He managed to cough the jawbreaker out, along with a Life Projector that released some Pop Gum. Augustus smirked, filling Nel with the spicy sweets and helping her chew. He aimed the Nel Launcher up at Terry, squeezed her, and damaged the reptile with the explosive candy.

The dinosaur decided to fly below the mountain and come back up with three Bargasaurs. He trusted the dinos to fight them while he returned down for a drink of water. Aisling turned into a Bargasaur herself and wrestled with one, Rallo attacked the other with his boombox, leaving Augustus to shove against the third one. "Agh!" The dinosaur knocked him off his feet, and when it tried to bite the captain, he tricked it into biting the Gobstopper. In the Bargasaur's weakened moment, Augustus threw punches against its side, trying to force the Haki to present itself. The dino was knocked out anyway, just in time for Terry to return.

The pterodactyl was carrying a giant boulder, and the kids avoided when it dropped down and shattered. Terry hacked more big globs of spit, but he still had no luck in trapping any of the pirates. Terry flew directly above Augustus, faced down, and spun around in attempt to pierce the human like a drill. Augustus dodged, watching Terry drill the spot for a sec, then the dactyl tried again. Augustus got beside one of his eggs, so when Terry drilled down, he immediately halted and flapped upright.

Since he was low enough, Augustus was able to jump up and grab his talons. The reptile tried to shake him off, soaring around the sky. Augustus climbed up to Terry's head, and the avian failed to shake him as the captain punched the point of his head four times. Augustus clutched the head's point and steered Terry like a plane, ramming him against the mountainside. The dactyl recovered and floated back up while Augustus dropped to the path above the nest's side. Terry barfed a stream of drool into his nest, rendering the Baby Trio incapacitated in the thick liquid.

Augustus kept standing on the edge with Nel on his shoulders. The avian kept changing position and flapping his wings rapidly to blow his enemies off. He stopped, and while Augustus was trying to recompose, the dinosaur swooped across the edge and caught Augustus on his long nose. The captain punched the pterodactyl several times in the eyes, and when Nel hacked her own stream of spit over his eyes, Terry spun around and drilled downward. He cut a hole into the nest's floor, draining his pool of drool and rescuing the Baby Trio.

Augustus hopped back on the nest floor and noticed one last Pop Gum through the twigs. He fed it to Nel, then faced her up when Terry hovered above. The dactyl opened his mouth wide and swooped down to gulp, but August shot the gum up his throat. The gum popped, and Terry fell on his back. Augustus set Nel down and climbed back onto the nest's side. He balled his fists together, leapt high above, and cried, "Double Iron KNUCKLE!" His fists turned Armament as he smashed down on Terry's belly. (End song.)

The Rock Nut flew out of the bird's mouth. Augustus picked up and held the stone sweet in victory. They heard cracking sounds and looked to see the eggs finally hatching. Adorable, pink baby pterodactyls peeped out and began chirping. "Eeeerrrk…" Terry grunted.

"He said, 'Don't hurt my babies. Please don't hurt them.'" Aisling translated.

"We're not here to hurt your babies." Augustus replied. "We just wanted this rock. Is it that important to you?"

"'I took that rock from the Rocknut Tribe because they used its strange power to enhance their armor. They used it to kill my wife. I won't let them use it to hurt my babies.'"

"…That's why…" Augustus stared at the stone doughnut. A strange power…?

"Ug! Ug, uug!" They looked at the nest's entrance: a trio of Rocknuts had appeared.

"So you guys've been using this nut to bully people?!" the captain yelled.

"(Many thanks beat Terry for us.)" a Rocknut said with a smirk (Nel translated). "(We take Rock Nut now. Rocknut Tribe rule world.)"

Augustus dropped the rock and marched toward them. "Like Hell you will."

"Aughsucks, no!" Nel cried.

"(Aughsucks, you strong. Maybe you join us.)"

Augustus balled his right fist and turned it Armament. "Sorry, but you're a hundred million years too soon!" He PUNCHED the caveman through his armor, shattering the stone garb as he went flying off the mountain.

"UUUUUH!" The Rocknuts gaped.

"Remember my name throughout history! I am Augustus, the Stone Fist!" Hope you don't mind, I drew inspiration from you, Sheila. I could never punch as hard as you, though.

The Rocknuts panicked and ran all the way down the mountain. Augustus went back to pick up the Rock Nut, smiling at Terry. "You take care of your kids now. And if those lugs ever come back, I'll club 'em for ya."

"Eeeek…" Terry smiled. ("Thanks…")

Nel's cave

The explorers made the tedious journey back to Nel's cave, where they pulled the Ace Flyer back outside. "We couldn't have found it without you, Nel. Consider yourself the first member in history to be a Marzipan Pirate."

"Nel so happy!" She clapped. "Nel always be Aughsucks friend."

"Y…yeah." Augustus blushed. "Can we go now?"

"I'll help with that." Aisling sat on the ground and opened her book. "I know a bit of Time Magic, too, thanks to Celebi. I can return us to the present. Ahem… Father… take us home… Father… take us home…" A magic circle began to encase them. Clock hands spun around it. "Send us… to the place… we belong…"

Aisling repeated the verse in her angelic voice. The circle shone brighter, and in a loud WHIIIIRRRR, the whiteness engulfed them.

Neighborhood street

They reappeared on the street of an unknown neighborhood. The morning sun was rising. "Finally." Augustus said, holding the Rock Nut up to bask in the light. "The first Lost Candy. What would Luviro think…"

Aisling stretched her arms and flexed her fingers. "At any rate, it seems my strength has recovered. It was a pleasure traveling with you, humans. But now I must bid adieu."

"Well, Forest Fairy… thanks for all the help you've given us." Augustus said. "But why were you suddenly so interested in helping us find the Rock Nut?"

"For a number of reasons that I think it's too dangerous to explain to you now. But rest assured, you will learn everything later. Just promise us you will find the rest of the Lost Candies before this month ends."

"You can count on that." Augustus nodded assuredly.

"Good. Anyway… Princess Mavis will be hosting her tea party soon, so I must get back to Galaxia." Aisling sprouted a huge pair of bug-like wings. She lifted off the ground when they began flapping. "Before I go, perhaps I can give you a hint. One of my friends resides in the sea kingdom of Oceana. She may be able to help you if you spoke to her. Good-bye, Captain Augustus. May the winds of fate blow in your favor." She flew into the sky.

"Auf Wiedersehen, smelly fairy!" Augustus waved. "Sigh, well she was fun." ("Aaaaahhh-" a distant scream was rising.) "Where did she warp us, anyw-"

"-AAAAAAAAHHHH!" A furious German woman KICKED Augustus like a ball and sent him flying against a street sign that read Drury. "AUGUSTUS, YOU STUPID POPEL!" Henrietta grabbed her dizzy son by the vest and shook him violently. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you, you little TRASH COMPACTOR?!"

"Is Augustus making that look because he's hurt, or he's thrilled?" Stewie questioned.

"Still ain't as scary as my mama." Rallo said.

"Mw-mw." Maggie was tired of their childish responses.

Henrietta whipped her head toward them, scaring the babies. "And VHY are you hanging around Big Mam's Triplet Trio?!" She then looked at the biplane. "And VHAT did you do to your fazer's PLANE?! Take it through ze KESSEL RUN?" Henrietta let the teen drop on the street before approaching the damaged plane. "I don't vant to imagine where to begin-" She lightly knocked the plane with her knuckle, and the back compartment opened as a small, soot-covered creature with big hazel eyes tumbled out. "Cough!" Nel coughed.

"Aaaaaaack…" The four pirates gaped.

The cavegirl sniffed Henrietta's boots, looking up the woman's body. "Big cavewoman smell like Aughsucks. Is woman Aughsucks' mate?"

"Who the heck is this?" Heinie asked.

"Uhhh… cavegirl we brought back from the past." Augustus replied with a nervous grin.

". . . . . I am going zo execute you."

"Hehe. What can you do?" Augustus grinned and began another lollipop.

"Why is Aughsucks eating snot stick?" Nel asked.

"BLEEEEEHHHH!" He puked.

Boogey Bay

Cindy Cortix, the orange-haired daughter of Captain Mandy, was peeling the skin off stuffed dolls in her cabin. "Stupid Mom… won't let me hunt for Augustus. Doesn't think I can catch prey as well as Azula… thinks I'm too unstable. Why does she THINK that?" She ripped a doll's head off. Cindy sighed and walked up to her dresser mirror, staring at her reflection with a sad look. "I can kill enemies, too. I can create evil and mayhem. But Mom doesn't think that. Why doesn't she believe in me? Isn't there anything I can do?…"

She stared at her reflection as though expecting an answer. She looked into her own upset eyes and sought pity. …The mirror began to wobble, and a perky, smiling girl replaced her reflection. Cindy stared with the utmost weirdness. She wasn't prepared when a snake came out of the mirror and pulled her inside.