Planet Erin

[numbuheightbitstar]

Well, since this forum exists now, I decided I'm-a-gonna put my foot in the water and give it a go with my work in progress: Planet Erin.

Before I begin the story proper, I have a question: would you all prefer I post all the chapters I've written all at once, so you can see the whole story, or would you rather I post them on a basis of one-chapter-per-day so the story doesn't seem too long and daunting right off the bat?

That's all. Be sure to comment like crazy.

Prologus Maximus

They dressed in red tunics, and wore cloaks that were patterned to picture the night sky. They were swift and strong, moving either heard or unheard as they pleased. People feared them.

But there was one they themselves feared, and respected. It was this one that two of the cloaked ones were on their way to speak with. Their pace was unhurried, and their expressions more full of respect than fear. Both were men, of marginally powerful but otherwise average builds, but both stood out in one respect: Their hair. The taller man had pink hair, and the smaller--a teenage boy, really--had a hairstyle so wild that it had to be seen to be understood.

The boy's hairstyle was so wild and attention-getting, in fact, that it had earned him the code name "Predominant."

The man with the pink hair was named "Starstrike," for it was said that the impact of his sword or fist was like that of a shooting star.

The two reached a door. Predominant opened it, and respectfully allowed his elder to enter first.

The room within was dark, save for a desk lamp on the far side, and it was by this light that the two were just able to make out a seated figure. It wouldn't have mattered, they knew her--yes, her--well enough. She was their superior, their friend, the one who pulled all the strings. She was the boss, the owner, the master.

She was called Mother.

"How are things going?" Mother asked sweetly, serenely, as befitting someone named Mother.

"Very well," Starstrike answered. "We found a new source of Veramium in the Kasswatt Forest. Our slaves are working on extraction as we speak."

"Very good." Mother answered, then looked straight at Predominant. "And what of your developments?"

"I've spent the last three months doing research on the Wasku Crystal. I believe I've cracked its secret. And I know where it is."

"Is that confirmed or are you just speculating?"

"It's been confirmed."

Mother nodded, then looked a book she had on her desk as if no longer interested. Almost as an aside, she launched one final question: "And, what of... the Defenders?"

There was an uneasy pause.

Starstrike and Predominant looked at each other, neither sure how to say what they knew they must, and also not sure who would speak.

The silence lasted long enough for Mother to read the expressions on their faces. Far from being mad, Mother actually smiled, then laughed a gentle laugh which put the males at ease. "Those children still too much for you?"

Starstrike gave her a serious look, then approached. Silently he said, "Elisa," and this caught Mother's attention, for Starstrike never used her real name unless he needed her absolute attention. "There have been... things happening lately. Rifts have appeared in the sky, dropping people from them. Blue, shimmering rifts." In a lower voice, he said "Just like the ones we came from."

Mother's attention was fixed on Starstrike as he told her all this, and when he was done, she said "You don't think the Project is still alive, do you?"

"I don't know what this is. It could be a revival of the Project, but if so, how, and why now?"

Mother thought, then said Predominant! Put your project with the Wasku crystal on hold for awhile. I want you and Starstrike to look into these strange portals."

"Yes, ma'am," Predominant answered with a nod.

"Starstrike, report back to me regularly with any developments. Try to get a good look and who or what comes out of the portals. Now, go!"

Both the men nodded, and left, Predominant once more allowing his elder to leave first.

[numbuheightbitstar]

Chapter 1: Mademanna and the Defenders

A young girl awakened in a room, tucked neatly under a warm blanket on a bed, with her head on a soft, comfy pillow. Despite how non-threatening and perhaps even pleasing her surroundings were, the girl's first impression was one of insecurity. She didn't know this place. Where was she? Who brought her here? Were they good or bad? And what was with that strange smell of maple?

In fact, the room she was in seemed very wooden, almost like she was inside a tree. The girl knocked on the wall. Yep, wood. She couldn't remember whether knocking on wood was supposed to bring good or bad luck. She didn't exactly care at the moment.

Right next to her was a dresser, on which lay a baseball cap. She couldn't remember, but something in her head told her this was hers, so she picked it up and put it on.

It was then she realized the door was open. Outside the door was a hallway, every bit as wooden and filled with the scent of maple as the room she was just in. Stepping out into the hall, the girl realized that if knocking on wood was supposed to be good luck, then she would be full of it. The hallway outside her room went either left or right, and the girl made an instant decision to go to the right.

She walked down the hall for a bit, her eyes occasionally glancing into an open doorway, not quite sure what she was hoping to find. A sign of life, maybe, or perhaps just a book to read to pass the time.

It was as she was passing one such room that the girl bumped into someone. Instantly she looked up as the boy she had run into said "Whoa there!"

Uh oh! Discovery! What was she gonna do? Was this boy good or evil? The girl didn't have the answers, instead she had a moment of panic, and handled it in the only way she could think of: she closed her eyes and exclaimed "You can't see me, I'm invisible!"

The boy was silent, and if Mademanna couldn't feel his presence, she would wonder if he had been imagined. Any doubts were dispelled when he spoke.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked.

"No, I'm invisible."

"I mean besides that."

"Oh. Well, yea."

"All right. You gonna open your eyes?"

"No. If I did I wouldn't be invisible anymore."

"Look, I can tell your not five years old. Closing your eyes doesn't make you invisible. Unless you're one of those strange kinds of antelopes they have in Southern Massabarrabia."

Only now did the girl open her eyes. "Antelopes?"

"What's your name? If you can remember, that is."

The girl blinked, then looked questioningly. "Why wouldn't I remember?" Then she realized that she actually couldn't recall her name!

The surprise showed on her face, and the boy said "I thought so. You see, you came from the sky. You fell really far, and you hit your head really hard. Orin wasn't even sure you would make it."

"Who is Orin?"

"He's a friend of mine. Come on, I'll take you to meet him. He's right downstairs. Oh, by the way, my name is Blaze. Blaze Cable."

The young girl giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"That's the goofiest nickname I've ever heard."

"What's a 'nickname'?"

Then the girl stopped giggling. "It's... a name you use that isn't your real name."

Blaze looked at the girl questioningly. "Why would I use a name that isn't my own?"

"Well... like if you're a superhero."

"A 'superhero'?"

"Yea. They're these guys with powers. Except Batman, he doesn't have powers. He just dresses up like a bat. Yea, superheroes. They wear costumes, and they all have nicknames. Batman is really Bruce Wayne, but only his friends know. His enemies don't know. Is this making sense?"

"Not really. These 'superheroes' sound really strange. And what makes them 'super'? Why are they better than just plain heroes?"

At that, the little girl just shrugged as the two kept walking. After going through a hall and down some stairs, finally the pair arrived in a den where the girl saw two more people, a boy and a girl, sitting on a sofa. Blaze immediately called "Hey Orin! That girl you rescued is awake."

The boy, who apparently was Orin, looked up, then smiled as he stood. "Awesome! I knew she'd make it!"

"Sure ya did." Blaze answered with a half-smile.

"What's your name?" Orin asked the little girl.

"She can't--" Blaze began to say, but the girl held up her hand.

"Wait, it's coming back to me. Starts with an M.... Mad... Mademanna, Mademanna Shevette!"

The room was silent, then Orin and Blaze blinked as the girl on the sofa watched the scene with interest. Finally, Blaze said "Your name is 'mad demon on a sherbert'?"

This got a giggle from Orin, but Mademanna just gave Blaze a look and said "Hey, no jibes about my name, Blaze Cable!"

Orin sighed. "She's right. At least Orin Midelfengar makes sense."

Mademanna slowly turned her head towards him, and said "'Ore-in-middle-finger'? No, it really doesn't."

Then the girl on the sofa laughed as she came towards the three discussers of silly names. Mademanna was almost afraid to ask the other girl what her name was.

Mademanna's fears were almost put to rest when the girl said "Makes me glad my name is Krystal." Krystal, that was sane enough.

"Just Krystal?" Mademanna questioned.

"Krystal Likwidjellkaps."

Crystal Liquid Gelcaps... Mademanna smacked her forehead, and rhetorically asked "Geez, what planet am I on?"

She was surprised that Krystal answered "Erin."

"Huh?"

"Planet Erin. You know, the planet most of us come from. Well, except for all the kids that've been falling out of the blue holes." Krystal looked at Mademanna almost inquisitively, "Where do you come from, anyway? I mean, what planet?"

"Easy, Krystal," Orin said, "Mademanna only just remembered her own name."

"Earth," Mademanna unhesitatingly answered, not knowing how that name had come to her mouth, but immediately realizing it was correct. "That's right, I come from the planet Earth."

"Earth? As in, dirt? mud?" Krystal asked as if perplexed. "What kind of girl would name herself that?"

"A very self-deprecating one?" Blaze suggested.

Mademanna wasn't amused. "You asked me for the name of a planet, not a girl."

"All planets are girls, silly." Krystal explained with a slight smile, "So all planets naturally have girl names."

Suddenly Mademanna was no longer listening. Bowing her head down and putting her hand to her forehead, Mademanna suddenly began having more and more recollections. Images ran through her head, images of destruction and death, and over all of it was a blood-red sky filled with smoke. Her mouth remembered the taste of the air which was hard to breath, and some people had died doing so. It seemed like a scene out of a nightmare.

Then suddenly she looked up, and said "Did you find anyone else?"

The three Erinians looked at her, and Orin shook his head. "We only found you."

"Then," Mademanna looked down again, "We must've got seperated."

"'We'?" questioned Blaze.

Mademanna answered no questions, instead she looked around and ran towards what she assumed to be the front door. Her assumption was correct, and she was soon outside. The three Erinians watched in surprise, then followed, Krystal yelling "You can't go outside now, it's curfew!"

Mademanna kept running, not listening to a word that was said, and not looking back. If she had, she would've been surprised to find that the home she had just vacated was in fact a tree. Indeed she passed dozens of others like it, but she never once stopped to think about it.

She never once stopped, period, until she ran smack-dab into the side of a full-grown man, and was knocked down. The impact was like running into a brick wall, and for a moment Mademanna's vision was blurred.

When it cleared, she saw a tall man standing over her, looking down. He was wearing read, and had a cloak on which was mostly black, but had pictures of astral bodies on it. In fact if the cloak hadn't been waving in the wind, Mademanna would've sworn she was looking at the actual night sky.

"Pretty," she said absent-mindedly.

The man smiled as the girl stood, and then said "Young lady, what are you doing out at this hour? Do you not know it is past curfew?"

"What curfew?" Mademanna asked, blinking.

The man looked at her keenly, as if a suspicion had been cast on his mind. Then he said "You're one of those Earth children, aren't you?"

Mademanna nodded in reply.

"Come with me, young lady. We have a place where we've been gathering your kind."

"All right," Mademanna reluctantly agreed, and put her hand in his.

-

Orin, Blaze, and Krystal watched from behind a tree as this dialogue took place. "Dammit," Orin cursed, "Just our luck for her to be discovered by the Shadow Cloak Guild."

They listened to the exchange between Mademanna and the Guild member, and watched as she took his hand and went away with him. "Should we rescue her?" Blaze asked.

"No. She wanted to go, to find whoever she's looking for." Krystal pointed out. "But, it wouldn't hurt to follow."

Orin and Blaze nodded agreement with that, and began following the guild member and Mademanna. They were unheard, and unseen.

[numbuheightbitstar]

[Since I didn't get an answer to the questions I asked in my first post, I decided to go ahead and post all the chapters I've got finished]

Chapter 2 In the Gathering Place

It was as they walked down the roads that Mademanna realized they were surrounded entirely by trees, trees with doors and windows. "Do people here live in the trees?" She asked curiously.

"Some of them do. The place I'm taking you is not a tree, it's a regular building. It isn't far."

Indeed it wasn't far. Within fifteen minutes of this conversation the two saw it, outside the edge of the tree-home forest and just at thebottom of a small incline, like a last outpost before a series of rolling hills that continued off into the land of the night sky.

The shelter itself was a small building, one-story and with a flat roof. At the same time it had the look of an office or other "official" building, yet had the feel of a log cabin in the country. As they approached, Mademanna could easily tell that the building was lit on the inside by fires, possibly from lamps or a fireplace. She was proven right when they finally entered the building.

Besides the one they had entered, Mademanna only saw one other door. The rest of the room seemed clear and spatious, and had many children in it, all of whom dropped their games and conversations in order to turn and look at the new arrival. Mademanna, too, turned and looked at all the children. She saw many, boys and girls of varying heights, builds, and ages, but she didn't see anyone she recognized.

Her eyes then turned towards the other door, and she said "Is anyone back there?"

As if in answer to her question, the door swung outward, and a figure stepped out. Mademanna gasped, and tried to back out the entrance, for the figure was no child, but it was someone she recognized.

"Greetings, sir Starstrike," said the operative who had guided Mademanna to this place.

"Greetings," Starstrike said distractedly as he walked towards the front door, his eyes glancing over the children of the room, then towards his addresser. "You're a patrolman. I suppose there's been a new arrival?"

Starstrike's eyes went down, then widened in surprise.

"Yes," the operative said, "She was lost, and asked to be brought--"

"Don't let him near me!" Mademanna suddenly declared, freeing her hand from the guard and childishly behind him.

"Hand her over to me!" Starstrike commanded with a point.

"I'm sorry my dear," said the guard, "But he's my superior, so I must--"

Before he could finish, Mademanna took off running.

The guard called after her, and began to give chase, but stopped when Starstrike said "Let her run."

"But--"

"Watch!"

Suddenly Starstrike moved his cloak, making bare the sheath of his sword. With a quick motion he brought the blade from its holster to right between his eyes, and the blade began to glow.

The guard watched this with amazement, then looked back at Mademanna, who was partway up the hill--until suddenly, she hit something, and fell. The fall caused her to roll back down the hill, to the foot--to the shelter.

Starstrike sheathed his blade, walked outside, and picked the young girl up in his arms. "After a fall like that, she doesn't have the energy to run away." He explained. Turning to the guard, he said "You may be on your way. I'll see that this one makes it through the night."

The guard nodded, and left to resume his nightly patrol, perhaps wondering if he would find more young girls like Mademanna, and perhaps wondering if he would later regret leaving her here, with Starstrike.

Mademanna watched him go. As Starstrike had predicted, she was too tired to resist, even when Starstrike turned and carried her across the room. He left the front door wide open, but one of the children, seeing that his hands were otherwise occupied, closed it for him. Starstrike never turned, he kept walking straight towards the other door, looking at Mademanna and trusting the other children well enough to keep out of his way.

As one had closed the front door for him, so did another child open the opposite door for him, and Starstrike continued his journey without pause into a room that seemed like it was barely big enough to be an office, and had no furnishings, save for an animal's head on the far wall.

To this decoration Starstrike walked, and as he reached it he said softly, and almost with an air of confidence, "Hey, Mademanna, see that little button, below the animal's neck?"

Mademanna looked, and finally nodded.

"My hands are full. Could you press it for me?"

Mademanna didn't nod, but she was still too worn out to resist or ask questions. So she pressed the button, and somehow did not care when the floor below the two began to lower--a secret elevator.

Starstrike smiled with an inner triumph as the elevator completed its descent, opening up into an underground hallway. It's look and feel was completely different from the simple lodge above, and resembled a more technological space. Indeed the interior resembled some kind of fortress, but from the small L-shaped hallway Mademanna could see, it wasn't very big, containing only four rooms that she knew of.

Starstrike came immediately to one of those rooms, and lowered Mademanna to the ground, freeing a hand so he could turn a difficult handle. The door slid open when he did, and the two came inside. Mademanna could see immediately that she had been brought to a bedroom.

This journey ended when Starstrike placed her on a bed.

There was still a note of triumph when Starstrike leaned next to her, and spoke. "Nice place, isn't it?"

Mademanna turned her head away, and barely resisted when Starstrike removed her shoes. It was always bad to wear shoes in bed.

"Go away," she said.

"You haven't changed," he said amusedly. "Twenty years, and you're still the same as ever."

"Twenty years?" Mademanna looked at him. "No way. You don't look any different."

"Neither do you." Starstrike smiled, "And I'm glad you don't." He began stroking her hair.

"Don't do that," she said. "Get away from me."

"I guess while we're at it," Starstrike continued, ignoring her, "I must ask how things have been going on Earth."

"I don't know. We left right after you did. Quit petting me!"

"Mother will want to see you in the morning," Starstrike mused. "You'll have to be good and clean. Stay here, I'll run the bath." There was almost an evil smile as he stood, and walked towards another door, which also slid open.

"I'm not going to bathe in front of you!" Mademanna declared, sitting up. But the exertion of this turned out to be too much for her still-weak body to manage. Immediately she fell back upon her pillow, and the world went dark. She had passed out.

Starstrike had looked back in time to notice this, and smirked. She looks so beautiful when she's asleep, he thought to himself as he approached and put a hand on her knee. He knew thinking of her the way he did was wrong, what with him being in his mid-twenties and her being only twelve, but somehow knowing this only made her more attractive to him. Briefly he considered placing a kiss on her lips.

Then suddenly a call came from a speaker on the wall. "Starstrike," called a male voice, "There's a disturbance. We need you. Over."

Ahh, an interruption! Always at times like this... but never mind. Duty called. And Mademanna would still be here when he got back. Without another thought, Starstrike left the room.

-

It looked like outer space, but Mademanna for some reason saw it as a large ocean. Indeed, it seemed to ripple like water, yet somehow not disturb the reflections of the stars and planets in the skies above.

Mademanna looked again. No, that wasn't a reflection of a planet, that was an entirely different planet, under the water.

From where Mademanna was sitting, suspended in this outer space made of ocean, she pointed, and asked "What planet is that?"

"That is Aikras-Zai," said a musical female voice behind her, a voice that sounded very close, very comforting. Mademanna trusted the voice, somehow feeling like she knew who it was, and did not turn to look. The voice continued, "You can visit it, if you swim to it."

"How far is it?"

"As far as you can see."

"And what planet is that up there?"

"That is Zima. You can swim to it, too."

Mademanna looked around, taking in the vastness of the space all around her, feeling the space around her and never quite registering how liquid it all felt. Somehow, Mademanna felt more like relaxing rather than swimming anywhere.

Dreams are just a person thinking in their sleep, and soon Mademanna found a part of her mind wondering at last about the watery feeling. It somehow felt very comforting, neither warm nor cold, and not really all that wet. At least, she wasn't getting waterlogged. Maybe Starstrike threw me in the bath after I went to sleep, a part of her mind mused.

Somehow she found herself outside of the children's shelter that she had been taken to. She looked at the building, and saw that fire still flickered from the window. Yet that liquid feeling was present here, too. Mademanna didn't think about this, she just opened the door, and found herself inside a place she remembered: a bomb shelter.

Suddenly her mind forgot all about Starstrike and Liquid Universes, and she was back to that day. There she was, next to her brother, a fourteen year old boy who anyone would recognize on sight, because he had dark blue hair that came down in front and covered his eyes. Even Mademanna could no longer remember what those eyes looked like.

Near them was their good friend Pennywinkel, a girl Frog's age with auburn hair. Looking assured, confident, as she almost always did.

Then there was Jack Shevette, Mademanna's dad, who looked like an older version of Frog. He looked sternly at the kids as he explained his machine. Then he pulled a lever, a portal opened, and the kids stepped through.

Somehow she wound up in a temple, and in front of her was Starstrike in a business suit.

"Mr. Ohball?" Mademanna asked. Starstrike's name on Earth had been Sharbon Ohball.

Sharbon Ohball responded with a grin, as he grew ten stories, and reached down for the young girl. Had she been nude at the time? Did she even remember?

This is a dream. None of this ever happened.

"If you want to leave, just swim," said the musical voice from earlier, and Mademanna found herself back in the liquid universe.

She pointed at another planet, and asked, "What planet is that?"

She did not sleep long enough to recieve an answer.

[numbuheightbitstar]

Chapter 3 Mother's Great Plan

Mademanna was awakened by a shaking of her shoulder, and the voice of Blaze Cable saying "Hey, Mad! Wake up!"

Groggily Mademanna answered "Never call me 'Mad'!"

"Sorry. Look, we gotta get you out of here. Can you walk?"

"I think so," Mademanna sat up and put her legs on the floor. Despite how weak she had felt earlier, she seemed fine now. "Yea, I can walk. Let's hurry--I don't want to be here when Starstrike gets back."

"You and me both," Blaze said, grabbing her arm and running with her out of the room, out of the secret underground resting place of Starstrike, back to the secret elevator up to the bare office where they rejoined with Orin and Krystal.

"She all right?" Krystal asked.

"She's fine," Blaze answered. "But we need to hurry before Starstrike comes back."

Orin and Krystal nodded agreement, and all four kids left through the only exit, passing through the room full of children and out the front door. Here Orin suddenly signalled a halt, then directed the group to hide behind the building.

When he joined them, he explained "Starstrike's coming, and he's not alone."

Mademanna was about to say something, but when she heard Starstrike's voice, she hushed her own. Then she listened, finding herself very interested in what Starstrike was saying to his unknown companion.

"...Defender activity has been slow in these parts, so Mother is sending me to Embellis Isle to oversee the Shrine to Shiva. I'm going to leave you in charge of the children. Now, you may think this sounds easy, and it is, but I want to get you acquainted with the wild one I left in the underground area. She's fierce if you don't know how to keep her down, but otherwise..." There was a closing of a door, and Mademanna was unable to hear the rest.

Orin looked around the bend, and said "The coast is clear. Follow me."

They followed Orin, who led them up the hill and back into the area of the forest-homes. Stealthily passing by any sentry they encountered, Orin and the kids safely made it back to their very own tree. Mission accomplished, they sighed in relief.

Except Mademanna, who sat down on a sofa with a distant look. Orin, Blaze and Krystal immediately understood, and Blaze said "Hey, tomorrow morning, we'll set out to find your friends right away. Just give us their names and a description."

Mademanna sighed. "There were two people with me. One was my best friend Pennywinkel Vanmoose. She's about as tall as Krystal, and has long brownish hair. And she wears what looks like a labcoat."

"A... lab-coat?"

"It's like this jacket I'm wearing--it buttons up in the middle, but she usually wears it open. Only it goes all the way down to her ankles."

"Ahh." Blaze made a mental image of that in his mind. Strange outfit, but kinda neat too. "And the other?"

"The other is my brother. Jeremiah Shevette. We call him Frog. You'll know him when you see him, because of his face."

"Why? What's special about it?"

"He has dark blue hair. And it comes down in front, and covers his eyes. He and my dad both had that hair, and I've never seen another person like that. Ever."

"So... hair that covers his eyes."

"And its dark blue. Very dark blue."

"Sounds like someone who'll stand out." Blaze agreed. "We'll be on the lookout, but not tonight: You need rest. I think we all do. And don't go running off in the middle of the night again."

"Don't worry," Mademanna layed down on the sofa, "After running into my old math teacher, I'm not sure I want to go out anymore."

"You met someone you know?"

"Yea. Mr. Ohball. He used to teach math at my school. Everyone calls him Starstrike here."

Orin, Krystal, and Blaze all looked at each other as they heard this, then Blaze returned his attention to Mademanna. "You... know Starstrike?"

"Yea. Why does it matter?"

"Well, it's just that he's one of the highest-ranking members of the Shadow Cloak Guild. He's also the one with the worst reputation among non-Guild members."

"Not surprised." Mademanna said as she snuggled into the sofa. "You call him Starstrike, the school called him Mr. Ohball. I called him something else."

"What was that?"

"A pervert." Mademanna paused, waiting to see if the term needed explanation. Seeing Krystal nod knowingly, Mademanna realized it didn't. "People used to joke about it where I come from, but there were rumors that he had actually... done something to a few girls. No one could ever prove it though." Turning on her side, Mademanna looked up at Blaze and asked "Just what is the Shadow Cloak Guild, anyway?"

Blaze sat beside the sofa. "Well... about twenty years ago, a bunch of people fell out of the sky, through portals. Like what you came through. Only, some of them--most of the big ones especially--they got together, dressed in their outfits, and called themselves the Shadow Cloak Guild, saying that they were the new law. We didn't even know what 'law' meant, but we understood soon enough... they started telling us we could do this, couldn't do that... they said it was for our protection, but we always thought it was more about control. Especially when some of us started disappearing. And that Starstrike... he gave us the creeps. Now we know why."

Blaze yawned, then suddenly remembered, "Oh yea, I haven't explained who we are."

"I thought you were just kids." Mademanna explained.

"No, we're trying to beat the Shadow Cloak Guild. There's a lot of us, but we stay hidden. We're called the Defenders of Erin." Blaze yawned again, "And we really need to sleep."

"All... right..." Mademanna said, herself yawning, and then drifting off into sleep, losing all track of what was happening outside her eyelids, which was nothing much--the others found their own places to lay down, with Blaze opting to remain downstairs with Mademanna in case of any surprise late-night attacks (not that he expected any, because as far as he knew, no one suspected this was their hideout or even that these kids were Defenders of Erin, but it was always good to be cautious when your windows had no curtains).

Thus all the lights in the house were extinguished, and all the occupants slept peacefully. Mademanna had no strange dreams that night.

-

Starstrike walked alone back into the office (or rather, the lair) of the one and only Mother. Bowing six feet in front of her death, he said "Mother, with all humble apologies, I'm afraid the young prisoner I meant to bring before you has escaped." Seeing her motion, Starstrike stood, and continued, "I have no doubt that the Defenders had something to do with it. It's a pity too."

"Why? What was so important about the girl?"

"Only that she was Mademanna Shevette."

"The daughter of the scientist behind the Portalmaster Project?"

"The very same. And if I may say so, she hasn't changed a bit, both figuratively and literally."

"That doesn't surprise me."

"Why not?" Starstrike wondered.

"Because, you see, I've met someone she knows, and he hasn't changed either. It turns out that right after we entered the portal, they and many other children followed. Somehow they ended up arriving here twenty years later than we did, but it still explains how we're still recieving Earthlings when the Earth itself should be a radioactive wasteland by now."

"I see."

"Starstrike, I have no personal use for Mademanna, however I'm quite willing to capture and detain her in your absence and hold her for you. Consider it a reward for your years of service."

"Ahh, my lady, you need not trouble yourself--"

"It's no trouble. You see, I know who the Defenders are, and I have reason to suspect she may be hiding with them."

Then, Mother rose to her feet, and walked around her desk. Only now was her full, perfect figure visible in the dim light contained within the room. But she did not stop walking, instead heading straight to a side door, motioning Starstrike to follow, which he did obediently.

The door led to a twisting stairway going up, until finally the two figures of evil emerged on a flat roofing that was possibly the highest point reached by their citadel of tyranny and control. Here, Mother and Starstrike felt the breeze rush across them as they looked down into the tree village.

"As I was telling you, I suspect she's with the Defenders. That means all we have to do is find the Defenders!" Mother explained.

"You have a plan?"

"Well, I know they must be somewhere within that village. So, the only thing left to do is force them into the open. And what better way to do that than by forcing them out of their tree?"

"And... how is this to be done?"

"Like this!" Mother held her arms up, palms outward.

Suddenly the wind seemed to pick up and cyclone around the two figures, until Starstrike realized it was concentrated specifically around Mother herself, and this realization was only further confirmed as an aura brightly glowed around Mother's hands.

Then, over the trees, a series of crystalline objects formed, and as a chill wind drifted his way Starstrike realized these objects must be balls of ice, an army of them lining the sky almost like a second set of stars.

And then the balls flew, straight into the highest windows of every tree until the topmost floors were unable to hold any more, in which case the remaining ice would occupy the second highest floors, and keep occupying more space until there was no more ice left!

The aura around Mother's hands disappeared.

"That ice will melt." Mother explained, "And when it does, those who occupy those trees will be forced into the open. Look! Those in the upper floors have already been alerted and are crawling out the windows!"

Starstrike looked on, amazed both at Mother's brilliance and her sheer power. A one-woman force to be reckoned with if there ever was one!

"And here," Mother continued explaining, "Is where I send in my agent."

"Your 'agent'?" Starstrike questioned. "What 'agent' would this be?"

"Turn around, and see."

And Starstrike did turn, and saw with surprise a face he recognized. Then full comprehension dawned on him and an evil smile crossed his lips.

If Starstrike had any doubts about Mother or her plan, they were erased from his mind.

[numbuheightbitstar]

Chapter 4 The Return of Frog Shevette

Mademanna felt like she was floating, and at first she thought it was because of a dream she had been having. Then she vaguely noticed the ceiling shifting above her, and soon her alerted mind jump-started her to full wakefulness. The ceiling was falling!

No, the ceiling wasn't falling... Mademanna was floating! She looked to the side, and saw that somehow the sofa she had taken to sleep on was now floating upon a huge body of water! Mademanna could not begin to guess how all this water had gotten in the tree, much less what she or the Defenders were going to do about it.

She stuck a hand in it, and immediately pulled it back--that water was almost as cold as ice!

The sofa knocked against the ceiling, and almost bumped Mademanna into the water except that she latched onto an armrest just in time. She had no desire to swim in that water!

Then she saw that someone had decided to swim: Blaze Cable was making his way towards the front door! Mademanna immediately saw what he planned to do, and wished she could help, but could do naught but hope it worked.

She watched as Blaze reached the knob, and seemed to struggle with it--perhaps all the water was making it really hard to keep a tight grip. Finally though, Blaze managed to turn the knob, then force the door open. The hell of it was, the door opened inward, and as the current rushed outside Blaze had to wedge himself in it to keep it from closing!

Immediately Mademanna saw another option. She still did not like the idea of swimming in this arctic-cold water, but removing her jacket and taking a deep breath, she jumped into the icy liquid, and swam towards one of the windows, and attempted with all the force she could muster to force it open.

To her relief, the small round window merely had a few latches holding it closed. That was good, because it was too cold to think and she didn't want to figure out anything bizarre while holding her breath. She undid the latches, then pushed the side of the window, causing it to swing open.

Mademanna was completely taken by surprise when the strong current pulled her out the window and onto the grass outdoors, depositing her on the moist grass outside. Suddenly in the middle of a cold shower, Mademanna quickly moved out of the way, into a spot where the sun shone down. Then she looked back, and saw Blaze still in the doorway. She wondered how Blaze was holding his breath this long.

When the water seemed to still be pouring out of the house ten seconds later, She ran to the front door and pulled Blaze out of it, fearing for his safety.

"What are you doing?" He cried once his head was out of the water. Mademanna quickly pointed out the open window, and Blaze understood. So well, in fact, that he smacked his forehead and said "Oh, if only I had thought of that!"

"Did you see Orin or Krystal?"

"No, but I think they're all right. They like to sleep higher up."

It was only now that Mademanna looked around, and noticed that she and Blaze weren't the only insanely cold and wet people who were outdoors so early in the morning. She got Blaze's attention, then pointed this out to him, asking "What happened?"

"This... is weird," Blaze answered after taking a moment to look the entire ordeal over. "My best guess is, the Guild has something to do with it. Whatever did this, magic was the cause."

Mademanna looked at him with surprise. "Can Guild people do magic?"

"Yes. Well, Mother can, anyway. I don't know about anyone else."

"Mother has to be from Erin, then."

"Why?"

"Because magic didn't exist on Earth."

Blaze gave her a look like she had just admitted to being a fuzzy three-toed monster. "You're kidding! A world without magic, that's just... are you serious?"

"Very. I mean, we had people who thought they could do it, but none of them really could."

"Wow... Earth must've been dull."

"It... had its moments," Mademanna said, then changed the subject, "But yea, magic didn't exist on Earth."

"All right, but she could still have learned it after coming here. She can't be native Erinian."

"Why not?"

"Because she's a big person and big people didn't exist here until the blue portals first appeared."

Mademanna thought for a moment, and said "Did... did you ever find out Mother's real name?"

"We thought Mother was her real name."

Mademanna sighed, and turned her head towards the stream of water that was still gushing out the window. For a moment she entertained the idea of taking a shower while it lasted, but she had no desire to get back under that cold water, or to strip in public, especially knowing boys were watching. Besides, I didn't bring any soap.

Then Mademanna reached to her head to scratch an itch, and realized her baseball cap was missing! Her eyes scanned around, but saw no trace of it! Could it possibly still be inside? "Hey, you remember that hat I wore yesterday? I seem to have lost it."

Suddenly another voice said, "Looking for this?" As a hand reached out and presented Mademanna's baseball cap--moist but wearable--to her. Mademanna looked in brief shock, then took it with a "Thank you," fitting it on. Only when it was securely attached to her head did she look at who had handed it to her, and instantly she beamed.

"That's your brother?" Blaze questioned rhetorically, but he knew who it was at first sight--not the least of which was because he was just as Mademanna described: With his hair covering his eyes.

Mademanna only confirmed it by latching onto her brother and spouting a series of greetings, exclamations, and questions about where he had been, how he was, if he had run into any trouble, if he was okay, and oh you have to meet my new friend.

She was surprised when Frog grabbed her wrist and held it very tightly, and with a quick stride reached over and grabbed Blaze as well. It was only as Frog's grip became painfully strong that Mademanna began to sense something was wrong.

"Ow, that hurts!" She complained.

"Sorry," Frog softened his grip. "Come with me, both of you."

"Why?"

"Mother would like to see you."

An uneasy pause fell over the three as they realized what Frog had said.

"So," Mademanna worked this out, "You're working with the badguys."

"No, I'm working with a particular bad girl. There's a difference." Frog looked at her, "I take orders only from the top, and answer to no one else!"

Then Frog pulled his two prisoners along, saying "Anyway, off we go, past the trees and over the bridge, to Mother's house we go!" He began singing, and skipping, and at one point released his prisoners so he could wave his hands in rythm, but with the reflexes of a cat he darted his hands back to their wrists just as Blaze and Mademanna turned to escape him.

"Any ideas?" Blaze asked.

Mademanna looked at him, then walked directly alongside Frog, and said "Frog, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why... are you doing this?"

"This what? You've gotta be specific, Mad. 'This' could mean me singing, or--"

But Mademanna was no longer listening, instead she just stepped on Frog's foot, and instantly Frog released his prisoners in surprise and pain. Hopping with pain, he turned to Mademanna and asked "Hey, what was that for?" in the tone of a little boy who just had a snowball thrown at him.

"Frog, you're my brother. You're two years older than me. You've known me since I was a baby."

"Yea, and?"

"After twelve years you should know how much I hate being called 'Mad'!"

Frog finally stopped hopping, the pain in his foot gone. "Oh." He realized. Scratching his head, he admitted "Yea, it kinda slipped my mind."

"That's not the only thing," Mademanna glared at him, tapping her foot. "Why, pray tell, were you taking us to see Mother of all people?"

"Why? Because..." Frog struggled for an answer. To be truthful, even he didn't really know. Just, for some reason, he felt compelled to serve her. "Because.. errm... because... because of the wonderful things she does!" He hummed a ditty, grabbed Mademanna's hand, and began singing "We're off to see the Wizard!" in a bad attempt to hide the fact that he didn't really have an answer. This attempt didn't go far, as Mademanna quickly and effortlessly pulled herself free of his grip.

[numbuheightbitstar]

Chapter 4 continued


"You're not really on her side, are you?" Mademanna asked, almost begging him to answer in the negative.

"Well, that's the rub." Frog explained as easily as if he was talking to his little sister whom he had known for twelve years. "I mean, I know she's evil but for some reason, I feel compulsed to do what she tells me. And this time, she told me to find you and then capture you and the Defenders of Erin, and well, he's a Defender. Fits the mug shots, anyway."

"Mug shots?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.

"Pictures of your face," Mademanna explained.

Blaze was suddenly horrified. "So, Mother knows who I am?"

"Yea, that's the gist of it," Frog explained. "And now she knows what tree you all live in."

Mademanna suddenly had a thought, and said "Hey, you wouldn't mind very much if I went back and got the others, would ya, Frog?"

"No, not at all, go ahead." He answered off-hand. Then his mind kicked into high gear and he caught Mademanna's shoulder and said "Wait a minute! Whaddya think I am, gullible? I'm not gonna fall for--"

Blaze interrupted, quietly asking "Then do you mind if I go get them?"

"Oh, sure, go right ahead." Frog said offhand to Blaze, then continued explaining to Mademanna that he wasn't going to fall for such cheap tricks, only for him to realize what he had just said and end his ramble by exclaiming "Oh, snap! Foiled again!"

"You know," Mademanna noticed, "Outside of becoming evil, you haven't changed."

"Yea, I guess that's one of the fringe benefits of being under mind control."

Mademanna looked surprised. "Mind control? How?"

"Well, that's the rub. See this here ring on my right hand?"

"Yea?" As a matter of fact Mademanna had noticed it, but she hadn't had time before now to really think much about it. Now, however, she saw it was a silver ring containing red-painted engravings of a star and a crescent moon.

"Well, I'm guessing Mother's boys found me while I was out cold, and she slipped this on me. So when I woke up I did whatever she said. I mean it's like I was entirely the same, except for that."

"I see. So," Mademanna looked at him thoughtfully, "Did you ever consider taking it off?"

Frog looked at the ring as if it was a strange scar he had just now noticed, "Well... somehow that seems too easy. Like, I bet it explodes or something if I try to take it off."

"Couldn't hurt to try."

"Yea, sure can't." With a moment of hesitation, Frog reached for the ring and began attempting to pull it off. "Golly, this thing's stuck on good. Well, guess I'm evil. Yer coming with me."

Just as he said this, however, the voice of Orin Midelfingar yelled "Attack!" And all three Defenders of Erin piled upon Frog, bringing him to the ground with mixed cries of "For Erin!" and "Die, Mother-lover!"

"Help!" Frog exclaimed, "I'm being attacked by crazy kids!"

Quickly Mademanna explained about the ring, and instantly Frog looked at Frog's finger and saw the ring in question, and began to pull it off.

After five minutes of pulling, Orin relinquished to Blaze, who then relinquished to Krystal, who then said "Golly, this thing's stuck on good. Well, guess he's evil!"

"There has to be a way!" Mademanna exclaimed.

"We could always cut his finger off." Blaze suggested, but immediately he saw Mademanna's look and decided that Frog being evil was better than his sister being upset.

Orin sighed. "Well, I guess we'll just have to drag him back to base and figure out what to do with him there!"

"Are you sure that's wise?" Krystal responded. "I mean, what if he escapes?"

"And what if our base isn't completely dry yet?" Blaze added to the objection.

Mademanna made up their mind for them: "Well we're just going to have to resolve this whole ring issue right now, right here. As far as we know, our tree is still a big indoor swimming pool anyway."

"She's right," Orin agreed. "Hey, where is he?"

It was true: While the Defenders and Mademanna were discussing Frog's fate, Frog had managed to slip right out from under them! They all looked around, wondering where he had gone.

None noticed the odd blue stone that now occupied his place, until it began to glow, and with a whiz and a zang a blue shimmering cage formed around all four of them! Only then did Frog reappear, announcing "Delayed action trap! Works when you need it, not when you don't. Pretty cool, eh?"

"Right..." Mademanna said, rolling her eyes. Then, leaning up against the bars nearest Frog, she said "So, how exactly are you gonna get us to Mother? No way you can carry this."

"Delayed-action cage also has some delayed-action wheels."

"Oh." Mademanna ohed as she watched Frog tie a rope around a bar. As soon as Frog was done and pulling, Mademanna had a sneaky idea and began untying the rope.

-

The knot was very complicated, and Mademanna had only just begun to unravel it when Frog began leading the cage down a hill overlooking a mighty fortress. Immediately Orin pointed and said "That's where they stay."

Mademanna looked up, and it was no question as to who "they" was, for she saw the same symbol of a star and a crescent moon that had been on Frog's ring.

Even as Mademanna was admiring the grand, majestic structure looming before her, the rope fell loose and slipped out of the bars. Frog didn't notice, as he was jamming the wheels with a rock, preventing the cage from rolling downhill. He then stood and looked back at the structure, saying "That's the place where Mother lives. Right up there in the highest tower."

Suddenly a gust of wind came, and blew Mademanna's baseball cap off her head. Quickly she reached for it, and unknown to her, the sudden motion had dislodged the rock Frog had placed. Frog, too, had not noticed. Instead he merely saw the cap fly by and with a swift motion, grabbed it out of the air and handed it back to Mademanna.

As he looked back and saw her recieve the cap, Frog realized she was coming closer. He soon realized the others were as well. He soon realized that the bars were too.

It didn't take him long to put the pieces together, and he took off running down the hill, the cage after him like a very big bulldog.

Not more than five seconds into his sprint, Frog wisely stepped aside and let the cage pass by, then immediately began to chase it, hoping to catch and slow it down.

As the cage approached the castle, Frog gave out a cry of "Runaway cage!" to the guards stationed around the building, but many of them were so busy staring in surprise that they didn't realize Frog had expected them to catch it, and the cage ran right through the open doorway to the entrance hall of the Guild's citadel!

There, finally, it crashed into a decorated wall and shattered into a million pieces, leaving its occupants free and unharmed.

Frog ran up to Mademanna, and asked "You all right?"

"Yea. I have bad luck with hills."

Soon, some guards came around to see what all the fuss was. Frog looked at one and said "Mother is expecting me. I was bringing these prisoners to her. If a few of you will help me escort them, we'll be on our way."

[numbuheightbitstar]

Chapter 5 Journey Into Mystery

Soon they--Frog, his prisoners, and three escort guardsmen--were walking down a hall, the very same hall through which one could find the chambers of the one known to most simply as "Mother."

At the door leading to her chambers, Frog opened the door and allowed his prisoners in first. He then dismissed the escort and entered the chamber, closing the door behind him.

For once, the lights on the chandelier were on, illuminating the entire room and revealing its full majesty. Moreover, Mother herself was not hidden by gloom and shadows, and could very plainly be seen. The three members of the Defenders of Erin were surprised: they had expected Mother to be an ugly monster, and were surprised to find she was quite attractive. They were equally surprised that, rather than sitting in a high throne, wearing a tiara and wielding a sceptre like a dark queen, she was sitting behind a desk, wearing glasses and wielding a pen with which she was writing a letter.

"This is Mother?" Orin questioned aloud, and this aroused Mother's attention. She looked up from the letter she had been writing and put away her spectacles, and stood and approached the children.

Recognizing Frog, she asked "These children are the so-called Defenders of Erin?"

"The two boys and that girl. The girl with the baseball cap is my sister."

Mother looked at Mademanna, and knelt in front of her. "Ahh... so that makes you Mademanna Shevette."

Mademanna nodded, not knowing what to do or say, but sure that Orin was going to come up with something.

Standing, Mother looked at the Defenders of Erin and said "And, who are you three?"

"The Defenders of Erin," Orin answered.

"I mean, what are your names?"

None of the Defenders answered. With an amused smile, Mother turned her back on them and walked towards her desk.

Orin then whispered to his friends "We're not shackled and she's only a woman, we can just tackle her!"

With a mutual nod, the three Defenders rushed foreward, and jumped upon Mother--or so they thought. Somehow, Krystal and Blaze had managed to hit only carpetted floor, and Orin found himself suspended above the floor by Mother's right hand around his neck!

With a sort of bemused satisfaction, Mother calmly placed Orin back down and informed him "Many full grown men have tried that exact same tactic on me, and failed miserably." She pushed Orin's nose with a giggle, then said "Now, be a dear and fetch something for me. Open that door behind my desk, and bring me the girl you find inside. Don't worry about waking her, just bring her to me."

"Why should I obey you?" Orin retorted.

"It's for the benefit of little Mademanna. Do it."

Orin had his doubts, and didn't want to turn his back on Mother, but finally did so while approaching the door Mother had mentioned. He opened it and disappeared into the room beyond. When he came out, he was carrying a girl with long brown hair wearing what looked similar to a white labcoat.

"Pennywinkel..." Mademanna whispered.

Orin, following Mother's hand gestures, approached and handed the sleeping girl to Frog. Frog looked up at Mother and asked "How did you find her?"

"We caught her sneaking while you were away. She raised quite a fuss... but a simple sleep charm stopped her."

"So, any way to wake her back up?"

"She'll awake on her own within twelve hours." Mother answered. "Frog, I have another special task for you. You're to take your sister and Miss Pennywinkel to an island marked on this map," here Mother produced a parchment from her shirt pocket and placed it in Frog's mouth, as his hands weren't free. "My operative Predominant was there not too long ago. He thought he had found the resting place of a magical artifact, but I haven't heard any word from him in months."

Mademanna raised an eyebrow. "So, why am I going? I don't work for you!"

"You do now. That is, unless you'd rather be Starstrike's plaything."

"So why would you care what happens to me?"

Here Mother hesitated before she answered. When she spoke, her words were "Because your brother has been more competent and useful than all my men, and I would assume the trait runs in the family."

Somehow, Mademanna felt that Mother was hiding something.

It didn't matter, for as soon as Mother was done speaking she pressed a button on her desk, summoning one of her Guildsmen. To the Guildsman, Mother said "Take these children to the ship bound for Uksaw Island."

"Right, ma'am," said the agent with a bow, and he led Mademanna and Frog, still carrying Pennywinkel, out of the room.

The door closed, and Mother looked at the Defenders of Erin with a paralyzing stare. "Now, as for you three..."

-

Frog and Mademanna, with Pennywinkel still sleeping, walked onto the ship and were led to a cabin which was to be theirs. Not long later, the boat started going.

Hours passed.

It was while the children were out at sea that Pennywinkel began to rouse, and awoke to surprise, finding herself in a cabin on a boat with Frog and Mademanna. Instead of asking, however, Pennywinkel just slumped back into a lying position and said "Oh, that must've happened."

These sudden words caused both Frog and Mademanna to turn towards her, then Mademanna smiled and, hugging her, said "You're all right!"

"Of course I'm all right. All Mother did was put a sleep spell on me." Then, more thoughtfully, Pennywinkel said "Let me guess, Mother wants us to investigate some situation on some island?"

"Yea. How did you know?"

"We're on a boat, all three of us are together, and I heard Mother talking while I was asleep. My subconscious thoughts turned them into a dream about an island, so I connected the dots."

Mademanna nodded. Pennywinkel always did have an aptitude for finding things out. Her father always said that Pennywinkel was just very intelligent, but Pennywinkel herself believed that her intelligence was supernatural, a result of something called "multidimensional thought," allowing her brain to think beyond the normal human limit of three dimensions. Mademanna never really cared to try and comprehend it.

"Mademanna," Pennywinkel said, "What do you know about this planet?"

"Well, it's called Erin, there's a bunch of kids here, and the Shadow Cloak Guild is a bunch of people from Earth. Somehow they got here twenty years earlier than we did."

"Yea, that's about right."

"Why? Do you know something I don't?"

"I'm not sure yet--"

Here Frog put a hand on Mademanna, and said "Let Penny rest."

"She's been resting for two days."

"Yea, and she probably feels out-of-it. Doncha, Penny?"

"I feel like I need something to eat." Pennywinkel answered, getting up. "What do they have on board this barge?"

Frog's immediate answer was to press a button, activating an intercom system. A voice over the intercom said "Ya?"

"What's on the menu for today?"

The voice on the intercom went off to name more things than Mademanna could keep up with, but Frog and Pennywinkel had no trouble following it and deciding what they wanted. Almost as an afterthought, Frog added "Oh, and a cheeseburger, a salad, and Garma juice for the drink." The order ended, the intercom off, Frog explained "That last one is for Maddy."

"Don't--"

"I know," Frog said, "Don't call you 'Maddy'."

Mademanna sighed, a little frustrated that she was still getting teased about her name. Sitting down, she said "You know, it's funny, Mother seems awfully protective of us. I wonder why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Pennywinkel asked.

"Not really. Not unless she, you know, actually is our mother or something."

There was a pause.

There was a longer pause.

There was the longest pause yet.

Then all three started laughing in unison. "I guess it couldn't be that!" Mademanna admitted. It was true: all three children had known their birth mothers and were reasonably certain that they weren't adopted.

"Entirely." Pennywinkel agreed, standing and looking out a window. "I would guess it'll take us another forty-five minutes to arrive."

No one questioned how Pennywinkel had came to this conclusion. Not only did they really not care, but almost immediately their food arrived and the kids were too busy eating. When that was over, they disposed of the wrappings (in conveniently-available insta-disposers), washed their hands, and Mademanna told them about her adventures with the Defenders of Erin and her meeting with Starstrike and her subsequent rescue and everything else afterwards.

At the mention of Frog's ring, Pennywinkel asked to see the ornament. Frog held his hand out to her, and Pennywinkel glanced it over. "Hmmm, it doesn't seem magically bound to you. More likely it's just really tight." Pennywinkel looked at it again, then stood and walked to a nearby door, leading to a bathroom. "Good, there's a shower stall in here." She walked in, and then said "All right, Frog, I may have a solution for you." Coming out of the bathroom, Pennywinkel said "Go in there, run hot water. Hot water. The room needs to steam up. And keep this door closed."

Frog looked at the ring, and said "Ummm... so, what, is this gonna melt?"

"No, but it will expand. See, heat causes metal to expand. A room full of steam is very, very hot. The water will probably help make it slick too."

"Great. So how long do I have to stay in there?"

"Until the ring comes off."

Frog hesitated, then said, "Can't do it."

"Sure you can. We'll help."

"How?"

"We'll guard the door."

"To keep enemies out?"

"To keep you in! Now go!" With this last order, Pennywinkel pushed Frog into the bathroom and pulled the door shut. When silence was all that came of it, Pennywinkel yelled "Come on, Frog! Build up some steam!"

Within moments, she heard the sound of running water and, moments later, a muffled exclamation of "Ouch."

"Water hot?"

"Yea, very."

"Good."

And all was silent for ten more minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Thirty minutes.

"Frog?" Pennywinkel asked, finally starting to worry. She opened the door and was immediately assaulted with a hot burst of steam. There was Frog, sitting on the floor in a meditative pose. Pennywinkel pulled him out, then quickly rushed back into the bathroom and turned off the hot water.

Mademanna leaned next to her still brother and snapped her fingers, but got no reaction. She looked him over, and said "I think he's in a trance."

Pennywinkel came out of the bathroom just in time to hear Mademanna's diagnosis. Sitting beside Frog, she answered "That's just like him. It worked though. Look, the ring slides right off." Taking the ring off his finger, Pennywinkel opened a porthole and chunked the ring into the depths of the ocean. "People who induce themselves into trances usually give themselves an off-switch. I imagine Frog will snap out of it when he cools down."

At this suggestion, Mademanna grabbed a book from a nearby shelf and began using the front cover as a fan on her brother.

It worked, Frog snapped his fingers and began to move. He looked over his hands and said "Yep, that works."

"You lost weight." Pennywinkel commented.

"I lost my cleanliness. I almost have to take a real shower now."

"No time. Look out the window--we're almost at the island."

-

The boat loomed upon a small beach upon a much bigger island featuring a dense forest, though the children and all aboard knew that there was a Shadow Cloak Guild fortress within the center of this mass. Indeed it was not so secret, for a path that the children could see from the boat led from the beach and further into the island, almost as an invitation, and at the end of the island a pier was built. It was here that the ship docked, and the children disembarked.

[numbuheightbitstar]

Chapter 6 The Defeated Ones

Mademanna, Frog, and Pennywinkel travelled alone through the forest path for many hours, and each step that rang out from the cobbled stones reminded them of the eerie silence about this island.

"This place freaks me out," Mademanna admitted. "Can't we hijack their boat and run away to somewhere?"

"I was just thinking about that," Pennywinkel admitted. "But we can't steal that boat. Our only hope is if there's another on this island."

"Why?"

"Because that boat we came on has a tracking system on it. If we were to hijack it, Mother would know and would know precisely where we were."

Frog smiled suddenly, and said "You two make it sound like we should be escaping."

Mademanna almost argued, but Pennywinkel immediately saw his point and said "Oh that's right! She has no way of knowing that your ring has been removed! If we play through this like we're still following orders, we may have a chance at beating her and the entire Shadow Cloak Guild in one go!"

Mademanna smiled as this realization dawned on her.

"And anyway, the base is right over there," Frog pointed out with his sword. Sure enough, there was a base, right over there. Many smaller buildings lay around the outside of an open area, but in the back, seeming to be built into a large hill, was a strong and sturdy structure.

With half an hour's walk, the children had arrived at this structure. The smaller ones around it were nothing but guardhouses and barracks, and all were empty of life. The main structure was a large building with double-doors that opened outward. Frog held one open for the ladies.

The inside was an ordered series of hallways and rooms that was designed to be fairly easy to navigate, and it wasn't long before the three entered a room that seemed to be part of a large laboratory.

And immediately Mademanna gasped in shock: People were laying everywhere, no signs of cuts but plenty of abrasions. Yet none of them seemed to be dead--their skin color hadn't changed, and there was no scent of death. There was, however, a strong odor of blood.

On two tables were a man and a woman, side-by-side, having been stripped naked and layed there as if in an experiment.

"I... don't think I should be seeing this." Mademanna said, and backed out of the room. Mademanna went down the hallway, partly to get away from that icky room and partly because she figured it would be more helpful to look elsewhere.

Down the hall, she found a lone, small room. Inside she saw it had a concave ceiling, a lot of computer equipment built into the walls, and a lone Shadow Cloak Guild member on the floor, one who drew Mademanna's attention for two reasons, one because he had the most wild and insane hair she had ever seen, and two because she could tell he was breathing.

Mademanna looked around quickly and saw that there was an emergency first-aid kit in a niche on the wall. As she began to tend to the boy, she comfortingly said "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay."

-

Frog and Pennywinkel had not tried to stop her, as they were more intent on finding the cause of this havoc and felt Mademanna probably had the right idea in leaving them be.

Pennywinkel began making her way across the room and to a doorway on the other side, and said "This should lead to the food storage."

"You hungry again?"

"Not for me. Look at these people--they're all still alive."

"I was just wondering about that," Frog admitted as he joined her, "Because it seems to me there's only two explanations."

"Let's hear them."

"Well, either whatever this this knocked them out for almost a straight week, or this happened today and whatever did this is still here."

"I believe your second guess is right." Pennywinkel looked at him and said "Should we go check on Mademanna?"

"Nah, she'll be fine." Frog answered in a tone of absent-minded disinterest as he and Pennywinkel continued exploring this new passage and the places it went.

Eventually, they found a small control room, not unlike the one in which Mademanna was now caring for some boy. Pennywinkel immediately activated the computer, and Frog made no effort to stop her.

Static appeared on the screen. Pennywinkel typed in a random series of numbers, and nothing happened. "I assume these numbers are a communication frequency of some sort. Frog, look around and see if you can find any notes that might help."

"What about that?" Frog said, pointing to a wall where a series of numbers had been written in blood.

Pennywinkel typed the numbers into the computer. The static cleared, and within moments Pennywinkel was surprised to see the face of Mother! Mother seemed to be getting rid of someone else at the moment, and immediately Pennywinkel had a thought and whispered "Frog, hide your hands!"

Soon Mother was looking back at Pennywinkel through the video communication, and she was just as surprised to see Pennywinkel as Pennywinkel had been to see her. "I assume you're on the island now?" was Mother's first question.

"Yea."

"What's the situation?"

"We found a lot of... unconscious people. None of them are dead. Two of them were laying naked on platforms. A man and a woman. Not together."

Mother seemed to think about this, then asked "Have you found Predominant yet?"

"Who?"

"He was supposed to run that base. You'll know him by his hair. Incidentally, how did you find the code? This is a secret frequency."

"It was written on the wall. I guess someone hoped a survivor would contact you. We've found no clue as to the cause of all this."

"I have a suspicion." Mother informed them. "Before we lost contact, Predominant informed me that they had found something in the cave. Which communication room are you in?"

Pennywinkel described her location and how she had gotten there.

"Then the passage directly outside this room should lead farther back and eventually connect to the cave. I would check there for further evidence." Mother suddenly looked up and there was the sound of a door knocking. "I'll expect another call from you in three hours," was all she added before abruptly closing the connection.

"Well, that was that!" Frog said.

Pennywinkel stood, and began walking down the passageway. Frog followed without question, until Pennywinkel said "There was something false about her thinking."

"A thought-lie?"

"Well, I mean it seems like she wasn't even surprised. This whole situation is strange, and even I can't figure it out."

"Keep trying, I'm sure you'll think of something."

After awhile of walking, passing by rooms and entrances and other potentially interesting places, the two finally found a big door at the end of the hall, which was opened by pulling a lever located along the ajoining wall. Pennywinkel pulled the lever, and Frog stepped through to find himself in a large, dirty cave. Fully-functional lights were overhead, but just to be safe, Pennywinkel went back and found a flashlight anyway.

The two walked further into the cave.

-

The boy's eyes opened, and Mademanna clapped her hands in joy. The boy looked at her, and nearly fainted at the surprise of seeing her, but somehow he kept awake. The sight of Mademanna didn't bother him a bit outside of it being unexpected. Rather, he felt entranced, like a moth being drawn to a flame.

"What's your name?" the boy asked.

"Mademanna, Mademanna Shevette. And you?"

"I... am Predominant of the Shadow Cloak Guild." For a second he had considered telling her his real name, but that was forbidden by Guild laws, so he let the matter be. "What are you doing here?"

"We were sent by Mother to find out what happened here."

The boy's eyes widened. "Then, I must contact her and tell--"

"No, you're too weak!" Mademanna said firmly, "You can't move."

"I must--"

"Tell me, and I'll call Mother."

"You can't. Only me and three other people know the special frequency."

"Tell it to me!"

"I..." his eyes widened again. "I can't recall it right now."

"Then don't worry about it." Mademanna said, rubbing this boy's head. She didn't press him for information, imagining that he must've been hurt very badly and remembering that she herself had dealt with amnesia not too long ago. "You're safe with me."

Predominant looked at her again. "Why did Mother send a young girl like you? Are you alone?"

"No. Two of my friends are here too."

"You need to get off this island. Find your friends and get off this island!"

"I can't. I can't leave you and I can't move you until you're able to walk."

"You have to. The thing that did this is still here, and there is no way you and your friends would be a match for it!"

[This is all I've got for now. More is forthcoming if inspiration doesn't fail me]