"Can I make a suggestion?" Tiny Tim asked as the group was leaving the current world they were searching. Bastian was still missing and the assembled team of fictional characters were still no closer to finding him. "Let's not revisit the world where they eat fried worms." "Bastian wasn't here," Huck said as he looked at the group as they flew back toward the second star on the right. "He wasn't under that dome; he wasn't with that Cat in the Hat; and he wasn't in that world with the killer whale and his friend Ishmael. We'll never find him." "Come on, friend, don't give up," Terrance said as he held onto Mike's shoulder. "He has to be in one of these worlds, right?" "This would be a lot easier if we had AURYN to guide us," Huck told them. "But then again, Bastian's the only one who can use it." "Maybe we're just looking in the wrong places," Tiny Tim said as he thought about it. "Maybe Bastian went to a place where he'd feel safe." "Or he ended up in a place where he isn't safe and is in a trouble," Mike suggested. "What if he's... dead?" "The Childlike Empress said that AURYN would protect him," Huck told his friends. "So unless there's evidence that he's dead, then he ain't dead!" "Really starting to like this guy," Mike smirked as the group held onto each other as they entered the next world to continue their search. * Bastian had managed to find a pair of pants and a t-shirt, but was still barefoot as he walked down the road of the small town. AURYN was hanging around his neck, but he had no idea what it was, or for that matter, who he was. He had zero memory of anything that happened before waking up in the woods a few hours earlier. A police car with 'Derry P.D.' on the side rolled up beside him, coming to a stop as the officer stepped out. "Son, do you know there is a curfew in this town?" the officer asked as he saw how disheveled Bastian was. "Are you okay?" "Do you... do you know my name?" Bastian whispered. "Come with me," the officer said as he led Bastian to the car. "Looks like we got one that actually got away from It." * In Oz, Tom had snuck into the room where Glinda's magic wand was being drained by the Wicked Witch of the South West. The room was filled large winged monkeys that stood six feet tall, which was threatening enough before their massive wingspan factored in. Tom grabbed a vase and tossed it to the floor, shattering it and getting everyone's attention. Tom stood there, innocently with a devilish smirk on his face. He loved causing mischief, especially when it was in the name of helping a friend. "Come on, ya dumb beasts! Come get me!" Tom said as he slowly backed up and started running as the winged monkeys chased after, shaking the room as their fists pounded the ground in front of them. The room wasn't big enough to spread their wings, but they would give a good chase to the child. "Tear him apart!" the Wicked Witch shouted with a hideous laugh. "Make sure he can't interfere with my plans!" As the Wicked Witch was distracted, Glinda snuck in and grabbed her wand. By the time the Wicked West noticed her, it was too late. "You think it matters now?" the Wicked Witch laughed as she created a fireball in her hand. She tossed it at Glinda, who ducked behind the console. "Your wand was drained twenty minutes ago! I've already won!" "Evil shall never win," Glinda told her as another fireball came at her. She held up her wand, which absorbed it. "I still possess the wand, and it can take back any magic you send towards me, no matter its form." Downstairs, one of the winged monkeys pounced on Tom and picked him up by the leg, holding him upside down. "Don't suppose we talk about this like gentlemen, huh?" Tom asked as he grabbed Tom's other leg and started pulling to break him like a wishbone. TWHACK! A bo staff to the face knock the winged monkey backwards, dropping Tom in the process. In a blinding flash, the bo staff struck the other winged monkeys, knocking them off of their feet. Tom, dazed and his head spinning, was barely able to make out what was happening, only seeing a quick flash taking out the enemy. As his vision came back into focus, he saw a young woman dressed in a white and blue checkered vinyl jumpsuit with a large bo staff knocking away the winged monkeys left and right. Her long brown hair was in a tight ponytail, and she was wearing ruby boots. Tom finally gave in and passed out on the floor. "Now," Dorothy said, giving one last good swing to the winged monkey behind her. "Where's Glinda?" * "I don't know what's in this Soylent Green stuff, but it's delicious!" Mike said as he shoveled another spoonful into his mouth. "Uh... Mike?" Nibs asked as he came back into the room, having just found out what world they were in. * Bastian was sitting in a jail cell with his arms wrapped around his legs as he sat on the cot. He'd been there for an hour as the police were muttering, calling him "The boy who lived." "What do we do with him? He can't remember a thing," one officer asked. "Hasn't said a word since we picked him up. Think he saw whoever it is killing the children?" "We leave him there until we can find his parents," the other officer told him. "A survivor? This kid's parents are going to want to find him as quick as possible. In the morning if no one's come for him, we'll call social services." As the police left the room, leaving Bastian alone, he immediately heard a loud laughter coming from under the cot. "Hello, buddy boy!" the clown said as he slid out from under the cot. "Looks like we're bunkmates! Ho ha!" "Help!" Bastian tried to scream, but was too frozen in fear. "Oh, they can't help you, even if you could scream," the clown said as he sat next to Bastian, getting really close to the boy. "Oh, the fear. It's so delicious." The clown licked Bastian's face with a long pronged tongue as Bastian started breathing heavier in fear. He was too frozen to get up and run. A single tear ran down his face as the clown opened his mouth, bearing yellow fanged teeth. As he bit down into Bastian's neck, AURYN started to glow, sending a shockwave blast out, knocking the clown across the cell, denting the bars. "The power!" the clown shouted as he saw AURYN glowing. "Give it to me!" Bastian just sat there, rocking back and forth in complete fear. "I wish you'd just go away," Bastian squeaked out. AURYN started to glow brighter as the clown roared, disappearing in a burst of white light. As soon as he was gone, he pulled AURYN off out of his shirt and looked at it. "What are you?" * "I'm glad I won't live long enough to make it to 1984," Tiny Tim said as the group left yet another world. "The future looks horrible." "I'm going to be an adult when that year happens," Mike said in a terrified voice. "I am so screwed." "Well, at least it's not the Soylent Green future," Huck reminded them as they flew towards the next star. "How many more damn worlds are there?" "My guess? An infinite amount," Terrance replied as he clung to Mike's shoulder. "The literary universe is vast, thanks to the endless imaginations that create them." "And Bastian can be in any one of them," Huck replied. "Not to mention my best buddy, Tom. Never gone this long without him, but," Huck squeezed Nibs hand a little tighter. "At least I'm not alone." "Maybe we should go back to Fantasia to see if the Childlike Empress has any new leads," Mike suggested. "Maybe she has something that we've missed." "That sounds great, but, uh," Tiny Tim looked at all the new stars. "Which one's the road to Fantasia?" * "I wish I knew who I was," Bastian said as he looked AURYN hanging from his hand. The medallion just hung there, doing nothing. "Come on, I know you have some kind of freaky power, you sent that clown away, tell me who I am," AURYN remained unmoving as Bastian closed his eyes. "I wish I could at least get out of here." Bastian opened his eyes and saw he was sitting back in the grassy field. "I- I wish had a pair of shoes," Bastian wished as a pair of blue sneakers appeared on his feet. "Okay, let's try this. I wish you would tell me why you can't tell me who I am?" Smoke started rising in the grass in front of him as Bastian looked down and saw a message. You Must Find the Answer On Your Own. Only You Can Tell Yourself Who You Are. "Gee, thanks," Bastian muttered as he put AURYN under his shirt as he started walking. "I just hope I don't run into that clown again. I need to find someone who can help me in this place before that creepy ass clown shows up again." * "Where are we now?" Huck asked as he looked around a forest. "This isn't Fantasia." "Is that a werewolf?" Mike asked. "And who's the sparkly guy he's fighting with?" "Uh... they're not fighting," Nibs said as he tilted his head. "It looks like they're-" "Whoa," everyone said in unison as Nibs and Huck looked at each other. "Don't ever ask me to do that," Nibs said in a whisper as he stood next to Huck. * Dorothy kicked the door in and found Glinda and the Wicked Witch engaged in battle. "Glinda!" Dorothy said as the Good Witch turned around. "Watch out!" The Wicked Witch sent a fireball to knock her off balance, sending her to the ground. "NO!" Dorothy shouted as Glinda just stared up at her. Dorothy rushed toward her as the Wicked Witch conjured up a massive ball of energy and fired it at Glinda, leaving nothing left of the Good Witch but dust, and the magic wand. "I'll kill you, witch!" "You may have taken my cousins, but I'm far more powerful than either of them!" the Wicked Witch shouted as she disappeared in a burst of flame. "You haven't seen the last of me, Queen Dorothy!" Huck ran into the room and saw Dorothy kneeling over the remains of Glinda. "Is she-" "I will have my revenge," Dorothy promised. "Child, whose side do you belong to?" "Glinda's," Tom said as he looked at her. "And I guess yours, now. Glinda was my friend, I'm sorry she's gone, ma'am. She was going to help me find my friends. That wicked witch is after my friend Bastian's fancy necklace. Said it was supposed to be some kind of huge source of power." "Then our job now is to keep her from getting it," Dorothy said. "Where is your friend now?" "Damned if I know," Tom told her. "I just know that he's with my best friend in the whole world, and if that witch has done anything to hurt them-" "Come, child, we must return to the Emerald City," Dorothy said as she stood up. "We must find this source of power before the Wicked Witch does." * The boys fell into a pile in the middle of a grassy field as Terrance climbed his way out from under them. He started flying around, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. "This place looks normal enough," Terrance said. "Ain't none of these places normal," Huck told him as he stood up. "Let's just see if Bastian's here so we can move on to the next place." "Guys, look!" Mike pointed at the water reservoir entrance, where Bastian was walking in. "Bastian!" "I don't think he can hear us," Nibs said. "Should we follow him in?" "Hell yeah!" Huck shouted as he started running toward the entrance. "Let's get him and get out of here so we can find my buddy Tom!" As the group ran toward the entrance, a sinister laughing was heard as a group of balloons started floating away. Meanwhile, the real Bastian wasn't too far away, having just missed his friends entering the reservoir. TO BE CONTINUED...
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By Tobias ChristopherAuthor, luckdragon trainer Archives
November 2019
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