After seeing the determination in Rook’s eyes and hearing the passion in his voice, Farmer Robins knew there was no arguing with his son. Instead of debating him any further, the farmer clasped his son in a tight embrace.
“Be safe,” he said tearfully. “You’re all I’ve got left, Rook.”
“I will,” Rook said, and hugged his father back.
“Your father is right about one thing,” Sir Grant said. “The Otherworld is going to be significantly more dangerous once the Literary Army enters it. Even if the twins have secured an army to fight them, the two of you shouldn’t make the trip alone.”
Froggy couldn’t have agreed more. “We’ll take the Fairy Council with us,” he decided. “I have just enough tears left to free them. But we need to hurry—as far as we know, the army could already be headed to the Otherworld.”
“Then we’ll take Cornelius to the Fairy Kingdom,” Rook suggested. “He’ll get us there three times as fast as any horse could.”
Rook whistled and the chubby unicorn stepped out from the group of animals. Cornelius loved being singled out and neighed arrogantly. Porridge, Buckle, and Oats grunted—there was nothing more annoying than a big-headed unicorn.
“Splendid,” Froggy said. “We’ll leave at once.”
Froggy and Rook climbed aboard Cornelius and steered him out of the mine. The unicorn galloped as fast as a race car. They charged through the Dwarf Forests and sped across the Charming Kingdom, and within two hours of their departure, they were already approaching the Fairy Palace in the Fairy Kingdom—or at least what was left of it.
The destruction was a devastating sight. The golden pillars and arches of the majestic palace had been blown to pieces by the Jolly Roger’s mighty cannons. The vibrant gardens surrounding the palace had been burned to a crisp and were covered in debris. In the center of the ruins, Froggy, Rook, and Cornelius found the statues of Rosette, Tangerina, Xanthous, Emerelda, Skylene, Violetta, and Coral. The colorful Fairy Council was just as pale, stiff, and frozen with fear as the people had been in the abandoned mine.
“What kind of monster is capable of this?” Rook asked.
“It wasn’t her fault,” Froggy said. “It was the monsters behind the monster—they’re the ones to blame.”
Froggy jumped down from Cornelius’s back and approached the statues with his bottle of Medusa’s tears. Just as he was about to pour the first teardrop into Emerelda’s stone eye, the sound of approaching footsteps came from behind him. Froggy turned and saw a group of strange men walking toward them.
“Quick,” he whispered. “We need to hide.”
Froggy, Rook, and Cornelius dived behind a fallen pillar—although it was much more difficult for the chubby unicorn to crouch behind it. They watched the strange men as they entered the palace ruins. There were eleven men in total, each wearing the armor of a knight. They inspected the damage with their swords raised. The men also carried large shields, but Froggy didn’t recognize the crest painted across them.
“Who are they?” Rook whispered.
“I have no idea,” Froggy said. “They aren’t from any kingdom I’m familiar—”
“DON’T MOVE!”
Froggy, Rook, and Cornelius cautiously looked over their shoulders and saw that a twelfth knight had snuck up behind them. He was a very handsome and muscular young man. He held his sword just a few inches from their faces.
“I’ve found a couple of scoundrels hiding in the debris!” he called to the other knights.
“I beg your pardon,” Froggy said. “Who do you think you’re calling a scoundrel?”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” the knight asked.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Froggy repeated.
“I happen to be a king, thank you ever so much,” the knight declared.
“Well, so am I!” Froggy announced.
“Then you must be responsible for damaging the palace!” the knight said, and raised his sword, preparing to strike.
“ARTIE, CUT IT OUT! HE’S WITH US!”
A split second before being sliced open, Froggy was saved by a familiar raspy voice. He looked into the singed gardens and saw an elderly couple approaching the ruins. Froggy recognized the woman the moment he laid eyes on her.
“Mother Goose!” he yelled.
“Hey, Charlie!” she said. “Long time no see!”
Mother Goose gave Froggy a hard but friendly pat on the back.
“Hey, Merlin,” she called to the old man behind her. “This is the guy I was telling you about—the prince who was cursed as a frog, then got kidnapped at his own wedding, and then got thrown into a magic mirror!”
“Oh, my poor tragic fellow,” Merlin said, and vigorously shook Froggy’s hand. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you! And my condolences, you know, about your life.”
“Hey, Charlie, how’d you get out of the mirror?” Mother Goose said.
“I escaped,” he said. “It’s a long story—where have you been all this time?”
“Oh, I moved to another dimension,” Mother Goose said. “Alex and I got trapped in the world of Camelot while we were chasing the Masked Man. I took one look at this handsome devil and knew it was time to settle down.”
Mother Goose winked flirtatiously at Merlin, and the wizard kissed her hand.
“Wait a moment, you mean that’s the real Merlin?” Froggy asked in disbelief.
“The one and only,” Mother Goose said. “And this is our squire, Artie—oops, I mean King Arthur! Sorry, Artie, old habits die hard.”
“You’re King Arthur?” Froggy asked.
Arthur became defensive. “Yes,” he said. “Is there a problem?”
“Not at all,” Froggy said. “You just seem so…young. I always imagined King Arthur as an older man with a beard and an unpleasant scowl.”
“Artie wasn’t supposed to be king until he was much older,” Mother Goose explained. “He started having nightmares about Alex and wanted to come check on her. I told him if he finished his training I’d take him to the fairy-tale world to see her. Well, I didn’t think he was serious about it, but the kid pulled the sword from the stone and founded the Knights of the Round Table in just a couple of days!”
“Knights are much easier to persuade when they’re teenagers,” Arthur said.
“We had never heard of a round table, but we didn’t have anything else better to do,” one of the knights said with a shrug.
“Right—what was your name again?” Arthur asked him.
“It’s Lancelot, Your Grace,” he said. “Anyway, a crusade sure sounded like fun—so here we are.”
Rook looked Arthur up and down, instantly intimidated by the young king.
“So you and Alex are friends?” he asked.
“I’d say we’re more than just acquainted,” Arthur said with a telling grin.
“Well, I was her first kiss,” Rook bragged.
“Well, I’ll be her last,” Arthur quipped.
Rook roared and charged toward Arthur, intending to tackle him. In one swift motion, Arthur threw Rook over his shoulder and pinned him to the ground under his boot.
“Boys, knock it off!” Merlin said. “We don’t have time for an adolescent love triangle—there are much bigger issues in this story.”
“Speaking of which, what the heck happened to the Fairy Palace?” Mother Goose said. “This place looks like New Year’s Eve at Pompeii! And the Fairy Council is as stiff on the outside as they were on the inside! Charlie, what’s going on in this world?”
Froggy let out a deep sigh. “It’s been attacked by an atrocious army of literary characters,” he explained. “The Wicked Witch from Oz, the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland, and Captain Hook from Neverland have joined forces and taken over the kingdoms! And recently, they’ve set their sights on the Otherworld. I’m on my way there to warn the twins the army is coming!”
“Then it wasn’t a dream,” Arthur said. “Alex really is in trouble! We’ve got t
o save her!”
“All right, all right, all right,” Mother Goose said. “Artie, you can say I told you so later—but right now we’ve got to get our keisters into the Otherworld and help the twins! Lead the way, Charlie—we’re coming with you!”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Froggy said. “But first, I need to loosen up the Fairy Council.”
“Good luck,” Mother Goose said with a snort. “I’ve been trying to loosen up those broads for centuries.”
Froggy hopped to the statues in the center of the destruction and placed two drops of Medusa’s tears in each of their eyes. Just like the people in the mine, the Fairy Council began to wiggle, shake, and crack. With seven bright, colorful blasts, the stone covering their bodies exploded and the council was finally free. The fairies looked around at their ruined home in shock. Emerelda, however, remained as stoic as ever. As if she had been deep in thought during her entire time as a statue, the leader of the Fairy Council emerged from the spell knowing exactly what needed to be done next.
“Alex,” Emerelda said sharply. “We need to find Alex.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
WORLDS COLLIDE
Within a few hours after the witches occupied Central Park, the number of US Marines under General Wilson’s command had doubled, and more were on their way from military bases around the country. The soldiers formed a line that stretched along Central Park’s six-mile perimeter, and snipers were repositioned on the balconies of penthouse apartments facing the park. There was no possible way anything could escape the park without going through the Marines—not that anything could get through Alex’s magic shield. They had only seen the shield disappear once all night, but it had been reinstated so quickly, the Marines thought it was wisest to keep their distance.
Unfortunately, General Wilson had positioned his soldiers in the wrong location. The witches still had several hours before their gingerbread army was finished baking. The real threat was approaching from behind the Marines—but by the time they saw it coming, it was already too late.
“Sir, I have good news!” a soldier reported to General Wilson.
“What is it?” the general asked.
“We’ve located Cornelia Grimm,” the soldier replied. “She should be here within the hour.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” General Wilson said. “I want to be notified the minute she arrives.”
Suddenly, Fifth Avenue started to rumble with the power of an earthquake. The Marines searched the street to see what was causing the commotion but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. However, the soldiers felt the tremor grow stronger and stronger the closer they walked to the New York Public Library.
As they approached the library’s front steps, a thunderous explosion prompted all the Marines to dive to the ground. They looked up and saw a massive pirate ship burst out of the library’s roof and soar into the air. The ship was followed by swarms of winged creatures—monkeys, as far as they could tell. Once the sky was filled with the mysterious beasts, fleets of strangely shaped soldiers charged out of the library’s damaged entrance with their swords and staffs raised above their heads.
“General, we’re under attack—again!” shouted a Marine. “What are your orders, sir?”
General Wilson watched in total shock as the literary characters emerged from the library. Apparently the witches were just the prelude of a painfully long performance, and for the first time all night, the general doubted they’d make it to the curtain call.
“Sir, your orders?” the Marine asked again.
“Pray, Sergeant,” the general ordered. “At this point, it’s all we can do.”
As the sun rose over New York City, a floating procession of fictional proportions flew over northern New Jersey. An enormous spacecraft, a large blimp, a colorful jet, and a flying pirate ship transported Conner’s family, friends, and characters toward the Empire State.
“We should start looking for a place to land,” Charlotte said from inside the blimp. “Look over there—it’s Liberty Island! That’s perfect!”
Emgee gave her a thumbs-up and gradually steered the blimp toward the lawns behind the Statue of Liberty. Once the Charlie Chaplin landed safely, the BASK-8, the Dolly Llama, and the Ziblings’ jet joined it on the island.
Charlotte, Bob, Trollbella, the Tin Woodman, and Lester rode aboard the blimp with Beau Rogers and Emgee. Unfortunately, they also had to share it with Bones and all the mummies from the Pyramid of Anesthesia. After traveling across the country with the undead in a tight space, the smell was almost unbearable. Trollbella yanked opened the door and jumped out of the blimp before it came to a complete stop.
“Thank the Troblin Heavens—fresh air!” she gasped. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the stench of death out of my clothes! I smell like the Breemonster’s breath!”
The BASK-8 lowered its ramp and the Cyborg Queen rolled out of the spacecraft with Commander Newters and the Cyborg soldiers following behind her. Captain Auburn Sally kicked down her ship’s gangplank and she, Admiral Jacobson, their crew, the Merry Men, and the Rosary Chicken exited the Dolly Llama. The Blissworm’s cocoon had been hung at the top of the mast beside the ship’s flag.
The Ziblings lowered the steps of their jet, and the superheroes climbed down with Professor Wallet, Blubo, Peter Pan, and the Lost Boys.
“That! Was! AWESOME!” Tootles cheered. “Can we ride the jet again?”
“If you think that was fast, you should see the Ziblings’ rocket our dad is building!” Bolt bragged.
Riding the Ziblings’ jet made the Lost Boys euphoric, but Peter Pan looked like the saddest boy in the world.
“Peter, what’s wrong?” Professor Wallet asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Peter said with a sigh. “I just never thought people would invent machines that could fly. I mean, it sort of defeats the purpose of me if everyone can do it.”
“My dear boy, who do you think the rest of the world has been trying to catch up with all these years?” Professor Wallet said with a twinkle in his eye.
Once everyone had exited their various methods of transportation, Charlotte gathered Conner’s binder of short stories, the emerald-green treasury, and the Portal Potion, and led the characters to the grassy field directly below the Statue of Liberty. They looked across the Hudson River at the island of Manhattan and could see smoke bellowing from somewhere in Midtown. After closer inspection, they could see the Jolly Roger and flying monkeys snaking through the city’s skyscrapers.
“Oh no!” Charlotte gasped. “The Literary Army is already here!”
“What should we do now?” Bob asked.
“I’m trying to think,” Charlotte said. “Call me crazy, but I’ve never orchestrated a war before.”
The emerald-green storybook suddenly started to glow in her hands. Charlotte dropped the book on the grass and it opened, shining a beam of light toward the sky. Froggy hopped out of the beam and looked around Liberty Island. His mouth dropped open at the sight of the New York skyline across the river and the Statue of Liberty towering above him.
“So this is the Otherworld,” he said in amazement. “I can’t imagine why the twins would ever leave a place like this.”
“Froggy, how did you get here?” Charlotte asked. “The twins told me you were trapped in a magic mirror!”
“Hello, Mrs. Gordon,” he said. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but it’s urgent I speak with the twins! Where might they be?”
Charlotte pointed to the New York skyline. “They’re in there somewhere.”
Froggy looked toward Manhattan and noticed the smoke, the flying monkeys, and the Jolly Roger hovering above Midtown.
“The army’s already arrived!” he said. “We’re too late!”
“You mean, you’re not alone?” Charlotte asked.
As soon as she asked the question, Charlotte had the answer. Mother Goose, Merlin, Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table emerged from the beam of light in a straight line. Cornelius gall
oped out of the beam next with Rook on his back, followed by the seven members of the Fairy Council.
“Well, take a look at all these theatrics,” Mother Goose said as she scanned the island. “Are these the characters from Conner’s short stories or am I back at Burning Man?”
Lester was overjoyed to see Mother Goose. He wrapped his wings around her and the two embraced.
“Squawk!” the gander said as he nuzzled his beak under her chin.
“I’ve missed you, too, Lester,” Mother Goose said. “Gosh, I leave you alone for a couple of weeks and the whole universe starts falling apart!”
“You guys sure are a sight for sore eyes,” Charlotte said. “We could really use your help. New York City is under attack! The witches and the Literary Army have crossed into the Otherworld!”
“The witches?” Emerelda asked. “What on earth are they doing in the Otherworld?”
“I imagine the same thing as the Literary Army,” Mother Goose said. “Come on, Emerelda, you can’t be that surprised. It’s just like the kids say: Witches be witches.”
“They kidnapped Alex a week ago and have put her under some sort of spell,” Charlotte informed them. “Conner and his friends came to the city yesterday to find her, but now we’re not certain where any of them are. Before she was kidnapped, Alex helped Conner assemble an army from his short stories to fight the Literary Army, but I’m not exactly qualified to lead them.”
If there was ever a moment where someone with natural leadership skills would be of use, this was it. Arthur looked at Merlin and the wizard nodded—it was the young king’s time to shine. Arthur scaled the side of the Statue of Liberty’s platform and whistled down to get everyone’s attention.