? - Chapter 33

There was a collective and complete silence in the sound-proof meeting room, followed by the singular sound of a cricket chirping rhythmically.
'What, the hell, is that?' Mr. Wolf said. The heads all turned to Mr. Panther, a very tanned man with long and curled black hair who looked to be half asleep in his chair. He head was tilted sideways and his mouth was open and drooling onto his tux.
'Panther! Did you come here stoned, again!?' Miss. Scorpion threw up her arms in frustration.
Mr. Panther was jolted awake by the sudden call of his name, he raised his head and blinked. When he realized what was happening, he shrugged and said, 'Hey man, I grow this stuff, I can't be not smoking my own crop, can't I?'
'This is a formal gathering made just more formal by Dragon's delivery of the most important captive we have probably ever gotten our hand on, and as of right now you are acting as informal as the pettiest crook in the alleys of the worst slums on this planet, and yet now you still have the indecency to defend yourself of your imprudent actions?' Mr. Shark said, leaning forward in his chair to stare vehemently at Mr. Panther.
'That still doesn't explain the cricket. Where's the cricket sound coming from?' Mr. Serpent, the bespectacled, clean shaven man sitting next to him asked.
'Oh that, that's my new pet, see.' Mr. Panther raised his right arm and in his hand held a tiny plastic cage with a small insect chirping away inside. 'I found it in the hemp fields just this morning-'
BOOM! There was a crack of gunfire. When everyone regained their bearings, all that remained of the tiny cage in Mr. Panther's hand was the lid, the rest of the cage was shattered into the wall behind Mr. Panther's seat and on the floor. Mr. Panther looked shell-shocked, or maybe he was still under the influence of his hemp, whichever it may have been, he did not get a chance to speak again. The cricket chirp ceased and the cricket was surely presumed dead.
The source of the gunshot was from Mr. Cougar, a gruff, slightly bearded man in his early sixties with coarse, rough skin and a shaved head. His arm was raised and the large pistol in that hand was still aimed at the spot Mr. Panther's cricket cage once dangled. 'Enough is enough! I've had it with the motherfuckin' cricket in the motherfuckin' cage! Are we getting down to business or are we?'
'Shit, Cougar! Did you absolutely have to blow that cage in here? By the devil, you almost gave me a heart attack!' Mr. Alligator shouted, but Mr. Cougar did not apologize.
Mr. Vulture, the bearded man with the turban spoke up, 'If I remember correctly, Mr. Alligator, blowing stuff up is my specialty, not Mr. Cougar's.' 
Mr. Wolf snickered, 'Ha, I still can't get over the Alligator part, you just kill me every time. Speaking of which, say Alligator old boy, mind if I call you Killer Croc from now on?'
'YES I DO MIND!' Mr. Alligator said with dignity.
'It's a compliment for Pete's Sakes, you're truly killer, you know.' Mr. Wolf replied teasingly.
Mr. Alligator was about to respond when Mr. Dragon slammed his fist down on the table with tremendous force that the ground shook and everyone's attention was focused on him again. 'I will have silence in this chamber, or I will silence you all, either way, our guest is waiting.' Mr. Dragon whispered softly and turned to face Mr. Damien North.
During the arguments, Mr. North had been struggling and squirming in his seat. He could not speak for his mouth was duct taped shut. His face was extremely red and the look in his eyes was prepared to kill.
The ten people in the room set their sights upon Mr. North for several moments, and at last Mr. Shark said, 'He's much more in shape than I anticipated.'
'Yes, I was pleasantly surprised also,' Mr. Dragon said, 'I had a fine duel with him, hand-to-hand, before I brought him here. It was quite nice to stretch those  muscles with my dear old colleague, and now it's time for us all to formally greet the man who has thus far made all our lives so very difficult on this world. We'll discuss what to do with our distinguished guest, and what credit I shall receive for his deliverance in a while, for now, I want you all to control yourselves and keep the welcome strictly introductory.' Mr. North shook his head even more furiously.
'And what you are saying is?' Miss. Scorpion raised an eyebrow.
Mr. Dragon smiled cunningly, he said, 'For the price of a ten dollar, you will get the opportunity to come up here and say or do what ever you wish to Mr. North, whether it be a punch in the face or a spit in the eye, one act of your choosing. Let us do this in an orderly fashion and line up-'
'Woah, woah, woah, wait just a minute, so we gotta pay admission to punch this old man?' Mr. Wolf exclaimed incredulously.
'Nothing is free in this world, least of all human beings. You should know that, Mr. Wolf, considering your profession in the slave trade.' Mr. Dragon said.
Mr. Wolf's reply was sidelined by Mr. Serpent, he said, 'Ten's not worth it, make it two and I'll pay.'
'It's not a bargain, Serpent.' Mr. Dragon said.
'This is the eastern hemisphere, the land of bargaining. You heard me, make it a two dollar and I'll accept.' Mr. Serpent replied.
'Very well, eight dollars, not a penny less.'
'Three fifty, not a penny more.'
'Six, and later a bonus in addition to the pay for my work.'
'Five, no bonuses.'
'Six, I name my final price.'
Several more exchanges later, Mr. Serpent and Mr. Dragon came to the agreement of the admission price of five dollars and thirty-seven cents for greeting Mr. Damien North in whichever way they desire, and the others thought highly of the reduced price and Mr. Serpent's professional bargaining skills.
'He's really good,' Miss. Scorpion whispered of Mr. Serpent to Mr. Panther, who asked, 'In what?' and got the reply, 'You really are high.' from Miss. Scorpion, shaking her head.
Mr. Wolf went first, after paying Mr. Dragon in coins, he inched his face up against Mr. North and said, 'I'd do something much worse, but I only got one good shot, this five dollars thirty-seven cents better be worth the satisfaction.' He swung his fist way back, and threw his punch.

? - Chapter 32

In a place somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a man strode down a hallway alone, his footsteps quietly echoing off of the pavement walls. He walked with a sense of purpose, and arrogance, as if he had just won a prize or a bet. In fact, it could be said that he had.

As he approached the large set of metal doors at the end of the hallway, he smiled a secret little smile. Besides the doors, he scanned in his handprint and iris. The scanners beeped, and the metal doors creaked to life, opening upon a room that matched the lifelessness of the grey hallways. He smoothed down his graying hair and stepped in.

The 10 solemn occupants of the room looked up from the circular table they sat at. Most of them looked to be past their prime, yet their eyes still glittered with untold plans. Each of them is wearing similar clothing; black formal clothes, with the ladies in dresses and the men in suits. It looked rather like a funeral.

“Late as always,” says a man with slicked down black hair that has visible grey streaks, giving him a dramatic stream lined look. His mouth was quirked up into a smirk, which didn’t quite reach his deep blue eyes.

“This had better be important,” chimes in a young oriental woman, her voice soft and lyrical. “I was in the middle of a deal with a valuable customer when you called me out. I’m afraid I might have to deal with him later in a rather unpleasant manner.” She flipped her long sleek black hair over her shoulder and smiled rather unpleasantly.

“Now, now, Mr. Shark, I am not always late,” said the man, seating himself at the one empty spot at the table. “And Ms. Scorpion, it’s always important when I call such urgent meetings. You, being the only one of your generation, must learn that when your elders call for you, it’s something of great importance.”

“Do not speak to me in such a condescending manner, leader,” Ms. Scorpion said, placing an unpleasant emphasis on the word. “When I lack in age and experience, I make up for it in business skills. Haven’t you seen how I’ve expanded my father’s business? I not only fill in his shoes, I go beyond.”

“Not much can be said about your son,” chuckled another, more rotund man, one with a shock of white hair. Many of the others joined in with soft chuckles except for the leader, who sat there with his hands clenched until the laughter had died down.

“Now that we have satisfied our immaturity, can we please get on with the meeting?” says an elderly woman, her face conveyed that she was not particularly amused. “And you know better than to bring up that subject around our leader, Mr.…what is it today?”

“Alligator,” stated the man that had made the remark about the leader’s son. “It’s Mr. Alligator now. It seems so much more fitting than Spider. And you’re not my mother, Ms. Lynx.”

“You change names more often than a magician changes hats,” remarked yet another member of this odd group.

“Shut up, Wolf,” hissed Mr. Alligator. It looked as if Mr. Alligator was going to get up from his seat and reach over to Mr. Wolf when the leader rapped on the table.

“Gentlemen, please do not create a mess here,” he stated, his voice boomed around the room. “Serpent, Panther, Cougar and Vulture, I assume you gentlemen don’t have anything of important need to interrupt so I will continue.” He snapped his fingers, and a side door opened. Two men dressed in black dragged a third one between them, his head covered in a sack and his feet and hands bound in front of him. They sat him upon a chair and chained his arms and legs on, and then left quickly. The leader stood up and walked leisurely towards the captive.

“I hope you are ready to be pleasantly surprised,” he said, as he got closer and closer to the prisoner. “For I, the Dragon has brought you your nemesis,” he whipped off the sack from the captive’s head, “the infamous Damian North!”

Now Almost Back to the Feature Presentation

Hello, hello, long time no see! About a month if I counted correctly?
Our intermission has stretched out for a long time, rather too long, so G and I are busy planning out the second part of our adventure. We'll get it to you at some unknown time in the near future. I hope you're all ready to be whisked away!

-Kiki

Intermission pt 5- Chapter 31 and you get the idea now

Dennis could feel the tension rise a notch, and so he interrupted. "That would also explain why that guy, Gerad, said that he was with dead characters from books. And how he referred to himself to a character, and says he, 'Doesn't play a part in your story anymore.' I just thought he was kind of crazy."
"Don't call my friend crazy!" exclaims Kaya.
"And also how that bench appeared out of nowhere," adds Kenny, glancing over at Dennis with an incredulous expression. "The authors must be just trying to make fools out of us in our confusion."
"Try as they might, they can never make a fool out of me!" proclaims Raymond.
"It's too late, you're already a fool," says Kenny dryly. At that particular moment, a brick suddenly drops from seemingly nowhere and lands on Raymond's head. He falls unconscious for the second time in only a few minutes. "Case in point," notes Kenny.
"He's not dead, is he?" asks Kaya, slightly worried. She didn't like Raymond at all, but she didn't want more blood on her hands from not doing anything.
"Nah," says Kenny, bending down to check. "His head's much too hard for that."
"Besides, anything that happened in a break wouldn't reflect on the actual story," says Theo. "As you said, this is just a fun exercise. Anything that happens here isn't carried over."
Heathcliff's eyes flutter open and he sits up. "Uh, what just happened here? What are you talking about?"
With much stopping and starting, and Heathcliff interrupting with questions, the group got the idea across to him.
"This is preposterous!" exclaims Heathcliff quite indignantly. "We cannot have our own free will and mind?"
"It might appear so," says Kaya. "But there's nothing we can do, really."
"Yes there is!' replies Heathcliff, who promptly stands up and starts pacing back and forth. "We must stage a rebellion!" he exclaims, all riled up, and his blue eyes shining with a sort of madness.
"A rebellion?" Theo sits back. "How would we go through with that?" she inquires.
"We just have to do something the authors would not think of," says Heathcliff. "Baffle them, do something totally out of character! Then when they are exasperated and plead with us to stop, we'll come up with some sort of contract that will stop them from taking over our lives!"
"No, that's not possible," says Dennis.
"Why ever not?" needles Heathcliff. "Give me a good reason why."
Dennis thinks for a moment. "Well...hmm...uh..."
Kaya takes pity on him and jumps to his rescue. "I think what Dennis is trying to say is that we are essentially the offspring of the authors. The authors actually created us, and everything about us. We can't do anything out of character, because then that'll just become incorporated into our characteristics. Anything we do was thought about by the authors beforehand and then written down, making us do it. As we're talking right now, they know what we're saying and what we're thinking. It's impossible to stage a rebellion, because that's what they planned for us to do!"
Heathcliff was utterly dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to speak. "I--" he started, but he suddenly and without warning, vanished.
Dennis and the others looked at each other with identical unbelieving expressions. "Hey, where's Raymond?" asks Kaya, pointing at the empty spot where an unconscious Raymond once lay.
"It appears we're getting called back to our stories," says Theo. "And just as I was enjoying myself, too."
"I wonder, will we remember this?" asks Kaya. "I'm surprised at myself, but I have to say I enjoyed meeting you guys and this brief time we spent together."
"Maybe," says Kenny. "I guess it depends on whether the authors decide to or not."
"Let's try really hard then to convince the authors," says Kaya. "I would like to try to remember this."
Theo blinks out of existence, returning to her tumultuous story. Kenny soon follows suit. Once again, it was only Dennis and Kaya in the park.
"Here, let's try to see if this works," says Kaya, pulling an earring out of her ear. She slips it into Dennis's pocket. "See if it goes with you when you arrive back to your place, would you?"
"Sure," he says. "I wonder if I'll see you again?"
"Maybe, maybe not," she says. She feels something tugging at her spirit, and she knows it time to leave. "Good luck with your family, Dennis. Hope to see you again!"
She disappears, and Dennis only a breath later, does too. The park starts disappearing into darkness, until only words are left on a blank white background.

Intermission pt 4- Chapter 31 and who even cares anymore?

They all snap out of it. "It was nothing," says Kaya.
"Nothing you'd understand, considering your IQ," adds Theo. The others nodded their heads in agreement. Kaya finds a bench (which has suddenly appeared behind them, much to their confusion), and sits down, tired from standing and talking to mostly idiotic people for three chapters. If you've ever done it before, you'll understand how she feels.
"It's nice having a break," says Dennis. "After being transported over long distances with a blindfold, surviving a shoot-out, and discovering I have an entire family I never knew about, I think just taking it easy is a relief."
"Don't get me started on what I went through in the course of three days," sighs Theo, shaking her head.
"I wonder how long this break will be. I mean, have we all suddenly gotten a break from our life at the same time?" asks Kaya, her curiosity piqued. "What were you guys doing right before this?"
"I was on my way to plan my grandfather's rescue," says Theo.
"Like I said before, I was discussing the legitimacy of a family tree with Raymond and Kenny in a cabin in the woods," says Dennis.
"And then you suddenly all show up here?" The others nod. "That's an interesting coincidence," remarks Kaya.
"I wonder..." says Theo. She sits down as well, and leans back against the back of the bench. "If Charlie was here, I'd think he'd say something about how maybe there's something otherworldly controlling us. Something silly like that. But what would that mean?"
"Here's an idea," says Dennis, and the others turn to him. "What if our entire world was, well, made up? It would explain how Kaya comes from a different time, how we all show up here suddenly and inexplicably, and how random ghosts show up. Only someone who's behind the scene could make a crazy world like this, and a writer is the craziest creator I can think of."
"It could also be some sort of movie producer," inputs Kenny.
"Ghosts?" asks Raymond, ignoring Kenny.
"Like we said, nothing. Ignore that part," says Kenny, shutting him up for a few moments. Raymond opens his mouth to speak again.
"You mean, we'd be nothing more than words on a page? And our entire life is at the whim of some sort of madman? I'm above that, I'm sure. No one would be able to create such a fine specimen as myself just by writing."
"Stop it, before I kick you again," says Kaya, giving him a threatening look.
Raymond complies. "I don't need to add onto the bruises I received from Karla dropping a bazooka on me and your violent foot," mumbles Raymond.
"If it makes any sense, I think it's the most logical reason," says Theo, crossing her legs and pondering. "I certainly don't think it was some sort of scientific phenomena that brought us together at the exact same time. If I'm correct, we all live not just in different time periods, but also different geographic areas. And I certainly don't believe in a man in the sky."
"So let's say we all belong to our own stories," says Dennis, slightly pleased that the others are going with his idea. "Why would our authors decide to bring us together?"
Kaya rummages around in her bag and brings out her tablet. "In my experience as a writer," she says while searching through it, "I like to have fun with my characters from different projects. If I'm stuck at a point and I don't know where to go, or I need to get to know my characters better, I just place them in an interesting situation and work with that. Like this," she holds up her tablet, and showing a preview of a short piece of writing with some interesting conversation between very different characters.
"I have to say, this isn't a very interesting situation to begin with," says Theo. "What could possibly happen in a park like this?"
"I met my ally, and later my admirer in a park, who without I wouldn't have been able to save the world," says Kaya, bristling slightly. "Plenty can happen in a park."

Intermission pt 3 - chapter 31 and 1/2 and a bit more

'By the way, who was that rude fellow who left just as me and Charlie here arrived some time ago?' Theo inquires.
'Oh that, my friends, was Jerry, my brother, quite a brilliant person if you get to know him well.' Raymond says. He is still on the ground and seeming comfortable that way.
'That sounds logical, considering you two are both snobs.' Kaya says, 'And since when did we become your 'friends'? I'd think twice about ever being friends with you.'
'Just being friendly,' Raymond answers with a big goofy smile shrug, he turns to Heathcliff, 'You're Heathcliff, that's a very handsome name, I say.'
'I am the honorable Heathcliff Carolus von Curtin the third, (motioning a hand towards Theo) I have braved numerous dangers and rescued this here damsel in distress-' Heathcliff doesn't get to finish, Theo bends down and knocks him out.
'Heathcliff Carolus von Curtin the third,' Raymond repeats, 'Indeed a handsome name.' He turns to Kaya, 'Speaking of names, Kaya Song, yours come pretty close to a kayak, it's amusing to think about, let's suppose your surname is Kruger or Kraft, then it would spell Kaya K.-' Raymond doesn't get to finish his sentence either, because Kaya bends down at that moment and knocked him out also. Raymond and Heathcliff now lie side by side, both knocked out cold.
'Oh, that reminds me!' Charlie suddenly speaks up, 'Where's Wolfgang?'
'Wolfgang? He's still in the hospital.' Theo says. In his unconsciousness, Heathcliff twitches when the name is uttered.
'I think I'll go ask him if he wants to play rock, paper, scissors.' Charlie says, 'I'll see you all later.' He smiles and is gone.
'Your friend there has an obsession with rock, paper, scissors.' Kenny points out.
'He's...very unusual.' Theo says.
'Is he sheltered?' Kaya asks.
'I don't know, he's from the country, and from what he's told me about himself, he's had some very odd experiences during his life so far.' Theo replies.
'Then how did you meet him?' Dennis asks.
'It's a long story.' Theo says, and signs deeply at the complexity of the few days past.
'Great! I love long stories!' A voice yells out.
'Who said that?' Kaya spins around to look behind her, where the voice seems to have originated.
'It's me, Gerad.' Gerad says, no one sees him.
'Gerad???!!! You-you died!' Kaya exclaimed in unparalleled surprise and shock.
'I did, that's why I'm here, since I don't play a part in your story anymore, I hang out at the ghosts club right over there.' Gerad is probably pointing to where the ghosts club is situated at, but nobody sees because he is invisible to living characters.
'The ghosts club?' Kaya asks.
'That's right, sometimes a ghost counsellor comes to talk to the characters who died by betrayal, disease or unnecessarily and feels depressed because they have no part in their stories anymore and their fellow characters betrayed them by killing them or somethings like that. I'm not depressed, but I go because some very well-known characters attend the sessions, that's how I met every person who died in Catch-22, they were all very angry because Yossarian made it through World War Two, but they didn't.' There is a moment of pause and a chuckle is heard, 'It's great being a ghost!' Gerad says.
No one says a word, everyone is staring at the spot where ghost Gerad is supposed to be, then Gerad says, 'Hey! I see Dumbledore! I'm going to go talk with him, until next time, everybody!' There is a gust of wind, and Gerad is gone.
'And how did you know him?' Dennis asks.
'It's a longer story.' Kaya says.
Raymond wakes up, 'Woah, did someone knock me out? Where was I again? I was talking about a kayak, wasn't I?' When nobody notices him at first, he says, 'You all look like you've seen a ghost.'

Intermission pt 2- Chapter 31 and 1/2 and a bit

"I don't believe so," says Theo. "Since you're supposedly from either an alternate reality or the future, it would make it hard for us to be related."
"But," inputs Dennis, "it's a possibility you guys are related. It would mean that you," he points at Kaya, "are a descendant of her," and he finishes by pointing at Theo.
Kaya and Theo look at each other simultaneously. After a brief moment of just looking at each other, they turn to Dennis and say, "Nah, I don't think so," once again at the same time.
"What do we even have in common? Other than glasses and long dark hair, I don't see much of a resemblance here," says Kaya.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure that our last names are different. Mine is North and... what's yours?" she asks Kaya.
"Song."
"Right. So that could easily be concluded as us being unrelated."
"Actually, you two look pretty similar," says Kenny. "It just might be hard for the two of you to see it." Dennis and Charlie nodded their heads in agreement. "And any changes in last name would happen as soon as Miss North here marries. And we're probably thinking of a few generations between the two of you, so name changes would happen most likely more than once."
"Of course, Kenny, you just had to reveal how much of a nerd you are to these girls. You'll never have any luck with the ladies now," says Raymond, still lying down nursing the bruise inflicted by Kaya.
Kenny glares at Raymond. "As if you're any better. You scare them away with what you think are hilarious jokes, and then you have to go and show how stupid you are. You're also impossibly rude. Now I know why I'm not even close to being similar to you, being adopted and all. Otherwise, I don't even know how we'd be related."
"Isn't someone a bit touchy today, hmm?" remarks Raymond. "What is it, an experiment went wrong? Or was it that you got into an argument with someone? Did Karla reject you?"
"This conversation is going absolutely nowhere, and is absolutely inane," interrupts Kaya before Kenny could reply (quite angrily, as his expression revealed). "I think we can stop now."
"I don't think it's proper for you to be airing dirty laundry to complete strangers that you don't even know the names of," points out Theo. She's always a stickler for courtesy. "Introductions are in order, I suppose, so I'll start. I'm Theo, formally Theodora."
"I'm Charlie," says Charlie for the first time in a while. He had watched the entire conversation not knowing how to react or reply.
"As you have heard, I'm Kenny, and this is my idiot of a brother Raymond. The one you're sitting next to is Dennis, who is also my brother."
"And I'm Kaya," she finishes. "I have to say, by the sound of what Dennis was telling me earlier, you guys have a complex family," she says to Kenny and Raymond. "Although I have to say Kenny seems the most competent out of the three of you."
"Certainly not Raymond. I think he's about my age, and yet he acts like a 9 year old," scoffs Theo. "He kind of reminds me of an annoying suitor I have."
"Theodora darling! How could you be so cruel as to leave me behind?" cries out a voice, and Theo sighs.
"Speak of the devil, here he comes now. I thought locking him up in a room would be enough to grant me some peace." Dennis looks a little alarmed upon hearing Theo say that.
A dashing looking blond boy rushes towards Theo. He looks like a typical Prince Charming, straight out of a fairytale where he just finished rescuing a princess. He tries embracing Theo from behind, but instead, she just gives him a backwards punch to the head. He falls beside Raymond, a little stunned.
"Heathcliff. How many times have I told you to stop doing that? You understood when I told you that I don't like you that way and I don't like pushiness. Hell, you were serious at the time too!" exclaims Theo, placing a firm foot on Heathcliff's chest so that he couldn't get up.
"But love, I can't bear to not see you," protests Heathcliff, and he puts on a pleading puppy dog face. "Let me stay with you!"
"No. Go back to the house," says Theo firmly.
"Oh, just let him stay. What difference does one more idiot make?" drawls Kaya. "They can entertain each other."