https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 02:52:32 +0000 MyBB https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-60.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:13:05 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-60.html Quote:Part 5: Epilogue


Like how it had disappeared, Albatross reappeared with a flash of light. Below, I could see that we were flying above the wood between my house and Huck's fort, and the wood had become creepy and scary like how I remembered, which meant that we had arrived in the past, or maybe I should say the present. I then piloted Albatross to land on the outfield of Strawberryland. Coincidentally, two friends we knew were walking there when we arrived. They were Blueberry and Rainbow, and they remained unchanged although noticeably taller.

"Alright, welcome to the present," I said. Opening the hatch. "We have been missing for six years, so prepare for a reunion."

All of us then jumped out from Albatross, and as expected, the two girls looked at us in disbelief.

"Strawberry Shortcake...?" Blueberry asked.

"Is that really you...?" Rainbow asked.

"Why yes, it's me!" Strawberry said. "Have I been missing for so long?"

"Long? Six years is absoloo-tely long!" Blueberry said, jumping to Strawberry to hug her.

"You sure have changed, mateys," Rainbow said, looking at Strawberry and the others.

"Yep, a lot of things have happened and I bet we all can't wait to tell everyone about it, am I right?" Ginger said. "Let's call everyone to the clubhouse for a huge big reunion party, shall we, huh everyone?"

"That's a nice idea!" Angel said.

"Yeah, I agree with that," Orange said.

"Well, why not?" Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin' likes to tell stories!" Apple said.

"I'll park Albatross at my home first then," I said. "I'll meet you later."

"Okay, see you later," Huck said as I rode into Albatross and flew away.

"Well, maybe you can start telling us some stories while walking?" Rainbow asked as the group started to walk towards the clubhouse.

"Well, it all started when he... Wait, what is his name?" Angel said.

"He? He who?" Orange asked.

"So silly of you, of course he's... Wait! I can't remember too," Peppermint said.

"That's strange. I remember being away for six years along with you all," Strawberry said. "But I can't remember that one friend of us who just left."

"One friend of us? Hey, only seven of us have been away. Nobody else," Huck said.

"Oh yeah, you're right! Why all of us have been imagining an imaginary friend, huh?" Ginger said.

"Then could you tell us a bit about where you have been going?" Blueberry asked.

"Well, we have been staying in a place called The Land of Oz," Strawberry said as the group kept walking.


Meanwhile, I arrived at my home to park Albatross next to Falcon and Blackbird. I landed it successfully and jumped out from it. However, soon I noticed something strange on me. My hands had become semi-transparent and a slight distortion happened every few seconds. Wondering about what was happening, I went inside my home and checked the Time Monitor.

"Okay, let's see..." I said as I started the device. A few minutes later, I learned something quite surprising. Our trip through the Black Hole twice, along with the recent time travel, has created an interference within the flow of time. As the result, time travels in certain timelines had been disabled.

"Hmm, that still doesn't explain the thing happening to me... Wait!" I said, realizing something horrible. I then checked the Time Monitor once more and soon I learned that my fear was true. Out of all timelines, one of the timelines where time travels are disabled was the one where I had healed my past self from a fatal wound. If that time travel had never happened, that meant nobody had ever come to heal me. If nobody had ever come to heal me, that meant...

"That time... I was..." I said in disbelief. "...Dead?"

Right after saying that word, My whole body started to fade away with sparkles floating from it. The same thing happened to my whole house, and it continued until everything disappeared without a trace.


So... That's it
I was meant to die at that time
I was never meant to meet anyone
Nobody was ever meant to meet me
I was never meant to exist among them

I drifted in a dark space
With nothing but darkness
But then...
I saw light...
A bright light...
And it started to speak to me



"Greetings, My son."


Who are you?


"I am what people call as The Creator."


The Creator...?


"Yes, My son. I created the world, and also many other worlds along with the life on them."


Strawberryland too...?


"Your world is just one of many worlds I have created, My son. Although I must say that your world is more special than most others."


Special...?


"In most other worlds, at first I created only a few pairs of people, some only one pair, and let them multiply and develop the world by themselves."


I see..


"However, many of the people in your world are created by My Own hands without a pair. Also, to halt their multiplication I created most of them as female."


That explains why boys and men are scarce...


"That's right, My son. However, I also made them to be much more self-sufficient."


Including... my friends?


"Yes, My son. I created them Myself. One day, I wanted your friend Strawberry to have a little sister so I created Apple and put the knowledge of it inside her head."


That explains everything about Apple, and also why we don't have parents. Could you also tell me why I still remember about everything that happened recently, even though I was supposed to die long before?


"The flow of time is a complicated matter, My son. Different things can happen as the consequence of one disturbance to the flow of time. In your case this time, your existence will not be remembered by anyone, but your own memories and deeds on them will remain."


My deeds?


"Yes, My son. The garden you have helped to grow for them, the lives you have saved at the cost of injuring your hands, the costumes you have duplicated for your friend, everything will remain but nobody will remember who has done them."


Then how about...


"It will take a long time to answer all of your questions, My son. So, I will put all the knowledge about them in your head."


...It's now clear to me. Thank you. But what will happen to me now?


"Come with me, My son. I will take you to another world, where you will start your new life. It will be harsh, but I believe you will get through the obstacles and live a happy life, until the time we meet again."


Thank you...



So, I started a new life in a new world. At first I had no memory at all about my previous life, but recently the memories started to come back to me one by one and I decided to write a journal about it. I'm not sure if I'm accurate in writing all parts, but at least I tried. Like what He had said, the new world is much more difficult to live on. I no longer have the ability to invent devices, things are harder to gain and easier to lose, everyday is a hard work, and many other things. However, in this new world I have my parents who love me and whom I love in return, and also a brother to love and take care of. Not to mention the friends I have around me. I will live a happy life, and I know I can make that happen.

By the way, in this new world, my name is no longer Blackberry Bun. Now my name is... Sandy.


--The End-- ]]> Quote:Part 5: Epilogue


Like how it had disappeared, Albatross reappeared with a flash of light. Below, I could see that we were flying above the wood between my house and Huck's fort, and the wood had become creepy and scary like how I remembered, which meant that we had arrived in the past, or maybe I should say the present. I then piloted Albatross to land on the outfield of Strawberryland. Coincidentally, two friends we knew were walking there when we arrived. They were Blueberry and Rainbow, and they remained unchanged although noticeably taller.

"Alright, welcome to the present," I said. Opening the hatch. "We have been missing for six years, so prepare for a reunion."

All of us then jumped out from Albatross, and as expected, the two girls looked at us in disbelief.

"Strawberry Shortcake...?" Blueberry asked.

"Is that really you...?" Rainbow asked.

"Why yes, it's me!" Strawberry said. "Have I been missing for so long?"

"Long? Six years is absoloo-tely long!" Blueberry said, jumping to Strawberry to hug her.

"You sure have changed, mateys," Rainbow said, looking at Strawberry and the others.

"Yep, a lot of things have happened and I bet we all can't wait to tell everyone about it, am I right?" Ginger said. "Let's call everyone to the clubhouse for a huge big reunion party, shall we, huh everyone?"

"That's a nice idea!" Angel said.

"Yeah, I agree with that," Orange said.

"Well, why not?" Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin' likes to tell stories!" Apple said.

"I'll park Albatross at my home first then," I said. "I'll meet you later."

"Okay, see you later," Huck said as I rode into Albatross and flew away.

"Well, maybe you can start telling us some stories while walking?" Rainbow asked as the group started to walk towards the clubhouse.

"Well, it all started when he... Wait, what is his name?" Angel said.

"He? He who?" Orange asked.

"So silly of you, of course he's... Wait! I can't remember too," Peppermint said.

"That's strange. I remember being away for six years along with you all," Strawberry said. "But I can't remember that one friend of us who just left."

"One friend of us? Hey, only seven of us have been away. Nobody else," Huck said.

"Oh yeah, you're right! Why all of us have been imagining an imaginary friend, huh?" Ginger said.

"Then could you tell us a bit about where you have been going?" Blueberry asked.

"Well, we have been staying in a place called The Land of Oz," Strawberry said as the group kept walking.


Meanwhile, I arrived at my home to park Albatross next to Falcon and Blackbird. I landed it successfully and jumped out from it. However, soon I noticed something strange on me. My hands had become semi-transparent and a slight distortion happened every few seconds. Wondering about what was happening, I went inside my home and checked the Time Monitor.

"Okay, let's see..." I said as I started the device. A few minutes later, I learned something quite surprising. Our trip through the Black Hole twice, along with the recent time travel, has created an interference within the flow of time. As the result, time travels in certain timelines had been disabled.

"Hmm, that still doesn't explain the thing happening to me... Wait!" I said, realizing something horrible. I then checked the Time Monitor once more and soon I learned that my fear was true. Out of all timelines, one of the timelines where time travels are disabled was the one where I had healed my past self from a fatal wound. If that time travel had never happened, that meant nobody had ever come to heal me. If nobody had ever come to heal me, that meant...

"That time... I was..." I said in disbelief. "...Dead?"

Right after saying that word, My whole body started to fade away with sparkles floating from it. The same thing happened to my whole house, and it continued until everything disappeared without a trace.


So... That's it
I was meant to die at that time
I was never meant to meet anyone
Nobody was ever meant to meet me
I was never meant to exist among them

I drifted in a dark space
With nothing but darkness
But then...
I saw light...
A bright light...
And it started to speak to me



"Greetings, My son."


Who are you?


"I am what people call as The Creator."


The Creator...?


"Yes, My son. I created the world, and also many other worlds along with the life on them."


Strawberryland too...?


"Your world is just one of many worlds I have created, My son. Although I must say that your world is more special than most others."


Special...?


"In most other worlds, at first I created only a few pairs of people, some only one pair, and let them multiply and develop the world by themselves."


I see..


"However, many of the people in your world are created by My Own hands without a pair. Also, to halt their multiplication I created most of them as female."


That explains why boys and men are scarce...


"That's right, My son. However, I also made them to be much more self-sufficient."


Including... my friends?


"Yes, My son. I created them Myself. One day, I wanted your friend Strawberry to have a little sister so I created Apple and put the knowledge of it inside her head."


That explains everything about Apple, and also why we don't have parents. Could you also tell me why I still remember about everything that happened recently, even though I was supposed to die long before?


"The flow of time is a complicated matter, My son. Different things can happen as the consequence of one disturbance to the flow of time. In your case this time, your existence will not be remembered by anyone, but your own memories and deeds on them will remain."


My deeds?


"Yes, My son. The garden you have helped to grow for them, the lives you have saved at the cost of injuring your hands, the costumes you have duplicated for your friend, everything will remain but nobody will remember who has done them."


Then how about...


"It will take a long time to answer all of your questions, My son. So, I will put all the knowledge about them in your head."


...It's now clear to me. Thank you. But what will happen to me now?


"Come with me, My son. I will take you to another world, where you will start your new life. It will be harsh, but I believe you will get through the obstacles and live a happy life, until the time we meet again."


Thank you...



So, I started a new life in a new world. At first I had no memory at all about my previous life, but recently the memories started to come back to me one by one and I decided to write a journal about it. I'm not sure if I'm accurate in writing all parts, but at least I tried. Like what He had said, the new world is much more difficult to live on. I no longer have the ability to invent devices, things are harder to gain and easier to lose, everyday is a hard work, and many other things. However, in this new world I have my parents who love me and whom I love in return, and also a brother to love and take care of. Not to mention the friends I have around me. I will live a happy life, and I know I can make that happen.

By the way, in this new world, my name is no longer Blackberry Bun. Now my name is... Sandy.


--The End-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-59.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:09:07 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-59.html Quote:Part 4: Future World


"Finally..." I said. "It's finished!"

"Yes, son. Your ship is now fixed and ready to fly again," Henry said.

"And at just the right time! Let's tell everyone about this good news," I said, going off to the main castle.

A few minutes later, I came back to the workshop followed by everyone else. A lot of time had passed, and everyone besides me looked different than how they had been when we had come to Oz six years before. It was then a normal sight for me, but I had been quite surprised at the day when Glinda gave everyone new clothes five years before. All of my friends ended up having the same clothing like the other Strawberryland kids, and every girl had the idea of letting their hair to grow long so by the next few years everyone ended up having exactly the same looks as the other Strawberryland kids. As for me, I had refused Glinda's offer because I had been so fond of my black and white shirt. So, Glinda had only put a spell on my clothing so it would grow as my body did. Quite a helpful gift if I might say.

"Is it really finished?" Angel asked.

"So, now we can finally go back to Strawberryland?" Orange asked.

"Yes, Albatross is finally fixed," I said. "But now that it's different, maybe I should rename it..."

"Heh, renaming as always," Peppermint said.

"But he's right! You see, that ship is totally completely different than the one we used to get here, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Apple Dumplin' is happy to see this," Apple said, strangely still using third person to mention herself, just like the Apple from Alternate Strawberryland.

"That's berry great, Blackberry!" Strawberry said. "So what's the new name?"

"Well, his first ship was Falcon, then Blackbird, and then Albatross..." Huck said. "I guess it will be another bird for the new name. Eagle maybe?"

"I changed my mind. No rename," I said. "This is our new Albatross."

"You're sorta a wishy washy kid huh?" Peppermint said. "Anyway, when will we go?"

"Anytime you wish," I replied.

"We should tell everyone else first," Angel said. "It's rude to go without saying goodbye first."

"You're berry right, Angel Cake," Strawberry said.

"Let's tell Glinda first," Orange said, walking away to see Glinda. Everyone else followed, leaving me and Henry in the workshop.

"Six years..." I said, staring at Albatross. "I wonder if our Strawberryland friends miss us."

"I believe they do, son," Henry said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Unlike me. I had nobody else in my world, so there aren't any people who miss me."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me that some time ago," I said.

"That's why I don't need to go home. In this world I have Glinda and many others with me," Henry said.

"It has been nice working with you, and soon we have to part ways," I said. "Time flies..."

"Yes, time flies, son. You're now as tall as me. I remember the first time we met, you only reached my shoulder," Henry said.

"Thank you for helping me in fixing my ship," I said. "And thank you... for being my father all this time."

"I have to thank you too," Henry said. "For being my son. Love you, son."

"Love you too, Dad," I said, and we had a hug.

I then followed everyone else to see Glinda. While on the way I looked around, trying to carve the scenery deep into my memories. I knew that soon I probably would not be able to see all those anymore, so I tried to enjoy it for the last time. A few minutes later, I arrived at the Emerald Castle's main hall, where everyone else had already been there along with Glinda.

"Hi, Blackberry," Glinda greeted as I approached. "I heard that your ship has been fixed."

"Yes," I replied.

"Congratulations. I'm happy for you," Glinda said, but she didn't sound so cheerful. I also noticed that her smile wasn't like her usual smile, it seemed forced.

"When we're gonna go home?" Angel asked. "I hope not right now. I still want to at least say goodbye to my friends here."

"Me too, actually," Orange said.

"And me three! I bet everyone else are the same, am I right?" Ginger said, and everyone else nodded.

"Then, I think you should go to your friends and give them proper farewell," Glinda said. "I would hate it if suddenly my good friends left without letting me know."

"Yeah, I agree with that," I said. "Even though Albatross is fixed, I still have to make sure it's fully prepared. We all can take our time."

So, everyone agreed that we would leave two days later, and then all except me left the Emerald Castle. During our stay in the Land of Oz, so many things had happened that it would take too long to tell them all. All I could say was that each of us, except me, had ended up as the leader of a region, although none had to actually lead. The people could take care of themselves, so each of the Strawberryland kids had preferred to be considered as a friend instead, and the people agreed to consider them as "Biggest Friend", which was quite true because compared to us, all residents of Oz were rather small with only a few exception.

After everyone else were far enough, I approached Glinda.

"Glinda..." I said. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Glinda replied, shaking her head.

"Really?" I asked, and she let out a sigh.

"Like always, I can't hide anything from you," she said. "You know, a lot of things have happened during your stay. Do you remember the first time we met?"

"Yes..." I said. "The night when we were locked in a dungeon by your sister."

"At that time, I considered you all merely as a bunch of victims I wanted to help, but after having all those experiences over these years, it started to grow on me," she said.

"I see..." I said.

"Now, all of you are my closest friends, and..." she said, pausing and starting to leak some tears. "...And now that you will go..."

"Don't say anything more," I interrupted. "It's not good for your throat. I can understand how you feel."

"Will you all come again sometime?" she asked.

"Don't worry, we will," I replied. "Once I get back home I will make a new dimension door device to travel here along with the others."

"Thank you, Blackberry," she said.

"Now if you pardon me, I'm going to walk around for the last time," I said.

So, the rest of the day and also the whole next day were spent walking around Emerald City. There was no camera or such so the only thing I could do was to carve everything into memory. A bit of guilt haunted me because even though I had said to Glinda about coming again, I was not sure if it was possible. Land of Oz was different than any other different worlds I had visited. I actually had once tried to fix my Time Remote II with Henry's help, and the repair had been a success. However, like what had happened before, the remote blew up after determining the destination. It seemed that somehow multiverse travels was made impossible on this world, so the only way to go back home to Strawberryland was to repair and modify Albatross so it would be strong enough to fly through the Black Hole again. The modification had been the cause of the long time it had taken. If merely repairing Albatross had been enough, it would had only taken one year. In any case, Henry and I were sure that the new Albatross would be strong and durable enough to endure the trip through Black Hole.

The other Strawberryland kids returned to Emerald Castle at dinner time before the departure day. They said that all their people were unwilling to let them go, but in the end they had understood. Not much was said, and later all of us went to sleep.

At the next day, I was still asleep when Huck woke me up.

"Hey, Blackberry! Wake up!" he said.

"Huh? What is it...?" I said, slowly waking up but still half asleep.

"Look outside!" he replied, pointing at the window in my bedroom. I remembered that through the window I could see the courtyard of Emerald Castle. I then stood up from my bed, put my glasses on, walked to the window, and looked outside. To my surprise, the courtyard was crowded with numerous creatures I recognized as the inhabitants from various regions of Oz.

"What's with the crowd?" I asked.

"I don't know, I have no idea," Huck replied. "Glinda is already down there asking them about it."

"I hope this is not a bad thing," I said. Suddenly, Glinda appeared near us.

"Don't worry. There's nothing bad at all," she said.

"Then, what's happening outside?" Angel immediately asked as she came into my bedroom.

"Is it really nothing bad?" Orange asked, also as she came into the bedroom. The rest of Strawberryland kids followed her.

"Let's just go there and see for ourselves," Glinda said with a smile, and then she used her Mass Teleport spell to transport us to a large balcony overlooking the courtyard. As we appeared, the crowd below cheered loudly.

The view was a big surprise for us. The crowd below cheered for us, and we could see boards and banners carried among the crowd with writings like "We will miss you!", "We love you!", "Come back again someday!", and such. All of us waved our hand towards the crowd, and they cheered even louder than before.

"All people love you," Glinda said behind us. "I hope you will come back again someday."

"Don't worry, we will!" Strawberry said.

"Yeah, of course we will!" Angel said, and then we had a big hug with Glinda.

"Hey, look over there!" Huck suddenly said, pointing to the sky. All of us, including the crowd below, looked at the direction he had pointed. To everyone's surprise, it was Gladys coming to us riding her winged monkey. Soon, she landed a few meters from us. Still with her sour face like usual, she walked towards us. There was nothing but silence as that happened, and then she stopped right in front of me, who was the closest to her.

"So the news was true!" Gladys said. "That you are going!"

"That's right," I said.

"Heh, good news for me! No more meddling kids!" she said, followed by her wicked laugh.

"You came all the way here just to say that?!" Peppermint said, quite upset.

"Yes of course! What else?! This is the happiest moment in my whole life!" Gladys replied, followed by her laugh again.

"Hmph!" Peppermint muttered.

"Anyway, take this with you," Gladys said, materializing a small bottle filled with orange fluid on her right hand.

"What is that? Poison?" Angel said.

"I wish, but it's not," Gladys replied, giving the small bottle to me. "It's the last Potion of Circe I have."

"What? The one you made years ago from Strawberry's hair?" Huck asked.

"What else?" Gladys replied. "Consider this a parting gift from me."

"...Thanks," I said.

"Don't get me wrong! After you go I will start spreading terror again over this land, and none of you will be there to stop me!" Gladys said as she jumped on her winged monkey and flew away with her wicked laugh.

"Is this land going to be okay?" Orange wondered, staring at the sky.

"Don't worry," Glinda said. "She said all those out of self-esteem, but I can assume that she will probably be the one who miss you the most. She has changed for the better, and it was thanks to all of you."

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go..." Strawberry said. "Goodbye, Glinda."

"Goodbye all, have a safe trip," Glinda said, and then I called Albatross using a remote, just like how I usually did with Falcon. Immediately, Albatross came to us and floated right in front of the balcony's railing, waiting for us to come in. With proper farewell, all of us rode into Albatross and soon I piloted it to fly away. However, I piloted it towards the workshop behind the Emerald Castle first. As expected, Henry was at the workshop's rooftop looking at us and waving his hand. We did the same to him even though he probably didn't see it.

"Alright, let's fly back to our home," I said. "Are you ready?"

"Ready!" everyone answered, and with full speed ahead I piloted Albatross towards the space, and then towards the White Hole where we had come out from. Soon, the White Hole was in sight.

"Here comes the rough ride. Everyone ready? Seatbelts fastened?" I asked.

"Do you really have to ask us again? We're completely ready now, right everyone?" Peppermint said, and everyone else replied with yes.

"Okay, here we go!" I said, starting to pilot Albatross into the White Hole. We entered the White Hole safely and soon we were once again flying through the unknown space. The engine was still running perfectly so I could safely say that Albatross resisted the disable successfully. Finding the way out from the unknown space was easier than I had thought, thanks to Henry's advice. All I needed to do was to find any force pushing Albatross towards a certain direction, and then go against it. The new Albatross was so strong that the force felt like nothing significant, and soon without our knowing we were already back to space with Black Hole behind us and our planet in sight.

"We did it. That's our planet," I said, and everyone else cheered.

I then piloted Albatross towards Strawberryland. As we came closer to the atmosphere, the limit in the sky pushed Albatross down. But like Black Hole, it was nothing significant. Without any trouble, a few minutes later Albatross landed safely on the outfield of Strawberryland.

"Welcome home everyone," I said, opening Albatross' hatch. Everyone immediately jumped out with excitement.

"Whoa, look at that! The trees, the mountains, the stones and rocks, it's really our Strawberryland for real, right everyone?!" Ginger said.

"We're home again," Angel said.

"I can't wait to meet everyone else! It has been berry long!" Strawberry said.

"I wonder how my fort will look like after all these years... Huh?" Huck said, seemed to notice something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Umm... nothing. For a second, you looked a bit transparent. Maybe it was just my imagination," he replied. I then looked around my body and found nothing wrong.

"Yeah, maybe," I said, then I noticed someone coming from afar. "Hey, someone's coming."

All of us looked towards the person. Soon, the person noticed us and approached us riding a skateboard. It turned out that the person was a girl around our age none of us had ever seen before. She had pink hair with its style similar to the younger Peppermint, although slightly longer. She wore what seemed like purple sweater along with unbuttoned orange shirt on top of the sweater. Unlike any other Strawberryland kids I knew, the girl wore orange shorts so we also could see that she wore orange and purple socks, and purple and white shoes. Because she wore skateboarding safety equipment including the helmet, we didn't know if she usually wore a hat or not.

"Hi!" The girl greeted us, stopping her skateboard easily with style. "I have never seen any of you! Are you new? I like meeting new friends!"

"Yeah... sorta..." I said.

"Nice to meet you!" the girl said with excitement. "My name is Purple Peach Streusel Pie, but you can call me Peach Streusel!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm..." Strawberry said, but there was an interruption.

"PEACH!" we heard a girl yelling and looked towards the source. We saw another girl, slightly older than Apple, we had never seen before. The girl had blonde short hair decorated with a mango-shaped hair ornament as the center of a pink and white bow, yellow T-shirt with a green horizontal line on the stomach, maroon trousers, and orange shoes. She also wore a bracelet with mango-shaped ornament on it. Also, she had a mole under her eye which reminded us about Sour Grapes. As she came close to us, she stopped and panted.

"What happened, Mango?" Peach asked the girl, and from there we noticed that the other girl's name was Mango.

"Jack..." Mango replied, still panting. "He fainted, and now he has a high fever!"

"What?! Where is he now?" Peach asked, seemed surprised.

"Near the river. Persimmons is with him now, but we have no idea what to do!" Mango replied in panic.

"Calm down! I'm going to call Mom and Dad! Watch him in the meantime!" Peach said, rushing away. We were quite surprised hearing her mentioning "Mom" and "Dad".

"Hey," I said to Mango, who was still there. "Take us to him. We might be able to help."

Immediately, all of us walked along with Mango. We didn't run because Mango was already too exhausted to run. There was a conversation on the way.

"By the way, who are Jack and Persimmons," I asked. "We're sorta... new."

"Jack is my brother and Persimmons is my twin sister," Mango replied. "Peach is also my sister."

"As sisters, you and Peach don't look similar," I commented.

"Peach and Jack are adopted by our parents. Only I and Persimmons were born from our mother," Mango replied. I then intended to ask about the existence of parents for them, but something inside told me not to, so I cancelled it. Soon, we arrived at the river I remembered as the place where Huck had given me the idea about jumping over obstacles. Under a nearby tree, we saw a fainted boy lying down and a girl kneeling next to him. The boy, who was around the twin sisters' age, wore green shoes, green trousers, green jacket, green scarf, and green hat over his black hair. The girl wore purple shoes, beige trousers, purple shirt with similar patterns like Mango's, but the line on the stomach was orange and the shirt had long sleeves. There was also a persimmons-shaped badge placed on her left chest. She had long purple hair and she wore an orange hat with persimmons ornament on it as the center of a bow.

"Sis, where are Mom and Dad?!" the girl asked.

"Peach is going for them," Mango replied. "How is Jack?"

"Not good. His fever isn't going any better..." the girl replied. "Who are they by the way?"

"Peach was with them when I met her," Mango said.

"This is not a right time for introduction, but I'm Persimmons, Mango's twin sister, and this is Jackfruit Jam, our brother," Persimmons said.

"Yeah, this is not the right time," I said, kneeling next to Jack. "Can you hear me, Jack?"

There was a weak nod, which meant that he was no longer fainted but still too weak to get up. I touched his forehead with my hand, and indeed he had a very high fever.

"What should I do? I have no idea..." Persimmons said, leaking tears.

"He will make it, sis!" Mango said. "We must believe in him!"

"But... I don't know..." Persimmons said, still in tears.

"Give him this. It will help," I said, taking Potion of Circe from my shirt pocket.

"Oh, the legendary potion!" Orange said.

"What is that?" Mango asked.

"This is a parting gift I got from my... friend," I said. "This potion is said to be capable of curing any illness."

"Really? Please give it to him right away!" Persimmons said.

"Wait, Persimmons!" Mango said. "That potion sounds... too good to be true."

"Then what should we do? Just waiting, doing nothing?!" Persimmons said.

"No, but..." Mango said, starting to look confused and then she looked at me. "Can I trust you?"

"What will I gain for lying?" I asked back.

"Please, this is much worse than any others ever happened to him. He might not make it this time!" Persimmons said. There was a brief silence until Mango gave a weak nod.

"Alright," I said, looking at Jack again. "Listen to me, Jack. I'm going to give you a potion. Open your mouth, and then swallow it after I put it into your mouth. Do you understand?"

Jack replied with a weak nod, and then he opened his mouth. I then poured the whole bottle of potion into his mouth, which I soon closed with my hand. Then, I lifted his neck with my other hand while Persimmons kept his head straight up.

"Swallow it now," I said, and he did as I had told him. Then, I put him down into lying position again. Soon, his body radiated orange aura which faded a few seconds later. As soon as the aura disappeared, he opened his eyes wide and got up into sitting position.

"Are you alright now?" I asked.

"Yeah, it feels like the fever was just a dream," Jack replied.

"Oh, Jack! I'm so glad! I was so worried about you!" Persimmons said, hugging Jack. Mango also followed.

"There goes my parting gift," I said, looking at the empty small bottle.

"You have no idea how grateful we are!" Persimmons said to me. "Friends and families are everything for us, and we don't know what to do without each other."

"No problem," I said.

"By the way, we still don't know your names," Mango said.

"I'm Blackberry Bun," I said.

"I'm Strawberry Shortcake!" Strawberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' is Strawberry's sister," Apple said.

"Angel Cake," Angel said.

"My name is Orange Blossom," Orange said.

"Peppermint Fizz is me," Peppermint said.

"Huckleberry Pie," Huck said.

"Ginger Snap! Like in snap!" Ginger said, snapping her finger. However, as we mentioned our names, the face expression of the trio changed from happiness into confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

"The Berry Princess...?" Mango said, which confused us.

"Ah, Mom and Dad are here!" Jack said, looking towards a direction. We looked towards the direction and saw Peach, no longer in her skateboarding equipment, running to us. We were very surprised looking at one of the two adults who ran alongside Peach. Their mother was Sour Grapes. Their father was a rather fat man wearing blue shoes, blue trousers, blue shirt with pictures of clouds and stars on it, and what looked like a sleeping hat. The trio started running to their sister and parents as their response, while we stood still.

"My dear, are you alright?" Sour Grapes said, hugging Jack.

"I'm fine now, Mom. They helped me," Jack said.

"Who?" Sour Grapes asked.

"They are there," Jack replied, looking at us. Sour Grapes then looked at us and she immediately looked surprised.

"That can't be...!" she said, approaching us. When she got close to us, she looked at us one by one. "Why are you all little again?"

"Little again...?" Angel asked.

"We have been away for years. We have no idea about what you said," Orange said.

"Hmm..." Sour Grapes said, thinking. "Come to our house, dears. I sense long storytelling coming."

We then followed the family walking through the outfield of Strawberryland. On the way, we came across Huck's fort which seemed abandoned looking at the huckleberry vines all over them. Not much was said about it, and we kept walking. I then noticed that we were walking into the wood between my house and Huck's fort. I remembered the wood being creepy and scary with all the dead trees there, but as I looked around I noticed that the wood had become much more alive than I remembered. Soon, we arrived at a large log cabin built in the middle of the wood.

"Now go inside, dears. I will stay outside with our guests," Sour Grapes said to her kids.

"Okay, Mom," Peach said, and all of them went inside followed by their father.

There was a wooden bench put in front of the cabin. Sour Grapes sat in the middle of it while two of us, Strawberry and Apple to be exact, sat next to her. The rest of us had to sit on the ground in half-circle in front of the bench.

"So, could you tell us anything, Sour Grapes?" I asked.

"I have left that name, dear. Now my name is Stella Grapes," she answered.

"Oh, then could you tell us more about yourself?" Orange asked.

"I'm now married, dear. And I gave birth to Mango Jubilee and Persimmons six years ago," Stella Grapes said. "I also adopted two kids, Peach Streusel and Jackfruit Jam."

"You said about us being little again. What did you mean?" Strawberry asked.

"I have no idea about what happened to you, but all of you are supposed to be already mature by now," Stella Grapes said.

"Us? Mature?" Angel asked.

"I want to tell you further, but just now something inside tells me not to," Stella Grapes said. "I'm sorry."

"Hmm... do you have a calendar I can see please?" I asked.

"Honey, could you bring a calendar here?!" Stella Grapes shouted to the cabin, and soon her husband came out bringing a table calendar. "Thank you, honey."

"Anytime, honey," her husband said, and he went inside. I looked at the calendar and got quite surprised.

"Just as I thought. We ended up seven years ahead of our supposed timeline," I said.

"Seven years?" the other kids said, surprised.

"We are indeed supposed to be already mature by now, except Apple. I think she's close to Peach's age," I said.

"That is correct, Apple Dumplin' is one of Peach's best friends," Stella Grapes said. "She's two years older than Peach, though."

"Thank you for the information. I guess we have to go now, to our correct timeline," I said, standing up and calling Albatross, which soon landed nearby.

"Have a safe trip, dears," Stella Grapes said as we rode into Albatross.

"So, how are we going to go seven years back, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked as I closed the hatch.

"Yeah, Blackberry. How?" Orange asked.

"Don't worry about that. Albatross can't do multiverse travels, but it can do time travels. It will be a rough ride, though, so buckle up," I said.

Soon, I piloted Albatross to the sky and activated its time travel function. With a flash of light, Albatross immediately disappeared without a trace.

--To be continued-- ]]> Quote:Part 4: Future World


"Finally..." I said. "It's finished!"

"Yes, son. Your ship is now fixed and ready to fly again," Henry said.

"And at just the right time! Let's tell everyone about this good news," I said, going off to the main castle.

A few minutes later, I came back to the workshop followed by everyone else. A lot of time had passed, and everyone besides me looked different than how they had been when we had come to Oz six years before. It was then a normal sight for me, but I had been quite surprised at the day when Glinda gave everyone new clothes five years before. All of my friends ended up having the same clothing like the other Strawberryland kids, and every girl had the idea of letting their hair to grow long so by the next few years everyone ended up having exactly the same looks as the other Strawberryland kids. As for me, I had refused Glinda's offer because I had been so fond of my black and white shirt. So, Glinda had only put a spell on my clothing so it would grow as my body did. Quite a helpful gift if I might say.

"Is it really finished?" Angel asked.

"So, now we can finally go back to Strawberryland?" Orange asked.

"Yes, Albatross is finally fixed," I said. "But now that it's different, maybe I should rename it..."

"Heh, renaming as always," Peppermint said.

"But he's right! You see, that ship is totally completely different than the one we used to get here, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Apple Dumplin' is happy to see this," Apple said, strangely still using third person to mention herself, just like the Apple from Alternate Strawberryland.

"That's berry great, Blackberry!" Strawberry said. "So what's the new name?"

"Well, his first ship was Falcon, then Blackbird, and then Albatross..." Huck said. "I guess it will be another bird for the new name. Eagle maybe?"

"I changed my mind. No rename," I said. "This is our new Albatross."

"You're sorta a wishy washy kid huh?" Peppermint said. "Anyway, when will we go?"

"Anytime you wish," I replied.

"We should tell everyone else first," Angel said. "It's rude to go without saying goodbye first."

"You're berry right, Angel Cake," Strawberry said.

"Let's tell Glinda first," Orange said, walking away to see Glinda. Everyone else followed, leaving me and Henry in the workshop.

"Six years..." I said, staring at Albatross. "I wonder if our Strawberryland friends miss us."

"I believe they do, son," Henry said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Unlike me. I had nobody else in my world, so there aren't any people who miss me."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me that some time ago," I said.

"That's why I don't need to go home. In this world I have Glinda and many others with me," Henry said.

"It has been nice working with you, and soon we have to part ways," I said. "Time flies..."

"Yes, time flies, son. You're now as tall as me. I remember the first time we met, you only reached my shoulder," Henry said.

"Thank you for helping me in fixing my ship," I said. "And thank you... for being my father all this time."

"I have to thank you too," Henry said. "For being my son. Love you, son."

"Love you too, Dad," I said, and we had a hug.

I then followed everyone else to see Glinda. While on the way I looked around, trying to carve the scenery deep into my memories. I knew that soon I probably would not be able to see all those anymore, so I tried to enjoy it for the last time. A few minutes later, I arrived at the Emerald Castle's main hall, where everyone else had already been there along with Glinda.

"Hi, Blackberry," Glinda greeted as I approached. "I heard that your ship has been fixed."

"Yes," I replied.

"Congratulations. I'm happy for you," Glinda said, but she didn't sound so cheerful. I also noticed that her smile wasn't like her usual smile, it seemed forced.

"When we're gonna go home?" Angel asked. "I hope not right now. I still want to at least say goodbye to my friends here."

"Me too, actually," Orange said.

"And me three! I bet everyone else are the same, am I right?" Ginger said, and everyone else nodded.

"Then, I think you should go to your friends and give them proper farewell," Glinda said. "I would hate it if suddenly my good friends left without letting me know."

"Yeah, I agree with that," I said. "Even though Albatross is fixed, I still have to make sure it's fully prepared. We all can take our time."

So, everyone agreed that we would leave two days later, and then all except me left the Emerald Castle. During our stay in the Land of Oz, so many things had happened that it would take too long to tell them all. All I could say was that each of us, except me, had ended up as the leader of a region, although none had to actually lead. The people could take care of themselves, so each of the Strawberryland kids had preferred to be considered as a friend instead, and the people agreed to consider them as "Biggest Friend", which was quite true because compared to us, all residents of Oz were rather small with only a few exception.

After everyone else were far enough, I approached Glinda.

"Glinda..." I said. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Glinda replied, shaking her head.

"Really?" I asked, and she let out a sigh.

"Like always, I can't hide anything from you," she said. "You know, a lot of things have happened during your stay. Do you remember the first time we met?"

"Yes..." I said. "The night when we were locked in a dungeon by your sister."

"At that time, I considered you all merely as a bunch of victims I wanted to help, but after having all those experiences over these years, it started to grow on me," she said.

"I see..." I said.

"Now, all of you are my closest friends, and..." she said, pausing and starting to leak some tears. "...And now that you will go..."

"Don't say anything more," I interrupted. "It's not good for your throat. I can understand how you feel."

"Will you all come again sometime?" she asked.

"Don't worry, we will," I replied. "Once I get back home I will make a new dimension door device to travel here along with the others."

"Thank you, Blackberry," she said.

"Now if you pardon me, I'm going to walk around for the last time," I said.

So, the rest of the day and also the whole next day were spent walking around Emerald City. There was no camera or such so the only thing I could do was to carve everything into memory. A bit of guilt haunted me because even though I had said to Glinda about coming again, I was not sure if it was possible. Land of Oz was different than any other different worlds I had visited. I actually had once tried to fix my Time Remote II with Henry's help, and the repair had been a success. However, like what had happened before, the remote blew up after determining the destination. It seemed that somehow multiverse travels was made impossible on this world, so the only way to go back home to Strawberryland was to repair and modify Albatross so it would be strong enough to fly through the Black Hole again. The modification had been the cause of the long time it had taken. If merely repairing Albatross had been enough, it would had only taken one year. In any case, Henry and I were sure that the new Albatross would be strong and durable enough to endure the trip through Black Hole.

The other Strawberryland kids returned to Emerald Castle at dinner time before the departure day. They said that all their people were unwilling to let them go, but in the end they had understood. Not much was said, and later all of us went to sleep.

At the next day, I was still asleep when Huck woke me up.

"Hey, Blackberry! Wake up!" he said.

"Huh? What is it...?" I said, slowly waking up but still half asleep.

"Look outside!" he replied, pointing at the window in my bedroom. I remembered that through the window I could see the courtyard of Emerald Castle. I then stood up from my bed, put my glasses on, walked to the window, and looked outside. To my surprise, the courtyard was crowded with numerous creatures I recognized as the inhabitants from various regions of Oz.

"What's with the crowd?" I asked.

"I don't know, I have no idea," Huck replied. "Glinda is already down there asking them about it."

"I hope this is not a bad thing," I said. Suddenly, Glinda appeared near us.

"Don't worry. There's nothing bad at all," she said.

"Then, what's happening outside?" Angel immediately asked as she came into my bedroom.

"Is it really nothing bad?" Orange asked, also as she came into the bedroom. The rest of Strawberryland kids followed her.

"Let's just go there and see for ourselves," Glinda said with a smile, and then she used her Mass Teleport spell to transport us to a large balcony overlooking the courtyard. As we appeared, the crowd below cheered loudly.

The view was a big surprise for us. The crowd below cheered for us, and we could see boards and banners carried among the crowd with writings like "We will miss you!", "We love you!", "Come back again someday!", and such. All of us waved our hand towards the crowd, and they cheered even louder than before.

"All people love you," Glinda said behind us. "I hope you will come back again someday."

"Don't worry, we will!" Strawberry said.

"Yeah, of course we will!" Angel said, and then we had a big hug with Glinda.

"Hey, look over there!" Huck suddenly said, pointing to the sky. All of us, including the crowd below, looked at the direction he had pointed. To everyone's surprise, it was Gladys coming to us riding her winged monkey. Soon, she landed a few meters from us. Still with her sour face like usual, she walked towards us. There was nothing but silence as that happened, and then she stopped right in front of me, who was the closest to her.

"So the news was true!" Gladys said. "That you are going!"

"That's right," I said.

"Heh, good news for me! No more meddling kids!" she said, followed by her wicked laugh.

"You came all the way here just to say that?!" Peppermint said, quite upset.

"Yes of course! What else?! This is the happiest moment in my whole life!" Gladys replied, followed by her laugh again.

"Hmph!" Peppermint muttered.

"Anyway, take this with you," Gladys said, materializing a small bottle filled with orange fluid on her right hand.

"What is that? Poison?" Angel said.

"I wish, but it's not," Gladys replied, giving the small bottle to me. "It's the last Potion of Circe I have."

"What? The one you made years ago from Strawberry's hair?" Huck asked.

"What else?" Gladys replied. "Consider this a parting gift from me."

"...Thanks," I said.

"Don't get me wrong! After you go I will start spreading terror again over this land, and none of you will be there to stop me!" Gladys said as she jumped on her winged monkey and flew away with her wicked laugh.

"Is this land going to be okay?" Orange wondered, staring at the sky.

"Don't worry," Glinda said. "She said all those out of self-esteem, but I can assume that she will probably be the one who miss you the most. She has changed for the better, and it was thanks to all of you."

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go..." Strawberry said. "Goodbye, Glinda."

"Goodbye all, have a safe trip," Glinda said, and then I called Albatross using a remote, just like how I usually did with Falcon. Immediately, Albatross came to us and floated right in front of the balcony's railing, waiting for us to come in. With proper farewell, all of us rode into Albatross and soon I piloted it to fly away. However, I piloted it towards the workshop behind the Emerald Castle first. As expected, Henry was at the workshop's rooftop looking at us and waving his hand. We did the same to him even though he probably didn't see it.

"Alright, let's fly back to our home," I said. "Are you ready?"

"Ready!" everyone answered, and with full speed ahead I piloted Albatross towards the space, and then towards the White Hole where we had come out from. Soon, the White Hole was in sight.

"Here comes the rough ride. Everyone ready? Seatbelts fastened?" I asked.

"Do you really have to ask us again? We're completely ready now, right everyone?" Peppermint said, and everyone else replied with yes.

"Okay, here we go!" I said, starting to pilot Albatross into the White Hole. We entered the White Hole safely and soon we were once again flying through the unknown space. The engine was still running perfectly so I could safely say that Albatross resisted the disable successfully. Finding the way out from the unknown space was easier than I had thought, thanks to Henry's advice. All I needed to do was to find any force pushing Albatross towards a certain direction, and then go against it. The new Albatross was so strong that the force felt like nothing significant, and soon without our knowing we were already back to space with Black Hole behind us and our planet in sight.

"We did it. That's our planet," I said, and everyone else cheered.

I then piloted Albatross towards Strawberryland. As we came closer to the atmosphere, the limit in the sky pushed Albatross down. But like Black Hole, it was nothing significant. Without any trouble, a few minutes later Albatross landed safely on the outfield of Strawberryland.

"Welcome home everyone," I said, opening Albatross' hatch. Everyone immediately jumped out with excitement.

"Whoa, look at that! The trees, the mountains, the stones and rocks, it's really our Strawberryland for real, right everyone?!" Ginger said.

"We're home again," Angel said.

"I can't wait to meet everyone else! It has been berry long!" Strawberry said.

"I wonder how my fort will look like after all these years... Huh?" Huck said, seemed to notice something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Umm... nothing. For a second, you looked a bit transparent. Maybe it was just my imagination," he replied. I then looked around my body and found nothing wrong.

"Yeah, maybe," I said, then I noticed someone coming from afar. "Hey, someone's coming."

All of us looked towards the person. Soon, the person noticed us and approached us riding a skateboard. It turned out that the person was a girl around our age none of us had ever seen before. She had pink hair with its style similar to the younger Peppermint, although slightly longer. She wore what seemed like purple sweater along with unbuttoned orange shirt on top of the sweater. Unlike any other Strawberryland kids I knew, the girl wore orange shorts so we also could see that she wore orange and purple socks, and purple and white shoes. Because she wore skateboarding safety equipment including the helmet, we didn't know if she usually wore a hat or not.

"Hi!" The girl greeted us, stopping her skateboard easily with style. "I have never seen any of you! Are you new? I like meeting new friends!"

"Yeah... sorta..." I said.

"Nice to meet you!" the girl said with excitement. "My name is Purple Peach Streusel Pie, but you can call me Peach Streusel!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm..." Strawberry said, but there was an interruption.

"PEACH!" we heard a girl yelling and looked towards the source. We saw another girl, slightly older than Apple, we had never seen before. The girl had blonde short hair decorated with a mango-shaped hair ornament as the center of a pink and white bow, yellow T-shirt with a green horizontal line on the stomach, maroon trousers, and orange shoes. She also wore a bracelet with mango-shaped ornament on it. Also, she had a mole under her eye which reminded us about Sour Grapes. As she came close to us, she stopped and panted.

"What happened, Mango?" Peach asked the girl, and from there we noticed that the other girl's name was Mango.

"Jack..." Mango replied, still panting. "He fainted, and now he has a high fever!"

"What?! Where is he now?" Peach asked, seemed surprised.

"Near the river. Persimmons is with him now, but we have no idea what to do!" Mango replied in panic.

"Calm down! I'm going to call Mom and Dad! Watch him in the meantime!" Peach said, rushing away. We were quite surprised hearing her mentioning "Mom" and "Dad".

"Hey," I said to Mango, who was still there. "Take us to him. We might be able to help."

Immediately, all of us walked along with Mango. We didn't run because Mango was already too exhausted to run. There was a conversation on the way.

"By the way, who are Jack and Persimmons," I asked. "We're sorta... new."

"Jack is my brother and Persimmons is my twin sister," Mango replied. "Peach is also my sister."

"As sisters, you and Peach don't look similar," I commented.

"Peach and Jack are adopted by our parents. Only I and Persimmons were born from our mother," Mango replied. I then intended to ask about the existence of parents for them, but something inside told me not to, so I cancelled it. Soon, we arrived at the river I remembered as the place where Huck had given me the idea about jumping over obstacles. Under a nearby tree, we saw a fainted boy lying down and a girl kneeling next to him. The boy, who was around the twin sisters' age, wore green shoes, green trousers, green jacket, green scarf, and green hat over his black hair. The girl wore purple shoes, beige trousers, purple shirt with similar patterns like Mango's, but the line on the stomach was orange and the shirt had long sleeves. There was also a persimmons-shaped badge placed on her left chest. She had long purple hair and she wore an orange hat with persimmons ornament on it as the center of a bow.

"Sis, where are Mom and Dad?!" the girl asked.

"Peach is going for them," Mango replied. "How is Jack?"

"Not good. His fever isn't going any better..." the girl replied. "Who are they by the way?"

"Peach was with them when I met her," Mango said.

"This is not a right time for introduction, but I'm Persimmons, Mango's twin sister, and this is Jackfruit Jam, our brother," Persimmons said.

"Yeah, this is not the right time," I said, kneeling next to Jack. "Can you hear me, Jack?"

There was a weak nod, which meant that he was no longer fainted but still too weak to get up. I touched his forehead with my hand, and indeed he had a very high fever.

"What should I do? I have no idea..." Persimmons said, leaking tears.

"He will make it, sis!" Mango said. "We must believe in him!"

"But... I don't know..." Persimmons said, still in tears.

"Give him this. It will help," I said, taking Potion of Circe from my shirt pocket.

"Oh, the legendary potion!" Orange said.

"What is that?" Mango asked.

"This is a parting gift I got from my... friend," I said. "This potion is said to be capable of curing any illness."

"Really? Please give it to him right away!" Persimmons said.

"Wait, Persimmons!" Mango said. "That potion sounds... too good to be true."

"Then what should we do? Just waiting, doing nothing?!" Persimmons said.

"No, but..." Mango said, starting to look confused and then she looked at me. "Can I trust you?"

"What will I gain for lying?" I asked back.

"Please, this is much worse than any others ever happened to him. He might not make it this time!" Persimmons said. There was a brief silence until Mango gave a weak nod.

"Alright," I said, looking at Jack again. "Listen to me, Jack. I'm going to give you a potion. Open your mouth, and then swallow it after I put it into your mouth. Do you understand?"

Jack replied with a weak nod, and then he opened his mouth. I then poured the whole bottle of potion into his mouth, which I soon closed with my hand. Then, I lifted his neck with my other hand while Persimmons kept his head straight up.

"Swallow it now," I said, and he did as I had told him. Then, I put him down into lying position again. Soon, his body radiated orange aura which faded a few seconds later. As soon as the aura disappeared, he opened his eyes wide and got up into sitting position.

"Are you alright now?" I asked.

"Yeah, it feels like the fever was just a dream," Jack replied.

"Oh, Jack! I'm so glad! I was so worried about you!" Persimmons said, hugging Jack. Mango also followed.

"There goes my parting gift," I said, looking at the empty small bottle.

"You have no idea how grateful we are!" Persimmons said to me. "Friends and families are everything for us, and we don't know what to do without each other."

"No problem," I said.

"By the way, we still don't know your names," Mango said.

"I'm Blackberry Bun," I said.

"I'm Strawberry Shortcake!" Strawberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' is Strawberry's sister," Apple said.

"Angel Cake," Angel said.

"My name is Orange Blossom," Orange said.

"Peppermint Fizz is me," Peppermint said.

"Huckleberry Pie," Huck said.

"Ginger Snap! Like in snap!" Ginger said, snapping her finger. However, as we mentioned our names, the face expression of the trio changed from happiness into confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

"The Berry Princess...?" Mango said, which confused us.

"Ah, Mom and Dad are here!" Jack said, looking towards a direction. We looked towards the direction and saw Peach, no longer in her skateboarding equipment, running to us. We were very surprised looking at one of the two adults who ran alongside Peach. Their mother was Sour Grapes. Their father was a rather fat man wearing blue shoes, blue trousers, blue shirt with pictures of clouds and stars on it, and what looked like a sleeping hat. The trio started running to their sister and parents as their response, while we stood still.

"My dear, are you alright?" Sour Grapes said, hugging Jack.

"I'm fine now, Mom. They helped me," Jack said.

"Who?" Sour Grapes asked.

"They are there," Jack replied, looking at us. Sour Grapes then looked at us and she immediately looked surprised.

"That can't be...!" she said, approaching us. When she got close to us, she looked at us one by one. "Why are you all little again?"

"Little again...?" Angel asked.

"We have been away for years. We have no idea about what you said," Orange said.

"Hmm..." Sour Grapes said, thinking. "Come to our house, dears. I sense long storytelling coming."

We then followed the family walking through the outfield of Strawberryland. On the way, we came across Huck's fort which seemed abandoned looking at the huckleberry vines all over them. Not much was said about it, and we kept walking. I then noticed that we were walking into the wood between my house and Huck's fort. I remembered the wood being creepy and scary with all the dead trees there, but as I looked around I noticed that the wood had become much more alive than I remembered. Soon, we arrived at a large log cabin built in the middle of the wood.

"Now go inside, dears. I will stay outside with our guests," Sour Grapes said to her kids.

"Okay, Mom," Peach said, and all of them went inside followed by their father.

There was a wooden bench put in front of the cabin. Sour Grapes sat in the middle of it while two of us, Strawberry and Apple to be exact, sat next to her. The rest of us had to sit on the ground in half-circle in front of the bench.

"So, could you tell us anything, Sour Grapes?" I asked.

"I have left that name, dear. Now my name is Stella Grapes," she answered.

"Oh, then could you tell us more about yourself?" Orange asked.

"I'm now married, dear. And I gave birth to Mango Jubilee and Persimmons six years ago," Stella Grapes said. "I also adopted two kids, Peach Streusel and Jackfruit Jam."

"You said about us being little again. What did you mean?" Strawberry asked.

"I have no idea about what happened to you, but all of you are supposed to be already mature by now," Stella Grapes said.

"Us? Mature?" Angel asked.

"I want to tell you further, but just now something inside tells me not to," Stella Grapes said. "I'm sorry."

"Hmm... do you have a calendar I can see please?" I asked.

"Honey, could you bring a calendar here?!" Stella Grapes shouted to the cabin, and soon her husband came out bringing a table calendar. "Thank you, honey."

"Anytime, honey," her husband said, and he went inside. I looked at the calendar and got quite surprised.

"Just as I thought. We ended up seven years ahead of our supposed timeline," I said.

"Seven years?" the other kids said, surprised.

"We are indeed supposed to be already mature by now, except Apple. I think she's close to Peach's age," I said.

"That is correct, Apple Dumplin' is one of Peach's best friends," Stella Grapes said. "She's two years older than Peach, though."

"Thank you for the information. I guess we have to go now, to our correct timeline," I said, standing up and calling Albatross, which soon landed nearby.

"Have a safe trip, dears," Stella Grapes said as we rode into Albatross.

"So, how are we going to go seven years back, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked as I closed the hatch.

"Yeah, Blackberry. How?" Orange asked.

"Don't worry about that. Albatross can't do multiverse travels, but it can do time travels. It will be a rough ride, though, so buckle up," I said.

Soon, I piloted Albatross to the sky and activated its time travel function. With a flash of light, Albatross immediately disappeared without a trace.

--To be continued-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-58.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:06:03 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-58.html Quote:Part 3: Homestay


Glinda used the same teleportation spell she had used to transport us from the dungeon to Gladys' castle. This time, when we regained vision we were on a hill and we saw a beautiful castle at a distance. The castle was green and shiny like an emerald, and the starry night sky along with the full moon at its background made the view even more beautiful.

"Wow..." I said, astonished.

"Berry beautiful..." Strawberry said.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Glinda said. "That's Emerald City, where The Wizard of Oz lives."

"I suppose this is as far as you can take us again?" Peppermint asked. She seemed to have recovered from her shock, although not completely.

"No," Glinda replied with a little giggle. "I thought you would love to see Emerald City from afar, so I took you here first."

"What a waste of time," Peppermint said. "But, it is sorta beautiful indeed."

"Okay, let's go meet the wizard," Glinda said, using the teleportation spell again. When we regained vision, we were right in front of the main door of the castle. Soon, the door slowly opened and all of us entered. In the throne room, we were welcomed by a large ball of fire floating right above the throne.

"Greetings, travelers!" The fireball said. "What do you want from me, The Wizard of Oz?"

"Wow, he's really great huh? I mean, there's a huge fireball there but it doesn't feel hot! Nope, not at all," Ginger said.

"Hmm..." I said, noticing something strange.

"Are you ever going to speak?" the fireball asked as I walked closer to it. "Hey, boy. Don't come any closer! I will turn you into a frog if you do!"

I ignored him anyway and examined the fireball figure. I then realized the truth.

"You're not a wizard," I said.

"What?! Are you questioning me?!" The fireball said, and suddenly it changed into a giant semi-transparent head. "I am The Wizard of Oz!"

I then replaced my glasses with Vision and looked around to find the truth. It was much easier than I had thought.

"You're sitting behind a screen next to my friends," I said, and the giant head looked surprised. "Everything we see is not magic. It's technology. This giant head and the fireball we saw are just holograms."

After I said those, the giant figure disappeared and someone came out from behind the screen I had mentioned. It was a man whose age was around the same as Purple Pie Man, but the man was rather short. His height was between me and Glinda and he was quite fat, although the dog catcher from Pearis was much fatter than this scientist. He had white hair and beard around his face and he wore scientist outfit.

"Alright, you got me," the man said. "My name is Henry. I am a scientist. I ended up here because of an accident with my latest invention, The Dimension Gate. It brought me to this Land of Oz and broke down by itself."

"What?! So the wizard is just a fake?!" Peppermint said.

"Glinda, I don't belive you have not been knowing about this," Huck said.

"If there's no wizard, then we can't go home..." Angel said, starting to look worried.

"Well, actually..." Glinda said. "I knew it since the beginning because we have been friends for some time. That's why I said he could."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Orange asked.

"I think I know," I said.

"What do you mean, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked.

"He is a scientist, so both of us can work together to make something that will take us home," I said, walking towards the others.

"Well, could you inform me further? I don't understand much," Henry asked. I then told him the story of our trip with Albatross.

"I see..." Henry said.

"Maybe we will be able to make something that can take you home as well," I said.

"Don't worry about me. Let's take care of your problem first. For starter, I need to see your ship," Henry said.

"Well, I came here by Glinda's teleportation spell so I don't know where the remains of my ship is," I said.

"Glinda," Henry said, looking at Glinda. She seemed to understand and waved her wand. Green clouds came out and covered an area near the throne, and then with a flash of light the remains of Albatross appeared. "Seems very bad. Let's get to work."

"Okay," I said, and then both of us started examining the remains.

"I think we should leave them alone," Angel said.

Everyone there agreed, leaving me and Henry to work on my ship. Outside the castle, there was a conversation.

"By the way, shouldn't we be worried about Gladys? I mean, she has completed her potion, am I right?" Ginger said.

"It's okay. Potion of Circe is not a dangerous potion," Glinda said.

"Then what is that potion used for?" Orange asked.

"Anyone who drinks a sip of the Potion of Circe will be cured from any kind of illness," Glinda replied. "I think my sister is going to bottle the potion and sell it for an expensive price."

"What a mean witch, taking profit from such thing," Peppermint said. "And Strawberry lost all of her hair forever because of that."

"Don't worry about me, Peppermint," Strawberry said. "My hair might be gone forever, but my heart stays here forever," she continued, putting her hand on her chest. "That's all that matters."

"Okay... You're right as always..." Peppermint said lazily. "But seeing you without hair still sorta... scares me."

"Yeah, I feel the same too..." Angel said.

"Strawberry no hair..." Apple said. "Apple Dumplin' not like."

"Glinda, do you know anything we can do to make her hair grow back?" Orange asked.

"Hmm..." Glinda said, thinking. "I remember that there is a spell that can be used to grow hair..."

"Wow, really? Then use it on Strawberry right now, will ya huh Glinda?" Ginger said.

"It's not as easy as it sounds," Glinda said. "I have to get my spell book first. Wait here."

After saying those, Glinda waved her wand and disappeared. Right at that time, I came out from the castle to meet everyone else.

"Where's Glinda?" I asked, noticing that Glinda was not there with them.

"She went to get her spell book, am I right?" Ginger replied. "She knows a spell which will make Strawberry's hair grow again! Isn't it great, huh Blackberry?"

"That's good to hear!" I said.

"How's the ship?" Orange asked me.

"Well, I have to tell the truth..." I said with a pause. "It's very bad. Most parts are badly damaged, and to make things worse..."

"Can it be any worse than that?" Peppermint said.

"The technology in this place is limited. If I was at home with my tools I would need a week to repair Albatross," I said.

"How much time you're gonna need here?" Angel asked.

"I'm not sure. a Week, a month, a year, years, I have no idea," I said.

"Years? Are you saying that we are stranded here for years?" Peppermint said.

"I have no other choice. Both dimension door remotes are broken and the technology here is not enough to repair any of them," I said. "The only choice is to repair Albatross little by little with that limited technology."

"Our friends in Strawberryland will miss us..." Strawberry said.

There was a silence for a few seconds, and then suddenly Glinda came with her teleportation spell. She carried a rather large book which seemed like magic book.

"Hi, everyone," Glinda said. "Something happened while I was away?"

"We won't be able to go home for years..." Orange said, then I explained the situation to Glinda.

"Hey!" Ginger suddenly shouted. "We can go home!"

Everyone were surprised by Ginger's sudden speech. I myself wondered as well, but I was also prepared for the worse.

"You see, Glinda can teleport us easily from here to there and there and there, am I right? I bet she can teleport us to Strawberryland as well! Yep she sure can!" Ginger said with excitement, then everyone looked at Glinda.

"Well," Glinda said with a brief pause. "My teleportation spell can transport anyone across this planet. But..."

There was a huge cheer from every kids which interrupted Glinda's speech. They were so happy and relieved. However, I was not and Glinda seemed to know why.

"Hey, wait a minute everyone!" I shouted, and they stopped their cheers. "I'm sorry to say this but..."

"But what? Don't tell me it's another bad news?" Peppermint said.

"Unfortunately yes..." I said. "This is not our planet. Moreover, this might be not our world as well,"

"What? How can you say that?" Huck asked.

"Yeah, Blackberry. How do you know that?" Orange asked.

"The limit in the sky is not there," I replied. "Moreover, don't you feel weird that we met two look-alikes of someone we know already?"

"Limit in the sky? What kind of nonsense is that?" Peppermint asked. I then had to explain everything about the limit in the sky which existed on our planet, which was the main reason I had to make Albatross able to jump over it.

"It was not there when we entered this planet," I said, ending my explanation. Everyone seemed not to believe yet.

"Well," Glinda said. "I don't understand much, but I know that you and your friends are indeed not from this planet."

"Really? How did you know?" I asked. I also could see the shock which had just come to everyone else.

"Well, Ginger said that your home is in Strawberryland, right?" she said, followed by everyone's nod. "I have studied over this planet, either by reading books or travelling with my teleportation spell. As the result, I know all places on this planet, and I don't remember any land named Strawberryland anywhere."

There was a huge sigh from everyone else besides me, followed by silence.

"Well," Glinda said, breaking the silence. "Do you still want me to grow Strawberry's hair back?"

"Oh yes, of course! We all still want that, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that..." Angel said.

"Please do that," Orange said.

"Alright," Glinda said, opening the book she carried. "But I have to warn you, Strawberry."

"What is it?" Strawberry asked.

"The spell my sister has used to take your hair from your head..." Glinda replied. "It left a magical remnant on your head which interferes with the spell I'm going to use on you, and it cannot be removed."

"What will happen then?" Huck asked.

"As the result, it becomes difficult for me to control the outcome of this hair growth spell," Glinda replied. "The chance of getting exactly the hair you have had is very low. You might end up with bad hairdo, or even bald spots. So, I want to ask if you are sure about this, Strawberry."

"Hey, can't you just try again if the result is bad?" Peppermint asked.

"That remnant grows stronger everytime a spell is used on it. Repeated attempts will just make it worse," Glinda replied.

Strawberry then seemed to be thinking for a little less than one minute, and then she spoke out her decision.

"Yes, please do," she said, taking her hat off from her head. Glinda then raised her wand with her right hand while her left hand was still holding the magic book and her eyes were on the book. She then moved her wand around in a certain pattern we didn't understand, while murmuring things we also didn't understand. Immediately, a purple lightning came out from the wand and hit Strawberry's head. That was the last thing I saw before everything were covered in bright light.

What I saw next surprised me very much. As told by Glinda, the result was not the same hair Strawberry has had, but the main thing that surprised me was the fact that Strawberry's new hair was long spiky maroon hair, just like the Strawberry I knew from another dimension. Soon, everyone were looking at Strawberry's new hair.

"This not Strawberry's hair," Angel said.

"Yeah, it's red and long," Orange said.

"Yeah, Strawberry's old hair was short and orange, am I right?" Ginger said.

"But still..." Huck said. "It still looks nice on her."

"Yeah, I sorta like this hair," Peppermint said.

"Apple like Strawberry new hair," Apple said.

"Berry nice! Thank you berry berry much, Glinda!" Strawberry said, putting her hat back on her head.

"You're welcome. I'm glad it came out good," Glinda said.

So, that night was concluded with Strawberry getting new hair. Because it was already over bedtime, Glinda offered the bedrooms of Emerald Castle and everyone agreed to accept the offer. The castle had quite a number of bedrooms for guests next to each other, and all of them had two beds. I didn't know who stayed with who at the other rooms, but I had Huck as my roommate.

"Hey, Huck," I said right after both of us lied down on bed.

"What?" he responded.

"Well..." I said with a pause. "Do you feel upset that we can't go home soon?"

"If you ask me..." he said. "Yeah, a little."

There was a brief silence.

"But I must say that this trip is a very exciting one. I don't and won't regret it," he continued.

"Huck..." I said. "I will fix Albatross soon. I promise."

"You don't have to promise anything. Just don't stress yourself," he said, and soon we went to sleep.

At the next day, with Glinda's help an unused warehouse at the back of the castle was transformed into a workshop. The tools available were quite primitive compared to what I had at home, but there was no other choice. I, along with Henry, had to fix Albatross using that limited technology, and I knew it would take a very long time. Just as I was going to start, Strawberry came to the workshop.

"Hi, Blackberry," she greeted.

"Oh, hi Strawberry," I replied.

"It's lunch time. Come with us!" Strawberry said.

"Lunch time already?" I said, looking at my watch. Indeed it was already lunch time. "Mr. Henry, would you come with us?"

"Oh, don't worry about me," Henry replied from behind Albatross. "I'll be there later."

Then, I went with Strawberry to Emerald Castle's dining room. Everyone else were already there sitting around a large table full of all kinds of fruits and berries I knew. Glinda was there as well. As soon as Strawberry and I took seats, everyone started having their lunch. At that moment, I noticed that the berries in Oz tasted somewhat different than the ones in Strawberryland. They felt kinda unnatural, but still tasted good so I decided to let it slide. Later, when we were done eating, Glinda waved her wand and all the remaining food on the table disappeared.

"They were created by magic...?" I thought. "That explains the unnatural taste."

"Okay, so what are we going to do now?" Huck said.

"Let's have a walk around Oz!" Strawberry said. "Isn't it berry exciting to explore new places?"

"You're right! Let's do that!" Angel said.

"I'll go too!" Orange said.

"I must admit that you're sorta right," Peppermint said. "Okay, I'll come with you."

"Hey hey hey, count me in, will ya?" Ginger said.

"Apple Dumplin' go!" Apple said, then everyone started to look at me. There was a brief silence until I spoke out.

"I'll get back to work," I said, getting up from the chair and starting to walk away.

"Wait Blackberry!" Strawberry said, and I stopped. "Come with us! The more the merrier!"

"Strawberry, you know that I have to work on fixing Albatross. I have no time for this," I said. "Don't you and everyone else want to go home, to Strawberryland?"

"Blackberry, it's true that we all want to go home..." Strawberry replied. "But we don't want you to stress yourself for us! What kind of friend will let you do that?"

"Yeah, Blackberry. I agree with Strawberry," Orange said.

"Me too! Everyone else feel the same, right?" Angel said, looking at everyone else, who immediately responded with a determined nod.

"Well, I have to tell Mr. Henry..." I said.

"It's all fine, son," Henry's voice was suddenly heard. Apparently he had been listening from the entrance. "I will take care of your ship."

So, the decision was soon made and all of us went outside the castle to walk around The Land of Oz. At first I hesitated because I still felt the need to fix Albatross quickly, but then I started to enjoy the small trip. I then learned to realize that while being able to return home soon was important, the most important thing was the togetherness between me and the friends I had. I then started to remember the days when I had been lonely and timid, and I was grateful that those days were just past memories that would not ever come again, because I had everyone with me.


--To be continued-- ]]> Quote:Part 3: Homestay


Glinda used the same teleportation spell she had used to transport us from the dungeon to Gladys' castle. This time, when we regained vision we were on a hill and we saw a beautiful castle at a distance. The castle was green and shiny like an emerald, and the starry night sky along with the full moon at its background made the view even more beautiful.

"Wow..." I said, astonished.

"Berry beautiful..." Strawberry said.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Glinda said. "That's Emerald City, where The Wizard of Oz lives."

"I suppose this is as far as you can take us again?" Peppermint asked. She seemed to have recovered from her shock, although not completely.

"No," Glinda replied with a little giggle. "I thought you would love to see Emerald City from afar, so I took you here first."

"What a waste of time," Peppermint said. "But, it is sorta beautiful indeed."

"Okay, let's go meet the wizard," Glinda said, using the teleportation spell again. When we regained vision, we were right in front of the main door of the castle. Soon, the door slowly opened and all of us entered. In the throne room, we were welcomed by a large ball of fire floating right above the throne.

"Greetings, travelers!" The fireball said. "What do you want from me, The Wizard of Oz?"

"Wow, he's really great huh? I mean, there's a huge fireball there but it doesn't feel hot! Nope, not at all," Ginger said.

"Hmm..." I said, noticing something strange.

"Are you ever going to speak?" the fireball asked as I walked closer to it. "Hey, boy. Don't come any closer! I will turn you into a frog if you do!"

I ignored him anyway and examined the fireball figure. I then realized the truth.

"You're not a wizard," I said.

"What?! Are you questioning me?!" The fireball said, and suddenly it changed into a giant semi-transparent head. "I am The Wizard of Oz!"

I then replaced my glasses with Vision and looked around to find the truth. It was much easier than I had thought.

"You're sitting behind a screen next to my friends," I said, and the giant head looked surprised. "Everything we see is not magic. It's technology. This giant head and the fireball we saw are just holograms."

After I said those, the giant figure disappeared and someone came out from behind the screen I had mentioned. It was a man whose age was around the same as Purple Pie Man, but the man was rather short. His height was between me and Glinda and he was quite fat, although the dog catcher from Pearis was much fatter than this scientist. He had white hair and beard around his face and he wore scientist outfit.

"Alright, you got me," the man said. "My name is Henry. I am a scientist. I ended up here because of an accident with my latest invention, The Dimension Gate. It brought me to this Land of Oz and broke down by itself."

"What?! So the wizard is just a fake?!" Peppermint said.

"Glinda, I don't belive you have not been knowing about this," Huck said.

"If there's no wizard, then we can't go home..." Angel said, starting to look worried.

"Well, actually..." Glinda said. "I knew it since the beginning because we have been friends for some time. That's why I said he could."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Orange asked.

"I think I know," I said.

"What do you mean, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked.

"He is a scientist, so both of us can work together to make something that will take us home," I said, walking towards the others.

"Well, could you inform me further? I don't understand much," Henry asked. I then told him the story of our trip with Albatross.

"I see..." Henry said.

"Maybe we will be able to make something that can take you home as well," I said.

"Don't worry about me. Let's take care of your problem first. For starter, I need to see your ship," Henry said.

"Well, I came here by Glinda's teleportation spell so I don't know where the remains of my ship is," I said.

"Glinda," Henry said, looking at Glinda. She seemed to understand and waved her wand. Green clouds came out and covered an area near the throne, and then with a flash of light the remains of Albatross appeared. "Seems very bad. Let's get to work."

"Okay," I said, and then both of us started examining the remains.

"I think we should leave them alone," Angel said.

Everyone there agreed, leaving me and Henry to work on my ship. Outside the castle, there was a conversation.

"By the way, shouldn't we be worried about Gladys? I mean, she has completed her potion, am I right?" Ginger said.

"It's okay. Potion of Circe is not a dangerous potion," Glinda said.

"Then what is that potion used for?" Orange asked.

"Anyone who drinks a sip of the Potion of Circe will be cured from any kind of illness," Glinda replied. "I think my sister is going to bottle the potion and sell it for an expensive price."

"What a mean witch, taking profit from such thing," Peppermint said. "And Strawberry lost all of her hair forever because of that."

"Don't worry about me, Peppermint," Strawberry said. "My hair might be gone forever, but my heart stays here forever," she continued, putting her hand on her chest. "That's all that matters."

"Okay... You're right as always..." Peppermint said lazily. "But seeing you without hair still sorta... scares me."

"Yeah, I feel the same too..." Angel said.

"Strawberry no hair..." Apple said. "Apple Dumplin' not like."

"Glinda, do you know anything we can do to make her hair grow back?" Orange asked.

"Hmm..." Glinda said, thinking. "I remember that there is a spell that can be used to grow hair..."

"Wow, really? Then use it on Strawberry right now, will ya huh Glinda?" Ginger said.

"It's not as easy as it sounds," Glinda said. "I have to get my spell book first. Wait here."

After saying those, Glinda waved her wand and disappeared. Right at that time, I came out from the castle to meet everyone else.

"Where's Glinda?" I asked, noticing that Glinda was not there with them.

"She went to get her spell book, am I right?" Ginger replied. "She knows a spell which will make Strawberry's hair grow again! Isn't it great, huh Blackberry?"

"That's good to hear!" I said.

"How's the ship?" Orange asked me.

"Well, I have to tell the truth..." I said with a pause. "It's very bad. Most parts are badly damaged, and to make things worse..."

"Can it be any worse than that?" Peppermint said.

"The technology in this place is limited. If I was at home with my tools I would need a week to repair Albatross," I said.

"How much time you're gonna need here?" Angel asked.

"I'm not sure. a Week, a month, a year, years, I have no idea," I said.

"Years? Are you saying that we are stranded here for years?" Peppermint said.

"I have no other choice. Both dimension door remotes are broken and the technology here is not enough to repair any of them," I said. "The only choice is to repair Albatross little by little with that limited technology."

"Our friends in Strawberryland will miss us..." Strawberry said.

There was a silence for a few seconds, and then suddenly Glinda came with her teleportation spell. She carried a rather large book which seemed like magic book.

"Hi, everyone," Glinda said. "Something happened while I was away?"

"We won't be able to go home for years..." Orange said, then I explained the situation to Glinda.

"Hey!" Ginger suddenly shouted. "We can go home!"

Everyone were surprised by Ginger's sudden speech. I myself wondered as well, but I was also prepared for the worse.

"You see, Glinda can teleport us easily from here to there and there and there, am I right? I bet she can teleport us to Strawberryland as well! Yep she sure can!" Ginger said with excitement, then everyone looked at Glinda.

"Well," Glinda said with a brief pause. "My teleportation spell can transport anyone across this planet. But..."

There was a huge cheer from every kids which interrupted Glinda's speech. They were so happy and relieved. However, I was not and Glinda seemed to know why.

"Hey, wait a minute everyone!" I shouted, and they stopped their cheers. "I'm sorry to say this but..."

"But what? Don't tell me it's another bad news?" Peppermint said.

"Unfortunately yes..." I said. "This is not our planet. Moreover, this might be not our world as well,"

"What? How can you say that?" Huck asked.

"Yeah, Blackberry. How do you know that?" Orange asked.

"The limit in the sky is not there," I replied. "Moreover, don't you feel weird that we met two look-alikes of someone we know already?"

"Limit in the sky? What kind of nonsense is that?" Peppermint asked. I then had to explain everything about the limit in the sky which existed on our planet, which was the main reason I had to make Albatross able to jump over it.

"It was not there when we entered this planet," I said, ending my explanation. Everyone seemed not to believe yet.

"Well," Glinda said. "I don't understand much, but I know that you and your friends are indeed not from this planet."

"Really? How did you know?" I asked. I also could see the shock which had just come to everyone else.

"Well, Ginger said that your home is in Strawberryland, right?" she said, followed by everyone's nod. "I have studied over this planet, either by reading books or travelling with my teleportation spell. As the result, I know all places on this planet, and I don't remember any land named Strawberryland anywhere."

There was a huge sigh from everyone else besides me, followed by silence.

"Well," Glinda said, breaking the silence. "Do you still want me to grow Strawberry's hair back?"

"Oh yes, of course! We all still want that, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that..." Angel said.

"Please do that," Orange said.

"Alright," Glinda said, opening the book she carried. "But I have to warn you, Strawberry."

"What is it?" Strawberry asked.

"The spell my sister has used to take your hair from your head..." Glinda replied. "It left a magical remnant on your head which interferes with the spell I'm going to use on you, and it cannot be removed."

"What will happen then?" Huck asked.

"As the result, it becomes difficult for me to control the outcome of this hair growth spell," Glinda replied. "The chance of getting exactly the hair you have had is very low. You might end up with bad hairdo, or even bald spots. So, I want to ask if you are sure about this, Strawberry."

"Hey, can't you just try again if the result is bad?" Peppermint asked.

"That remnant grows stronger everytime a spell is used on it. Repeated attempts will just make it worse," Glinda replied.

Strawberry then seemed to be thinking for a little less than one minute, and then she spoke out her decision.

"Yes, please do," she said, taking her hat off from her head. Glinda then raised her wand with her right hand while her left hand was still holding the magic book and her eyes were on the book. She then moved her wand around in a certain pattern we didn't understand, while murmuring things we also didn't understand. Immediately, a purple lightning came out from the wand and hit Strawberry's head. That was the last thing I saw before everything were covered in bright light.

What I saw next surprised me very much. As told by Glinda, the result was not the same hair Strawberry has had, but the main thing that surprised me was the fact that Strawberry's new hair was long spiky maroon hair, just like the Strawberry I knew from another dimension. Soon, everyone were looking at Strawberry's new hair.

"This not Strawberry's hair," Angel said.

"Yeah, it's red and long," Orange said.

"Yeah, Strawberry's old hair was short and orange, am I right?" Ginger said.

"But still..." Huck said. "It still looks nice on her."

"Yeah, I sorta like this hair," Peppermint said.

"Apple like Strawberry new hair," Apple said.

"Berry nice! Thank you berry berry much, Glinda!" Strawberry said, putting her hat back on her head.

"You're welcome. I'm glad it came out good," Glinda said.

So, that night was concluded with Strawberry getting new hair. Because it was already over bedtime, Glinda offered the bedrooms of Emerald Castle and everyone agreed to accept the offer. The castle had quite a number of bedrooms for guests next to each other, and all of them had two beds. I didn't know who stayed with who at the other rooms, but I had Huck as my roommate.

"Hey, Huck," I said right after both of us lied down on bed.

"What?" he responded.

"Well..." I said with a pause. "Do you feel upset that we can't go home soon?"

"If you ask me..." he said. "Yeah, a little."

There was a brief silence.

"But I must say that this trip is a very exciting one. I don't and won't regret it," he continued.

"Huck..." I said. "I will fix Albatross soon. I promise."

"You don't have to promise anything. Just don't stress yourself," he said, and soon we went to sleep.

At the next day, with Glinda's help an unused warehouse at the back of the castle was transformed into a workshop. The tools available were quite primitive compared to what I had at home, but there was no other choice. I, along with Henry, had to fix Albatross using that limited technology, and I knew it would take a very long time. Just as I was going to start, Strawberry came to the workshop.

"Hi, Blackberry," she greeted.

"Oh, hi Strawberry," I replied.

"It's lunch time. Come with us!" Strawberry said.

"Lunch time already?" I said, looking at my watch. Indeed it was already lunch time. "Mr. Henry, would you come with us?"

"Oh, don't worry about me," Henry replied from behind Albatross. "I'll be there later."

Then, I went with Strawberry to Emerald Castle's dining room. Everyone else were already there sitting around a large table full of all kinds of fruits and berries I knew. Glinda was there as well. As soon as Strawberry and I took seats, everyone started having their lunch. At that moment, I noticed that the berries in Oz tasted somewhat different than the ones in Strawberryland. They felt kinda unnatural, but still tasted good so I decided to let it slide. Later, when we were done eating, Glinda waved her wand and all the remaining food on the table disappeared.

"They were created by magic...?" I thought. "That explains the unnatural taste."

"Okay, so what are we going to do now?" Huck said.

"Let's have a walk around Oz!" Strawberry said. "Isn't it berry exciting to explore new places?"

"You're right! Let's do that!" Angel said.

"I'll go too!" Orange said.

"I must admit that you're sorta right," Peppermint said. "Okay, I'll come with you."

"Hey hey hey, count me in, will ya?" Ginger said.

"Apple Dumplin' go!" Apple said, then everyone started to look at me. There was a brief silence until I spoke out.

"I'll get back to work," I said, getting up from the chair and starting to walk away.

"Wait Blackberry!" Strawberry said, and I stopped. "Come with us! The more the merrier!"

"Strawberry, you know that I have to work on fixing Albatross. I have no time for this," I said. "Don't you and everyone else want to go home, to Strawberryland?"

"Blackberry, it's true that we all want to go home..." Strawberry replied. "But we don't want you to stress yourself for us! What kind of friend will let you do that?"

"Yeah, Blackberry. I agree with Strawberry," Orange said.

"Me too! Everyone else feel the same, right?" Angel said, looking at everyone else, who immediately responded with a determined nod.

"Well, I have to tell Mr. Henry..." I said.

"It's all fine, son," Henry's voice was suddenly heard. Apparently he had been listening from the entrance. "I will take care of your ship."

So, the decision was soon made and all of us went outside the castle to walk around The Land of Oz. At first I hesitated because I still felt the need to fix Albatross quickly, but then I started to enjoy the small trip. I then learned to realize that while being able to return home soon was important, the most important thing was the togetherness between me and the friends I had. I then started to remember the days when I had been lonely and timid, and I was grateful that those days were just past memories that would not ever come again, because I had everyone with me.


--To be continued-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-57.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:05:24 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-57.html Quote:Part 2: New Land, New Adventure



Light...
A small glimpse of light...
Is that light... a star...?
Or... Just a hallucination...?
Or perhaps... a light of hope...?


"Either way, this is better than doing nothing," I said, getting back to my full consciousnes. Everyone else were still unconscious, probably because of the shock and fear which had happened. I then looked at the purple button at the far corner of the control panel. Albatross' engine still couldn't be started in the unknown space, so the only option available was the button I had made on nearly all of my devices.

Without any second thought, I pressed the button. Soon, large jet flames came out from Albatross' rear and it accelerated with astronomical rate. The acceleration was so intense that I could feel the pressure, despite the still-working gravity field. As I struggled to maintain control of Albatross, the glimpse of light grew larger and larger until everything was covered by bright light.

When I regained vision, I saw that we were back to space. I looked to the rear and saw that we had come out from a vortex similar to the Black Hole, but the color of the vortex was white.

"Came in into Black Hole, and came out from... White Hole?" I thought. "Kinda... strange..."

Soon, the overcharge ended and the engine stopped, leaving Albatross gliding in space. The planet I knew was in sight though, so the situation was not that grave. Soon, everybody else started to wake up one by one.

"Where are we...?" Angel asked.

"What happened...? Orange asked.

"Are you all right, Apple Dumplin'?" Strawberry asked Apple.

"Apple Dumplin' scared..." Apple replied.

"Hey Blackberry. I thought we have been sucked by... what was the name... Black Hole?" Huck asked.

"We managed to escape from it," I replied.

"What? I have read that anything which enters Black Hole will never come out again. Nope, not ever!" Ginger said. "Does that mean we are the first ones who escaped from Black Hole, huh Blackberry?"

"Maybe..." I replied.

"Well, now I think I can sorta count on you," Peppermint said, but a few seconds later Albatross' engine exploded because of the overcharge. "Hmph, I take back my words."

"What happened?" Huck asked.

"The engine blew up," I replied. "I believe everyone knows that it always happen if I overcharge the engine."

"How can you be so calm now?!" Angel shouted. "This is gonna cost us our lives!"

"Hey, I learn from my mistake," I replied. "This time, I have put reserve engine in case of this."

After saying those, I started Albatross' reserve engine which was located under the main engine, and piloted the ship towards the planet. Everyone were calm again and I was glad nothing really bad happened to us. However, soon I noticed something weird as Albatross flew closer to the atmosphere of the planet. The limit in the sky was not there. That gave me a bad feeling but I had no idea whether I should tell everyone else or not. While I was pondering, suddenly Albatross' reserve engine blew up.

"Why that one blew up too?!" Strawberry asked.

"Apple scared..." Apple said, hugging Strawberry and leaking tears.

"I have no idea, but I promise none of us will get hurt," I said.

Even though I had said those, I myself was not sure if we would be able to survive the fall unhurt. Maintaining control of falling Albatross was easier said than done. As it fell through the clouds, I struggled to keep its balance. Soon, we passed the clouds and we saw a small village we had never seen before. Albatross fell directly towards the village so I had no choice other than doing an emergency landing right in the middle of that village.

"Everybody, brace yourselves!" I shouted as Albatross came closer to the ground. Soon, it touched the ground and drifted sideways with hard friction. Not long after, it finally came to a complete stop.

"Get out of here now! It might blow up again soon!" I shouted, opening the hatch. All of us quickly jumped out from Albatross, I was the last, and ran as far as possible from it. Albatross didn't explode like I had feared, but looking at its shape and also the thick black smokes coming out from it, it was assured that Albatross was no more.

"Where are we now?" Orange asked.

"I don't know. I have never seen this place before," I said.

"How can we get back home?" Angel asked, but before I could give any answer, someone shouted at us.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" the voice shouted. We looked towards the source and got surprised. The voice came from someone who looked like a witch, but the more surprising thing was that the witch was very similar to Sour Grapes.

"Sour Grapes?" Orange said, wondering.

"Who is Sour Grapes? I am Gladys and I don't know any Sour Grapes. Now answer my question!" the witch said.

"Well, we are travellers and we got an accident," I said.

"Aww, poor you..." the witch said. "I will give you all a shelter."

"Really? Thanks!" Huck said.

"Yes, I will give a nice shelter... in the dungeon!" the witch said, pointing her crescent moon wand to the side. A green lightning came out from it and hit a door which immediately opened. We immediately realized that we have just met a wicked witch instead of a nice one.

"What if we refuse?" Peppermint asked, challenging the witch.

"Oh no you can't!" the witch said, pointing her wand towards us. The same green lightning came out and hit us all. Immediately after, all of us were magically lifted from the ground, unable to move. "Now go into the dungeon and spend the rest of your life there!"

With a wicked laugh, the witch moved her wand to point towards the dungeon door, and all of us started to float towards it. There was nothing we could do. However, the witch noticed something.

"Wait! You!" she said, pointing her wand. Strawberry stopped to float while the rest of us kept floating into the dungeon. Once the last person entered, the dungeon door shut itself, leaving all of us except Strawberry trapped inside.

Outside, the witch had taken the float spell away from Strawberry. Through the dungeon bars, we could see her standing, facing the witch.

"You have something that I want! Come with me!" the witch said.

"..." Strawberry was silent, looking at us.

"What? Worried about your friends?" the witch asked.

"Please, let them go," Strawberry said.

"Alright, I will promise this," the witch said. "Now you come with me, and once I'm done with you I will release you and your friends."

"Will you keep your promise?" Strawberry asked.

"Yes! So, are you coming with me?" the witch asked back.

Strawberry replied with a weak nod, and soon the witch put the float spell on Strawberry again. Soon, the witch left riding a winged monkey, carrying Strawberry with her.

"Damn!" Huck shouted, hitting the dungeon door with his fist. "What is that witch going to do to Strawberry?!"

Inside the dungeon, the condition was not good at all. Apple kept crying because she was so worried about her big sister. Angel and Orange sat by her side, trying to calm her down with no success. The rest, including me, were talking about how to get out of there.

"Hey, you have that key right?" Peppermint asked me.

"You mean Key Master? I tried it while we were watching Strawberry. It seems the door is locked by magic, so it was no good," I replied.

"How about your dimension door?" Huck asked.

"Well..." I said, taking Time Remote II from my pocket. "Outside this dungeon."

Instead of making a dimension door, the remote vibrated hard and covered itself in electricity waves. I threw it to the corner of the dungeon just a few seconds before it blew up with quite an amount of black smoke.

"Looks like the Black Hole has broken it," I said.

"That means, this too?" Huck asked, taking Ginger's remote from his pocket.

"Hey, isn't that my Amazing Dimension Door Remote?" Ginger asked.

"Yeah, I was going to return this to you today," Huck replied.

"Let me try..." I said, asking Huck to give the remote to me. I then typed the words "Outside dungeon" and then the remote met its demise like my remote. "No good," I said.

"Don't you have any other things?" Peppermint asked.

"Well, let's see..." I replied, searching inside my pocket. "I have Key Master, Inner Heart, Paraplu, and Vision."

"That's all, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked, looking at the four devices I had put on the floor.

"That's all," I replied.

"Oh, I should have stayed home..." Peppermint said. "This is not good at all."

"We have to find a way out of here fast or that witch will do something bad to Strawberry!" Huck said, quite panicked.

"And it's your fault for bringing us all here!" Peppermint said, pointing at me.

"Hey, we can't blame him! It was not his fault that Black Hole sucked us, am I right?" Ginger said, defending me.

Soon, there was an uproar inside the dungeon. Nearly everybody inside fought each other with mouth, and I was involved in it too. It lasted for some minutes until Orange shouted.

"Stop it, everybody!" she shouted, and everyone suddenly fell silent. "Please, we have to be calm."

"Yeah... you're right," I said.

"All of us panicked that we couldn't think clearly," Huck said.

"Not to mention that we are all tired from our disastrous trip," I said. "Let's get some rest first. After that, we can start thinking of a way to get out of here."

Everyone agreed to my suggestion and went to get some sleep. However, I was so worried about Strawberry that I couldn't sleep, so I just pretended to sleep. That being said, I eventually fell asleep for real because of the fatigue I had gotten.

Later, nightfall came and all of us were asleep. There was no lighting inside the dungeon so the only visible thing there was the moonlight from outside coming through the bars of the dungeon door. Suddenly, the door opened by itself, waking all of us up. We saw a shadowy figure coming into the dungeon. It was not the witch, because the silhouette was clearly different.

"You're not the witch... who are you?" I asked.

"First, let's brighten up a bit," the figure replied, waving a wand. Immediately, a few balls of light came out from it and floated around the ceiling. Those balls illuminated the whole room, enabling us to see the figure. Once again, we were surprised. The figure was apparently very similar to Plum Puddin', but taller and older.

"Plum Puddin'?" Angel asked.

"Who is Plum Puddin'? My name is Glinda and I don't know any Plum Puddin'," The figure replied.

"Are you... a witch too? Like Gladys?" Orange asked.

"Yes, I'm a witch. A good witch," Glinda answered. "And to tell the truth... Gladys is my sister."

"You are her sister? Then, do you know where she took Strawberry?" I asked.

"Sorry, I don't know what your problem is. I was just told that Gladys had taken prisoners here, and I'm here to release you all," Glinda said.

"Before putting us here, she said that Strawberry had something she wanted," I said.

"And then that mean witch took Strawberry with her to who knows where, am I right?" Ginger said.

"So she has taken your friend..." Glinda said, thinking.

"Do you know what might be the thing she wanted from Strawberry?" Huck asked.

"Well..." Glinda said with a brief pause. "I know that she was frustated because she was so close in making a legendary potion, but she lacked one ingredient. She once said that she needed a redhead."

"Redhead? Strawberry is a redhead. Don't tell me she is going to use Strawberry as the last ingredient. Yeah right..." Peppermint said.

"Wow, that means the mean witch is going to throw Strawberry into a boiling cauldron like I have seen in many fairy tales. Yep, she sure will," Ginger said.

"Strawberry... boil...?" Apple said, starting to leak tears again.

"We can't let that happen!" Angel said.

"We must stop her!" Orange said.

"Please, take us to where she is now before she harms Strawberry!" Huck said.

"She lives in a small castle to the West," Glinda said. "I can take you there but..."

"We can't waste time. Just do it now!" Peppermint said.

"Oh, okay..." Glinda said, and she waved her wand. Green dust came out from it and surrounded all of us. When the dust cleared, we were already on an open field of grass with a small castle visible not so far from us.

"This is the closest I can take you," Glinda said.

"We can't waste time searching inside that castle. Do you know where she is holding Strawberry in there?" I asked.

"If she is really going to use your friend to make a potion, she should be in the b..." Glinda replied, before suddenly a water balloon fell from above and hit her. Right after that, she turned into stone. All of us gasped and looked above, only to see the winged monkey we had seen before attacking us by throwing water balloons filled by some kind of petrification potion.

"Quick! Come close to me!" I shouted, quickly taking Paraplu from my pocket and throwing it upwards. A light barrier formed and protected us from the attack.

"Glad that you have this," Huck said.

"But we're not gonna enter the castle if we just stand here!" Angel said.

"Nobody reminded me to make it mobile..." I thought in my mind, looking at the winged monkey above. It seemed to have noticed the barrier so it stopped throwing the potions, but it kept watching us with quite an amount of water balloons ready in its grip.

"Come on, think think think..." Ginger said, walking around in circles. Then she snapped her finger. "I've got an idea!"

Ginger then told us her idea and everyone agreed that it was worth a try.

"Okay, on the countdown," I said, preparing to deactivate Paraplu. "Three... two... one... GO!"

I then deactivated Paraplu and started running as fast as I could. As planned, everyone ran in different directions and that successfully confused the monkey. However, the monkey was quite smart that it started to chase one target, which was me. I was lucky that it missed two throws, but I didn't think it will miss the third time. While still running, I got an idea that was quite a gamble, but still worth trying than only running. I then took the deactivated Paraplu from my pocket and threw it upwards while still running. I still kept running for a few seconds until I looked back and saw that the monkey has been stuck inside Paraplu's barrier.

"Jackpot," I said while catching my breath.

"Wow, what happened?" Huck asked as he came close to me.

"Paraplu's barrier is made to block any water from either direction. I remembered that living creatures consist of 75% water inside so it can be used like this," I answered.

"Well, I don't understand much, but it's great that you could think of this," he said.

"We have no time to waste. Let's meet the others and enter the castle," I said.

Soon, we met the others and walked towards the castle. When we got closer, we saw the petrified Glinda we had almost forgotten.

"What about Glinda...?" Angel asked.

"Well..." Ginger said. "I have no idea. Nope, not at all."

"Don't worry about me," a voice was heard, and immediately with a flash of light Glinda came back to her normal self.

"Glinda!" Orange said, coming to hug Glinda.

"That petrification potion only lasts for five minutes," Glinda said while receiving a hug from Orange. "But still, I can't accompany you inside."

"Why not?" Angel asked.

"Gladys and I have promised each other that none of us will enter the castle of the other. I have to keep that promise," Glinda replied.

"In times like this?" Peppermint said. "Come on! Someone's life is in danger and you insist on keeping a promise your sister will probably break anyway?!"

"Please don't say that," Glinda said. "Gladys might be a wicked witch, but she always keeps her words."

"Are you sure about that?" Peppermint asked again.

"Well..." Glinda replied, seeming in doubt.

"See?" Peppermint said.

"We can't force her to break her promise, Peppermint," I said.

"Hmph! Do whatever you want, but we've been wasting time talking," Peppermint said.

"Oh yes, you can find her in the basement if she's going to make a potion out of your friend," Glinda said. "The stairs leading there is to the left after entering the main door."

After thanking Glinda for her information, all of us entered the castle through the main door which was not locked. As told by Glinda, we turned left after entering and found a door which led to a downward staircase. There was little to no lighting there, so we could barely see anything. I then remembered my watch, and activated its flashlight function.

"Okay, step carefully," I said, leading the group. The trip downwards was quite long but soon we saw a glimpse of light. As we came closer, the light came from a small window placed on a door. I peeked through the window and saw the wicked witch concocting something in a boiling cauldron. Right next to her, I saw Strawberry lying unconscious on a pedestal not wearing her hat, which was hung on the wall nearby.

"What do you see?" Huck whispered to me.

"Is Strawberry safe?" Angel whispered.

"Strawberry is still safe for now, but I don't know for how long," I whispered back.

Suddenly, the door swung open and all of us were thrown into the room. We all fell on the floor.

"Peeping is not a good manner, kid," Gladys said, still mixing things in the cauldron with one hand while the other hand held her wand. "I suppose my meddling sister has released you from the dungeon."

"Yeah, and we came here to stop you!" Huck said, as all of us stood up.

"We're not gonna let you do this to Strawberry!" Angel said.

"She's our friend and we will do anything to protect her! Yep we sure will!" Ginger said.

"Yes, we will always be there whenever she needs help!" Orange said.

"You can say the same for me," Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin love Strawberry!" Apple said.

"Now release her or..." I said before Gladys interrupted.

"Or what? What can you do?" she challenged. It was true that we were no match for her because we couldn't use any magic like she could. Before long, she waved her wand, shooting green lightning at us. None of us could evade, and as the result all of us were petrified like what had happened to Glinda. I still could see and hear things, but I couldn't move any muscle. It seemed that the same applied to everyone else.

"Unlike the potion I gave to that monkey, my spell lasts for days!" Gladys said with wicked laugh. "But don't worry, as I have promised to your friend before, I will release you all after I'm done with her!"

None of us could do anything as Gladys continued to make the potion. Ten minutes later, she stopped mixing and looked at the still-unconscious Strawberry.

"It is time, my dear," Gladys said. "For you to be the last ingredient I need for the legendary Potion of Circe!"

With a wave of her wand, Strawberry floated from the pedestal to above the cauldron. My thoughts were screaming, and I believed the same was happening to the others as well. Strawberry was in a grave danger and we were watching her, unable to do anything. Gladys then raised her wand high, and lowered it quickly.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" My thoughts screamed.

However, the thing that happened next was unforeseen by us. I believed everyone had been thinking that Gladys had wanted to put Strawberry into the boiling cauldron, but instead of that...

All of Strawberry's hair fell off from her head into the cauldron...

"Yes! The last ingredient! The hair of a redhead!" Gladys shouted in excitement. Then, with another wave of her wand, Gladys sent Strawberry back on the pedestal and all of us were back to our normal selves. "I'm done with your friend. Go get her."

"Strawberry!" Orange shouted, running towards Strawberry along with the rest of us.

"Is she okay?" Angel asked as I examined Strawberry.

"She's just asleep," I said.

"So now the redhead is no longer a redhead huh?" Ginger said.

"Seems so..." Huck said.

"Strawberry... no hair..." Apple said, then Strawberry woke up.

"Everyone! You're here!" Strawberry said.

"Yeah, we're here alright..." Peppermint said. "But your hair is not there."

"My hair?" Strawberry asked, rubbing her head. "Oh, so Gladys is done."

"You don't look surprised. You knew about that?" I asked.

"Yes, she told me that she only needed all of my hair," Strawberry replied, taking her hat from the wall and putting it on her head.

"And you agreed just like that? What a nice kid you are as always..." Peppermint said.

"Your hair will grow again, right?" Orange asked.

"Well..." Strawberry replied.

"Hey kids, instead of questioning her, just look at this!" Gladys interrupted, waving her wand to the wall on the other side of the room. Images of what had happened appeared there like a TV.



Gladys entered the potion room, and Strawberry followed her still floating. Then, Gladys put the spell off from Strawberry and she stepped on the ground. Strawberry looked around the potion room which was as broad as her living room. There were shelves all around the room, all containing weird things which seemed to be potion ingredients. There was a cauldron at the center of the room and a stone pedestal next to it. The pedestal was large enough for a kid to lie down on it.

"What do you want from me?" Strawberry asked, looking a little bit worried.

"I need your hair. That is all," Gladys answered.

"My... hair...?" Strawberry asked, putting her hand on her hair.

"I want to make a potion, dear. Here, take a look," Glady's replied, taking a scroll from a shelf and giving it to Strawberry. "The last line."

Strawberry read through the scroll, which listed the ingredients needed for the potion. At the last line, it said, "All hair of a redhead."

"Oh... I see..." Strawberry said, giving the scroll back to Gladys. "I'm your redhead."

"Indeed," Gladys said. "By the way, you look tired, dear. You can get some sleep on that pedestal while I prepare the potion first."

"That stone?" Strawberry asked, looking at the pedestal.

"It's not as hard as it seems," Gladys said, waving her wand to the pedestal, shooting a green lightning on it.

"Will you let my friends go after you're done?" Strawberry asked as she walked towards the pedestal.

"I will," Gladys said as Strawberry hung her hat on the wall and sat on the pedestal. "By the way, dear. I have to tell you that your hair will never grow back."

"It's fine, as long as you keep your promise," Strawberry said.

"I always keep my words, dear," Gladys said.

"Thank you berry much..." Strawberry said, and she fell asleep on the pedestal.



"No... your hair is gone forever?!" Huck said.

"You mean witch!" Orange said, angered.

There was a bucket of water next to the pedestal where we gathered, and without our knowing Peppermint took the bucket and threw all the water to Gladys. She was not looking so all the water hit her, wetting her whole body.

"Return Strawberry's hair!" Peppermint shouted with tears pouring from her eyes. "She's not the Strawberry I know and love without her hair!"

"Peppermint! No!" Strawberry said.

"Her hair, and everything else in her..." Peppermint said. "Means a lot to me, and to all of us!"

"Peppermint..." Angel said. Everyone else were surprised on Peppermint's reaction. I believed that most of us had been thinking that Peppermint was a stern, cold child. But what had just happened showed that she actually had a huge affection.

"Don't worry, Peppermint," Strawberry said, hugging Peppermint from behind. "I'm still what I have been before."

"ACHOO!" Gladys sneezed and trembling. "Look at what you have... ATCHOO! Done..." she said. It seemed that the water had made her caught a cold.

"Please forgive Peppermint," Strawberry said. "She..."

"Don't say anything more! ACHOO!" Gladys interrupted. "Just go away now. Leave me... ACHOO! Alone..."

We did as told by her, and left her alone in the potion room. On the way, Strawberry and Angel had to hold Peppermint's hands because she was still shocked by the fact that Strawberry had become bald forever. Soon, we were out from the castle and met Glinda who had been waiting for us.

"I see that you did it," Glinda said.

"Yeah, but we still have problems," I said.

"Strawberry has lost her hair forever," Orange said.

"That mean witch has completed her potion! I bet it is something dangerous, right everyone?" Ginger said.

"And, we can't get home," I said

"Hmm..." Glinda said, thinking. "Maybe you should meet The Great Wizard of Oz."

"Who is this wizard?" Angel asked.

"If someone can take you home, he can," Glinda replied.

"That would be great! Could you take us there?" I asked.

"Sure! Let's go right now, shall we?" Glinda said, and with a wave of her wand all of us disappeared in a flash of light.


--To be continued-- ]]> Quote:Part 2: New Land, New Adventure



Light...
A small glimpse of light...
Is that light... a star...?
Or... Just a hallucination...?
Or perhaps... a light of hope...?


"Either way, this is better than doing nothing," I said, getting back to my full consciousnes. Everyone else were still unconscious, probably because of the shock and fear which had happened. I then looked at the purple button at the far corner of the control panel. Albatross' engine still couldn't be started in the unknown space, so the only option available was the button I had made on nearly all of my devices.

Without any second thought, I pressed the button. Soon, large jet flames came out from Albatross' rear and it accelerated with astronomical rate. The acceleration was so intense that I could feel the pressure, despite the still-working gravity field. As I struggled to maintain control of Albatross, the glimpse of light grew larger and larger until everything was covered by bright light.

When I regained vision, I saw that we were back to space. I looked to the rear and saw that we had come out from a vortex similar to the Black Hole, but the color of the vortex was white.

"Came in into Black Hole, and came out from... White Hole?" I thought. "Kinda... strange..."

Soon, the overcharge ended and the engine stopped, leaving Albatross gliding in space. The planet I knew was in sight though, so the situation was not that grave. Soon, everybody else started to wake up one by one.

"Where are we...?" Angel asked.

"What happened...? Orange asked.

"Are you all right, Apple Dumplin'?" Strawberry asked Apple.

"Apple Dumplin' scared..." Apple replied.

"Hey Blackberry. I thought we have been sucked by... what was the name... Black Hole?" Huck asked.

"We managed to escape from it," I replied.

"What? I have read that anything which enters Black Hole will never come out again. Nope, not ever!" Ginger said. "Does that mean we are the first ones who escaped from Black Hole, huh Blackberry?"

"Maybe..." I replied.

"Well, now I think I can sorta count on you," Peppermint said, but a few seconds later Albatross' engine exploded because of the overcharge. "Hmph, I take back my words."

"What happened?" Huck asked.

"The engine blew up," I replied. "I believe everyone knows that it always happen if I overcharge the engine."

"How can you be so calm now?!" Angel shouted. "This is gonna cost us our lives!"

"Hey, I learn from my mistake," I replied. "This time, I have put reserve engine in case of this."

After saying those, I started Albatross' reserve engine which was located under the main engine, and piloted the ship towards the planet. Everyone were calm again and I was glad nothing really bad happened to us. However, soon I noticed something weird as Albatross flew closer to the atmosphere of the planet. The limit in the sky was not there. That gave me a bad feeling but I had no idea whether I should tell everyone else or not. While I was pondering, suddenly Albatross' reserve engine blew up.

"Why that one blew up too?!" Strawberry asked.

"Apple scared..." Apple said, hugging Strawberry and leaking tears.

"I have no idea, but I promise none of us will get hurt," I said.

Even though I had said those, I myself was not sure if we would be able to survive the fall unhurt. Maintaining control of falling Albatross was easier said than done. As it fell through the clouds, I struggled to keep its balance. Soon, we passed the clouds and we saw a small village we had never seen before. Albatross fell directly towards the village so I had no choice other than doing an emergency landing right in the middle of that village.

"Everybody, brace yourselves!" I shouted as Albatross came closer to the ground. Soon, it touched the ground and drifted sideways with hard friction. Not long after, it finally came to a complete stop.

"Get out of here now! It might blow up again soon!" I shouted, opening the hatch. All of us quickly jumped out from Albatross, I was the last, and ran as far as possible from it. Albatross didn't explode like I had feared, but looking at its shape and also the thick black smokes coming out from it, it was assured that Albatross was no more.

"Where are we now?" Orange asked.

"I don't know. I have never seen this place before," I said.

"How can we get back home?" Angel asked, but before I could give any answer, someone shouted at us.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" the voice shouted. We looked towards the source and got surprised. The voice came from someone who looked like a witch, but the more surprising thing was that the witch was very similar to Sour Grapes.

"Sour Grapes?" Orange said, wondering.

"Who is Sour Grapes? I am Gladys and I don't know any Sour Grapes. Now answer my question!" the witch said.

"Well, we are travellers and we got an accident," I said.

"Aww, poor you..." the witch said. "I will give you all a shelter."

"Really? Thanks!" Huck said.

"Yes, I will give a nice shelter... in the dungeon!" the witch said, pointing her crescent moon wand to the side. A green lightning came out from it and hit a door which immediately opened. We immediately realized that we have just met a wicked witch instead of a nice one.

"What if we refuse?" Peppermint asked, challenging the witch.

"Oh no you can't!" the witch said, pointing her wand towards us. The same green lightning came out and hit us all. Immediately after, all of us were magically lifted from the ground, unable to move. "Now go into the dungeon and spend the rest of your life there!"

With a wicked laugh, the witch moved her wand to point towards the dungeon door, and all of us started to float towards it. There was nothing we could do. However, the witch noticed something.

"Wait! You!" she said, pointing her wand. Strawberry stopped to float while the rest of us kept floating into the dungeon. Once the last person entered, the dungeon door shut itself, leaving all of us except Strawberry trapped inside.

Outside, the witch had taken the float spell away from Strawberry. Through the dungeon bars, we could see her standing, facing the witch.

"You have something that I want! Come with me!" the witch said.

"..." Strawberry was silent, looking at us.

"What? Worried about your friends?" the witch asked.

"Please, let them go," Strawberry said.

"Alright, I will promise this," the witch said. "Now you come with me, and once I'm done with you I will release you and your friends."

"Will you keep your promise?" Strawberry asked.

"Yes! So, are you coming with me?" the witch asked back.

Strawberry replied with a weak nod, and soon the witch put the float spell on Strawberry again. Soon, the witch left riding a winged monkey, carrying Strawberry with her.

"Damn!" Huck shouted, hitting the dungeon door with his fist. "What is that witch going to do to Strawberry?!"

Inside the dungeon, the condition was not good at all. Apple kept crying because she was so worried about her big sister. Angel and Orange sat by her side, trying to calm her down with no success. The rest, including me, were talking about how to get out of there.

"Hey, you have that key right?" Peppermint asked me.

"You mean Key Master? I tried it while we were watching Strawberry. It seems the door is locked by magic, so it was no good," I replied.

"How about your dimension door?" Huck asked.

"Well..." I said, taking Time Remote II from my pocket. "Outside this dungeon."

Instead of making a dimension door, the remote vibrated hard and covered itself in electricity waves. I threw it to the corner of the dungeon just a few seconds before it blew up with quite an amount of black smoke.

"Looks like the Black Hole has broken it," I said.

"That means, this too?" Huck asked, taking Ginger's remote from his pocket.

"Hey, isn't that my Amazing Dimension Door Remote?" Ginger asked.

"Yeah, I was going to return this to you today," Huck replied.

"Let me try..." I said, asking Huck to give the remote to me. I then typed the words "Outside dungeon" and then the remote met its demise like my remote. "No good," I said.

"Don't you have any other things?" Peppermint asked.

"Well, let's see..." I replied, searching inside my pocket. "I have Key Master, Inner Heart, Paraplu, and Vision."

"That's all, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked, looking at the four devices I had put on the floor.

"That's all," I replied.

"Oh, I should have stayed home..." Peppermint said. "This is not good at all."

"We have to find a way out of here fast or that witch will do something bad to Strawberry!" Huck said, quite panicked.

"And it's your fault for bringing us all here!" Peppermint said, pointing at me.

"Hey, we can't blame him! It was not his fault that Black Hole sucked us, am I right?" Ginger said, defending me.

Soon, there was an uproar inside the dungeon. Nearly everybody inside fought each other with mouth, and I was involved in it too. It lasted for some minutes until Orange shouted.

"Stop it, everybody!" she shouted, and everyone suddenly fell silent. "Please, we have to be calm."

"Yeah... you're right," I said.

"All of us panicked that we couldn't think clearly," Huck said.

"Not to mention that we are all tired from our disastrous trip," I said. "Let's get some rest first. After that, we can start thinking of a way to get out of here."

Everyone agreed to my suggestion and went to get some sleep. However, I was so worried about Strawberry that I couldn't sleep, so I just pretended to sleep. That being said, I eventually fell asleep for real because of the fatigue I had gotten.

Later, nightfall came and all of us were asleep. There was no lighting inside the dungeon so the only visible thing there was the moonlight from outside coming through the bars of the dungeon door. Suddenly, the door opened by itself, waking all of us up. We saw a shadowy figure coming into the dungeon. It was not the witch, because the silhouette was clearly different.

"You're not the witch... who are you?" I asked.

"First, let's brighten up a bit," the figure replied, waving a wand. Immediately, a few balls of light came out from it and floated around the ceiling. Those balls illuminated the whole room, enabling us to see the figure. Once again, we were surprised. The figure was apparently very similar to Plum Puddin', but taller and older.

"Plum Puddin'?" Angel asked.

"Who is Plum Puddin'? My name is Glinda and I don't know any Plum Puddin'," The figure replied.

"Are you... a witch too? Like Gladys?" Orange asked.

"Yes, I'm a witch. A good witch," Glinda answered. "And to tell the truth... Gladys is my sister."

"You are her sister? Then, do you know where she took Strawberry?" I asked.

"Sorry, I don't know what your problem is. I was just told that Gladys had taken prisoners here, and I'm here to release you all," Glinda said.

"Before putting us here, she said that Strawberry had something she wanted," I said.

"And then that mean witch took Strawberry with her to who knows where, am I right?" Ginger said.

"So she has taken your friend..." Glinda said, thinking.

"Do you know what might be the thing she wanted from Strawberry?" Huck asked.

"Well..." Glinda said with a brief pause. "I know that she was frustated because she was so close in making a legendary potion, but she lacked one ingredient. She once said that she needed a redhead."

"Redhead? Strawberry is a redhead. Don't tell me she is going to use Strawberry as the last ingredient. Yeah right..." Peppermint said.

"Wow, that means the mean witch is going to throw Strawberry into a boiling cauldron like I have seen in many fairy tales. Yep, she sure will," Ginger said.

"Strawberry... boil...?" Apple said, starting to leak tears again.

"We can't let that happen!" Angel said.

"We must stop her!" Orange said.

"Please, take us to where she is now before she harms Strawberry!" Huck said.

"She lives in a small castle to the West," Glinda said. "I can take you there but..."

"We can't waste time. Just do it now!" Peppermint said.

"Oh, okay..." Glinda said, and she waved her wand. Green dust came out from it and surrounded all of us. When the dust cleared, we were already on an open field of grass with a small castle visible not so far from us.

"This is the closest I can take you," Glinda said.

"We can't waste time searching inside that castle. Do you know where she is holding Strawberry in there?" I asked.

"If she is really going to use your friend to make a potion, she should be in the b..." Glinda replied, before suddenly a water balloon fell from above and hit her. Right after that, she turned into stone. All of us gasped and looked above, only to see the winged monkey we had seen before attacking us by throwing water balloons filled by some kind of petrification potion.

"Quick! Come close to me!" I shouted, quickly taking Paraplu from my pocket and throwing it upwards. A light barrier formed and protected us from the attack.

"Glad that you have this," Huck said.

"But we're not gonna enter the castle if we just stand here!" Angel said.

"Nobody reminded me to make it mobile..." I thought in my mind, looking at the winged monkey above. It seemed to have noticed the barrier so it stopped throwing the potions, but it kept watching us with quite an amount of water balloons ready in its grip.

"Come on, think think think..." Ginger said, walking around in circles. Then she snapped her finger. "I've got an idea!"

Ginger then told us her idea and everyone agreed that it was worth a try.

"Okay, on the countdown," I said, preparing to deactivate Paraplu. "Three... two... one... GO!"

I then deactivated Paraplu and started running as fast as I could. As planned, everyone ran in different directions and that successfully confused the monkey. However, the monkey was quite smart that it started to chase one target, which was me. I was lucky that it missed two throws, but I didn't think it will miss the third time. While still running, I got an idea that was quite a gamble, but still worth trying than only running. I then took the deactivated Paraplu from my pocket and threw it upwards while still running. I still kept running for a few seconds until I looked back and saw that the monkey has been stuck inside Paraplu's barrier.

"Jackpot," I said while catching my breath.

"Wow, what happened?" Huck asked as he came close to me.

"Paraplu's barrier is made to block any water from either direction. I remembered that living creatures consist of 75% water inside so it can be used like this," I answered.

"Well, I don't understand much, but it's great that you could think of this," he said.

"We have no time to waste. Let's meet the others and enter the castle," I said.

Soon, we met the others and walked towards the castle. When we got closer, we saw the petrified Glinda we had almost forgotten.

"What about Glinda...?" Angel asked.

"Well..." Ginger said. "I have no idea. Nope, not at all."

"Don't worry about me," a voice was heard, and immediately with a flash of light Glinda came back to her normal self.

"Glinda!" Orange said, coming to hug Glinda.

"That petrification potion only lasts for five minutes," Glinda said while receiving a hug from Orange. "But still, I can't accompany you inside."

"Why not?" Angel asked.

"Gladys and I have promised each other that none of us will enter the castle of the other. I have to keep that promise," Glinda replied.

"In times like this?" Peppermint said. "Come on! Someone's life is in danger and you insist on keeping a promise your sister will probably break anyway?!"

"Please don't say that," Glinda said. "Gladys might be a wicked witch, but she always keeps her words."

"Are you sure about that?" Peppermint asked again.

"Well..." Glinda replied, seeming in doubt.

"See?" Peppermint said.

"We can't force her to break her promise, Peppermint," I said.

"Hmph! Do whatever you want, but we've been wasting time talking," Peppermint said.

"Oh yes, you can find her in the basement if she's going to make a potion out of your friend," Glinda said. "The stairs leading there is to the left after entering the main door."

After thanking Glinda for her information, all of us entered the castle through the main door which was not locked. As told by Glinda, we turned left after entering and found a door which led to a downward staircase. There was little to no lighting there, so we could barely see anything. I then remembered my watch, and activated its flashlight function.

"Okay, step carefully," I said, leading the group. The trip downwards was quite long but soon we saw a glimpse of light. As we came closer, the light came from a small window placed on a door. I peeked through the window and saw the wicked witch concocting something in a boiling cauldron. Right next to her, I saw Strawberry lying unconscious on a pedestal not wearing her hat, which was hung on the wall nearby.

"What do you see?" Huck whispered to me.

"Is Strawberry safe?" Angel whispered.

"Strawberry is still safe for now, but I don't know for how long," I whispered back.

Suddenly, the door swung open and all of us were thrown into the room. We all fell on the floor.

"Peeping is not a good manner, kid," Gladys said, still mixing things in the cauldron with one hand while the other hand held her wand. "I suppose my meddling sister has released you from the dungeon."

"Yeah, and we came here to stop you!" Huck said, as all of us stood up.

"We're not gonna let you do this to Strawberry!" Angel said.

"She's our friend and we will do anything to protect her! Yep we sure will!" Ginger said.

"Yes, we will always be there whenever she needs help!" Orange said.

"You can say the same for me," Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin love Strawberry!" Apple said.

"Now release her or..." I said before Gladys interrupted.

"Or what? What can you do?" she challenged. It was true that we were no match for her because we couldn't use any magic like she could. Before long, she waved her wand, shooting green lightning at us. None of us could evade, and as the result all of us were petrified like what had happened to Glinda. I still could see and hear things, but I couldn't move any muscle. It seemed that the same applied to everyone else.

"Unlike the potion I gave to that monkey, my spell lasts for days!" Gladys said with wicked laugh. "But don't worry, as I have promised to your friend before, I will release you all after I'm done with her!"

None of us could do anything as Gladys continued to make the potion. Ten minutes later, she stopped mixing and looked at the still-unconscious Strawberry.

"It is time, my dear," Gladys said. "For you to be the last ingredient I need for the legendary Potion of Circe!"

With a wave of her wand, Strawberry floated from the pedestal to above the cauldron. My thoughts were screaming, and I believed the same was happening to the others as well. Strawberry was in a grave danger and we were watching her, unable to do anything. Gladys then raised her wand high, and lowered it quickly.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" My thoughts screamed.

However, the thing that happened next was unforeseen by us. I believed everyone had been thinking that Gladys had wanted to put Strawberry into the boiling cauldron, but instead of that...

All of Strawberry's hair fell off from her head into the cauldron...

"Yes! The last ingredient! The hair of a redhead!" Gladys shouted in excitement. Then, with another wave of her wand, Gladys sent Strawberry back on the pedestal and all of us were back to our normal selves. "I'm done with your friend. Go get her."

"Strawberry!" Orange shouted, running towards Strawberry along with the rest of us.

"Is she okay?" Angel asked as I examined Strawberry.

"She's just asleep," I said.

"So now the redhead is no longer a redhead huh?" Ginger said.

"Seems so..." Huck said.

"Strawberry... no hair..." Apple said, then Strawberry woke up.

"Everyone! You're here!" Strawberry said.

"Yeah, we're here alright..." Peppermint said. "But your hair is not there."

"My hair?" Strawberry asked, rubbing her head. "Oh, so Gladys is done."

"You don't look surprised. You knew about that?" I asked.

"Yes, she told me that she only needed all of my hair," Strawberry replied, taking her hat from the wall and putting it on her head.

"And you agreed just like that? What a nice kid you are as always..." Peppermint said.

"Your hair will grow again, right?" Orange asked.

"Well..." Strawberry replied.

"Hey kids, instead of questioning her, just look at this!" Gladys interrupted, waving her wand to the wall on the other side of the room. Images of what had happened appeared there like a TV.



Gladys entered the potion room, and Strawberry followed her still floating. Then, Gladys put the spell off from Strawberry and she stepped on the ground. Strawberry looked around the potion room which was as broad as her living room. There were shelves all around the room, all containing weird things which seemed to be potion ingredients. There was a cauldron at the center of the room and a stone pedestal next to it. The pedestal was large enough for a kid to lie down on it.

"What do you want from me?" Strawberry asked, looking a little bit worried.

"I need your hair. That is all," Gladys answered.

"My... hair...?" Strawberry asked, putting her hand on her hair.

"I want to make a potion, dear. Here, take a look," Glady's replied, taking a scroll from a shelf and giving it to Strawberry. "The last line."

Strawberry read through the scroll, which listed the ingredients needed for the potion. At the last line, it said, "All hair of a redhead."

"Oh... I see..." Strawberry said, giving the scroll back to Gladys. "I'm your redhead."

"Indeed," Gladys said. "By the way, you look tired, dear. You can get some sleep on that pedestal while I prepare the potion first."

"That stone?" Strawberry asked, looking at the pedestal.

"It's not as hard as it seems," Gladys said, waving her wand to the pedestal, shooting a green lightning on it.

"Will you let my friends go after you're done?" Strawberry asked as she walked towards the pedestal.

"I will," Gladys said as Strawberry hung her hat on the wall and sat on the pedestal. "By the way, dear. I have to tell you that your hair will never grow back."

"It's fine, as long as you keep your promise," Strawberry said.

"I always keep my words, dear," Gladys said.

"Thank you berry much..." Strawberry said, and she fell asleep on the pedestal.



"No... your hair is gone forever?!" Huck said.

"You mean witch!" Orange said, angered.

There was a bucket of water next to the pedestal where we gathered, and without our knowing Peppermint took the bucket and threw all the water to Gladys. She was not looking so all the water hit her, wetting her whole body.

"Return Strawberry's hair!" Peppermint shouted with tears pouring from her eyes. "She's not the Strawberry I know and love without her hair!"

"Peppermint! No!" Strawberry said.

"Her hair, and everything else in her..." Peppermint said. "Means a lot to me, and to all of us!"

"Peppermint..." Angel said. Everyone else were surprised on Peppermint's reaction. I believed that most of us had been thinking that Peppermint was a stern, cold child. But what had just happened showed that she actually had a huge affection.

"Don't worry, Peppermint," Strawberry said, hugging Peppermint from behind. "I'm still what I have been before."

"ACHOO!" Gladys sneezed and trembling. "Look at what you have... ATCHOO! Done..." she said. It seemed that the water had made her caught a cold.

"Please forgive Peppermint," Strawberry said. "She..."

"Don't say anything more! ACHOO!" Gladys interrupted. "Just go away now. Leave me... ACHOO! Alone..."

We did as told by her, and left her alone in the potion room. On the way, Strawberry and Angel had to hold Peppermint's hands because she was still shocked by the fact that Strawberry had become bald forever. Soon, we were out from the castle and met Glinda who had been waiting for us.

"I see that you did it," Glinda said.

"Yeah, but we still have problems," I said.

"Strawberry has lost her hair forever," Orange said.

"That mean witch has completed her potion! I bet it is something dangerous, right everyone?" Ginger said.

"And, we can't get home," I said

"Hmm..." Glinda said, thinking. "Maybe you should meet The Great Wizard of Oz."

"Who is this wizard?" Angel asked.

"If someone can take you home, he can," Glinda replied.

"That would be great! Could you take us there?" I asked.

"Sure! Let's go right now, shall we?" Glinda said, and with a wave of her wand all of us disappeared in a flash of light.


--To be continued-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-56.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:02:33 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-56.html Quote:Final Chapter Part 1: Limit in The Sky


One night, I was lying down on the rooftop of my house to see the stars above. There were no clouds and it was still crescent moon so I could see quite a clear view of all the stars. It was a very beautiful view that I felt like staying there all the night. Looking at the stars, I began to wonder about the outer space and all things over there. What things could possibly exist out there? What kinds of planets could I find? I then got the idea of making a vehicle capable of going to outer space, but I immediately casted it aside because the bitter memories about the old Falcon came back to me.

I had never told anyone before, but at first I hadn't intended to make Falcon a flying car. I had meant it to be a spaceship to go to outer space, but no matter how hard I had tried, the engine had always stopped working after reaching a certain height. Because of that, I had decided to make it a flying car instead. Even though of that, Falcon had ended up nearly unusable because of various problems I still hadn't known about back then. Thanks to the trip to the Land of Dreams, my Falcon had became the Falcon I still used until then.

After having those thoughts about the past, I decided to walk around Strawberryland at night. Of course I started with Huckleberry Briar, which was a little bit scary at night, but I didn't feel scared that much. The next stop was Cakewalk, which was very quiet and dim. It was already over bedtime so I assumed that Angel Cake was already asleep. The same with Ginger Snap when I walked past her house, but then as I came closer to Strawberry's house, I started to hear someone singing. I recognized the voice as Strawberry's voice and walked closer to hear the song more clearly. Once i got a clear hearing of the song, I sat down leaning behind her fence so she wouldn't notice me.

Tell me a story
of a land full of horses, playing fun horsey games
Castles that float in the sky
Or magical horses with wings on their backs
Who takes us away as they fly

Tell me a story, just once more
Turn off the light, and stand by the door
And say ``I love you`` and kiss me goodnight
Tell me a story
I need a story
Any old story
As long as it's told by you...

Hearing her singing that song somehow made me feel something weird deep inside my heart. The song felt like she had a desire for parents, which none of us had. The question that had occupied my mind once came again, and without realizing it, some tears dropped from my eyes. Eventually I noticed it and quickly wiped the tears from my face. Then I approached Strawberry, who was still sitting by the door of her house. Both of her pets were sound asleep by her.

"Hi, Strawberry," I greeted.

"Oh, hi, Blackberry," she greeted back.

"Can't sleep just like me?" I asked.

"Not really," she replied. "What about you?"

"I just wanted to walk around at night," I replied. "By the way, the song you just sang..."

"You heard it?" she asked.

"Yeah, some of it. It was really an enchanting song. Truthfully, I dropped some tears hearing it," I replied, sitting next to her while still giving enough room for Pupcake.

"Oh..." she said.

"You know, all of us have been having a lot of fun together. So much fun, that we have been forgetting a question," I said.

"What question?" she asked.

"Have you ever wondered why we are here, without someone who takes care of us? Without someone who loves us? Without someone who... tells us bedtime stories?" I said.

"Well, now that you mention it..." she said with a brief pause. "I wonder about that too."

"You know, I also have another question," I said. "It's about your sister."

"Apple Dumplin'? What question?" she asked.

"I once saw her coming from a giant flower which had fallen from the sky. What was that actually?" I asked.

"I..." she said with a pause. "I just... don't know..."

"You don't know? Nothing at all?" I asked.

"That was the berry first time I met her," she replied. "I don't know much."

"What? That was the first time? Then how did you know that she was your sister and that the day was her first birthday?" I asked. I was very curious.

"I don't know..." she replied, pausing again. "I just... knew all those."

"You just... knew? You mean, the knowledge just got into your head out of nowhere?" I said, and she replied with a nod. "That's quite strange..."

"Yeah, but it didn't really matter to me back then," she said.

"Do you know what happened to the flower then?" I asked.

"It is no longer there. It has returned to the ground since a berry long time ago," she answered.

"I see..." I said, looking to the stars and the crescent moon above. I then decided to leave the question and change the topic. "So far away..."

"What did you just say?" she asked.

"The stars. It's a long way out there..." I said.

"Umm... yes it sure is," she said, seeming confused that I suddenly changed the topic.

"I wonder if I can ever go to those stars someday," I said. "With a spaceship or something..."

"If you keep believing that you can do it, then I think you can," she said.

"Well... I don't know," I said, followed by a pause. "I have tried, but I have never made it come true. So I gave up and made a flying car instead."

"I don't know much about spaceship or flying cars, but I do know this, Blackberry," she said. "Dreams are one thing you can't give up on."

"Do you think so...?" I said, still looking at the stars above.

"Yes, I believe you can," she replied. "I'll give you a deal. You don't give up on your dream, and I won't give up on mine. We will make them come true, one step at a time."

"Thanks, Strawberry," I said. "I think I will go home now. It's really over bed time now."

"See you tomorrow, Blackberry," she said as I stood up and walked away waving my hand to her.

At the next day, motivated by Strawberry's words from the previous day, I started the old abandoned project once again. First, I tried piloting Falcon as high as it could be to see if the problem still existed. It turned out that it still did because suddenly Falcon's engine died. However, after falling some height I was able to start the engine again so I didn't have to use the emergency parachute. Once I got home again, I wondered what the cause of the problem was. Falcon's engine did not need air to run so thinner atmosphere should have not been the cause. I then looked at the spot where Blackbird was parked and wondered if I could use Blackbird's high speed to go through the height.

I decided that using Blackbird was not a good idea because there was a risk that after the engine died the remaining speed would probably bring me to outer space for real, and if I couldn't start the engine again I would be trapped in space forever. So, I modified Midnight Eye's satellite to become a miniature of Blackbird which had the exact same functions as the real one. The mini Blackbird could be controlled by the old Eagle Eye's controller so I could fly it while still staying in my house.

I then launched the mini Blackbird to the sky and controlled it to fly upwards at full speed. There was no problem seen in the monitor, and as expected the engine died soon after. Its speed kept it moving upwards, but then a strange thing happened. The mini Blackbird's speed decreased abnormally fast that it came into a complete stop just a few seconds later. Then, it immediately started to fall down with an abnormally high acceleration. Soon, I was able to start the engine again so I could control it to fly back to my home safely, but what had just happened had left a big question for me. What had just happened actually?

No matter how hard I thought about the things that just happened, the only conclusion that I could came up with was that there was some kind of invisible limit in the sky covering the whole planet. At first the force field disabled the engine of any vehicle that came within its area, then if the vehicle's remaining speed kept bringing it up, the force field pushed the vehicle down with increasing strength the higher the vehicle went. That thought didn't make much sense. If that thought was true, then who made that force field? What was the purpose? How could I get through it? All those thoughts gave me quite a headache so I decided to call it off for then and go for a walk around Strawberryland.

I then stopped by a small river near the outfield and sat down on the ground near the river's edge. I then picked up a stone and threw it to the river. The stone fell into the river and sank, and then I lied down with a sigh.

"Hey, Blackberry. Having fun?" a voice I recognized asked.

"Not really, Huck. I'm kinda stressful today," I replied, still lying down.

"What's the matter?" he asked, sitting down next to me.

"Something got in my way, while I was chasing my dream," I replied.

"Really? You couldn't get through it?" he asked.

"I tried, but it kept pushing me back no matter how hard I tried," I replied. "Now I kinda want to give up..."

"You can't give up just like that!" he said. "There must be a way!"

"I'm not sure about that," I said.

"Keep trying! You can do it! Just believe in yourself that you can!" he said, trying to encourage me.

"That's what I have been doing, but as you can see..." I said. There was a brief pause until I continued. "But don't worry. I won't give up. I've already promised that to Strawberry."

"Promise what?" he asked.

"I don't give up on my dream, and she won't give up on hers. That's all," I replied.

"I see," he said. "Hey, I don't know what your obstacle is, but if you can't get through it, there's always another way."

"Well, I'm not sure," I said.

"Like this river. How can you get to the other side?" he asked.

"Well, I can use the bridge over there," I replied, looking at a bridge some distance away.

"That's one. You also can swim through it or find a place where the river is not too wide and then jump over it," he said.

"Maybe you're right..." I said, then I noticed something. "Wait! What did you say?" I asked, getting up into sitting position suddenly.

"Uh... swim through it?" he asked.

"Nonono, after that!" I said, shaking my head.

"Uh... find a place where the river is not too wide..." he said.

"Yes, and then?" I asked again with my hands on his shoulders.

"Jump over it..." he answered with confused face.

"Jump over it... Yes, if I can't get through it I can jump over it!" I said with excitement. "Thanks, Huck! You're my savior!"

"Uh... no problem," he replied as I ran back home. I was so excited that I got impatient, taking Time Remote Mark II from my pocket and using its dimension door to go home. When I arrived, I immediately went to my working table and started to put the idea into a real thing.

Not too long after, I came out from my house bringing a miniature vehicle similar to mini Blackbird and also a remote control for it. Right at that moment, Huck came to me.

"Hey, Blackberry," he greeted.

"Hi, Huck. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Well, I'm kinda curious about the idea you got from me," he replied. "But if you don't want me to see it I'll go."

"No, I don't mind at all. Be my guest," I said.

"What is that thing you're carrying?" he asked.

"This, is the realization of the idea you gave to me," I answered.

"That toy...?" he asked.

"Not really a toy. This is the miniature of what I will make later. This is just for testing," I replied, putting the mini vehicle on the ground.

"You're going to make another flying car?" he asked.

"Yes, but this one will be able to go to outer space," I said.

"Whoa, that's great," he said.

"Ok, stand near me. I'm going to start it," I said, activating the remote control I have been holding.

Soon, the miniature vehicle started to float. I then controlled it to fly around the area and do some acrobatic moves. All went well for a while, but the real test was just about to begin.

"How is it going?" Huck asked.

"So far so good. But now I'm going to begin the real test," I replied.

I pressed a button on the remote, and then the mini vehicle emitted a bright light. It then disappeared and one second later reappeared at some distance forward. At first I was excited to know that I succeeded, but soon the mini vehicle's engine exploded and it then fell down, hitting the ground hard.

"Oh well, there goes my dream," I said, walking to the remains of the mini vehicle.

"You're not going to give up, are you?" Huck asked, following me.

"Like I said before, I will never give up," I said, picking up the remains. "But truth to be told, failure after failure will eventually get stressful and I'm not sure if I will be able to endure."

"Well, I have had an experience like that before," he said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, that day I was learning a new skateboard trick. Man, that trick was sure a hard one. I kept falling and failing to do it," he said.

"And then...?" I asked.

"Indeed it was stressful, but everytime I failed, I told myself 'It is a new chance to try again, this time more wisely!' and tried again," he said.

"Did you succeed?" I asked.

"Yes, of course! Now I can do that trick easily! Just remember this, Blackberry: Never be afraid to try again. You will never score a goal if you stop to shoot," he said with his hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Huck," I said.

"By the way, why does the new car need an ability to teleport like that? I thought you could just keep flying up until you get to the space," he asked.

"Hmm, let's just say that there's a limit in the sky, and instead of going through the limit I will jump over it," I replied.

The next few days were spent studying over the failure that had happened. It took quite a lot of energy and effort, but in the end I came up with an idea to overcome the problem. Soon, I made another mini vehicle and tested it outside. Like the previous mini vehicle, all went well at first. I then pressed one button on the remote, and the mini vehicle shot a wave of electricity which made a mini dimension door right in front of it. The mini vehicle then entered the dimension door and one second later another dimension door appeared at some distance forward. The mini vehicle then came out from it and continued to fly smoothly.

"One step closer to my dream," I said, controlling the mini vehicle to land next to me.

After that, I took Replicator and used it to copy Blackbird. I then modified the copy to function precisely the same as the mini vehicle I had just tested. The result which came two days later was a new vehicle with a different look than the other two vehicles. If Falcon looked like a car and Blackbird looked like a fusion of a car and a plane, the new vehicle looked similar to futuristic planes I had seen in some books.

"Welcome... Albatross," I said, giving the new silver colored vehicle a name.

It was great to see Albatross ready to bring me to outer space. After a very long time, my dream finally came close to reality. Not to mention that Albatross had six additional seats for passengers so I would be able to share the realization of my dream with my friends. However, there was still one last problem for Albatross. Unlike Falcon and Blackbird, Albatross did not have any float engine so it would need a long runway, which was not an easy thing to find in Strawberryland. While I was still pondering over the problem, Ginger Snap came to me.

"Hi, Blackberry! How are you today, huh? I guess you are all right, am I right?" she asked.

"I'm just fine," I replied.

"Woohoo! I was sooo right! You see, none of us have seen you over the last few days. Nope, not ever! So, I thought of giving you a visit to see what you have been doing that none of us have seen you over the last few days. So, what is it, huh Blackberry?" she asked again.

"That," I replied, pointing at Albatross.

"Whoa, what is this? It looks like a plane, am I right?" she said.

"This is Albatross. It is a spaceship which I have been making over the last few days," I said.

"Spaceship? You mean, a vehicle to go to up there? To the outer space and the stars above?" she asked.

"Yes it is," I said.

"Whoa, why don't you fly it right away, huh Blackberry? I guess there is still one or two or three problems, am I right?" she said.

"Yeah, that's right," I said, then I told her about Albatross' problem.

"A runway huh?" she said, thinking. "I got it! Leave it to me for the runway! Just bring this plane to the outfield now, okay?"

After saying those words, she left without giving me a chance to say anything. I wondered how she would provide a runway in the outfield because I knew that there wasn't any flat surface long enough for Albatross to gain speed and fly over there. Also, she didn't know that bringing Albatross to the outfield was not an easy thing to do. I still could drive it like a normal car, but there wasn't any road wide enough for it to go through towards the outfield. While I was still thinking, Huck came.

"Hey, Blackberry," he greeted.

"Hey, Huck," I replied, still thinking.

"Ginger Snap went past my fort talking about making a runway for you, so I thought of coming here to see," he said.

"And now you see it," I said, then I told him what had happened before and also the problem I was still thinking about.

"Hmm, did you forget what I had said?" he asked.

"About what?" I asked back.

"About the ways to get past an obstacle," he replied.

"I remember. Like a river, to get past it I can use a bridge, swim across, or jump over it... Oh, you mean..." I said, realizing something.

"Yeah, I think maybe you can use the new car's ability to teleport to the outfield," he said.

"I thought of that too, but Albatross can only do that while flying," I said.

"Then how about your remote?" he asked.

"Time Remote II you mean? The dimension door it makes is not large enough for Albatross to go through," I replied.

"Then how about this?" he said, taking something from his pocket. I immediately noticed it as Ginger's Dimension Door Remote.

"Ginger's remote? Why do you have it now?" I asked

"I borrowed this last Christmas to invite special guests, and I forgot to return it," he replied.

"Special guests...? So you were the one who brought those... unique kids?" I asked, remembering the strangers I had seen. One of them could transform into a dragon, another could transform into weird creatures, and another could transform into a ghostly form.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect them to be that special..." he said with his right hand behind his head and chuckling.

"Anyway, I think this remote can work, although I'm not so sure," I said. "But let's try it anyway, rather than not doing anything while Ginger is over there waiting for me."

I then took the remote from Huck, gave him a few instructions, walked some distance in front of Albatross, typed the destination, and threw the remote upwards towards Huck, who was standing a few meters in front of me. After he caught it he brought the remote to me while keeping it close to the ground. As expected, those movements ended up drawing a large not-so-circular trail, creating a dimension door large enough for Albatross to enter.

"All right!" Huck said in excitement.

"Let's go quickly before it disappears," I said.

Both of us then entered Albatross. I then started its engine and drove it towards the dimension door. We knew that we ended up at the place we had wanted because we saw Ginger Snap working on building the runway she had promised.

"Hey, Ginger! Do you need some help?" I asked as I got off Albatross.

"Nope! I'm all done!" she answered, giving the last hammer drop. "Here's The Amazing Runway, made just for you!"

I looked at the runway she had made and noticed that she had made it using the same material for the skateboard track everyone had used in the Strawberryland Games. Soon, I got surprised and confused seeing that the other end of the runway was curved upwards.

"The other end is... curved?" I asked.

"Yep! You can just let your plane run and the runway will make your plane fly! Great idea, am I right?" she said.

"Well..." I said, making calculations in my head. "Yes, that can work. Didn't think about that."

"See? That's why it's amazing, am I right?" she said. Right after that, all other kids from the main five came to the place. They came because they had heard a lot of noise of hammering, and wanted to know what was going on. It didn't took long for me to explain everything.

"I can carry six more people with me, so I want to invite you all to come along with me in this trip," I said.

"That's berry nice of you, Blackberry! I'll go with you!" Strawberry said.

"Me too," Orange said.

"Count me in as well, will ya?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, me too," Angel said.

"I'm in as well," Huck said. "But what about the sixth?"

"Well, we can just go with five extra passengers," I said. "Or we can wait a little and take the first person who come here next."

Right after I said those lines, we all heard something.

"Hey, what are you doing here, and what is this... weird thing?" a voice we all knew as Peppermint asked.

"That's the one," I said, and everyone nodded.

"Hey, nobody's going to explain to me?" Peppermint asked again, and I explained everything to her, including the invitation.

"What? A trip to outer space... with this thing? You must be kidding!" she said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"It sorta... doesn't look safe," she replied.

"Don't worry, you can count on me," I said.

"You said that line as well, before we got stranded at the South Pole for days," she said, reminding me of what happened to Blackbird at its first flight.

"Well... Umm..." I said, being speechless.

"Okay, I'll go with you," she said, surprising the rest of us. "No matter what, a trip with you is always interesting."

Because it had been settled, all seven of us got on Albatross and sat on the seats. As I was preparing to start the engine, Peppermint asked from behind.

"By the way, Blackberry, I remember how hard your other car pressed me to the seat. I'm sorta worried it will become worse with this..." she said.

"Don't worry. I put a gravity field around the seats. We won't feel a thing," I answered, starting the engine. "Everyone ready?"

I heard a huge "Yes!" from everyone behind me, and started moving Albatross to the beginning of Ginger's runway. There was a brief pause before Albatross accelerated fast towards the curve at the end. The gravity field I had mentioned worked perfectly because none of us felt the pressure of the acceleration. Soon, Albatross climbed the runway's curve and finally left the ground. I immediately increased the engine's power to further accelerate towards the sky, and still none of us felt any pressure.

"The limit in the sky is near..." I said with low voice. Nobody heard it.

I then pressed one button on the control panel, and Albatross immediately shot a wave of electricity forward, creating a dimension door which we soon entered. Soon, we were out from the dimension door and the thing we saw next was a beautiful scenery of outer space with sparkling stars, the sun far away, and our planet beneath.

"Berry beautiful..." Strawberry said.

"Amazing huh?" Ginger said.

"This is awesome," Huck said.

"Apple Dumplin' like," a familiar voice said, which surprised all of us. We all looked towards the back and saw Apple who possibly had been hiding behind the back seat. Nobody knew when she sneaked into Albatross.

"Apple Dumplin', why are you here?" Strawberry asked.

"Apple Dumplin' like Blackberry new car," Apple replied.

"Apple, this is not a car. It could have been dangerous for you," Strawberry said.

"Glad the gravity field worked..." I said, again with low voice. "Anyway, now that she is here, Strawberry, can you let her sit on your lap?"

Strawberry agreed, and soon we had enjoyment in our trip to outer space. However...

"Hey, Blackberry. Why are we going home so soon?" Huck asked, which made me wonder.

"Huh? Why did you ask that?" I asked back.

"I saw your dimension door over there, so I thought..." he replied, pointing to the right side. I looked there and indeed there was something there, very similar to the dimension door I had been using. Then, as the thing slowly came nearer, something struck my mind. That thing was not a good thing at all.

"It's not a dimension door... It's Black Hole!" I said, starting to rush Albatross away from the thing. However, the engine went off. It seemed that it had been disabled because I couldn't start it again. Soon, the Black Hole pulled Albatross into its center. All of us screamed, but there was nobody to hear our scream besides ourselves.

So...
Albatross...
Along with all passangers inside...
Was left drifting...
In an unknown space...
With nothing but darkness...

Everyone were unconscious...
I myself was not, but...
What could I do...?
There was nothing to do...
Nothing at all...
Nothing around us...
Everything was dark...
With only a little glimpse of light far away...
...
...
...
...
Wait... Light...?

--To be continued-- ]]> Quote:Final Chapter Part 1: Limit in The Sky


One night, I was lying down on the rooftop of my house to see the stars above. There were no clouds and it was still crescent moon so I could see quite a clear view of all the stars. It was a very beautiful view that I felt like staying there all the night. Looking at the stars, I began to wonder about the outer space and all things over there. What things could possibly exist out there? What kinds of planets could I find? I then got the idea of making a vehicle capable of going to outer space, but I immediately casted it aside because the bitter memories about the old Falcon came back to me.

I had never told anyone before, but at first I hadn't intended to make Falcon a flying car. I had meant it to be a spaceship to go to outer space, but no matter how hard I had tried, the engine had always stopped working after reaching a certain height. Because of that, I had decided to make it a flying car instead. Even though of that, Falcon had ended up nearly unusable because of various problems I still hadn't known about back then. Thanks to the trip to the Land of Dreams, my Falcon had became the Falcon I still used until then.

After having those thoughts about the past, I decided to walk around Strawberryland at night. Of course I started with Huckleberry Briar, which was a little bit scary at night, but I didn't feel scared that much. The next stop was Cakewalk, which was very quiet and dim. It was already over bedtime so I assumed that Angel Cake was already asleep. The same with Ginger Snap when I walked past her house, but then as I came closer to Strawberry's house, I started to hear someone singing. I recognized the voice as Strawberry's voice and walked closer to hear the song more clearly. Once i got a clear hearing of the song, I sat down leaning behind her fence so she wouldn't notice me.

Tell me a story
of a land full of horses, playing fun horsey games
Castles that float in the sky
Or magical horses with wings on their backs
Who takes us away as they fly

Tell me a story, just once more
Turn off the light, and stand by the door
And say ``I love you`` and kiss me goodnight
Tell me a story
I need a story
Any old story
As long as it's told by you...

Hearing her singing that song somehow made me feel something weird deep inside my heart. The song felt like she had a desire for parents, which none of us had. The question that had occupied my mind once came again, and without realizing it, some tears dropped from my eyes. Eventually I noticed it and quickly wiped the tears from my face. Then I approached Strawberry, who was still sitting by the door of her house. Both of her pets were sound asleep by her.

"Hi, Strawberry," I greeted.

"Oh, hi, Blackberry," she greeted back.

"Can't sleep just like me?" I asked.

"Not really," she replied. "What about you?"

"I just wanted to walk around at night," I replied. "By the way, the song you just sang..."

"You heard it?" she asked.

"Yeah, some of it. It was really an enchanting song. Truthfully, I dropped some tears hearing it," I replied, sitting next to her while still giving enough room for Pupcake.

"Oh..." she said.

"You know, all of us have been having a lot of fun together. So much fun, that we have been forgetting a question," I said.

"What question?" she asked.

"Have you ever wondered why we are here, without someone who takes care of us? Without someone who loves us? Without someone who... tells us bedtime stories?" I said.

"Well, now that you mention it..." she said with a brief pause. "I wonder about that too."

"You know, I also have another question," I said. "It's about your sister."

"Apple Dumplin'? What question?" she asked.

"I once saw her coming from a giant flower which had fallen from the sky. What was that actually?" I asked.

"I..." she said with a pause. "I just... don't know..."

"You don't know? Nothing at all?" I asked.

"That was the berry first time I met her," she replied. "I don't know much."

"What? That was the first time? Then how did you know that she was your sister and that the day was her first birthday?" I asked. I was very curious.

"I don't know..." she replied, pausing again. "I just... knew all those."

"You just... knew? You mean, the knowledge just got into your head out of nowhere?" I said, and she replied with a nod. "That's quite strange..."

"Yeah, but it didn't really matter to me back then," she said.

"Do you know what happened to the flower then?" I asked.

"It is no longer there. It has returned to the ground since a berry long time ago," she answered.

"I see..." I said, looking to the stars and the crescent moon above. I then decided to leave the question and change the topic. "So far away..."

"What did you just say?" she asked.

"The stars. It's a long way out there..." I said.

"Umm... yes it sure is," she said, seeming confused that I suddenly changed the topic.

"I wonder if I can ever go to those stars someday," I said. "With a spaceship or something..."

"If you keep believing that you can do it, then I think you can," she said.

"Well... I don't know," I said, followed by a pause. "I have tried, but I have never made it come true. So I gave up and made a flying car instead."

"I don't know much about spaceship or flying cars, but I do know this, Blackberry," she said. "Dreams are one thing you can't give up on."

"Do you think so...?" I said, still looking at the stars above.

"Yes, I believe you can," she replied. "I'll give you a deal. You don't give up on your dream, and I won't give up on mine. We will make them come true, one step at a time."

"Thanks, Strawberry," I said. "I think I will go home now. It's really over bed time now."

"See you tomorrow, Blackberry," she said as I stood up and walked away waving my hand to her.

At the next day, motivated by Strawberry's words from the previous day, I started the old abandoned project once again. First, I tried piloting Falcon as high as it could be to see if the problem still existed. It turned out that it still did because suddenly Falcon's engine died. However, after falling some height I was able to start the engine again so I didn't have to use the emergency parachute. Once I got home again, I wondered what the cause of the problem was. Falcon's engine did not need air to run so thinner atmosphere should have not been the cause. I then looked at the spot where Blackbird was parked and wondered if I could use Blackbird's high speed to go through the height.

I decided that using Blackbird was not a good idea because there was a risk that after the engine died the remaining speed would probably bring me to outer space for real, and if I couldn't start the engine again I would be trapped in space forever. So, I modified Midnight Eye's satellite to become a miniature of Blackbird which had the exact same functions as the real one. The mini Blackbird could be controlled by the old Eagle Eye's controller so I could fly it while still staying in my house.

I then launched the mini Blackbird to the sky and controlled it to fly upwards at full speed. There was no problem seen in the monitor, and as expected the engine died soon after. Its speed kept it moving upwards, but then a strange thing happened. The mini Blackbird's speed decreased abnormally fast that it came into a complete stop just a few seconds later. Then, it immediately started to fall down with an abnormally high acceleration. Soon, I was able to start the engine again so I could control it to fly back to my home safely, but what had just happened had left a big question for me. What had just happened actually?

No matter how hard I thought about the things that just happened, the only conclusion that I could came up with was that there was some kind of invisible limit in the sky covering the whole planet. At first the force field disabled the engine of any vehicle that came within its area, then if the vehicle's remaining speed kept bringing it up, the force field pushed the vehicle down with increasing strength the higher the vehicle went. That thought didn't make much sense. If that thought was true, then who made that force field? What was the purpose? How could I get through it? All those thoughts gave me quite a headache so I decided to call it off for then and go for a walk around Strawberryland.

I then stopped by a small river near the outfield and sat down on the ground near the river's edge. I then picked up a stone and threw it to the river. The stone fell into the river and sank, and then I lied down with a sigh.

"Hey, Blackberry. Having fun?" a voice I recognized asked.

"Not really, Huck. I'm kinda stressful today," I replied, still lying down.

"What's the matter?" he asked, sitting down next to me.

"Something got in my way, while I was chasing my dream," I replied.

"Really? You couldn't get through it?" he asked.

"I tried, but it kept pushing me back no matter how hard I tried," I replied. "Now I kinda want to give up..."

"You can't give up just like that!" he said. "There must be a way!"

"I'm not sure about that," I said.

"Keep trying! You can do it! Just believe in yourself that you can!" he said, trying to encourage me.

"That's what I have been doing, but as you can see..." I said. There was a brief pause until I continued. "But don't worry. I won't give up. I've already promised that to Strawberry."

"Promise what?" he asked.

"I don't give up on my dream, and she won't give up on hers. That's all," I replied.

"I see," he said. "Hey, I don't know what your obstacle is, but if you can't get through it, there's always another way."

"Well, I'm not sure," I said.

"Like this river. How can you get to the other side?" he asked.

"Well, I can use the bridge over there," I replied, looking at a bridge some distance away.

"That's one. You also can swim through it or find a place where the river is not too wide and then jump over it," he said.

"Maybe you're right..." I said, then I noticed something. "Wait! What did you say?" I asked, getting up into sitting position suddenly.

"Uh... swim through it?" he asked.

"Nonono, after that!" I said, shaking my head.

"Uh... find a place where the river is not too wide..." he said.

"Yes, and then?" I asked again with my hands on his shoulders.

"Jump over it..." he answered with confused face.

"Jump over it... Yes, if I can't get through it I can jump over it!" I said with excitement. "Thanks, Huck! You're my savior!"

"Uh... no problem," he replied as I ran back home. I was so excited that I got impatient, taking Time Remote Mark II from my pocket and using its dimension door to go home. When I arrived, I immediately went to my working table and started to put the idea into a real thing.

Not too long after, I came out from my house bringing a miniature vehicle similar to mini Blackbird and also a remote control for it. Right at that moment, Huck came to me.

"Hey, Blackberry," he greeted.

"Hi, Huck. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Well, I'm kinda curious about the idea you got from me," he replied. "But if you don't want me to see it I'll go."

"No, I don't mind at all. Be my guest," I said.

"What is that thing you're carrying?" he asked.

"This, is the realization of the idea you gave to me," I answered.

"That toy...?" he asked.

"Not really a toy. This is the miniature of what I will make later. This is just for testing," I replied, putting the mini vehicle on the ground.

"You're going to make another flying car?" he asked.

"Yes, but this one will be able to go to outer space," I said.

"Whoa, that's great," he said.

"Ok, stand near me. I'm going to start it," I said, activating the remote control I have been holding.

Soon, the miniature vehicle started to float. I then controlled it to fly around the area and do some acrobatic moves. All went well for a while, but the real test was just about to begin.

"How is it going?" Huck asked.

"So far so good. But now I'm going to begin the real test," I replied.

I pressed a button on the remote, and then the mini vehicle emitted a bright light. It then disappeared and one second later reappeared at some distance forward. At first I was excited to know that I succeeded, but soon the mini vehicle's engine exploded and it then fell down, hitting the ground hard.

"Oh well, there goes my dream," I said, walking to the remains of the mini vehicle.

"You're not going to give up, are you?" Huck asked, following me.

"Like I said before, I will never give up," I said, picking up the remains. "But truth to be told, failure after failure will eventually get stressful and I'm not sure if I will be able to endure."

"Well, I have had an experience like that before," he said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, that day I was learning a new skateboard trick. Man, that trick was sure a hard one. I kept falling and failing to do it," he said.

"And then...?" I asked.

"Indeed it was stressful, but everytime I failed, I told myself 'It is a new chance to try again, this time more wisely!' and tried again," he said.

"Did you succeed?" I asked.

"Yes, of course! Now I can do that trick easily! Just remember this, Blackberry: Never be afraid to try again. You will never score a goal if you stop to shoot," he said with his hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Huck," I said.

"By the way, why does the new car need an ability to teleport like that? I thought you could just keep flying up until you get to the space," he asked.

"Hmm, let's just say that there's a limit in the sky, and instead of going through the limit I will jump over it," I replied.

The next few days were spent studying over the failure that had happened. It took quite a lot of energy and effort, but in the end I came up with an idea to overcome the problem. Soon, I made another mini vehicle and tested it outside. Like the previous mini vehicle, all went well at first. I then pressed one button on the remote, and the mini vehicle shot a wave of electricity which made a mini dimension door right in front of it. The mini vehicle then entered the dimension door and one second later another dimension door appeared at some distance forward. The mini vehicle then came out from it and continued to fly smoothly.

"One step closer to my dream," I said, controlling the mini vehicle to land next to me.

After that, I took Replicator and used it to copy Blackbird. I then modified the copy to function precisely the same as the mini vehicle I had just tested. The result which came two days later was a new vehicle with a different look than the other two vehicles. If Falcon looked like a car and Blackbird looked like a fusion of a car and a plane, the new vehicle looked similar to futuristic planes I had seen in some books.

"Welcome... Albatross," I said, giving the new silver colored vehicle a name.

It was great to see Albatross ready to bring me to outer space. After a very long time, my dream finally came close to reality. Not to mention that Albatross had six additional seats for passengers so I would be able to share the realization of my dream with my friends. However, there was still one last problem for Albatross. Unlike Falcon and Blackbird, Albatross did not have any float engine so it would need a long runway, which was not an easy thing to find in Strawberryland. While I was still pondering over the problem, Ginger Snap came to me.

"Hi, Blackberry! How are you today, huh? I guess you are all right, am I right?" she asked.

"I'm just fine," I replied.

"Woohoo! I was sooo right! You see, none of us have seen you over the last few days. Nope, not ever! So, I thought of giving you a visit to see what you have been doing that none of us have seen you over the last few days. So, what is it, huh Blackberry?" she asked again.

"That," I replied, pointing at Albatross.

"Whoa, what is this? It looks like a plane, am I right?" she said.

"This is Albatross. It is a spaceship which I have been making over the last few days," I said.

"Spaceship? You mean, a vehicle to go to up there? To the outer space and the stars above?" she asked.

"Yes it is," I said.

"Whoa, why don't you fly it right away, huh Blackberry? I guess there is still one or two or three problems, am I right?" she said.

"Yeah, that's right," I said, then I told her about Albatross' problem.

"A runway huh?" she said, thinking. "I got it! Leave it to me for the runway! Just bring this plane to the outfield now, okay?"

After saying those words, she left without giving me a chance to say anything. I wondered how she would provide a runway in the outfield because I knew that there wasn't any flat surface long enough for Albatross to gain speed and fly over there. Also, she didn't know that bringing Albatross to the outfield was not an easy thing to do. I still could drive it like a normal car, but there wasn't any road wide enough for it to go through towards the outfield. While I was still thinking, Huck came.

"Hey, Blackberry," he greeted.

"Hey, Huck," I replied, still thinking.

"Ginger Snap went past my fort talking about making a runway for you, so I thought of coming here to see," he said.

"And now you see it," I said, then I told him what had happened before and also the problem I was still thinking about.

"Hmm, did you forget what I had said?" he asked.

"About what?" I asked back.

"About the ways to get past an obstacle," he replied.

"I remember. Like a river, to get past it I can use a bridge, swim across, or jump over it... Oh, you mean..." I said, realizing something.

"Yeah, I think maybe you can use the new car's ability to teleport to the outfield," he said.

"I thought of that too, but Albatross can only do that while flying," I said.

"Then how about your remote?" he asked.

"Time Remote II you mean? The dimension door it makes is not large enough for Albatross to go through," I replied.

"Then how about this?" he said, taking something from his pocket. I immediately noticed it as Ginger's Dimension Door Remote.

"Ginger's remote? Why do you have it now?" I asked

"I borrowed this last Christmas to invite special guests, and I forgot to return it," he replied.

"Special guests...? So you were the one who brought those... unique kids?" I asked, remembering the strangers I had seen. One of them could transform into a dragon, another could transform into weird creatures, and another could transform into a ghostly form.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect them to be that special..." he said with his right hand behind his head and chuckling.

"Anyway, I think this remote can work, although I'm not so sure," I said. "But let's try it anyway, rather than not doing anything while Ginger is over there waiting for me."

I then took the remote from Huck, gave him a few instructions, walked some distance in front of Albatross, typed the destination, and threw the remote upwards towards Huck, who was standing a few meters in front of me. After he caught it he brought the remote to me while keeping it close to the ground. As expected, those movements ended up drawing a large not-so-circular trail, creating a dimension door large enough for Albatross to enter.

"All right!" Huck said in excitement.

"Let's go quickly before it disappears," I said.

Both of us then entered Albatross. I then started its engine and drove it towards the dimension door. We knew that we ended up at the place we had wanted because we saw Ginger Snap working on building the runway she had promised.

"Hey, Ginger! Do you need some help?" I asked as I got off Albatross.

"Nope! I'm all done!" she answered, giving the last hammer drop. "Here's The Amazing Runway, made just for you!"

I looked at the runway she had made and noticed that she had made it using the same material for the skateboard track everyone had used in the Strawberryland Games. Soon, I got surprised and confused seeing that the other end of the runway was curved upwards.

"The other end is... curved?" I asked.

"Yep! You can just let your plane run and the runway will make your plane fly! Great idea, am I right?" she said.

"Well..." I said, making calculations in my head. "Yes, that can work. Didn't think about that."

"See? That's why it's amazing, am I right?" she said. Right after that, all other kids from the main five came to the place. They came because they had heard a lot of noise of hammering, and wanted to know what was going on. It didn't took long for me to explain everything.

"I can carry six more people with me, so I want to invite you all to come along with me in this trip," I said.

"That's berry nice of you, Blackberry! I'll go with you!" Strawberry said.

"Me too," Orange said.

"Count me in as well, will ya?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, me too," Angel said.

"I'm in as well," Huck said. "But what about the sixth?"

"Well, we can just go with five extra passengers," I said. "Or we can wait a little and take the first person who come here next."

Right after I said those lines, we all heard something.

"Hey, what are you doing here, and what is this... weird thing?" a voice we all knew as Peppermint asked.

"That's the one," I said, and everyone nodded.

"Hey, nobody's going to explain to me?" Peppermint asked again, and I explained everything to her, including the invitation.

"What? A trip to outer space... with this thing? You must be kidding!" she said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"It sorta... doesn't look safe," she replied.

"Don't worry, you can count on me," I said.

"You said that line as well, before we got stranded at the South Pole for days," she said, reminding me of what happened to Blackbird at its first flight.

"Well... Umm..." I said, being speechless.

"Okay, I'll go with you," she said, surprising the rest of us. "No matter what, a trip with you is always interesting."

Because it had been settled, all seven of us got on Albatross and sat on the seats. As I was preparing to start the engine, Peppermint asked from behind.

"By the way, Blackberry, I remember how hard your other car pressed me to the seat. I'm sorta worried it will become worse with this..." she said.

"Don't worry. I put a gravity field around the seats. We won't feel a thing," I answered, starting the engine. "Everyone ready?"

I heard a huge "Yes!" from everyone behind me, and started moving Albatross to the beginning of Ginger's runway. There was a brief pause before Albatross accelerated fast towards the curve at the end. The gravity field I had mentioned worked perfectly because none of us felt the pressure of the acceleration. Soon, Albatross climbed the runway's curve and finally left the ground. I immediately increased the engine's power to further accelerate towards the sky, and still none of us felt any pressure.

"The limit in the sky is near..." I said with low voice. Nobody heard it.

I then pressed one button on the control panel, and Albatross immediately shot a wave of electricity forward, creating a dimension door which we soon entered. Soon, we were out from the dimension door and the thing we saw next was a beautiful scenery of outer space with sparkling stars, the sun far away, and our planet beneath.

"Berry beautiful..." Strawberry said.

"Amazing huh?" Ginger said.

"This is awesome," Huck said.

"Apple Dumplin' like," a familiar voice said, which surprised all of us. We all looked towards the back and saw Apple who possibly had been hiding behind the back seat. Nobody knew when she sneaked into Albatross.

"Apple Dumplin', why are you here?" Strawberry asked.

"Apple Dumplin' like Blackberry new car," Apple replied.

"Apple, this is not a car. It could have been dangerous for you," Strawberry said.

"Glad the gravity field worked..." I said, again with low voice. "Anyway, now that she is here, Strawberry, can you let her sit on your lap?"

Strawberry agreed, and soon we had enjoyment in our trip to outer space. However...

"Hey, Blackberry. Why are we going home so soon?" Huck asked, which made me wonder.

"Huh? Why did you ask that?" I asked back.

"I saw your dimension door over there, so I thought..." he replied, pointing to the right side. I looked there and indeed there was something there, very similar to the dimension door I had been using. Then, as the thing slowly came nearer, something struck my mind. That thing was not a good thing at all.

"It's not a dimension door... It's Black Hole!" I said, starting to rush Albatross away from the thing. However, the engine went off. It seemed that it had been disabled because I couldn't start it again. Soon, the Black Hole pulled Albatross into its center. All of us screamed, but there was nobody to hear our scream besides ourselves.

So...
Albatross...
Along with all passangers inside...
Was left drifting...
In an unknown space...
With nothing but darkness...

Everyone were unconscious...
I myself was not, but...
What could I do...?
There was nothing to do...
Nothing at all...
Nothing around us...
Everything was dark...
With only a little glimpse of light far away...
...
...
...
...
Wait... Light...?

--To be continued-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-55.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:00:50 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-55.html Quote:Chapter 31: Sour Plum


One month have passed after the journey west. Over the month I noticed Watermelon Kiss coming to Strawberryland from time to time, although I didn't see Carmel Corn at all. I could understand though, that she was busy tending her farm. The weather was naturally cool with rains every few days, and piles of dried leaves could be found under most trees over Strawberryland, except lollipop trees of course.

I was walking around Strawberryland alone when I decided to stop by a tree. The tree was just an ordinary tree which had lost quite an amount of its leaves because of the autumn season. The tree was located quite far from the central area of Strawberryland and the closest house was Blueberry's house, so it was less likely that anybody else would come there anytime soon. The tree stood without any other similar trees close by. Its size was quite big and the remaining leaves were still plenty, enough to cover me from sunlight. Because of the mild condition, I decided to lie down under the tree and relax. I was almost asleep under that tree, when I suddenly heard a voice.

"Psst! Hey, kid!" the voice said, which sounded familiar to me. I got up into sitting position and found out that the voice was from Sour Grapes.

"You're Sour Grapes," I said.

"Oh, you know me?" she asked.

"I have seen you and heard about you a few times," I replied. "But we have never met for real before."

"Oh, I see. Anyway, I need you to do me a favor!" she said, seeming in a hurry.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There will be a newcomer in Strawberryland soon. I need you befriend and also watch her," she replied.

"Why should I? I mean, I'm sure everyone else in Strawberryland will be her friends with pleasure," I asked again.

"I'm worried about her. She is my..." she replied before suddenly interrupted by a loud voice from somewhere.

"Sour Grapes! Where are you?!" the voice yelled, which I recognized as Pie Man's voice. Sour Grapes seemed surprised and stopped her speech.

"There's no time! I need to go now! Please, just do me that favor!" she said in a hurry, and then she immediately left the place.

What had just happened left me wondering. What was so special about this new girl that Sour Grapes needed to ask me to befriend her, even though everybody else would most likely do so without being asked? She also had asked me to watch the new girl. What did that mean? Was she a type of girl who caused a lot of mischief? There were a lot of questions in my head, but then I decided to let it by and see what would happen next. With that in mind, I walked home.

At the next day, words spread across Strawberryland that there was a newcomer. Honey Pie Pony was the one who had found out the presence of the newcomer, and she spread the news to everyone. The newcomer lived in Plum Prairie, which was not too far from Punch Bowl Pond. Everyone then arranged a group to go there and throw a warm welcome to the newcomer. I joined the group, which consisted of the main four girls, and went with them to the newcomer's house.

The walk to Plum Prairie passed without any trouble. Not too long after passing Rainbow's boat, we arrived at the area and saw the house where the newcomer lived. As the area's name suggested, the house was shaped like a plum fruit, and right next to it was a tall plum tree. Strawberry then approached the front door and pressed the doorbell button she found.

"Coming!" a voice was heard from inside.

We waited a little bit, then suddenly we heard a loud noise of things falling down to the floor.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Strawberry shouted.

"Uh... Yeah, I'm just fine! I'm coming now!" the voice replied. Soon, the door opened and we saw a girl in purple wearing glasses with green frames. Her purple hair was a mess, and her shirts weren't any better.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the girl greeted.

"We want to say welcome to you. I'm Strawberry Shortcake, and this is Angel Cake, Ginger Snap, Orange Blossom, and Blackberry Bun," Strawberry replied.

"Oh, I'm Plum Puddin'. Sorry, but my home is a mess right now. I'm still unpacking things," the girl said.

"And the noise just then...?" Orange asked.

"...I tripped and fell down bumping my wardrobe, then everything fell out from it..." Plum replied, blushing.

"Sounds like you're having problems," Angel commented.

"You want us to help?" Strawberry offered.

"Well... I'd like to... that is, if you don't mind..." Plum said timidly.

"Why should we? Right everyone?" Strawberry said, looking at the rest of us.

"Of course I will help!" Angel said.

"Yep, you can count on me, yessire!" Ginger said.

"I will help too!" Orange said.

"I will too," I said.

It was settled quickly that by the next minute all of us were already busy tidying Plum's house up. It actually could be done faster, but I, along with the rest of the group, learned that Plum was quite a walking chaos. She tripped and fell down quite often that some places we had tidied up became a mess again. None of us complained, although I noticed Angel Cake starting to get upset. The activity continued until we heard Angel Cake shouting.

"Hey, look at this!" Angel shouted, and everyone else approached her. She was holding something that seemed like a photo frame which she had found along with other things in the cardboard box she was taking care of.

"What is it?" Strawberry asked.

"Look at this photo!" Angel replied, pointing at the photo. Everyone looked at the photo, and at the next second everyone except me and Plum gasped. Plum was in the photo, between two other persons we knew very well: Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes.

"Woow, are my eyes playing with me, Or they are really The Peculiar Purple Pie Man from Porcupine Peak and his sister Sour Grapes?" Ginger asked.

"It does seem so..." Angel said.

"You know them, Plum Puddin'?" Orange asked.

"Well..." Plum replied, pausing for a moment. "They are my cousins..."

"What? They are your family?!" Angel said, surprised.

"Yeah... Is there... something wrong...?" Plum asked.

I then began to understand what Sour Grapes had asked. Both Sour Grapes and her brother had quite a bad reputation in Strawberryland, and it might affect everyone's affection towards Plum. Perhaps Sour Grapes had asked me because she had been worried about Plum, and had hoped someone would be willing to be Plum's friend if the worst happened. However, I felt that it had not been needed after all.

"There's nothing wrong at all! Isn't that berry right, everybody?" Strawberry said, just as I had thought.

"Yeah, nothing really wrong," Orange said slowly with doubt.

"I guess..." Angel said.

"Yeah, nothing wrong at all! They only tried to rob us one, two, three times! Other than that nothing wrong at all yessire!" Ginger said.

"Ginger! No!" Strawberry shouted and Ginger realized it, covering her mouth with her own hands, but it was already too late.

"They... tried to rob you all...?" Plum asked. She seemed surprised and sad. "What did they stole?"

"Umm... yeah... they did..." Strawberry said. "But they didn't steal anything."

"Oh... I guess, I have no place here after all..." Plum said, lowering her head and starting to leak tears.

"Why not? You're always welcome here!" Strawberry said.

"But my cousins..." Plum said.

"I don't really care who your cousins are! They are they! You are you!" Strawberry said, taking hold of Plum's hands.

"That's right, Plum. You are always welcome here," Orange said. There was a silence for a few seconds, but then Plum started to smile.

"Thanks, everyone," Plum said.

"Hey, don't mention it! Now let's finish our work here so we will not be late for the party, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Party? What party?" Plum asked.

"We're gonna have a welcome party for you!" Angel said.

"A party... for me?" Plum asked, not believing what she had just heard.

"Everybody deserves a warm welcome," Strawberry said, smiling.

Soon all of us finished tidying up and then we went to the clubhouse where the rest of the kids had prepared a welcome party. The party itself was a good one, but it could have been better if Plum hadn't mistakenly tripped and hit a table, destroying the cake the kids had made. During the party I learned that Plum was quite a clumsy girl that she often made mistakes left and right. But all in all every kids in Strawberryland were more than happy to have another friend.

One week later, something seemed weird. The berries in the fields seemed to have reduced in amount. The difference was not so significant though, so everyone agreed that some rabbits or squirrels or such might had eaten the berries. However, I still doubted it so I made a device to watch over the berry fields and brought it there. When I arrived, I met some kids who are Plum, Orange, Strawberry, and Blueberry.

"Hey, everyone," I greeted.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted back, followed by the rest of the kids.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked.

"We are picking some berries for making cakes," Orange replied. "Strawberry is going to make a garden party tomorrow."

"It'll be a berry great party! I hope you can come!" Strawberry said.

"Uh... I'm here just to... take photos," Plum said, showing her camera which she had been hiding behind her back.

"Hey, what a nice camera you have there," I commented. "Can you take a picture of the four of us?"

"Um... Yeah, okay..." she said, and then the other kids stood in line. She then took a picture of us.

"When will we have the picture?" Blueberry asked.

"Umm... Tomorrow... I'll give you the picture tomorrow," Plum replied.

"Okay. By the way..." Blueberry said, looking at me. "I have been wondering what that thing is."

"Oh, this?" I said, showing the device I had been holding. "I'm sure you all remember my Eagle Eye, right?"

"Yes," Blueberry replied.

"I modified it so it can move around on its own," I replied. "This is so it can watch over the berry fields 24/7"

"Oh, like a... what was the name...? Surlev... Surf..." Blueberry said.

"Surveillance camera," Plum said.

"That's right! Wow... you sure know a lot of things," Blueberry said.

"Ah... No, not really..." Plum said timidly.

"Anyway, why do you want it to watch over the berry fields?" Blueberry asked me.

"I'm still curious about the decreasing of the berries' amount lately," I replied. "With this hopefully we can find out the cause."

"That's berry nice of you!" Strawberry said.

I then turned the device on and let it go. It moved in circles for a few seconds, and then it went away.

"Where is it going?" Plum asked.

"The berry fields are quite large, so I think it will need around five minutes to go around the fields," I said.

"Oh, how long it will last?" she asked again.

"Its energy comes from sunlight, so there's no problem," I replied. "While at night it will have enough energy in reserve to last until dawn."

"That means it really can watch over the berry fields 24/7 like you said, right?" she said.

"That's right. Although, there's one problem," I said, pausing for a moment. "If it rains at noon, the device won't have enough energy to last throughout the night. If that happens the device will automatically return to my house once the energy reaches critical level."

"I see..." Plum said.

The conversation between Plum and I continued for quite a while. Both of us were so into the conversation that we didn't realize that at a not-so-far distance the other three girls were looking at us in confusion. We didn't even hear their own conversation.

"Strawberry, do you understand what they are talking about?" Orange asked.

"Uhh... Not exactly... Not precisely..." Strawberry replied.

"Not at all," Blueberry said. "It seems they make a good couple, huh?"

"Huh? What couple?" Orange asked.

"A brainy four-eyed couple," Blueberry said, and the trio giggled.

"But now I'm berry glad that Blackberry now has a friend who can understand him more than us," Strawberry said.

"I second that," Blueberry said.

"Me too," Orange said.

Plum complimented me on how great my Eagle Eye was, but I said, "It's still not perfect. And now because it can see at night better than before, I renamed it into... Midnight Eye."

So, over the next few days Midnight Eye watched over the berry fields 24/7 like I had said. Every morning I checked the monitor on my working table if the satellite had seen anything suspicious. It hadn't found anything suspicious, but the amount of berries stayed the same so I was still not convinced.

One day, it rained hard at noon and the rain had been lasting for over three hours. I looked at the cloudy sky, thinking that the satellite would probably return to my house that night. I ran out of materials so I couldn't make a second satellite or anything else to overcome the situation. So, I had no choice other than hoping that the amount of berries would stay the same at the next day.

In the next morning, I woke up with worries in my head. Indeed I found the satellite lying on my working table. I then checked the monitor if there was anything suspicious caught on tape before the satellite had to retreat. I found nothing suspicious so I took the satellite and brought it with me to the berry fields. When I arrived there, I immediately turned the device on and threw it upwards. Then, I also walked around the fields to check if there was any berries missing.

My fear came out to be true. Some patches had lost quite an amount of berries. The thieves stole the berries right after the satellite retreated. It was really a bad coincidence, so I decided to call the satellite and do a few settings. While I was setting the satellite up, some kids came. They were Apricot, Peppermint, Plum, and Lemon.

"Hey, what are you doing here? And what's that thing?" Peppermint asked.

"Oh, hi Peppermint, Apricot, Plum, and Lemon," I replied, then I repeated most things I had said to Plum the day before.

"Umm... what...?" Lemon asked, confused.

"That sounds... totally cool... I think..." Apricot said, seeming confused as well.

"Hmph, you've just made smokes to come out from my head, you know," Peppermint said.

"So, have you found the thief?" Plum asked.

"Bad coincidence, the thief stole some berries again after the satellite came back to my house last night," I said.

"Oh..." Plum said.

"So now I'm setting it to slow down the lower its battery gets instead of returning to me. Hopefully this time the thief will be caught in action," I said.

"I see, but how much slower?" she asked.

"Well, can't say for sure but maybe around twenty minutes for one cycle at night if it rains at noon again. Otherwise it stays the same," I replied.

"I see," Plum said. "Oh, here's the picture," she continued, taking something from her small bag and giving it to me.

"Picture? Oh, that picture," I said, taking the picture she had given.

Both of us didn't realize that the same thing happened again like a few days before. The other three girls had their conversation as Plum and I had ours, and both of us hadn't realized it.

"Hmph! That kid sure is weird, and the other kid is just as weird," Peppermint said.

"They are?" Lemon asked.

"Yeah, who else?" Peppermint replied. "But somehow I like his weirdness."

"Yeah, me too. Totally cool," Apricot said.

"Me too," Lemon said.

"But I still can't trust that girl," Peppermint said.

"Really? Why?" Apricot asked.

"There's something wrong with her. I can feel it," Peppermint replied.

"You can?" Lemon asked.

"Can you just stop asking like that every time? That's sorta annoying!" Peppermint said. "Yes, I can! And now I'm leaving!"

So, once again Midnight Eye patrolled the berry fields 24/7 without fail, until one day it rained again at noon. Like the previous rain, it lasted for around three hours so I was sure Midnight Eye would slow down at night. There was nothing I could do so I just went to sleep that night.

At the next morning, I checked the monitor to see if the berries have disappeared again. At first there was nothing wrong, but when it came to night time and the satellite slowed down, I was surprised that the amount of berries in one part of the field had reduced after one cycle of the satellite. That meant the thief took the berries while the satellite was away for its cycle.

"Now this is weird. It almost seems that the thief knows the gap in the satellite's watch," I thought. "Looks like I need to talk with Strawberry."

I then walked to Strawberry's house, still thinking about all possibilities that could happen. One thing came to my mind but I could not believe it so I tried to forget it. Later, I arrived at Strawberry's house and pressed the doorbell button. Soon, the door opened and I met Strawberry.

"Hi, Blackberry! It's nice that you came! Please come in!" She welcomed me.

"Thanks Strawberry," I said, walking into the house.

Inside the house, Strawberry offered me drinks and I accepted. Then I sat on her sofa and asked her to sit beside me. While each of us was holding a glass of juice, a conversation happened.

"The berries have disappeared again," I said, taking a sip.

"Really? Did you find the thief?" Strawberry asked.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Somehow the thief took the berries while my satellite wasn't watching."

"How come?" she asked.

"I don't know. It happened two times with different conditions and it seems like the thief knows the gap of the satellite's watch," I replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It seems the thief knows the right time when he can steal the berries without being seen by my satellite," I replied, taking another sip. "Midnight Eye is not perfect, but for the thief to exactly know its weakness even after I changed it..."

"Well... I don't exactly understand, not precisely..." she said, taking a sip. "But there must be a way. Don't give up now."

"Actually, I have one thing in mind," I said. "But you probably won't agree with me."

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's someone who knows and understands Midnight Eye's weakness, and I also told her the new weakness after I had changed it," I said. "Not to mention that the berries started to disappear after she came."

"No, Blackberry! Don't tell me that you suspect Plum Puddin'! She's our friend!" Strawberry said.

"That's why I said you probably won't agree with me," I said, taking the last sip. "Of course I don't want to suspect her, but the situation says otherwise."

"Well... maybe you're right..." she said, pausing for a moment. "But think of another possibility. Maybe the thief eavesdropped when you told Plum!"

"That's impossible. Midnight Eye would spot the thief right away because it was already on watch by that time," I replied. "Don't worry, Strawberry. I won't say anything about it to anyone else for now. I will look for evidence first."

"I hope the thief is really not Plum..." Strawberry said, lowering her head.

"Me too, Strawberry. Whatever evidence I will find, I hope it will prove that Plum is not the thief," I said.

Soon, I left Strawberry's house. Because I wanted to find the truth as soon as possible, I began my investigation on Plum immediately. I began by walking to her house to see if she was home. Once I arrived at her house, I pressed the doorbell button and waited. There was no response and the door was locked so I could say that she was not at home. However, just to make sure I replaced my glasses with Vision to look at the inside of Plum's house. I was surprised by what I saw next. Inside the house I saw Purple Pie Man handgagging Plum, and Sour Grapes standing next to them. Then, I noticed Purple Pie Man using body language to Sour Grapes, who seemed to understand and walked towards the door. I quickly took Blind Spot from my pocket and put it on my shirt just in time so she didn't notice me when she opened the door slightly and looked through it.

Once she returned back inside without forgetting to lock the door, I took Key Master and used it to open the lock. Then I opened the door slowly and walked in without making any noise. Purple Pie Man noticed the opening door but he didn't see me because Blind Spot worked perfectly to keep me invisible.

"Close the door, Sour Grapes!" Pie Man ordered, still handgagging Plum.

"I could have sworn I have locked the door!" Sour Grapes replied.

"But you didn't. Close the door now!" Pie Man said.

"Alright, alright," Sour Grapes replied with upset face, walking to the door and locked it again. After the door was locked, Pie Man released his hand from Plum's mouth.

"Okay now, kid! Do you have any new information?" Pie Man asked. There was no answer from Plum. "Answer me now!"

Plum kept silent, and that infuriated Pie Man even more.

"Do I have to remind you about your task?!" Pie Man said. "Your task is to spy on the kids, note their activities, and find the weaknesses I can use to my advantage so I can get all the berries in this land and get my factory!"

"But you didn't say that you would steal the berries every night!" Plum replied.

"Why should I tell you? I just wanted to take some myself for a start!" Pie man replied back. "But thanks to that meddling kid with his annoying device, I couldn't take the berries anymore!"

Plum kept silent, and so did Sour Grapes.

"However, now I want to see that kid's face when he knows his device is just a failure!" Pie Man said, followed with a laugh. "And that was thanks to you, for telling me that the device will go away at night if it rains at noon!"

"But..." Plum said, but she couldn't continue.

"Also thanks to you for telling me yesterday that the kid made the device to slow down at night instead of going away. Twenty minutes is more than enough for me to take some berries!" Pie Man said. "Now tell me your information!"

"I..." Plum said, and once again she couldn't continue.

"Do I have to remind you that we are cousins? We are families! Choose! Your family or those kids?!" Pie Man said.

Everything I saw and heard made everything clear to me. Pie Man had a plan to spy on every Strawberryland kids, and for that he used his own cousin who had just moved to Strawberryland. Sour Grapes had asked me that favor probably because in her heart she hadn't agreed on that plan and had wanted me to befriend and watch over Plum so there would be someone to keep her company in case she was found and shunned by other kids. My thought could be wrong, but I was very sure that both Plum and Sour Grapes actually didn't agree about this plan but they didn't have the heart to refuse.

I then took Inner Heart from my pocket and shot both Plum Puddin' and Sour Grapes with it. All I could do next was just hope.

"I... I don't want to do this!" Plum said.

"What? So you choose those kids rather than your own family?!" Pie man said, seeming infuriated.

"No! I love you, cousin. That's why I told you about that surveillance satellite, because I didn't want you to get caught," Plum said, starting to sound determined. "But I cannot betray them! They are the first friends I have who still like me, even though they know how careless I am!"

Pie Man was silent, seeming surprised by Plum's reply.

"I love you, cousin, I really do. But please, just this once, love me back and leave me alone to be their friends for real, not their spy!" Plum said with tears leaking.

"You...!" Pie Man said, even more infuriated than before.

"She's right!" Sour Grapes suddenly said. "I can no longer agree to this anymore!"

"Sour Grapes! Now you're against me too?!" Pie Man said, still looking upset.

"Yes! Just because I no longer wanted to help you, you used her instead! Do you remember how I used to be the same like her, having no friends at all because they thought I was weird? Now she is so close to avoiding that same fate and you're going to ruin it?! Where's the loving brother I used to know, who kept me company when I was alone?!" Sour Grapes replied with her arms on her hip.

There was a silence for a few seconds. Pie Man still seemed upset.

"All right! Here's a deal! Forget this plan altogether, and I will help you again in any of your future plans, forever!" Sour Grapes said.

Hearing Sour Grapes' sentence surprised Pie Man quite much. He then thought about it for a moment and a few minutes later he turned his back towards the other two.

"Are you coming or not... Sour Grapes?! I have just got an idea, a plan, much better than this! Let's go now and put it into practice!" Pie Man said, then he immediately left the house.

"I'm sorry... Now you have to help him again... because of me" Plum said, and then Sour Grapes kneeled in front of her and smiled.

"No. I'm sorry, for making you to do all those. I should have refused his plan from the beginning," Sour Grapes said.

"Are you going to be fine?" Plum asked.

"I will be fine. Don't worry about me. Now go and enjoy your new life with your friends," Sour Grapes said, and the two had a big hug.

"Is he going to steal more berries with his new plan?" Plum asked as Sour Grapes stood up.

"The way he said it seems more like he actually doesn't have any plan at all, and he won't have any for quite a long time," Sour Grapes said, giving a wink.

"Sour Grapes! Are you coming or not!" Pie Man's voice could be heard from outside.

"Time to go. Goodbye, dear," Sour Grapes said, walking to the front door and waving her hand to Plum.

"Love you, cousin. Bye!" Plum said as Sour Grapes left the house.

I also left the house immediately because Blind Spot started to lose its effect and I didn't want anyone to know that I had heard everything. Later, I met Strawberry at the berry fields when she was collecting some.

"Hi, Strawberry," I greeted.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted back.

"I found out who the thief is," I said, and she suddenly paused. I could see that she started to worry about what I would say next.

"Really...? Who...?" she asked.

"As we have agreed before, the thiefs were really just some animals. I have been worrying too much," I lied, and I could see Strawberry being so relieved. Did this count as a "White Lie"?

--End of Chapter 31-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 31: Sour Plum


One month have passed after the journey west. Over the month I noticed Watermelon Kiss coming to Strawberryland from time to time, although I didn't see Carmel Corn at all. I could understand though, that she was busy tending her farm. The weather was naturally cool with rains every few days, and piles of dried leaves could be found under most trees over Strawberryland, except lollipop trees of course.

I was walking around Strawberryland alone when I decided to stop by a tree. The tree was just an ordinary tree which had lost quite an amount of its leaves because of the autumn season. The tree was located quite far from the central area of Strawberryland and the closest house was Blueberry's house, so it was less likely that anybody else would come there anytime soon. The tree stood without any other similar trees close by. Its size was quite big and the remaining leaves were still plenty, enough to cover me from sunlight. Because of the mild condition, I decided to lie down under the tree and relax. I was almost asleep under that tree, when I suddenly heard a voice.

"Psst! Hey, kid!" the voice said, which sounded familiar to me. I got up into sitting position and found out that the voice was from Sour Grapes.

"You're Sour Grapes," I said.

"Oh, you know me?" she asked.

"I have seen you and heard about you a few times," I replied. "But we have never met for real before."

"Oh, I see. Anyway, I need you to do me a favor!" she said, seeming in a hurry.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There will be a newcomer in Strawberryland soon. I need you befriend and also watch her," she replied.

"Why should I? I mean, I'm sure everyone else in Strawberryland will be her friends with pleasure," I asked again.

"I'm worried about her. She is my..." she replied before suddenly interrupted by a loud voice from somewhere.

"Sour Grapes! Where are you?!" the voice yelled, which I recognized as Pie Man's voice. Sour Grapes seemed surprised and stopped her speech.

"There's no time! I need to go now! Please, just do me that favor!" she said in a hurry, and then she immediately left the place.

What had just happened left me wondering. What was so special about this new girl that Sour Grapes needed to ask me to befriend her, even though everybody else would most likely do so without being asked? She also had asked me to watch the new girl. What did that mean? Was she a type of girl who caused a lot of mischief? There were a lot of questions in my head, but then I decided to let it by and see what would happen next. With that in mind, I walked home.

At the next day, words spread across Strawberryland that there was a newcomer. Honey Pie Pony was the one who had found out the presence of the newcomer, and she spread the news to everyone. The newcomer lived in Plum Prairie, which was not too far from Punch Bowl Pond. Everyone then arranged a group to go there and throw a warm welcome to the newcomer. I joined the group, which consisted of the main four girls, and went with them to the newcomer's house.

The walk to Plum Prairie passed without any trouble. Not too long after passing Rainbow's boat, we arrived at the area and saw the house where the newcomer lived. As the area's name suggested, the house was shaped like a plum fruit, and right next to it was a tall plum tree. Strawberry then approached the front door and pressed the doorbell button she found.

"Coming!" a voice was heard from inside.

We waited a little bit, then suddenly we heard a loud noise of things falling down to the floor.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Strawberry shouted.

"Uh... Yeah, I'm just fine! I'm coming now!" the voice replied. Soon, the door opened and we saw a girl in purple wearing glasses with green frames. Her purple hair was a mess, and her shirts weren't any better.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the girl greeted.

"We want to say welcome to you. I'm Strawberry Shortcake, and this is Angel Cake, Ginger Snap, Orange Blossom, and Blackberry Bun," Strawberry replied.

"Oh, I'm Plum Puddin'. Sorry, but my home is a mess right now. I'm still unpacking things," the girl said.

"And the noise just then...?" Orange asked.

"...I tripped and fell down bumping my wardrobe, then everything fell out from it..." Plum replied, blushing.

"Sounds like you're having problems," Angel commented.

"You want us to help?" Strawberry offered.

"Well... I'd like to... that is, if you don't mind..." Plum said timidly.

"Why should we? Right everyone?" Strawberry said, looking at the rest of us.

"Of course I will help!" Angel said.

"Yep, you can count on me, yessire!" Ginger said.

"I will help too!" Orange said.

"I will too," I said.

It was settled quickly that by the next minute all of us were already busy tidying Plum's house up. It actually could be done faster, but I, along with the rest of the group, learned that Plum was quite a walking chaos. She tripped and fell down quite often that some places we had tidied up became a mess again. None of us complained, although I noticed Angel Cake starting to get upset. The activity continued until we heard Angel Cake shouting.

"Hey, look at this!" Angel shouted, and everyone else approached her. She was holding something that seemed like a photo frame which she had found along with other things in the cardboard box she was taking care of.

"What is it?" Strawberry asked.

"Look at this photo!" Angel replied, pointing at the photo. Everyone looked at the photo, and at the next second everyone except me and Plum gasped. Plum was in the photo, between two other persons we knew very well: Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes.

"Woow, are my eyes playing with me, Or they are really The Peculiar Purple Pie Man from Porcupine Peak and his sister Sour Grapes?" Ginger asked.

"It does seem so..." Angel said.

"You know them, Plum Puddin'?" Orange asked.

"Well..." Plum replied, pausing for a moment. "They are my cousins..."

"What? They are your family?!" Angel said, surprised.

"Yeah... Is there... something wrong...?" Plum asked.

I then began to understand what Sour Grapes had asked. Both Sour Grapes and her brother had quite a bad reputation in Strawberryland, and it might affect everyone's affection towards Plum. Perhaps Sour Grapes had asked me because she had been worried about Plum, and had hoped someone would be willing to be Plum's friend if the worst happened. However, I felt that it had not been needed after all.

"There's nothing wrong at all! Isn't that berry right, everybody?" Strawberry said, just as I had thought.

"Yeah, nothing really wrong," Orange said slowly with doubt.

"I guess..." Angel said.

"Yeah, nothing wrong at all! They only tried to rob us one, two, three times! Other than that nothing wrong at all yessire!" Ginger said.

"Ginger! No!" Strawberry shouted and Ginger realized it, covering her mouth with her own hands, but it was already too late.

"They... tried to rob you all...?" Plum asked. She seemed surprised and sad. "What did they stole?"

"Umm... yeah... they did..." Strawberry said. "But they didn't steal anything."

"Oh... I guess, I have no place here after all..." Plum said, lowering her head and starting to leak tears.

"Why not? You're always welcome here!" Strawberry said.

"But my cousins..." Plum said.

"I don't really care who your cousins are! They are they! You are you!" Strawberry said, taking hold of Plum's hands.

"That's right, Plum. You are always welcome here," Orange said. There was a silence for a few seconds, but then Plum started to smile.

"Thanks, everyone," Plum said.

"Hey, don't mention it! Now let's finish our work here so we will not be late for the party, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Party? What party?" Plum asked.

"We're gonna have a welcome party for you!" Angel said.

"A party... for me?" Plum asked, not believing what she had just heard.

"Everybody deserves a warm welcome," Strawberry said, smiling.

Soon all of us finished tidying up and then we went to the clubhouse where the rest of the kids had prepared a welcome party. The party itself was a good one, but it could have been better if Plum hadn't mistakenly tripped and hit a table, destroying the cake the kids had made. During the party I learned that Plum was quite a clumsy girl that she often made mistakes left and right. But all in all every kids in Strawberryland were more than happy to have another friend.

One week later, something seemed weird. The berries in the fields seemed to have reduced in amount. The difference was not so significant though, so everyone agreed that some rabbits or squirrels or such might had eaten the berries. However, I still doubted it so I made a device to watch over the berry fields and brought it there. When I arrived, I met some kids who are Plum, Orange, Strawberry, and Blueberry.

"Hey, everyone," I greeted.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted back, followed by the rest of the kids.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked.

"We are picking some berries for making cakes," Orange replied. "Strawberry is going to make a garden party tomorrow."

"It'll be a berry great party! I hope you can come!" Strawberry said.

"Uh... I'm here just to... take photos," Plum said, showing her camera which she had been hiding behind her back.

"Hey, what a nice camera you have there," I commented. "Can you take a picture of the four of us?"

"Um... Yeah, okay..." she said, and then the other kids stood in line. She then took a picture of us.

"When will we have the picture?" Blueberry asked.

"Umm... Tomorrow... I'll give you the picture tomorrow," Plum replied.

"Okay. By the way..." Blueberry said, looking at me. "I have been wondering what that thing is."

"Oh, this?" I said, showing the device I had been holding. "I'm sure you all remember my Eagle Eye, right?"

"Yes," Blueberry replied.

"I modified it so it can move around on its own," I replied. "This is so it can watch over the berry fields 24/7"

"Oh, like a... what was the name...? Surlev... Surf..." Blueberry said.

"Surveillance camera," Plum said.

"That's right! Wow... you sure know a lot of things," Blueberry said.

"Ah... No, not really..." Plum said timidly.

"Anyway, why do you want it to watch over the berry fields?" Blueberry asked me.

"I'm still curious about the decreasing of the berries' amount lately," I replied. "With this hopefully we can find out the cause."

"That's berry nice of you!" Strawberry said.

I then turned the device on and let it go. It moved in circles for a few seconds, and then it went away.

"Where is it going?" Plum asked.

"The berry fields are quite large, so I think it will need around five minutes to go around the fields," I said.

"Oh, how long it will last?" she asked again.

"Its energy comes from sunlight, so there's no problem," I replied. "While at night it will have enough energy in reserve to last until dawn."

"That means it really can watch over the berry fields 24/7 like you said, right?" she said.

"That's right. Although, there's one problem," I said, pausing for a moment. "If it rains at noon, the device won't have enough energy to last throughout the night. If that happens the device will automatically return to my house once the energy reaches critical level."

"I see..." Plum said.

The conversation between Plum and I continued for quite a while. Both of us were so into the conversation that we didn't realize that at a not-so-far distance the other three girls were looking at us in confusion. We didn't even hear their own conversation.

"Strawberry, do you understand what they are talking about?" Orange asked.

"Uhh... Not exactly... Not precisely..." Strawberry replied.

"Not at all," Blueberry said. "It seems they make a good couple, huh?"

"Huh? What couple?" Orange asked.

"A brainy four-eyed couple," Blueberry said, and the trio giggled.

"But now I'm berry glad that Blackberry now has a friend who can understand him more than us," Strawberry said.

"I second that," Blueberry said.

"Me too," Orange said.

Plum complimented me on how great my Eagle Eye was, but I said, "It's still not perfect. And now because it can see at night better than before, I renamed it into... Midnight Eye."

So, over the next few days Midnight Eye watched over the berry fields 24/7 like I had said. Every morning I checked the monitor on my working table if the satellite had seen anything suspicious. It hadn't found anything suspicious, but the amount of berries stayed the same so I was still not convinced.

One day, it rained hard at noon and the rain had been lasting for over three hours. I looked at the cloudy sky, thinking that the satellite would probably return to my house that night. I ran out of materials so I couldn't make a second satellite or anything else to overcome the situation. So, I had no choice other than hoping that the amount of berries would stay the same at the next day.

In the next morning, I woke up with worries in my head. Indeed I found the satellite lying on my working table. I then checked the monitor if there was anything suspicious caught on tape before the satellite had to retreat. I found nothing suspicious so I took the satellite and brought it with me to the berry fields. When I arrived there, I immediately turned the device on and threw it upwards. Then, I also walked around the fields to check if there was any berries missing.

My fear came out to be true. Some patches had lost quite an amount of berries. The thieves stole the berries right after the satellite retreated. It was really a bad coincidence, so I decided to call the satellite and do a few settings. While I was setting the satellite up, some kids came. They were Apricot, Peppermint, Plum, and Lemon.

"Hey, what are you doing here? And what's that thing?" Peppermint asked.

"Oh, hi Peppermint, Apricot, Plum, and Lemon," I replied, then I repeated most things I had said to Plum the day before.

"Umm... what...?" Lemon asked, confused.

"That sounds... totally cool... I think..." Apricot said, seeming confused as well.

"Hmph, you've just made smokes to come out from my head, you know," Peppermint said.

"So, have you found the thief?" Plum asked.

"Bad coincidence, the thief stole some berries again after the satellite came back to my house last night," I said.

"Oh..." Plum said.

"So now I'm setting it to slow down the lower its battery gets instead of returning to me. Hopefully this time the thief will be caught in action," I said.

"I see, but how much slower?" she asked.

"Well, can't say for sure but maybe around twenty minutes for one cycle at night if it rains at noon again. Otherwise it stays the same," I replied.

"I see," Plum said. "Oh, here's the picture," she continued, taking something from her small bag and giving it to me.

"Picture? Oh, that picture," I said, taking the picture she had given.

Both of us didn't realize that the same thing happened again like a few days before. The other three girls had their conversation as Plum and I had ours, and both of us hadn't realized it.

"Hmph! That kid sure is weird, and the other kid is just as weird," Peppermint said.

"They are?" Lemon asked.

"Yeah, who else?" Peppermint replied. "But somehow I like his weirdness."

"Yeah, me too. Totally cool," Apricot said.

"Me too," Lemon said.

"But I still can't trust that girl," Peppermint said.

"Really? Why?" Apricot asked.

"There's something wrong with her. I can feel it," Peppermint replied.

"You can?" Lemon asked.

"Can you just stop asking like that every time? That's sorta annoying!" Peppermint said. "Yes, I can! And now I'm leaving!"

So, once again Midnight Eye patrolled the berry fields 24/7 without fail, until one day it rained again at noon. Like the previous rain, it lasted for around three hours so I was sure Midnight Eye would slow down at night. There was nothing I could do so I just went to sleep that night.

At the next morning, I checked the monitor to see if the berries have disappeared again. At first there was nothing wrong, but when it came to night time and the satellite slowed down, I was surprised that the amount of berries in one part of the field had reduced after one cycle of the satellite. That meant the thief took the berries while the satellite was away for its cycle.

"Now this is weird. It almost seems that the thief knows the gap in the satellite's watch," I thought. "Looks like I need to talk with Strawberry."

I then walked to Strawberry's house, still thinking about all possibilities that could happen. One thing came to my mind but I could not believe it so I tried to forget it. Later, I arrived at Strawberry's house and pressed the doorbell button. Soon, the door opened and I met Strawberry.

"Hi, Blackberry! It's nice that you came! Please come in!" She welcomed me.

"Thanks Strawberry," I said, walking into the house.

Inside the house, Strawberry offered me drinks and I accepted. Then I sat on her sofa and asked her to sit beside me. While each of us was holding a glass of juice, a conversation happened.

"The berries have disappeared again," I said, taking a sip.

"Really? Did you find the thief?" Strawberry asked.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Somehow the thief took the berries while my satellite wasn't watching."

"How come?" she asked.

"I don't know. It happened two times with different conditions and it seems like the thief knows the gap of the satellite's watch," I replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It seems the thief knows the right time when he can steal the berries without being seen by my satellite," I replied, taking another sip. "Midnight Eye is not perfect, but for the thief to exactly know its weakness even after I changed it..."

"Well... I don't exactly understand, not precisely..." she said, taking a sip. "But there must be a way. Don't give up now."

"Actually, I have one thing in mind," I said. "But you probably won't agree with me."

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's someone who knows and understands Midnight Eye's weakness, and I also told her the new weakness after I had changed it," I said. "Not to mention that the berries started to disappear after she came."

"No, Blackberry! Don't tell me that you suspect Plum Puddin'! She's our friend!" Strawberry said.

"That's why I said you probably won't agree with me," I said, taking the last sip. "Of course I don't want to suspect her, but the situation says otherwise."

"Well... maybe you're right..." she said, pausing for a moment. "But think of another possibility. Maybe the thief eavesdropped when you told Plum!"

"That's impossible. Midnight Eye would spot the thief right away because it was already on watch by that time," I replied. "Don't worry, Strawberry. I won't say anything about it to anyone else for now. I will look for evidence first."

"I hope the thief is really not Plum..." Strawberry said, lowering her head.

"Me too, Strawberry. Whatever evidence I will find, I hope it will prove that Plum is not the thief," I said.

Soon, I left Strawberry's house. Because I wanted to find the truth as soon as possible, I began my investigation on Plum immediately. I began by walking to her house to see if she was home. Once I arrived at her house, I pressed the doorbell button and waited. There was no response and the door was locked so I could say that she was not at home. However, just to make sure I replaced my glasses with Vision to look at the inside of Plum's house. I was surprised by what I saw next. Inside the house I saw Purple Pie Man handgagging Plum, and Sour Grapes standing next to them. Then, I noticed Purple Pie Man using body language to Sour Grapes, who seemed to understand and walked towards the door. I quickly took Blind Spot from my pocket and put it on my shirt just in time so she didn't notice me when she opened the door slightly and looked through it.

Once she returned back inside without forgetting to lock the door, I took Key Master and used it to open the lock. Then I opened the door slowly and walked in without making any noise. Purple Pie Man noticed the opening door but he didn't see me because Blind Spot worked perfectly to keep me invisible.

"Close the door, Sour Grapes!" Pie Man ordered, still handgagging Plum.

"I could have sworn I have locked the door!" Sour Grapes replied.

"But you didn't. Close the door now!" Pie Man said.

"Alright, alright," Sour Grapes replied with upset face, walking to the door and locked it again. After the door was locked, Pie Man released his hand from Plum's mouth.

"Okay now, kid! Do you have any new information?" Pie Man asked. There was no answer from Plum. "Answer me now!"

Plum kept silent, and that infuriated Pie Man even more.

"Do I have to remind you about your task?!" Pie Man said. "Your task is to spy on the kids, note their activities, and find the weaknesses I can use to my advantage so I can get all the berries in this land and get my factory!"

"But you didn't say that you would steal the berries every night!" Plum replied.

"Why should I tell you? I just wanted to take some myself for a start!" Pie man replied back. "But thanks to that meddling kid with his annoying device, I couldn't take the berries anymore!"

Plum kept silent, and so did Sour Grapes.

"However, now I want to see that kid's face when he knows his device is just a failure!" Pie Man said, followed with a laugh. "And that was thanks to you, for telling me that the device will go away at night if it rains at noon!"

"But..." Plum said, but she couldn't continue.

"Also thanks to you for telling me yesterday that the kid made the device to slow down at night instead of going away. Twenty minutes is more than enough for me to take some berries!" Pie Man said. "Now tell me your information!"

"I..." Plum said, and once again she couldn't continue.

"Do I have to remind you that we are cousins? We are families! Choose! Your family or those kids?!" Pie Man said.

Everything I saw and heard made everything clear to me. Pie Man had a plan to spy on every Strawberryland kids, and for that he used his own cousin who had just moved to Strawberryland. Sour Grapes had asked me that favor probably because in her heart she hadn't agreed on that plan and had wanted me to befriend and watch over Plum so there would be someone to keep her company in case she was found and shunned by other kids. My thought could be wrong, but I was very sure that both Plum and Sour Grapes actually didn't agree about this plan but they didn't have the heart to refuse.

I then took Inner Heart from my pocket and shot both Plum Puddin' and Sour Grapes with it. All I could do next was just hope.

"I... I don't want to do this!" Plum said.

"What? So you choose those kids rather than your own family?!" Pie man said, seeming infuriated.

"No! I love you, cousin. That's why I told you about that surveillance satellite, because I didn't want you to get caught," Plum said, starting to sound determined. "But I cannot betray them! They are the first friends I have who still like me, even though they know how careless I am!"

Pie Man was silent, seeming surprised by Plum's reply.

"I love you, cousin, I really do. But please, just this once, love me back and leave me alone to be their friends for real, not their spy!" Plum said with tears leaking.

"You...!" Pie Man said, even more infuriated than before.

"She's right!" Sour Grapes suddenly said. "I can no longer agree to this anymore!"

"Sour Grapes! Now you're against me too?!" Pie Man said, still looking upset.

"Yes! Just because I no longer wanted to help you, you used her instead! Do you remember how I used to be the same like her, having no friends at all because they thought I was weird? Now she is so close to avoiding that same fate and you're going to ruin it?! Where's the loving brother I used to know, who kept me company when I was alone?!" Sour Grapes replied with her arms on her hip.

There was a silence for a few seconds. Pie Man still seemed upset.

"All right! Here's a deal! Forget this plan altogether, and I will help you again in any of your future plans, forever!" Sour Grapes said.

Hearing Sour Grapes' sentence surprised Pie Man quite much. He then thought about it for a moment and a few minutes later he turned his back towards the other two.

"Are you coming or not... Sour Grapes?! I have just got an idea, a plan, much better than this! Let's go now and put it into practice!" Pie Man said, then he immediately left the house.

"I'm sorry... Now you have to help him again... because of me" Plum said, and then Sour Grapes kneeled in front of her and smiled.

"No. I'm sorry, for making you to do all those. I should have refused his plan from the beginning," Sour Grapes said.

"Are you going to be fine?" Plum asked.

"I will be fine. Don't worry about me. Now go and enjoy your new life with your friends," Sour Grapes said, and the two had a big hug.

"Is he going to steal more berries with his new plan?" Plum asked as Sour Grapes stood up.

"The way he said it seems more like he actually doesn't have any plan at all, and he won't have any for quite a long time," Sour Grapes said, giving a wink.

"Sour Grapes! Are you coming or not!" Pie Man's voice could be heard from outside.

"Time to go. Goodbye, dear," Sour Grapes said, walking to the front door and waving her hand to Plum.

"Love you, cousin. Bye!" Plum said as Sour Grapes left the house.

I also left the house immediately because Blind Spot started to lose its effect and I didn't want anyone to know that I had heard everything. Later, I met Strawberry at the berry fields when she was collecting some.

"Hi, Strawberry," I greeted.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted back.

"I found out who the thief is," I said, and she suddenly paused. I could see that she started to worry about what I would say next.

"Really...? Who...?" she asked.

"As we have agreed before, the thiefs were really just some animals. I have been worrying too much," I lied, and I could see Strawberry being so relieved. Did this count as a "White Lie"?

--End of Chapter 31-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-54.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:59:38 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-54.html Quote:Chapter 30: Journey West


Over three days after solving Summer's problem, the weather gradually became cooler, which implied that Summer was finally able to sleep again. I watched the leaves falling outside the window in joy of successfully restoring the natural weather. While I was still watching over the scenery, I heard someone shouting.

"Hey, Blackberry!" the voice shouted. I looked outside the window and I saw that it was Strawberry. "To the club!"

I didn't know what her intention was, but I immediately took Swallow's Flight which was coincidentally lying on a table next to me, put it on my shirt, and jumped out of the window. I landed safely on the ground because of my lighter body, and Strawberry was a little bit surprised.

"Faster than going down the ladder," I said, pointing at the wing-shaped badge. "Shall we go now?" I continued as I removed the badge from my shirt and put it into my pocket.

"Yes, come quick!" Strawberry said in excitement.

Both of us then ran to the clubhouse taking Blueberry, Rainbow, Apricot, and Peppermint along the way. When we arrived at the clubhouse, everybody else had been already there.

"Okay, now that everybody's here, what are you going to say?" Raspberry asked.

"Yeah, Strawberry. What are you gonna tell us?" Angel asked.

"I just thought of a berry great thing, and I can't wait to tell you all!" Strawberry said still in excitement.

"Okay, so what is it? I hope you're not going to waste my time," Peppermint said.

"The good thing about the Friendship Club is that there's always room for more friends," Strawberry said.

"You said that once," Orange said.

"And then we sent invitations to everyone all over the world, am I right? And it was a success, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, but this time..." Strawberry said, pausing for a moment. "How about the other way around?"

"The other way around?" Lemon asked.

"Umm, what do you mean, Strawberry?" Huck asked.

"How about we going out there and looking for new friends ourselves? I'm berry sure it will be an exciting trip!" Strawberry said.

"It will?" Lemon asked.

"Well..." Blueberry said with a brief pause. "I don't know, but it doesn't sound that interesting to me. I mean, having new friends is always great, but the trip..."

"Hmph, just as I thought. This is a waste of my time," Peppermint said.

"Why I don't feel that excited?" Raspberry said, thinking.

"Yeah, me too. It's not so cool for me. Why is it?" Apricot wondered.

"Oh, I think I know why," I said. "Lemon, Raspberry, Apricot, Blueberry, and Peppermint. All of you have done such trip with me, and that is why you don't feel so excited about the idea."

"Oh, yes. Now I remember," Raspberry said, and the other girls I had mentioned nodded, which meant that they agreed with me.

"So, how about the rest?" I asked.

"Count me in!" Huck said.

"Me too! That's a great idea!" Angel said.

"Yeah, count me in as well, will you huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger said.

"I will go along too!" Orange said.

"Count me in, matey!" Rainbow said.

"Apple not want," Apple said, which surprised everyone a bit.

"Oh, why is it, Apple? This time you can go with us if you want," Strawberry said.

"Apple did trip, with Blackberry," Apple said.

"Oh, yes. Apple was one of them too," I said.

"Then you can stay with someone who will stay," Strawberry said.

"Okay, then. When will we go?" I asked.

"How about... now?" Huck suggested.

"You must be joking. We need to prepare first, you know," I said.

"Tomorrow morning then?" he said.

"That's better. Anybody else agree?" I asked, which was replied by a nod from the others.

"Okay, now that it is settled, see you t'morrow morning!" Ginger said, leaving the place.

"She sure is enthusiastic," I said.

Soon, I left the clubhouse and went back to my home. Then I spent the rest of the day preparing for the trip next day. I did maintenance works on all my devices and put them all into my backpack, and it was done right before bedtime. After I finished the works I went to sleep. At the next day, all of the kids who participated in the trip gathered in the clubhouse. As I had thought, the participants were the main five plus me and Rainbow.

"So, now that we are all here, shall we go now?" I asked.

"Yeah, what are you waiting for, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"By the way, where are we gonna go?" Angel asked.

"I don't know. Let's just go wherever the rail will take us," Strawberry said.

"The rail? You mean, the train station in Upper Truffle?" Huck asked.

"Sounds so," Orange said.

"Let's go then, mateys!" Rainbow said.

All of us then walked to Upper Truffle, the only place which had a train station. I was glad that I brought quite an amount of blackberries in my backpack because I would need some of them to trade for the train ticket for me. When we arrived at the train station, we immediately went to the booth where we could buy tickets.

"Each of us has berries to buy the ticket, right?" Strawberry asked, and everyone else nodded. Then we queued in front of the booth.

"One full day trip, please," Strawberry said.

"What berries do you have?" the officer inside the booth asked.

"Strawberries," Strawberry said.

"That would be six strawberries, please," the officer said.

"Here they are," Strawberry said, giving six strawberries to him.

"And here's your ticket. Have a pleasant trip," the officer said, giving a ticket.

It was the first time for me to know that each kind of berries had its own value in trading. I saw next that Orange had to pay with four oranges, Huck with ten huckleberries, Angel and Ginger with six strawberries as well, Rainbow with eight cherries, and finally it was my turn.

"One full day trip, please," I said. "I have blackberries."

"Blackberries? Then it would be five blackberries, please," the officer said.

"Five blackberries," I said, and my backpack threw it into my hands. Then I gave them to the officer. "Here you go."

"And here's your ticket. Have a pleasant trip," the officer said, giving a ticket.

After that, all of us went to the platform of the station. There was a train there which was scheduled to run to the west. All of us agreed to ride that train, and then we went into the train. Inside the train was quite spacious and also comfortable with all the seats. All of us then took our seats and waited for the train to start running. Six of us took two seats facing each other, while one had to sit on the seat across.

"This is the first time I ride a train," I said, sitting next to the window.

"Me too!" Strawberry said, sitting in front of me.

"I believe it's the same for everyone else as well," Huck said, sitting next to me on the right, and everyone else nodded.

"I can't wait for the trip!" Angel said in excitement, sitting in front of Huck.

"Yeah me too! I have never left Strawberryland this far!" Orange said, sitting next to Angel who was on her right.

"That's right. The furthest we have gone was Ice Cream Island, am I right? Or was it the Berry Fairy Fields?" Ginger said, sitting next to Huck.

"I have been much further than that, matey," Rainbow said, sitting on the seat across. "But it was on my boat. I have never done it on land."

"Let's wait and see what kind of surprises we will see," I said.

Soon, the train finally departed. All of us looked through the window, seeing Strawberryland for the last time until our return. Then we spent time talking together while occasionally looked at the scenery outside. Later, we heard a voice.

"Tickets, please!" the voice said. We realized that it was the ticket collector so we immediately had our tickets ready. We waited until the officer came to us, and once he did, I was surprised. The ticket collector looked just like the dog catcher I had met in Pearis. I then remembered that the dog catcher had a twin brother.

"Your tickets, please," the officer asked us, and all of us gave him our tickets.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a twin brother if I may ask?" I asked.

"Why, yes! How did you know?" the officer replied.

"I met him some time ago in Pearis. He saved me from a stray dog," I said.

"Ah, now I remember! I met him too, although not much," Strawberry said.

"I see. Did he say anything about me?" he asked.

"Well, he told me to say hello to you if I met you by chance. He's a really nice man," I said.

"I'm glad that he's doing fine. Oh, here are your tickets," he said, returning our tickets.

"Merci!" I and Strawberry said, and then the officer left. The trip continued for a while until we heard an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Next stop, Watermelon Patch," the announcer said.

"Should we get off there?" I asked.

"We aren't that far yet," Angel said. "But why not?"

"Yeah, I have never been there, and everyone else too, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Yeah," Orange said.

Everybody else agreed, so we got off on the train station in Watermelon Patch. When we got out from the train station, we saw that the scenery was not much different than Strawberryland, only that the amount of lollipop trees was much less. However, in their place there were watermelon bushes.

"Do you think we will find a new friend here?" Angel asked.

"I'm berry sure we will! Let's try and look around," Strawberry said.

"You sure are optimistic," I said.

We then walked around the area while occasionally taking photos with Ginger's camera. There was nothing really special at the area other than the abundance of watermelons which had never happened in Strawberryland. Some of us even thought of taking one or two watermelons, but because they seemed to have someone owning them we decided not to do it. We kept walking until we saw a house in a shape of a glass of beverage. Looking at the red color of the ``liquid`` and a watermelon slice placed on top of the house, we could notice that the house was shaped like a watermelon beverage.

"Do you think there's someone in there?" Orange asked.

"I think so," Rainbow said.

"If there is someone there, is that someone gonna be our friend?" Angel asked.

"We won't know until we try," Huck said.

"Let's go there and give a visit," I said, and we all walked to the house. Once we arrived, I pressed the doorbell button I found and waited for a moment. Soon, someone opened the door and it was a girl with green hair and watermelon-themed dress.

"Hi there! Anything I can help you with?" she greeted.

"We are travellers looking for new friends! I'm Strawberry Shortcake, this is Angel Cake, Orange Blossom, Ginger Snap, Huckleberry Pie, Rainbow Sherbet, and Blackberry Bun," Strawberry said.

"I'm Watermelon Kiss. Welcome to my humble home!" the girl welcomed.

"You live alone here?" Orange asked as we all came into her house.

"Well, yes. My friends here are only squirrels, birds, butterflies, and such," Watermelon said. "Oh, please have your seats!"

"Don't you feel a bit... lonely?" Angel asked. There was a silence for a brief moment.

"Well..." Watermelon said. "I kinda feel lonely sometimes, but what can I do? There's nobody around in miles and miles!"

"We can always be your friends!" Strawberry said. "Come to Strawberryland sometime! You'll be berry welcomed!"

"Really? Oh, thank you very much!" Watermelon said. "I sure will come!"

All of us then spent one hour together. During the hour Watermelon Kiss learned about many things in Strawberryland, including other friends there. All in all, Watermelon was a nice new friend.

"Oh, I think it's time for us to go," Strawberry said.

"Why so soon?" Watermelon asked.

"We are travelling to look for more friends," Strawberry replied. "We will be waiting for you to come sometime."

"I will," Watermelon said. "Oh, here, take some watermelons with you."

"Thanks, but..." Angel said, looking at the watermelons. "They're kinda... too big and heavy."

"You bet. If we bring these with us we will be exhausted and fall down really fast, am I right?" Ginger said. "But hey, it's not that I don't like it."

"Okay, leave it to me, then," I said, taking one watermelon and throwing it upwards. My backpack understood perfectly and sucked the watermelon into it.

"Your backpack sure is special," Huck commented as I threw another watermelon into my backpack.

All of us then left Watermelon's house waving hands, and she did the same. We walked to the train station to ride the next train available. We looked at the schedule and saw that the next train going west would arrive in the next five minutes. We also looked at the route map.

"Now we are here at Watermelon Patch. Where should we stop next?" I asked.

"Well..." Rainbow said, looking at the map. "How about here? Corn Country."

"That's a good idea. We never see corns in Strawberryland," Orange said.

"Why not? Everybody else agree?" Angel said, and everyone nodded.

We then got onboard the train which soon arrived and took our seats in the same formation as the previous ride. We didn't have to buy new tickets because our previous tickets could be used for the whole day. The ride lasted for about one hour, and during the ride some of us, to be exact me, Angel, and Orange, fell asleep.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Next stop, Corn Country," an announcement was heard.

"Oh, that's our stop! Wake up everyone!" Strawberry said in excitement.

Soon, all of us got off from the train at Corn Country train station. The scenery outside the station was again not much different from Strawberryland, but it had more country feeling on it.

"Smell that country air," I said after taking a deep breath.

"It really feels nice," Angel said.

"I like it berry much," Strawberry said.

"Let's walk around and see if we can find a new friend here," Orange said.

"Yeah, let's go right now, huh everyone?" Ginger said.

We then walked around the area taking photos on the way. On one occasion we came across a farm, but it was empty and looked abandoned. We even went inside it to make sure, but indeed the farm was abandoned looking at the amount of dust inside.

"Seems there's nobody here at all. Nope, not ever," Ginger said.

"Let's just get out of here before..." Angel said, coughing. "Before the dust kills me."

All of us agreed and left the abandoned farm. At first we gave up on looking for a new friend in the area, but soon we could see another farm downhill. The farm we saw seemed more alive than the one we had just left. We then decided to give that farm a visit.

"I'm sure we will meet someone there," I said.

"I sure hope the person will be a nice one too," Huck said.

Soon, we arrived right in front of the farm's door. Strawberry knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Hello, anybody there?" Strawberry shouted. There was no answer.

"Ahoy!" Rainbow shouted. There was no answer.

"Maybe the person is on the field?" Huck said.

"Let's try splitting up and look around. Everyone agree?" I said.

Everyone agreed on splitting up to look around and find out if there was anybody on the field. I went towards one fenced area where sheeps were kept, and saw nobody there. I walked around a bit more until suddenly I heard something.

"Everyone! Come quick!" a voice I recognized as Strawberry shouted. I then quickly ran towards the source, which seemed to be the corn field. I arrived there at the same time with others. We saw strawberry in the middle of the corn field, but we only could see her head because the corns had grown quite tall that they covered her from neck to toe.

"What's the matter?" Orange asked, panting.

"Yeah, what's the matter, huh Strawberry Shortcake? Did you find someone, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"Come and help me, everyone! There's someone fainted here!" Strawberry replied.

All of us got surprised and immediately approached Strawberry. Indeed next to her there was a fainted girl with brown hair, blue overall, and white shirt. All of us then carried the fainted girl together towards the house. Fortunately, the door was not locked so we could get inside and put the girl on a sofa we found there.

"Is she gonna be fine?" Angel asked.

"No fever, so I think she will be fine," Strawberry said.

"Let's wait until she wakes up," Huck said.

We waited for a few minutes until the girl finally opened her eyes. When she did, she saw us and got surprised that she jumped into sitting position.

"Relax, matey. We are not here to harm you," Rainbow said.

"We found you fainted at the corn field, so we brought you here," Strawberry said.

"Oh..." The girl said, holding her forehead with one hand. "Sorry, I was just so... surprised. By the way, I'm Carmel Corn."

"It's okay," Angel said. "I'm Angel Cake."

"I'm Strawberry Shortcake. This is Orange Blossom, Ginger Snap, Huckleberry Pie, Rainbow Sherbet, and Blackberry Bun," Strawberry said.

"What happened that you fainted out there?" Huck asked.

"I think..." Carmel said with a brief pause. "I got exhausted while taking care of the corn field."

"You take care of the whole farm all by yourself?" Orange asked.

"Yeah..." Carmel replied. "Before moving here, I thought that living in a farm of my own would be nice, but it was the worst choice I have ever made."

"Worst choice?" I asked.

"All the works are too much for me alone. Chickens, cows, pigs, sheeps, the corn field, everything. This is really the worst place ever. I give up," Carmel said, lowering her head.

"No, you can't give up now," Strawberry said.

"Why shouldn't I? There's no way I can handle all those alone," Carmel said.

"Not if you have helping hands, yessire!" Ginger said.

"Helping hands? Who? How?" Carmel asked.

"Hey, Blackberry. You still bring that dimension door with you, am I right? Could you please lend it to me?" Ginger asked me.

"Time Remote Mark II," I said, and my backpack gave the device to me. "Here it is. But what are you going to use it for?"

"Just wait and see! Back in a flash!" she replied, running off with my remote.

"What is she going to do?" Carmel asked.

"I'm sure that everyone here is as clueless as you do," I replied.

We then waited for Ginger Snap to return to us. The wait didn't last that long because half an hour later she came back.

"Hey, everyone! I'm back, yessire!" she said from the front door.

"Where did you go?" Angel asked.

"I went home," Ginger replied. "I made these helping hands. Come outside and see for yourselves, will you huh everyone?"

As told by Ginger, all of us went outside the house and saw that she had returned bringing a four-handed robot and a cart full of materials and tools.

"What is this robot?" Strawberry asked.

"This is The Amazing Helping Hands! It will lend you not just one or two or three, but four helping hands! It can help you in any kind of works, yessire!" Ginger said.

"That's amazing, matey. But what about those things on the cart?" Rainbow asked.

"These? Just wait and see, huh will ya'?" Ginger replied, and then she brought the cart into the cow barn. There was a lot of noise heard from inside, and we could only watch from a distance.

"What is she doing there?" Carmel asked.

"Whatever it is, we will see soon," I said. "When it comes to machines, her speed is unmatched. She could build a huge boat in just one night."

"She did that?" Rainbow asked.

"When did she do that? I don't remember her doing something that amazing," Angel asked.

"I remember..." Orange said. "But it was in a dream, right?"

"Uh oh..." I said with low voice so nobody heard it. "I mean, she is so fast that it seems like she can build a boat in one night."

"Oh, I see," Huck said.

A few minutes later, Ginger came out from the barn with black marks all over her clothes and face. She was really dirty that all of us wondered what she had actually done inside the barn.

"Come inside and look, huh everyone?" she said, and we did as told. Inside the barn, we saw that there were contraptions installed all over it.

"What are these contraptions?" Carmel said.

"This is what I call The Amazing Helping Hands: Cow Caretaker Edition!" Ginger said. "They will do everything for you! Feeding, milking, you name it!" Ginger replied. "Now I'm on to the next part of this farm!" she continued, taking her cart.

"Wait! Hold on!" Carmel said.

"What is it, huh Carmel Corn?" Ginger asked.

"You see, I'm grateful that you made all these for me," Carmel said with a brief pause following. "But if you make these all over the farm, what will I do?"

Carmel had a point. If Ginger made contraptions all over the farm, then Carmel would have nothing to do there, and that would defeat the purpose of living in a farm. There was a silence for the next few seconds.

"I realize that I said about the farm having too much work to do, but I don't want it to have nothing for me to do at all," Carmel said. "So, I'm grateful for the things you have made here, Ginger, but it's already enough for me now."

"Well... if you say so, then okay no problem yessire!" Ginger said.

"But could you leave the materials here? I might want to use them someday," Carmel asked.

"No problem at all! Use it as you like!" Ginger replied.

So, once again we got a new friend on our journey west. Like Watermelon Kiss, Carmel Corn was also a nice new friend. She had difficult times not to give up in bad situations, but she was still a nice one. We spent some hours together until we noticed that the sun was setting.

"I think it's time to take our leave," I said.

"Why so soon?" Carmel asked.

"It's getting dark, and as you can see one of us is really exhausted," I replied, looking at Ginger who was sleeping on a sofa.

"I see. Thanks for everything," she said.

"I didn't do anything," I said. "Hope you will lead a successful farm."

"Thanks," she said.

All of us then left Carmel Corn's farm waving our hands and she did the same to us. We then walked to the train station to see if there was any train available to take us back to Strawberryland. All of us were aware that we could just use my remote to go home, but the trip on train felt so nice that we wanted to do it again. Our tickets were still valid anyway so we would have nothing to lose.

We were lucky that there was a train going to Strawberryland right when we arrived at the station. We then immediately got onboard and took our seats in the same formation as before. From the window we could see a view of sunset, and it was a very nice view. Soon, the train departed and all of us spent time talking together on how our journey west had been a complete success. We enjoyed our trip until we heard an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Next stop, Upper Truffle. Please don't forget your belongings when you get off,"

--End of Chapter 30-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 30: Journey West


Over three days after solving Summer's problem, the weather gradually became cooler, which implied that Summer was finally able to sleep again. I watched the leaves falling outside the window in joy of successfully restoring the natural weather. While I was still watching over the scenery, I heard someone shouting.

"Hey, Blackberry!" the voice shouted. I looked outside the window and I saw that it was Strawberry. "To the club!"

I didn't know what her intention was, but I immediately took Swallow's Flight which was coincidentally lying on a table next to me, put it on my shirt, and jumped out of the window. I landed safely on the ground because of my lighter body, and Strawberry was a little bit surprised.

"Faster than going down the ladder," I said, pointing at the wing-shaped badge. "Shall we go now?" I continued as I removed the badge from my shirt and put it into my pocket.

"Yes, come quick!" Strawberry said in excitement.

Both of us then ran to the clubhouse taking Blueberry, Rainbow, Apricot, and Peppermint along the way. When we arrived at the clubhouse, everybody else had been already there.

"Okay, now that everybody's here, what are you going to say?" Raspberry asked.

"Yeah, Strawberry. What are you gonna tell us?" Angel asked.

"I just thought of a berry great thing, and I can't wait to tell you all!" Strawberry said still in excitement.

"Okay, so what is it? I hope you're not going to waste my time," Peppermint said.

"The good thing about the Friendship Club is that there's always room for more friends," Strawberry said.

"You said that once," Orange said.

"And then we sent invitations to everyone all over the world, am I right? And it was a success, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, but this time..." Strawberry said, pausing for a moment. "How about the other way around?"

"The other way around?" Lemon asked.

"Umm, what do you mean, Strawberry?" Huck asked.

"How about we going out there and looking for new friends ourselves? I'm berry sure it will be an exciting trip!" Strawberry said.

"It will?" Lemon asked.

"Well..." Blueberry said with a brief pause. "I don't know, but it doesn't sound that interesting to me. I mean, having new friends is always great, but the trip..."

"Hmph, just as I thought. This is a waste of my time," Peppermint said.

"Why I don't feel that excited?" Raspberry said, thinking.

"Yeah, me too. It's not so cool for me. Why is it?" Apricot wondered.

"Oh, I think I know why," I said. "Lemon, Raspberry, Apricot, Blueberry, and Peppermint. All of you have done such trip with me, and that is why you don't feel so excited about the idea."

"Oh, yes. Now I remember," Raspberry said, and the other girls I had mentioned nodded, which meant that they agreed with me.

"So, how about the rest?" I asked.

"Count me in!" Huck said.

"Me too! That's a great idea!" Angel said.

"Yeah, count me in as well, will you huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger said.

"I will go along too!" Orange said.

"Count me in, matey!" Rainbow said.

"Apple not want," Apple said, which surprised everyone a bit.

"Oh, why is it, Apple? This time you can go with us if you want," Strawberry said.

"Apple did trip, with Blackberry," Apple said.

"Oh, yes. Apple was one of them too," I said.

"Then you can stay with someone who will stay," Strawberry said.

"Okay, then. When will we go?" I asked.

"How about... now?" Huck suggested.

"You must be joking. We need to prepare first, you know," I said.

"Tomorrow morning then?" he said.

"That's better. Anybody else agree?" I asked, which was replied by a nod from the others.

"Okay, now that it is settled, see you t'morrow morning!" Ginger said, leaving the place.

"She sure is enthusiastic," I said.

Soon, I left the clubhouse and went back to my home. Then I spent the rest of the day preparing for the trip next day. I did maintenance works on all my devices and put them all into my backpack, and it was done right before bedtime. After I finished the works I went to sleep. At the next day, all of the kids who participated in the trip gathered in the clubhouse. As I had thought, the participants were the main five plus me and Rainbow.

"So, now that we are all here, shall we go now?" I asked.

"Yeah, what are you waiting for, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"By the way, where are we gonna go?" Angel asked.

"I don't know. Let's just go wherever the rail will take us," Strawberry said.

"The rail? You mean, the train station in Upper Truffle?" Huck asked.

"Sounds so," Orange said.

"Let's go then, mateys!" Rainbow said.

All of us then walked to Upper Truffle, the only place which had a train station. I was glad that I brought quite an amount of blackberries in my backpack because I would need some of them to trade for the train ticket for me. When we arrived at the train station, we immediately went to the booth where we could buy tickets.

"Each of us has berries to buy the ticket, right?" Strawberry asked, and everyone else nodded. Then we queued in front of the booth.

"One full day trip, please," Strawberry said.

"What berries do you have?" the officer inside the booth asked.

"Strawberries," Strawberry said.

"That would be six strawberries, please," the officer said.

"Here they are," Strawberry said, giving six strawberries to him.

"And here's your ticket. Have a pleasant trip," the officer said, giving a ticket.

It was the first time for me to know that each kind of berries had its own value in trading. I saw next that Orange had to pay with four oranges, Huck with ten huckleberries, Angel and Ginger with six strawberries as well, Rainbow with eight cherries, and finally it was my turn.

"One full day trip, please," I said. "I have blackberries."

"Blackberries? Then it would be five blackberries, please," the officer said.

"Five blackberries," I said, and my backpack threw it into my hands. Then I gave them to the officer. "Here you go."

"And here's your ticket. Have a pleasant trip," the officer said, giving a ticket.

After that, all of us went to the platform of the station. There was a train there which was scheduled to run to the west. All of us agreed to ride that train, and then we went into the train. Inside the train was quite spacious and also comfortable with all the seats. All of us then took our seats and waited for the train to start running. Six of us took two seats facing each other, while one had to sit on the seat across.

"This is the first time I ride a train," I said, sitting next to the window.

"Me too!" Strawberry said, sitting in front of me.

"I believe it's the same for everyone else as well," Huck said, sitting next to me on the right, and everyone else nodded.

"I can't wait for the trip!" Angel said in excitement, sitting in front of Huck.

"Yeah me too! I have never left Strawberryland this far!" Orange said, sitting next to Angel who was on her right.

"That's right. The furthest we have gone was Ice Cream Island, am I right? Or was it the Berry Fairy Fields?" Ginger said, sitting next to Huck.

"I have been much further than that, matey," Rainbow said, sitting on the seat across. "But it was on my boat. I have never done it on land."

"Let's wait and see what kind of surprises we will see," I said.

Soon, the train finally departed. All of us looked through the window, seeing Strawberryland for the last time until our return. Then we spent time talking together while occasionally looked at the scenery outside. Later, we heard a voice.

"Tickets, please!" the voice said. We realized that it was the ticket collector so we immediately had our tickets ready. We waited until the officer came to us, and once he did, I was surprised. The ticket collector looked just like the dog catcher I had met in Pearis. I then remembered that the dog catcher had a twin brother.

"Your tickets, please," the officer asked us, and all of us gave him our tickets.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a twin brother if I may ask?" I asked.

"Why, yes! How did you know?" the officer replied.

"I met him some time ago in Pearis. He saved me from a stray dog," I said.

"Ah, now I remember! I met him too, although not much," Strawberry said.

"I see. Did he say anything about me?" he asked.

"Well, he told me to say hello to you if I met you by chance. He's a really nice man," I said.

"I'm glad that he's doing fine. Oh, here are your tickets," he said, returning our tickets.

"Merci!" I and Strawberry said, and then the officer left. The trip continued for a while until we heard an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Next stop, Watermelon Patch," the announcer said.

"Should we get off there?" I asked.

"We aren't that far yet," Angel said. "But why not?"

"Yeah, I have never been there, and everyone else too, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Yeah," Orange said.

Everybody else agreed, so we got off on the train station in Watermelon Patch. When we got out from the train station, we saw that the scenery was not much different than Strawberryland, only that the amount of lollipop trees was much less. However, in their place there were watermelon bushes.

"Do you think we will find a new friend here?" Angel asked.

"I'm berry sure we will! Let's try and look around," Strawberry said.

"You sure are optimistic," I said.

We then walked around the area while occasionally taking photos with Ginger's camera. There was nothing really special at the area other than the abundance of watermelons which had never happened in Strawberryland. Some of us even thought of taking one or two watermelons, but because they seemed to have someone owning them we decided not to do it. We kept walking until we saw a house in a shape of a glass of beverage. Looking at the red color of the ``liquid`` and a watermelon slice placed on top of the house, we could notice that the house was shaped like a watermelon beverage.

"Do you think there's someone in there?" Orange asked.

"I think so," Rainbow said.

"If there is someone there, is that someone gonna be our friend?" Angel asked.

"We won't know until we try," Huck said.

"Let's go there and give a visit," I said, and we all walked to the house. Once we arrived, I pressed the doorbell button I found and waited for a moment. Soon, someone opened the door and it was a girl with green hair and watermelon-themed dress.

"Hi there! Anything I can help you with?" she greeted.

"We are travellers looking for new friends! I'm Strawberry Shortcake, this is Angel Cake, Orange Blossom, Ginger Snap, Huckleberry Pie, Rainbow Sherbet, and Blackberry Bun," Strawberry said.

"I'm Watermelon Kiss. Welcome to my humble home!" the girl welcomed.

"You live alone here?" Orange asked as we all came into her house.

"Well, yes. My friends here are only squirrels, birds, butterflies, and such," Watermelon said. "Oh, please have your seats!"

"Don't you feel a bit... lonely?" Angel asked. There was a silence for a brief moment.

"Well..." Watermelon said. "I kinda feel lonely sometimes, but what can I do? There's nobody around in miles and miles!"

"We can always be your friends!" Strawberry said. "Come to Strawberryland sometime! You'll be berry welcomed!"

"Really? Oh, thank you very much!" Watermelon said. "I sure will come!"

All of us then spent one hour together. During the hour Watermelon Kiss learned about many things in Strawberryland, including other friends there. All in all, Watermelon was a nice new friend.

"Oh, I think it's time for us to go," Strawberry said.

"Why so soon?" Watermelon asked.

"We are travelling to look for more friends," Strawberry replied. "We will be waiting for you to come sometime."

"I will," Watermelon said. "Oh, here, take some watermelons with you."

"Thanks, but..." Angel said, looking at the watermelons. "They're kinda... too big and heavy."

"You bet. If we bring these with us we will be exhausted and fall down really fast, am I right?" Ginger said. "But hey, it's not that I don't like it."

"Okay, leave it to me, then," I said, taking one watermelon and throwing it upwards. My backpack understood perfectly and sucked the watermelon into it.

"Your backpack sure is special," Huck commented as I threw another watermelon into my backpack.

All of us then left Watermelon's house waving hands, and she did the same. We walked to the train station to ride the next train available. We looked at the schedule and saw that the next train going west would arrive in the next five minutes. We also looked at the route map.

"Now we are here at Watermelon Patch. Where should we stop next?" I asked.

"Well..." Rainbow said, looking at the map. "How about here? Corn Country."

"That's a good idea. We never see corns in Strawberryland," Orange said.

"Why not? Everybody else agree?" Angel said, and everyone nodded.

We then got onboard the train which soon arrived and took our seats in the same formation as the previous ride. We didn't have to buy new tickets because our previous tickets could be used for the whole day. The ride lasted for about one hour, and during the ride some of us, to be exact me, Angel, and Orange, fell asleep.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Next stop, Corn Country," an announcement was heard.

"Oh, that's our stop! Wake up everyone!" Strawberry said in excitement.

Soon, all of us got off from the train at Corn Country train station. The scenery outside the station was again not much different from Strawberryland, but it had more country feeling on it.

"Smell that country air," I said after taking a deep breath.

"It really feels nice," Angel said.

"I like it berry much," Strawberry said.

"Let's walk around and see if we can find a new friend here," Orange said.

"Yeah, let's go right now, huh everyone?" Ginger said.

We then walked around the area taking photos on the way. On one occasion we came across a farm, but it was empty and looked abandoned. We even went inside it to make sure, but indeed the farm was abandoned looking at the amount of dust inside.

"Seems there's nobody here at all. Nope, not ever," Ginger said.

"Let's just get out of here before..." Angel said, coughing. "Before the dust kills me."

All of us agreed and left the abandoned farm. At first we gave up on looking for a new friend in the area, but soon we could see another farm downhill. The farm we saw seemed more alive than the one we had just left. We then decided to give that farm a visit.

"I'm sure we will meet someone there," I said.

"I sure hope the person will be a nice one too," Huck said.

Soon, we arrived right in front of the farm's door. Strawberry knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Hello, anybody there?" Strawberry shouted. There was no answer.

"Ahoy!" Rainbow shouted. There was no answer.

"Maybe the person is on the field?" Huck said.

"Let's try splitting up and look around. Everyone agree?" I said.

Everyone agreed on splitting up to look around and find out if there was anybody on the field. I went towards one fenced area where sheeps were kept, and saw nobody there. I walked around a bit more until suddenly I heard something.

"Everyone! Come quick!" a voice I recognized as Strawberry shouted. I then quickly ran towards the source, which seemed to be the corn field. I arrived there at the same time with others. We saw strawberry in the middle of the corn field, but we only could see her head because the corns had grown quite tall that they covered her from neck to toe.

"What's the matter?" Orange asked, panting.

"Yeah, what's the matter, huh Strawberry Shortcake? Did you find someone, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"Come and help me, everyone! There's someone fainted here!" Strawberry replied.

All of us got surprised and immediately approached Strawberry. Indeed next to her there was a fainted girl with brown hair, blue overall, and white shirt. All of us then carried the fainted girl together towards the house. Fortunately, the door was not locked so we could get inside and put the girl on a sofa we found there.

"Is she gonna be fine?" Angel asked.

"No fever, so I think she will be fine," Strawberry said.

"Let's wait until she wakes up," Huck said.

We waited for a few minutes until the girl finally opened her eyes. When she did, she saw us and got surprised that she jumped into sitting position.

"Relax, matey. We are not here to harm you," Rainbow said.

"We found you fainted at the corn field, so we brought you here," Strawberry said.

"Oh..." The girl said, holding her forehead with one hand. "Sorry, I was just so... surprised. By the way, I'm Carmel Corn."

"It's okay," Angel said. "I'm Angel Cake."

"I'm Strawberry Shortcake. This is Orange Blossom, Ginger Snap, Huckleberry Pie, Rainbow Sherbet, and Blackberry Bun," Strawberry said.

"What happened that you fainted out there?" Huck asked.

"I think..." Carmel said with a brief pause. "I got exhausted while taking care of the corn field."

"You take care of the whole farm all by yourself?" Orange asked.

"Yeah..." Carmel replied. "Before moving here, I thought that living in a farm of my own would be nice, but it was the worst choice I have ever made."

"Worst choice?" I asked.

"All the works are too much for me alone. Chickens, cows, pigs, sheeps, the corn field, everything. This is really the worst place ever. I give up," Carmel said, lowering her head.

"No, you can't give up now," Strawberry said.

"Why shouldn't I? There's no way I can handle all those alone," Carmel said.

"Not if you have helping hands, yessire!" Ginger said.

"Helping hands? Who? How?" Carmel asked.

"Hey, Blackberry. You still bring that dimension door with you, am I right? Could you please lend it to me?" Ginger asked me.

"Time Remote Mark II," I said, and my backpack gave the device to me. "Here it is. But what are you going to use it for?"

"Just wait and see! Back in a flash!" she replied, running off with my remote.

"What is she going to do?" Carmel asked.

"I'm sure that everyone here is as clueless as you do," I replied.

We then waited for Ginger Snap to return to us. The wait didn't last that long because half an hour later she came back.

"Hey, everyone! I'm back, yessire!" she said from the front door.

"Where did you go?" Angel asked.

"I went home," Ginger replied. "I made these helping hands. Come outside and see for yourselves, will you huh everyone?"

As told by Ginger, all of us went outside the house and saw that she had returned bringing a four-handed robot and a cart full of materials and tools.

"What is this robot?" Strawberry asked.

"This is The Amazing Helping Hands! It will lend you not just one or two or three, but four helping hands! It can help you in any kind of works, yessire!" Ginger said.

"That's amazing, matey. But what about those things on the cart?" Rainbow asked.

"These? Just wait and see, huh will ya'?" Ginger replied, and then she brought the cart into the cow barn. There was a lot of noise heard from inside, and we could only watch from a distance.

"What is she doing there?" Carmel asked.

"Whatever it is, we will see soon," I said. "When it comes to machines, her speed is unmatched. She could build a huge boat in just one night."

"She did that?" Rainbow asked.

"When did she do that? I don't remember her doing something that amazing," Angel asked.

"I remember..." Orange said. "But it was in a dream, right?"

"Uh oh..." I said with low voice so nobody heard it. "I mean, she is so fast that it seems like she can build a boat in one night."

"Oh, I see," Huck said.

A few minutes later, Ginger came out from the barn with black marks all over her clothes and face. She was really dirty that all of us wondered what she had actually done inside the barn.

"Come inside and look, huh everyone?" she said, and we did as told. Inside the barn, we saw that there were contraptions installed all over it.

"What are these contraptions?" Carmel said.

"This is what I call The Amazing Helping Hands: Cow Caretaker Edition!" Ginger said. "They will do everything for you! Feeding, milking, you name it!" Ginger replied. "Now I'm on to the next part of this farm!" she continued, taking her cart.

"Wait! Hold on!" Carmel said.

"What is it, huh Carmel Corn?" Ginger asked.

"You see, I'm grateful that you made all these for me," Carmel said with a brief pause following. "But if you make these all over the farm, what will I do?"

Carmel had a point. If Ginger made contraptions all over the farm, then Carmel would have nothing to do there, and that would defeat the purpose of living in a farm. There was a silence for the next few seconds.

"I realize that I said about the farm having too much work to do, but I don't want it to have nothing for me to do at all," Carmel said. "So, I'm grateful for the things you have made here, Ginger, but it's already enough for me now."

"Well... if you say so, then okay no problem yessire!" Ginger said.

"But could you leave the materials here? I might want to use them someday," Carmel asked.

"No problem at all! Use it as you like!" Ginger replied.

So, once again we got a new friend on our journey west. Like Watermelon Kiss, Carmel Corn was also a nice new friend. She had difficult times not to give up in bad situations, but she was still a nice one. We spent some hours together until we noticed that the sun was setting.

"I think it's time to take our leave," I said.

"Why so soon?" Carmel asked.

"It's getting dark, and as you can see one of us is really exhausted," I replied, looking at Ginger who was sleeping on a sofa.

"I see. Thanks for everything," she said.

"I didn't do anything," I said. "Hope you will lead a successful farm."

"Thanks," she said.

All of us then left Carmel Corn's farm waving our hands and she did the same to us. We then walked to the train station to see if there was any train available to take us back to Strawberryland. All of us were aware that we could just use my remote to go home, but the trip on train felt so nice that we wanted to do it again. Our tickets were still valid anyway so we would have nothing to lose.

We were lucky that there was a train going to Strawberryland right when we arrived at the station. We then immediately got onboard and took our seats in the same formation as before. From the window we could see a view of sunset, and it was a very nice view. Soon, the train departed and all of us spent time talking together on how our journey west had been a complete success. We enjoyed our trip until we heard an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Next stop, Upper Truffle. Please don't forget your belongings when you get off,"

--End of Chapter 30-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-53.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:54:17 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-53.html Quote:Chapter 29: Hot Autumn


Summer was near its end. Signs of autumn coming such as leaves starting to change color were all over Strawberryland. However, the weather was still very hot despite all those signs. I wondered about it for a while to the point of considering to visit the Land of Seasons, but in the end I decided to wait a bit longer.

One day, in the midday, I was standing on the rooftop of my house looking at the scenery around. Indeed leaves have become yellow, and some of them had already started to fall down. However, the weather was still very hot. The temperature was so hot that it felt unnatural. While I was wondering about that, suddenly I heard a voice.

"Hey, long time no see, kid!" a voice greeted from above. I looked upward and saw that it was Summer, still in his flower shirt, brown trousers, and beach sandals. However, his crane wings were missing.

"Oh, hi, Summer," I greeted back as he landed next to me. "Where are your wings?"

"I felt silly having those wings, so I made them invisible with a little bit of magic," he replied. I then tried touching somewhere behind his back, and indeed the wings were actually still there.

"Yeah, I can feel your wings," I said. "What brings you here?"

"I suppose you notice something weird about the weather, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's so hot that it feels... unnatural," I said.

"It's actually natural if it's still in the middle of my season, but indeed this hot weather is unnatural at this time period," he said.

"Do you know what caused it?" I asked. "Oh, and I never used my weather controller anymore, even though I have repaired it."

"I knew that I could trust you," he said.

"Umm, you haven't answered my first question," I said.

"Know the cause you asked? Not only that. I'm the cause of all these," he said with a sigh, lowering his head.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, surprised.

"I suppose you know a few things about the season bringers, don't you?" he asked back.

"Yeah, a little bit. While one season bringer works, the others sleep," I replied. "Hey, but you..."

"Exactly. I'm supposed to at least start sleeping by now, but as you can see, I'm still awake," he said, sighing again.

"How come?" I asked.

"Well, that's because..." he replied, but there was an interruption.

"He can't sleep. That's why," a female voice said from above. I looked upwards and saw a lady who was around Sour Grapes' age. She wore a brown long dress with autumn leaves images on it. She had brown wavy hair and her shoes were brown high heels. Her wings seemed like they were made from three large dried leaves on each side. All in all, she had an elegant look which fit an autumn theme.

"Mom, couldn't you just let me finish my sentence by myself?" Summer said, which surprised me.

"You said... mom?" I asked.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Lady Autumn, the one who brings fall season," the lady said. "I'm not his mother, but all of us were so close to each other like a family."

"Yeah, for me Spring is like my sister, Lady Autumn is like my mother, and Old Man Winter is like my grandfather," Summer said.

"You said that Summer can't sleep? Why?" I asked.

"None of us know, dear. If we knew why we would come with a solution right now," Lady Autumn replied.

"Yeah, I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I felt so tired but I couldn't fall asleep. If I don't sleep soon, more problems will arise," Summer said with another sigh.

"Indeed. For now we have a hot fall season, and later the trees won't be able to decide between letting their leaves to fall or not. As the result many of them will wither and die," Lady Autumn said.

"What? We can't let that to happen!" I said, surprised.

"Of course we can't. That's why I came here," Summer said. "To meet you."

"Huh? Me? Why me? I'm just a kid," I asked, wondering.

"I have the same question too, dear," Lady Autumn said.

"You're a kid, but not an ordinary one. You can make a weather controller and that dimension door I saw," Summer said. "So maybe you can think of something."

"Well, it's so sudden for me. I can't think that fast," I said. "Give me a moment."

"As you wish, but don't take too long," he said.

I then started to think about Summer's problem. According to what he had said, his problem was similar to an insomniac. However, I hadn't made any sleep-inducing devices or such, and I didn't know if I could make something like that or not. While still thinking, suddenly I remembered something.

"Dream fairies," I said. "Maybe they can help."

"Dream fairies, huh? I don't know much about them because unlike berry fairies, they don't have any kind of cooperation with us," Summer said. "Not to mention that I have never seen a dream fairy by myself in my whole life."

"You never dream in your sleep?" I asked.

"Of course we do. It's just that there's nothing special between us and the dream fairies," he replied.

"Oh, okay," I said.

"Okay, so how the dream fairies can help me?" he asked.

"They usually induce sleep powder to insomniacs. Maybe it will work on you as well," I said.

"I see. How can we go to their place, then?" he asked again.

"This," I answered, taking Time Remote Mark II from my pocket.

"Ah, your dimension door I see. Then, shall we go now?" he said.

"Right away if you want it," I said. "The Land of Dreams!" I spoke to the remote, and a dimension door appeared in front of us.

"I will stay here. I need to maintain the season," Lady Autumn said.

"Okay, see you later. Love you, mom," Summer said.

"Love you too, son. Good luck," Lady Autumn said, and the two of us entered the dimension door.

We ended up right in front of the Dream Fort. I then walked to PJ's building and Summer followed behind me. As we arrived in front of the building, the lady I knew opened the door and welcomed us with her usual pencil and notepad.

"Blackberry Bun and Summer. Welcome to PJ's. Please have your seats," she said.

"Is she a dream fairy? She looks different than the berry fairies," Summer whispered to me as we walked to a table.

"Of course not. She is PJ, the owner of this building. The real dream fairy will come soon," I whispered back.

We then had our seats and a glass of sundae immediately appeared in front of me.

"Thanks. It's really what I need after being in a hot weather," I said. "But why my friend didn't get one?"

"I don't eat anything, and it seems she knows it," Summer said.

"Indeed, my dears. And I know that you came because of a problem," PJ said. "She is on the way and will arrive soon."

"She? Who?" Summer said.

"That would be me. Diana Dusk, chief of the dream fairies. Daisy and Mary are still sleeping so for now I'm the one in charge," a voice said from the front door. It was indeed Diana who came.

"Ah, Diana! It's nice to meet you again," I said.

"Me too, actually. Although you have to remember that you were exiled from here, and once again you came bending our rules," Diana said, shaking her head.

"You were exiled...?" Summer asked.

"Well, it's a long story," I replied. "Anyway, I suppose you already know why I came, right?" I said to Diana.

"Of course. That's why Her Majesty made an exception to that rule. This is a very crucial problem for us as well," she replied.

"Really?" I asked.

"Unnatural weather will put negative minds into the heads of all people. Negative minds feed nightmares, and then nightmares will take over the whole Land of Dreams! This is serious business!" she shouted.

"Okay okay, now I understand. So, what are we going to do now?" I asked.

"If he was a normal people, I could just give him sleep powder or use my Tranquilizer spell all by myself," she said. "But he's a deity. All those I mentioned will be useless."

"I don't think I'm so great to be worth mentioned as deity, but whatever. So, what are you gonna do?" Summer asked.

"I said ``all by myself``, didn't I? Let's go outside for now," Diana said, flying towards the door. Summer and I followed her, and once we got outside we saw that the field had been swarmed by dream fairies. It seemed like the whole Dream Fairy Fields residents had been called to gather there.

"Why so many dream fairies?" Summer asked.

"All of us will try to gather our power into one big Tranquilizer spell. This is the only way we can think of, so if this fails we won't have any more idea," Diana said.

"I see. Let's try it then," Summer said.

"Okay, stay still and relax. We will begin the spell soon," Diana said, then she flew away to join the crowd of dream fairies. As instructed, Summer stood still near the crowd while closing his eyes, and I waited alongside PJ right in front of the door of her building. Soon, all dream fairies pointed their wand upwards and a blue ball of light started to appear above them. The light kept growing larger until its size ended up as large as Strawberry's house. Then the dream fairies pointed their wand towards Summer, who kept standing still with his eyes closed. The light then slowly moved towards him and stopped a few distances above his head.

"Ready, everyone?" Diana shouted.

"Ready!" the crowd answered.

"On the count of three! One, two... three!" Diana shouted, and a thin laser beam came out from each dream fairy's wand towards the ball of light. It then shattered and showered blue sparkles on Summer. The shower lasted for a few minutes, and once it ended Diana approached Summer who was still standing with his eyes closed.

"Did it work?" Diana said, observing Summer's face.

"No, it didn't," Summer said, opening his eyes. "I didn't feel anything."

"Oh, we give up," Diana said, falling down to the ground.

"Why giving up so soon? There must be a way," Summer said.

"The spell we just did have used up all our energy. We can't do anything more," Diana said. "Sorry, we can't help at all."

"Oh... but thanks for trying. I will try to find another way, then," Summer said.

So, the two of us returned to Strawberryland without any result. After coming out from the dimension door which led us to my rooftop, Summer looked around with his hands on his hips and sighed.

"Everyone will be in trouble if I don't sleep. Why can't I sleep?" he asked himself. Then, Lady Autumn came flying to us.

"So, it didn't work, son?" she asked as she landed.

"No, mom. I have no idea why this happens," Summer said.

"Usually, people can't sleep because they have something in mind that prevents them from sleeping," I said. "Do you have something in mind? Something that feels like a burden?"

After I asked my question, Summer fell into a deep silence. Nobody said anything for the next few seconds.

"Son, is there something in your mind? Tell us, maybe it will ease your mind," Lady Autumn said.

"Well..." Summer said with a brief pause. "Truth to be told, there is one thing..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I... I made Spring cry," he said, which surprised both me and Lady Autumn.

"What? What did you do, son? How could you do that?" Lady Autumn asked.

"When it was time for the season to change from spring to summer, I met her. We had a talk for a moment, and we ended up fighting over a small thing," Summer said.

"What small thing if I may ask?" I asked.

"Well..." he said timidly. "About whose season is more important."

"Son, you know very well that all seasons are equally important," Lady Autumn said.

"I know, mom. But she kept saying that her season was the most important of all. It seemed like someone has told her so, or something similar to that," Summer said.

"Oh, then what happened next?" I asked.

"She was so stubborn no matter how hard I tried to advise her. In the end..." he said, pausing for a moment. "I couldn't hold my emotion and scolded her..."

"Oh my. You know that Spring is sensitive and fragile when it comes to that, son..." Lady Autumn said.

"I know, but I just couldn't help myself. When I realized that, it was already too late when she left me crying," Summer said. "She shouted ``I hate you!`` before that."

"I think we find the cause of your insomnia," I said. "Your guilty feeling is the cause."

"You should have told us from the start, son. We could have saved some time if you have," Lady Autumn said.

"Sorry. I was... embarassed," Summer said.

"Okay, now that we know why, it's time to end it. Let's go to her and try to be in good terms again with her," I said.

"It's not as easy as it sounds, but let's go there anyway," he said.

"Land of Seasons," I said, and my Time Remote Mark II responded perfectly. All of us then jumped into the dimension door it had created, and ended up right in front of the entrance of Land of Seasons. We then walked into the Spring area until we arrived in a large field of flowers which was very beautiful with all the colorful flowers there.

"What a sight," I said.

"This flower field is where Spring usually sleeps," Summer said.

"Where can we find her?" I asked.

"Just a little bit more, dear," Lady Autumn said, and we walked again. Just a few minutes later, I saw a small mound which was covered by colorful flowers like the rest of the ground, and Spring was sleeping right on the mound, still in her green dress. We approached her and saw that there were tears on her cheeks.

"So, are you going to wake her up and apologize?" I asked.

"It's easier said than done. I can't wake her up," Summer said.

"And before you ask why, dear, waking her up can be dangerous," Lady Autumn said. "There must not be three season bringers awake at the same time. Even two is already dangerous if they are on the opposite side."

"But I saw Old Man Winter awake last summer and nothing bad happened," I said.

"He was still deep inside Gumball Bluff, that's why. Even though of that, if he had been awake longer something bad could have happened," Summer said.

"That means, you and Old Man Winter had never met with each other while awake?" I said.

"Exactly, dear. The same applies to me and Spring," Lady Autumn said. "We only can visit our counterpart while the other is sleeping."

"Pity..." I said. "So, there's no way at all to apologize to her now?"

"I'm afraid no," Summer said with a sigh.

"Oh, there is a way of course. Believe in yourself," a voice suddenly said from behind us. We looked towards the source and saw that it was Sandman.

"Sandman! Long time no see!" I said.

"Who is he?" Summer asked.

"Summer, this is Sandman. The owner of the Dream Factory in the Land of Dreams," I said.

"I heard that you have a problem because you can't sleep, so I came to you to help," Sandman said.

"Not to doubt you, but if a whole army of dream fairies couldn't help me, how can you help?" Summer asked.

"I came here not to help you sleep. I came here to help you apologize to her," Sandman replied.

"What? How?" Summer asked.

"Kneel beside her and close your eyes," Sandman said, and Summer did as instructed. Sandman then put one hand on Summer's forehead and the other hand on Spring's. He then began concentrating and his hands started to shine.

"Spring..." Summer said, still with his eyes closed.

"Summer..." Spring muttered, still fast asleep.

"I see," Lady Autumn said. "He is connecting Summer to Spring's dream. That way they can talk without waking her up."

"Smart way. Let's just hope they can get along well," I said.

We waited for a moment while hoping for a happy end. However, we were too hopeful. They started arguing over the same thing again, and in the end Summer lost his mind again that he scolded Spring.

"I hate you!" Spring shouted, although still fast asleep. Then Sandman ended his connection.

"Son, you made the same mistake again..." Lady Autumn said.

"I can't help myself. She is too stubborn," Summer said, standing up.

"Now the situation isn't getting any better," Lady Autumn said.

"Well..." I said, thinking. "When brother and sister fight, the mother will become the middleman to solve it."

"So you are saying that I should talk to Spring now?" she asked.

"Yes, because you are like a mother to both of them, so maybe you can help," I replied. "Sandman, can you connect both Summer and Lady Autumn to Spring's dream?"

"Unfortunately, no. I only have two hands you see," Sandman said. "But don't worry. Help is on the way."

"Help? Who?" Summer asked.

"I'm already here," a voice said from behind. We looked towards the source and it was PJ.

"Very well. Let's start immediately, then," Lady Autumn said.

Soon, Summer and Lady Autumn kneeled on each of Spring's side. Sandman connected Summer while PJ connected Lady Autumn. This time, nobody said or muttered anything so I didn't know what happened over there. It lasted for quite a long time until I noticed all three of them smiling, and the connection ended.

"Thanks, mom. I couldn't have done it without you," Summer said.

"You're welcome, son," Lady Autumn said. "And I thank you as well. Because of your fighting we have a chance to meet each other."

"You're welcome, mom," Summer said. "And both of us thank you too, PJ and Sandman, for what you have just done."

"It was no problem at all, dear," PJ said.

"I think we will take our leave now. I have left my factory for too long," Sandman said. "Farewell for now."

"Farewell," Lady Autumn said as the two Land of Dreams residents flew away.

"So, all ended well?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm now in good terms with Spring again. Thanks," Summer said.

"Hey, I didn't do anything," I said.

"You figured out the cause of my problem, and you also figured out how to solve it. That's why I thank you," he said.

"Well... yeah, okay. You're welcome," I said, blushing a little.

"Now that it's all over, I'm getting sleepy," he said, yawning. "I will go to my place and sleep."

"I'd like to see your place for once," I said.

"It's not much different than this field. Just replace these flowers with green grass and some trees, and you got it," he said. "I sleep on a hammock attached between two coconut trees."

"I see. Then I wish you sweet dreams," I said.

"Thanks. See you on the next summer," he said, and he flew away.

"Now that he can sleep, the weather should go back to normal soon. You have my gratitude, dear," Lady Autumn said.

"Don't mention it," I said. "I guess I will take my leave as well. I wish you luck in bringing autumn season to everyone all over the world," I said.

"Thank you dear," she said. I then spoke out my district's name to my remote and jumped into the dimension door that appeared.

--End of Chapter 29-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 29: Hot Autumn


Summer was near its end. Signs of autumn coming such as leaves starting to change color were all over Strawberryland. However, the weather was still very hot despite all those signs. I wondered about it for a while to the point of considering to visit the Land of Seasons, but in the end I decided to wait a bit longer.

One day, in the midday, I was standing on the rooftop of my house looking at the scenery around. Indeed leaves have become yellow, and some of them had already started to fall down. However, the weather was still very hot. The temperature was so hot that it felt unnatural. While I was wondering about that, suddenly I heard a voice.

"Hey, long time no see, kid!" a voice greeted from above. I looked upward and saw that it was Summer, still in his flower shirt, brown trousers, and beach sandals. However, his crane wings were missing.

"Oh, hi, Summer," I greeted back as he landed next to me. "Where are your wings?"

"I felt silly having those wings, so I made them invisible with a little bit of magic," he replied. I then tried touching somewhere behind his back, and indeed the wings were actually still there.

"Yeah, I can feel your wings," I said. "What brings you here?"

"I suppose you notice something weird about the weather, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's so hot that it feels... unnatural," I said.

"It's actually natural if it's still in the middle of my season, but indeed this hot weather is unnatural at this time period," he said.

"Do you know what caused it?" I asked. "Oh, and I never used my weather controller anymore, even though I have repaired it."

"I knew that I could trust you," he said.

"Umm, you haven't answered my first question," I said.

"Know the cause you asked? Not only that. I'm the cause of all these," he said with a sigh, lowering his head.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, surprised.

"I suppose you know a few things about the season bringers, don't you?" he asked back.

"Yeah, a little bit. While one season bringer works, the others sleep," I replied. "Hey, but you..."

"Exactly. I'm supposed to at least start sleeping by now, but as you can see, I'm still awake," he said, sighing again.

"How come?" I asked.

"Well, that's because..." he replied, but there was an interruption.

"He can't sleep. That's why," a female voice said from above. I looked upwards and saw a lady who was around Sour Grapes' age. She wore a brown long dress with autumn leaves images on it. She had brown wavy hair and her shoes were brown high heels. Her wings seemed like they were made from three large dried leaves on each side. All in all, she had an elegant look which fit an autumn theme.

"Mom, couldn't you just let me finish my sentence by myself?" Summer said, which surprised me.

"You said... mom?" I asked.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Lady Autumn, the one who brings fall season," the lady said. "I'm not his mother, but all of us were so close to each other like a family."

"Yeah, for me Spring is like my sister, Lady Autumn is like my mother, and Old Man Winter is like my grandfather," Summer said.

"You said that Summer can't sleep? Why?" I asked.

"None of us know, dear. If we knew why we would come with a solution right now," Lady Autumn replied.

"Yeah, I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I felt so tired but I couldn't fall asleep. If I don't sleep soon, more problems will arise," Summer said with another sigh.

"Indeed. For now we have a hot fall season, and later the trees won't be able to decide between letting their leaves to fall or not. As the result many of them will wither and die," Lady Autumn said.

"What? We can't let that to happen!" I said, surprised.

"Of course we can't. That's why I came here," Summer said. "To meet you."

"Huh? Me? Why me? I'm just a kid," I asked, wondering.

"I have the same question too, dear," Lady Autumn said.

"You're a kid, but not an ordinary one. You can make a weather controller and that dimension door I saw," Summer said. "So maybe you can think of something."

"Well, it's so sudden for me. I can't think that fast," I said. "Give me a moment."

"As you wish, but don't take too long," he said.

I then started to think about Summer's problem. According to what he had said, his problem was similar to an insomniac. However, I hadn't made any sleep-inducing devices or such, and I didn't know if I could make something like that or not. While still thinking, suddenly I remembered something.

"Dream fairies," I said. "Maybe they can help."

"Dream fairies, huh? I don't know much about them because unlike berry fairies, they don't have any kind of cooperation with us," Summer said. "Not to mention that I have never seen a dream fairy by myself in my whole life."

"You never dream in your sleep?" I asked.

"Of course we do. It's just that there's nothing special between us and the dream fairies," he replied.

"Oh, okay," I said.

"Okay, so how the dream fairies can help me?" he asked.

"They usually induce sleep powder to insomniacs. Maybe it will work on you as well," I said.

"I see. How can we go to their place, then?" he asked again.

"This," I answered, taking Time Remote Mark II from my pocket.

"Ah, your dimension door I see. Then, shall we go now?" he said.

"Right away if you want it," I said. "The Land of Dreams!" I spoke to the remote, and a dimension door appeared in front of us.

"I will stay here. I need to maintain the season," Lady Autumn said.

"Okay, see you later. Love you, mom," Summer said.

"Love you too, son. Good luck," Lady Autumn said, and the two of us entered the dimension door.

We ended up right in front of the Dream Fort. I then walked to PJ's building and Summer followed behind me. As we arrived in front of the building, the lady I knew opened the door and welcomed us with her usual pencil and notepad.

"Blackberry Bun and Summer. Welcome to PJ's. Please have your seats," she said.

"Is she a dream fairy? She looks different than the berry fairies," Summer whispered to me as we walked to a table.

"Of course not. She is PJ, the owner of this building. The real dream fairy will come soon," I whispered back.

We then had our seats and a glass of sundae immediately appeared in front of me.

"Thanks. It's really what I need after being in a hot weather," I said. "But why my friend didn't get one?"

"I don't eat anything, and it seems she knows it," Summer said.

"Indeed, my dears. And I know that you came because of a problem," PJ said. "She is on the way and will arrive soon."

"She? Who?" Summer said.

"That would be me. Diana Dusk, chief of the dream fairies. Daisy and Mary are still sleeping so for now I'm the one in charge," a voice said from the front door. It was indeed Diana who came.

"Ah, Diana! It's nice to meet you again," I said.

"Me too, actually. Although you have to remember that you were exiled from here, and once again you came bending our rules," Diana said, shaking her head.

"You were exiled...?" Summer asked.

"Well, it's a long story," I replied. "Anyway, I suppose you already know why I came, right?" I said to Diana.

"Of course. That's why Her Majesty made an exception to that rule. This is a very crucial problem for us as well," she replied.

"Really?" I asked.

"Unnatural weather will put negative minds into the heads of all people. Negative minds feed nightmares, and then nightmares will take over the whole Land of Dreams! This is serious business!" she shouted.

"Okay okay, now I understand. So, what are we going to do now?" I asked.

"If he was a normal people, I could just give him sleep powder or use my Tranquilizer spell all by myself," she said. "But he's a deity. All those I mentioned will be useless."

"I don't think I'm so great to be worth mentioned as deity, but whatever. So, what are you gonna do?" Summer asked.

"I said ``all by myself``, didn't I? Let's go outside for now," Diana said, flying towards the door. Summer and I followed her, and once we got outside we saw that the field had been swarmed by dream fairies. It seemed like the whole Dream Fairy Fields residents had been called to gather there.

"Why so many dream fairies?" Summer asked.

"All of us will try to gather our power into one big Tranquilizer spell. This is the only way we can think of, so if this fails we won't have any more idea," Diana said.

"I see. Let's try it then," Summer said.

"Okay, stay still and relax. We will begin the spell soon," Diana said, then she flew away to join the crowd of dream fairies. As instructed, Summer stood still near the crowd while closing his eyes, and I waited alongside PJ right in front of the door of her building. Soon, all dream fairies pointed their wand upwards and a blue ball of light started to appear above them. The light kept growing larger until its size ended up as large as Strawberry's house. Then the dream fairies pointed their wand towards Summer, who kept standing still with his eyes closed. The light then slowly moved towards him and stopped a few distances above his head.

"Ready, everyone?" Diana shouted.

"Ready!" the crowd answered.

"On the count of three! One, two... three!" Diana shouted, and a thin laser beam came out from each dream fairy's wand towards the ball of light. It then shattered and showered blue sparkles on Summer. The shower lasted for a few minutes, and once it ended Diana approached Summer who was still standing with his eyes closed.

"Did it work?" Diana said, observing Summer's face.

"No, it didn't," Summer said, opening his eyes. "I didn't feel anything."

"Oh, we give up," Diana said, falling down to the ground.

"Why giving up so soon? There must be a way," Summer said.

"The spell we just did have used up all our energy. We can't do anything more," Diana said. "Sorry, we can't help at all."

"Oh... but thanks for trying. I will try to find another way, then," Summer said.

So, the two of us returned to Strawberryland without any result. After coming out from the dimension door which led us to my rooftop, Summer looked around with his hands on his hips and sighed.

"Everyone will be in trouble if I don't sleep. Why can't I sleep?" he asked himself. Then, Lady Autumn came flying to us.

"So, it didn't work, son?" she asked as she landed.

"No, mom. I have no idea why this happens," Summer said.

"Usually, people can't sleep because they have something in mind that prevents them from sleeping," I said. "Do you have something in mind? Something that feels like a burden?"

After I asked my question, Summer fell into a deep silence. Nobody said anything for the next few seconds.

"Son, is there something in your mind? Tell us, maybe it will ease your mind," Lady Autumn said.

"Well..." Summer said with a brief pause. "Truth to be told, there is one thing..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I... I made Spring cry," he said, which surprised both me and Lady Autumn.

"What? What did you do, son? How could you do that?" Lady Autumn asked.

"When it was time for the season to change from spring to summer, I met her. We had a talk for a moment, and we ended up fighting over a small thing," Summer said.

"What small thing if I may ask?" I asked.

"Well..." he said timidly. "About whose season is more important."

"Son, you know very well that all seasons are equally important," Lady Autumn said.

"I know, mom. But she kept saying that her season was the most important of all. It seemed like someone has told her so, or something similar to that," Summer said.

"Oh, then what happened next?" I asked.

"She was so stubborn no matter how hard I tried to advise her. In the end..." he said, pausing for a moment. "I couldn't hold my emotion and scolded her..."

"Oh my. You know that Spring is sensitive and fragile when it comes to that, son..." Lady Autumn said.

"I know, but I just couldn't help myself. When I realized that, it was already too late when she left me crying," Summer said. "She shouted ``I hate you!`` before that."

"I think we find the cause of your insomnia," I said. "Your guilty feeling is the cause."

"You should have told us from the start, son. We could have saved some time if you have," Lady Autumn said.

"Sorry. I was... embarassed," Summer said.

"Okay, now that we know why, it's time to end it. Let's go to her and try to be in good terms again with her," I said.

"It's not as easy as it sounds, but let's go there anyway," he said.

"Land of Seasons," I said, and my Time Remote Mark II responded perfectly. All of us then jumped into the dimension door it had created, and ended up right in front of the entrance of Land of Seasons. We then walked into the Spring area until we arrived in a large field of flowers which was very beautiful with all the colorful flowers there.

"What a sight," I said.

"This flower field is where Spring usually sleeps," Summer said.

"Where can we find her?" I asked.

"Just a little bit more, dear," Lady Autumn said, and we walked again. Just a few minutes later, I saw a small mound which was covered by colorful flowers like the rest of the ground, and Spring was sleeping right on the mound, still in her green dress. We approached her and saw that there were tears on her cheeks.

"So, are you going to wake her up and apologize?" I asked.

"It's easier said than done. I can't wake her up," Summer said.

"And before you ask why, dear, waking her up can be dangerous," Lady Autumn said. "There must not be three season bringers awake at the same time. Even two is already dangerous if they are on the opposite side."

"But I saw Old Man Winter awake last summer and nothing bad happened," I said.

"He was still deep inside Gumball Bluff, that's why. Even though of that, if he had been awake longer something bad could have happened," Summer said.

"That means, you and Old Man Winter had never met with each other while awake?" I said.

"Exactly, dear. The same applies to me and Spring," Lady Autumn said. "We only can visit our counterpart while the other is sleeping."

"Pity..." I said. "So, there's no way at all to apologize to her now?"

"I'm afraid no," Summer said with a sigh.

"Oh, there is a way of course. Believe in yourself," a voice suddenly said from behind us. We looked towards the source and saw that it was Sandman.

"Sandman! Long time no see!" I said.

"Who is he?" Summer asked.

"Summer, this is Sandman. The owner of the Dream Factory in the Land of Dreams," I said.

"I heard that you have a problem because you can't sleep, so I came to you to help," Sandman said.

"Not to doubt you, but if a whole army of dream fairies couldn't help me, how can you help?" Summer asked.

"I came here not to help you sleep. I came here to help you apologize to her," Sandman replied.

"What? How?" Summer asked.

"Kneel beside her and close your eyes," Sandman said, and Summer did as instructed. Sandman then put one hand on Summer's forehead and the other hand on Spring's. He then began concentrating and his hands started to shine.

"Spring..." Summer said, still with his eyes closed.

"Summer..." Spring muttered, still fast asleep.

"I see," Lady Autumn said. "He is connecting Summer to Spring's dream. That way they can talk without waking her up."

"Smart way. Let's just hope they can get along well," I said.

We waited for a moment while hoping for a happy end. However, we were too hopeful. They started arguing over the same thing again, and in the end Summer lost his mind again that he scolded Spring.

"I hate you!" Spring shouted, although still fast asleep. Then Sandman ended his connection.

"Son, you made the same mistake again..." Lady Autumn said.

"I can't help myself. She is too stubborn," Summer said, standing up.

"Now the situation isn't getting any better," Lady Autumn said.

"Well..." I said, thinking. "When brother and sister fight, the mother will become the middleman to solve it."

"So you are saying that I should talk to Spring now?" she asked.

"Yes, because you are like a mother to both of them, so maybe you can help," I replied. "Sandman, can you connect both Summer and Lady Autumn to Spring's dream?"

"Unfortunately, no. I only have two hands you see," Sandman said. "But don't worry. Help is on the way."

"Help? Who?" Summer asked.

"I'm already here," a voice said from behind. We looked towards the source and it was PJ.

"Very well. Let's start immediately, then," Lady Autumn said.

Soon, Summer and Lady Autumn kneeled on each of Spring's side. Sandman connected Summer while PJ connected Lady Autumn. This time, nobody said or muttered anything so I didn't know what happened over there. It lasted for quite a long time until I noticed all three of them smiling, and the connection ended.

"Thanks, mom. I couldn't have done it without you," Summer said.

"You're welcome, son," Lady Autumn said. "And I thank you as well. Because of your fighting we have a chance to meet each other."

"You're welcome, mom," Summer said. "And both of us thank you too, PJ and Sandman, for what you have just done."

"It was no problem at all, dear," PJ said.

"I think we will take our leave now. I have left my factory for too long," Sandman said. "Farewell for now."

"Farewell," Lady Autumn said as the two Land of Dreams residents flew away.

"So, all ended well?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm now in good terms with Spring again. Thanks," Summer said.

"Hey, I didn't do anything," I said.

"You figured out the cause of my problem, and you also figured out how to solve it. That's why I thank you," he said.

"Well... yeah, okay. You're welcome," I said, blushing a little.

"Now that it's all over, I'm getting sleepy," he said, yawning. "I will go to my place and sleep."

"I'd like to see your place for once," I said.

"It's not much different than this field. Just replace these flowers with green grass and some trees, and you got it," he said. "I sleep on a hammock attached between two coconut trees."

"I see. Then I wish you sweet dreams," I said.

"Thanks. See you on the next summer," he said, and he flew away.

"Now that he can sleep, the weather should go back to normal soon. You have my gratitude, dear," Lady Autumn said.

"Don't mention it," I said. "I guess I will take my leave as well. I wish you luck in bringing autumn season to everyone all over the world," I said.

"Thank you dear," she said. I then spoke out my district's name to my remote and jumped into the dimension door that appeared.

--End of Chapter 29-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-52.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:52:37 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-52.html Quote:Chapter 28: Competition


Just two days after reviving the mermaids, someone came to my house while I was in the middle of making a new device. I opened the door and it turned out that the guest was Strawberry.

"Oh, hi Strawberry," I greeted, going down the ladder. "What's up?"

"Hi, Blackberry. Would you come to the Annual Nearly Twice A Yearly Strawberryland Pet Show tomorrow?" she asked.

"Umm, what...? Annual Nearly Twice A Yearly Strawberryland what...?" I asked, confused by the long name of the event.

"Pet show," she replied. "There will be berry much fun there!"

"But Strawberry, you know that I can't come. I don't have a pet," I said.

"You don't need to have one to come. Everyone's invited!" she said.

"Oh, what things will happen in this pet show?" I asked.

"Well, many things! Just come and join the fun!" she said in excitement.

"If you say so, I will be there with pleasure," I said.

"Great! See you tomorrow, then!" she said. "I'm going to invite other frinds."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," I said, and she left my place.

After she had left, I went back to my working table and continued my work. While working I kept thinking about the same event which had happened one year before. That event hadn't gone smoothly because of Peppermint's cheating spree on all other pets. However, I was sure that Peppermint had learned the lesson and hoped that this next event would be better than before. Then again, I thought about myself not being able to participate because of one simple reason. Other kids somehow had their pets without remembering how they had first met, with the exception of Strawberry's Pupcake. On the other hand, I didn't have any pet at all since the beginning. While all the questions were occupying my head, suddenly I heard something entering one window of my house.

"Huh? Who's there?" I asked, looking towards the window. I could see a shadow of a bird there.

"It's me, kid. Don't you remember me?" a voice asked back.

"Raven? It's been quite long. How do you do?" I said as he approached me.

"I'm all fine. Although, lately I feel kind of lonely. Everywhere I turn only fillies and nothing else!" he replied. "That's why I decided to come here and give a visit to one or two kids. Or maybe ten, but whatever."

"You miss your boss?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No way! He never cared about me! I remember nothing good about him! There's no way I will miss him ever!" he replied.

"I see," I said.

"By the way, you look troubled, kid. What's the matter?" he asked.

"Oh, so you noticed it," I said, then I told him about the pet show.

"I see. Okay, I will be your pet then," he said.

"Huh? Are my ears playing tricks to me?" I said, not believing what I had just heard.

"No, kid. I mean it," he said. "But only for that one day. After that, it's all over."

"Thanks! You have my gratitude!" I said. "But, what will you do there?"

"It doesn't matter, right? The show is only for fun anyway," he answered.

"Yeah, but we can't come with nothing at all to show," I said. "Do you have any special thing you can do?"

"Hmm..." he said, thinking. "I think I know something."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just wait and see, kid. But don't expect much," he said, starting to fly away out of the window he had entered. "See you tomorrow!"

"Okay, I'll be waiting!" I shouted at him from the window.

After he had gone away, I continued my work and later I finished the new device. It was not really a new device, though. What I had just done was modifying my watch so it could function as a flashlight as well. After trying it for a while in my house, I decided to call it a day for making devices and went out to walk around. My first visit was Raspberry's house, and when I arrived she was playing ball on her own. Without noticing me coming, she kicked the ball high upwards and then she jumped to attempt an overhead kick. However, her kick didn't hit the ball perfectly, resulting the ball flying slowly towards me. I caught the ball easily as she landed on the ground.

"Nice try, Raspberry," I said, approaching her.

"Oh, hi Blackberry," she greeted. "No, it's not nice. I missed."

"I won't be able to do something like that. It's a nice try if you ask me," I complimented.

"Don't flatter me. I know someone who can do much better," she said. "She can jump on a fence, do the same thing as I just did, and land on the same fence."

"Wow, who is this amazing one?" I asked, wondering.

"Orange Blossom," she replied, which was quite surprising for me. "Oh, and she can do a handstand with one hand, on a fence."

"Okay, that's... surprising," I said. "By the way, are you coming to the Annual Yearly Nearly... wait, what was it?" I said, forgetting the event's name.

"That pet show, right? I sure will," she said. "I will come with my Rhubarb."

"What will your raccoon do there if I may ask?" I asked.

"Just wait and see," she replied.

Later, I visited some other friends and their answers were pretty much the same with Raspberry. I could feel that the pet show would be much merrier because the amount of participants would be much more than the year before. I hoped that Raven would do something at least good enough not to lose shamefully.

At the next day, everybody were gathered at the center outfield of Strawberryland. The stage of the pet show had been prepared similar to the previous year, and every pet owner were sitting on the audience seats in excitement for the pet show to begin. I was among them, sitting between Peppermint and Apricot. Raven was still yet to come, making me anxious. A few minutes later, Honey Pie Pony came out to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlekids, welcome to the second ever Annual Nearly Twice A Yearly Strawberryland Pet Show! I'm Honey Pie Pony who will be the judge. And because I will be the judge..." she announced, which kept going without anyone listening much.

"Last year I just stopped her long speech, but I guess I will let it by this time," Peppermint whispered to me.

"Is this a pet show, or an oration?" Apricot whispered to me.

"...and then, how should I continue? Hmm..." Honey Pie Pony asked herself.

"If I may suggest, why don't you continue by starting the show?" a voice said from above the stage. Everyone looked towards the stage's top and realized that it was Raven.

"My oh my, isn't it our friend Raven? It's been berry berry long, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Indeed quite long, kid. Anyway, I want to ask if I'm allowed to... participate," he said.

"Why not? The more the berry merrier!" Strawberry said.

"But who's gonna be the owner?" Angel asked. "I mean, this is a pet show. There must be an owner for every pet."

"I came here for that kid, so he will be the one," Raven said, looking at me. He then flew to the back of the stage.

"Well, it looks like we have a new participant. Can someone handle the registration, or we don't need any? Anyway, let's start with Custard and Pupcake!" Honey Pie Pony announced and moved aside. Soon, Strawberry's two pets came out to the stage and performed what seemed like a folk dance, which seemed quite weird to me. But because everyone applauded when they finished I followed what the crowd was doing. Later, other pets also performed on stage.

Vanilla Icing played a trumpet.

Marmalade played a harp.

Chocolate Chipmunk moved around the stage riding a monocycle.

Shoofly Frog jumped through obstacles which had been put around the stage for his performance.

Cola performed a hide and seek game for the audiences. They were told to try to find him several times while he was hiding disguised in the background of the stage.

Cheesecake were given math questions randomly asked by the audiences, and he gave the right answer for each question by writing on a whiteboard.

Triple Ripple sang with rhytm, similar to how people do a beatboxing.

Rhubarb Raccoon performed similar to Chocolate Chipmunk, although the monocycle was replaced by a beach ball.

Sourball Skunk got nervous on stage that she accidentally let her nature as a skunk manifested, causing some pets to faint. Even some kids almost fainted because of the stench. Luckily, Ginger had a device she had named The Amazing Odor Removing Machine, which she immediately took from her house and used to clear the air from the stench.

Hopsalot Bunny and Apple Ducklin' didn't perform much other than moving around the stage.

As the pets performed their part, I got more and more anxious because Raven's turn were getting closer and closer. Although I knew that the pet show was all just for fun, I could feel that deep down in my heart I wanted to win. I really hoped that Raven would perform something impressive, but remembering his last sentence at the previous day made me feel pessimistic.

"Alright then, now we are on to the last contestant. The one and only, Raven the crow!" Honey Pie Pony announced, and then she moved aside. Raven then came out to the stage.

"Hi, kids!" Raven shouted.

"Hi, Raven!" everyone greeted back.

"Do you like stories?" he asked.

"Yes, Raven!" everyone answered.

"Good, then I will tell you a story," he said, clearing his throat. "Once upon a time, there was a pirate captain. People called him Captain Cocoberry, and he was feared by everyone!"

"Everyone?" Lemon asked.

"Yes, everyone and everywhere. On oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, swamps, even water puddles!" he said, and everyone laughed.

"He's funny!" Peppermint commented, still giggling.

"One day, while he was walking to get onboard his ship, he tripped off and fell into the water," Raven said while acting to fall down. Everyone laughed. " ''HELP! I can't swim! Someone throw a life ring!'' he yelled in panic," Raven continued, acting like a drowning person, and everyone laughed.

"A pirate captain... can't swim? Yeah right," Peppermint said, still giggling.

" ``We don't have life rings! Do you want a swimsuit?'' one sailor asked," Raven said, and everyone laughed again. The story kept going for the next few minutes with unstoppable laughing from all audiences. I hadn't ever realized that Raven was such a good story teller, especially when it came to funny stories like the one he had just told.

After Raven had done telling, everyone were given a piece of paper and pencil. Each was instructed to secretly vote on two pets that were not his/her own pet. I personally liked Cola's performance the best so I voted on him, followed by Cheesecake's performance. After everyone had done voting, Honey Pie Pony started counting secretly behind the stage. Everyone waited in excitement, except me who was waiting in anxiety. Later Honey Pie Pony came out to the stage and began speaking.

"Alright then. Now that the counting is finished, it is time to announce the winner!" she announced. "The winner is..."

There was a silence for the next seconds which felt like forever to me. Everyone waited in excitement while I could feel my heartbeat increasing. I really expected to hear Raven's name coming out from Honey Pie Pony's mouth.

"Cola Chameleon with his Hide And Seek game!" she announced. Everyone then applauded on Peppermint, gave her a handshake, and some even hugged her. However, I sat still like a statue because the fact that I hadn't won had shocked me like a huge lightning bolt.

"Thanks, everyone. And I can assure you all that this time I didn't cheat," Peppermint said.

"Then, at the second place..." Honey Pie Pony announced. "Cheesecake with his mathematic performance!"

Everyone then did the same to Blueberry as what they had done to Peppermint. The announcement felt like a second lightning bolt to me, and I still didn't move at all from my place.

"Finally, the third place..." Honey Pie Pony announced. "Kinda unbelievable, but it's Sourball Skunk! With her... unforgettable performance if I might say,"

Lemon then received the same patronage from everyone, while I still didn't move at all from my place. I couldn't believe how making a stinky air pollution could be better than a good story telling everyone had loved. I tried to convince myself that it didn't matter because the event was all just for fun, but my inner heart still refused to accept.

"Here is the list of votes!" Honey Pie Pony announced, and then Cheesecake put a piece of paper on the stage's wall. Some of the kids, including me, went to the piece of paper to see who got how many votes.

Custard and Pupcake: 1

Vanilla Icing: 1

Marmalade: 0

Chocolate Chipmunk: 2

Shoofly Frog: 1

Cola Chameleon: 6

Cheesecake: 5

Tripple Ripple Toucan: 1

Sourball Skunk: 4

Rhubarb Raccoon: 2

Hopsalot Bunny: 0

Apple Ducklin': 0

Raven The Crow: 3

"Congratulations for the winner, and for those who didn't win, better luck next time!" Honey Pie Pony announced.

"Fourth place..." I said.

"Like I said, kid. Don't expect much," Raven said.

"It's fine. Thanks for your help," I said, even though my inner heart said otherwise. And so, the day ended with me trying to hide my sorrows.



One week later, Strawberry came to my house again. This time she told me about another event named Nearly Once A Yearly Strawberryland Games. I knew some things about the event because I watched the event the year before with Eagle Eye. Like the pet show, the games didn't run smoothly because of Peppermint's cheating on all games.

"Strawberry, you know better than me that I'm not into sports," I said. "I will just lose in every games."

"It doesn't matter who wins or who loses. It's all about going out there and putting your heart into it. That's the really fun part!" she said.

"Well, to be honest... it matters for me," I said, lowering my head and leaning on the tree of my house.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know why, but it seems I have a hard time trying to be a good sport," I said. "No matter how hard I try, something from the inside wants me to win."

"That's why you should come," she said. "You can try again, and you will become one eventually."

"Are you sure? It's easier said than done for me," I said.

"Berry sure!" she said.

"You sure have confidence. Okay, I'll come and see what will happen there," I said.

"Great! See you tomorrow, then!" she said, and she left the place.

After she had left, I thought about what would happen on the next day. I could imagine myself facing humiliations for losing every single game, and once again my inner heart told me to do something to win. I didn't know why I had done what I did next, but it really happened. I made a badge-shaped device I named Superiority. The shape of the badge was like a thunder, and whenever I wore the badge it would stimulate my body, resulting an increase in my physical abilities. After making it, I doubted on using it because I would be just the same like Peppermint in the previous year if I did.

At the next day, I came to the center outfield where the event would be held, already wearing Superiority on my shirt. When I arrived most of every other kids were already there, and with their pets as well. I joined the crowd and waited for the event to start.

Shortly after, everyone have arrived so it was time to start the event. Once again, Honey Pie Pony was the judge but she didn't begin with a long speech like in the pet show. Instead, she immediately began the event after a short speech. The first game was a skateboard race, and because there were twelve contestants the game was divided into two waves, and then two winners from each wave would compete in the third wave. I got the second wave so I watched the first wave first. The participants in the first wave were Strawberry, Huck, Orange, Apricot, Blueberry, and Lemon.

"On your mark, get set... and go!" Honey Pie Pony shouted, and the race began.

"Who do you think will win?" I asked Raspberry.

"If you ask me, I bet Huck will be the first," she answered. "But I'm not sure about the second. Probably either Orange or Strawberry."

Raspberry was right. Huck left the other racers far ahead while Strawberry and Orange followed with the former slightly ahead of the latter. The rest fell behind by a lot of distance. Later Huck came out as the winner while Strawberry came out as the runner up. Orange was behind her by only a split second.

"Nice one, Huck!" I said as he came back to the crowd.

"Thanks! By the way, I haven't seen that badge before," he said, looking at Superiority.

"Oh, this is just something to lift my spirit up," I lied.

Soon, the second wave began with me having to race against Raspberry, Ginger, Angel, Rainbow, and Peppermint. I doubted, but in the end I decided to keep wearing Superiority. In my thinking even with the badge on I would still lose because I didn't know how to skate, so with it on at least I would not lose shamefully.

"On your mark, get set... and go!" Honey Pie Pony shouted, and the second wave began.

Superiority turned out to be quite better than I had thought. I could skate on the track with relative ease, and I soon got in the third position with Raspberry quite far ahead and Rainbow right in front of me. Peppermint was close behind and the rest fell behind quite far. Later Raspberry came out as the winner while I crossed the finish line side-by-side with Rainbow. There was a small debate on who got the second place.

"Well, who got the second place?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really know," Rainbow replied. "But I think it was you."

"No, I think it was you, Rainbow," I said.

"Nah, it was you, matey," she said.

"You," I said.

"No, you!" she said.

"Alright, alright. Debate's over!" Honey Pie Pony interrupted. "As the judge, I decide that..." she continued, pausing for a moment. "Both of you got the second place, so all of you will be on the third wave."

Later, the third wave had five contestants. I knew that there was no way for me to win even with Superiority because of the presence of two tough opponents, so I decided to keep wearing it and see how far I could get.

"On your mark, get set... and go!" Honey Pie Pony shouted, and the third wave began.

It was just as I had thought. Huck was far ahead with Raspberry and Strawberry following behind him. Rainbow and I fell behind quite far away, but something I hadn't been expecting happened. Raspberry and Strawberry tried to overtake Huck, but all three of them bumped to each other. As the result, Huck and Raspberry fell off from the course while Strawberry got slowed down significantly. Both I and Rainbow noticed the chance so we overtook Strawberry and once again the race between us happened. I completely forgot that I was actually cheating and gave eveything I got. I didn't look anywhere else other than front. Right before crossing the finish line I suddenly lost my balance and fell down to the ground, seeing Rainbow to overtake me. I didn't realize what had happened when I stood up, but I saw that everybody were cheering over me.

"Huh? What happened?" I asked.

"You won, that's what," Peppermint said.

"Huh? Wasn't it Rainbow?" I asked again. "I fell down, right?"

"You fell down right on the finish line, just a split second before Rainbow crossed it," Honey Pie Pony said. "And that qualified you as the winner."

"Really? It's kinda... unbelievable for me," I said, not believing.

"Yeah, you got the first place! Congratulations!" Strawberry said. I was very happy for a moment, but then I realized something.

"Thanks, everyone. But, I have to say this..." I said, lowering my head and pausing for a moment. "I don't deserve to win."

"Huh? Why not?" Angel asked.

"This badge," I said, pointing at Superiority. "It's not just for lifting my spirit up like I had said. It actually increases my abilities. I cheated..."

"What? Why did you do that?" Raspberry asked. Everyone else also seemed surprised.

"I can't do any games, I feared that I would lose shamefully in every games. So I made this just so at least I wouldn't look like a fool," I said. "But I ended up winning because of this, and that didn't feel right," I continued. There was a silence for the next few seconds. Then we heard Honey Pie Pony clearing her throat.

"Okay, according to the rulebook page 235 paragraph 4, stimulants in any kind of form are not allowed. So, as the judge I have no other choice than disqu..." she said before interrupted.

"Hold on a second!" Huck said, coming to me. "May I try that badge?"

"Huh? Well, okay..." I said, taking Superiority off from my shirt and giving it to Huck. He then put it on his vest and tried skating around. Then he attempted a few stunts on it and did them all successfully. After that, he came back to the crowd.

"Nice moves, Huck!" Orange said.

"Yeah, totally cool!" Ginger said.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Apricot said.

"Was it because of the badge?" Raspberry asked.

"Hmm, I don't think so. I usually can do those by myself, and I didn't feel any change," Huck said, taking Superiority from his vest. "I don't think this badge works if you ask me. Someone else wants to try?" He offered.

"I will," Lemon said, taking Superiority and putting it on her clothes. Then she attempted some skating moves and failed in every attempt. She then returned to the crowd. "I didn't feel any change at all."

"Hold on, stand out, let me see!" Ginger said, taking Superiority from Lemon's hand and observed it. "There it is. This is why, am I right?"

"What is it?" Strawberry asked.

"You see, this badge has a tiny little switch to turn it on and off. And now its position is off, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Oh, you're berry right!" Strawberry said, noticing the switch on the back side of the badge.

"So I have forgotten to turn it on all this time?" I said. "And that means..."

"That means you won by yourself, fair and square," Raspberry said. "Congratulations!" she continued, and everyone else applauded me as well.

"Okay, now shall we begin the next game?" Honey Pie Pony asked.

"Yes, of course," I said, putting Superiority back on my shirt without touching the switch. "This will always be my spirit lifter," I continued, and then once again the fun wonderful time began.

I still wondered though. Had I really forgotten to turn it on...? While still wondering about that, I looked at Huck and he gave me a wink.

--End of Chapter 28-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 28: Competition


Just two days after reviving the mermaids, someone came to my house while I was in the middle of making a new device. I opened the door and it turned out that the guest was Strawberry.

"Oh, hi Strawberry," I greeted, going down the ladder. "What's up?"

"Hi, Blackberry. Would you come to the Annual Nearly Twice A Yearly Strawberryland Pet Show tomorrow?" she asked.

"Umm, what...? Annual Nearly Twice A Yearly Strawberryland what...?" I asked, confused by the long name of the event.

"Pet show," she replied. "There will be berry much fun there!"

"But Strawberry, you know that I can't come. I don't have a pet," I said.

"You don't need to have one to come. Everyone's invited!" she said.

"Oh, what things will happen in this pet show?" I asked.

"Well, many things! Just come and join the fun!" she said in excitement.

"If you say so, I will be there with pleasure," I said.

"Great! See you tomorrow, then!" she said. "I'm going to invite other frinds."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," I said, and she left my place.

After she had left, I went back to my working table and continued my work. While working I kept thinking about the same event which had happened one year before. That event hadn't gone smoothly because of Peppermint's cheating spree on all other pets. However, I was sure that Peppermint had learned the lesson and hoped that this next event would be better than before. Then again, I thought about myself not being able to participate because of one simple reason. Other kids somehow had their pets without remembering how they had first met, with the exception of Strawberry's Pupcake. On the other hand, I didn't have any pet at all since the beginning. While all the questions were occupying my head, suddenly I heard something entering one window of my house.

"Huh? Who's there?" I asked, looking towards the window. I could see a shadow of a bird there.

"It's me, kid. Don't you remember me?" a voice asked back.

"Raven? It's been quite long. How do you do?" I said as he approached me.

"I'm all fine. Although, lately I feel kind of lonely. Everywhere I turn only fillies and nothing else!" he replied. "That's why I decided to come here and give a visit to one or two kids. Or maybe ten, but whatever."

"You miss your boss?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No way! He never cared about me! I remember nothing good about him! There's no way I will miss him ever!" he replied.

"I see," I said.

"By the way, you look troubled, kid. What's the matter?" he asked.

"Oh, so you noticed it," I said, then I told him about the pet show.

"I see. Okay, I will be your pet then," he said.

"Huh? Are my ears playing tricks to me?" I said, not believing what I had just heard.

"No, kid. I mean it," he said. "But only for that one day. After that, it's all over."

"Thanks! You have my gratitude!" I said. "But, what will you do there?"

"It doesn't matter, right? The show is only for fun anyway," he answered.

"Yeah, but we can't come with nothing at all to show," I said. "Do you have any special thing you can do?"

"Hmm..." he said, thinking. "I think I know something."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just wait and see, kid. But don't expect much," he said, starting to fly away out of the window he had entered. "See you tomorrow!"

"Okay, I'll be waiting!" I shouted at him from the window.

After he had gone away, I continued my work and later I finished the new device. It was not really a new device, though. What I had just done was modifying my watch so it could function as a flashlight as well. After trying it for a while in my house, I decided to call it a day for making devices and went out to walk around. My first visit was Raspberry's house, and when I arrived she was playing ball on her own. Without noticing me coming, she kicked the ball high upwards and then she jumped to attempt an overhead kick. However, her kick didn't hit the ball perfectly, resulting the ball flying slowly towards me. I caught the ball easily as she landed on the ground.

"Nice try, Raspberry," I said, approaching her.

"Oh, hi Blackberry," she greeted. "No, it's not nice. I missed."

"I won't be able to do something like that. It's a nice try if you ask me," I complimented.

"Don't flatter me. I know someone who can do much better," she said. "She can jump on a fence, do the same thing as I just did, and land on the same fence."

"Wow, who is this amazing one?" I asked, wondering.

"Orange Blossom," she replied, which was quite surprising for me. "Oh, and she can do a handstand with one hand, on a fence."

"Okay, that's... surprising," I said. "By the way, are you coming to the Annual Yearly Nearly... wait, what was it?" I said, forgetting the event's name.

"That pet show, right? I sure will," she said. "I will come with my Rhubarb."

"What will your raccoon do there if I may ask?" I asked.

"Just wait and see," she replied.

Later, I visited some other friends and their answers were pretty much the same with Raspberry. I could feel that the pet show would be much merrier because the amount of participants would be much more than the year before. I hoped that Raven would do something at least good enough not to lose shamefully.

At the next day, everybody were gathered at the center outfield of Strawberryland. The stage of the pet show had been prepared similar to the previous year, and every pet owner were sitting on the audience seats in excitement for the pet show to begin. I was among them, sitting between Peppermint and Apricot. Raven was still yet to come, making me anxious. A few minutes later, Honey Pie Pony came out to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlekids, welcome to the second ever Annual Nearly Twice A Yearly Strawberryland Pet Show! I'm Honey Pie Pony who will be the judge. And because I will be the judge..." she announced, which kept going without anyone listening much.

"Last year I just stopped her long speech, but I guess I will let it by this time," Peppermint whispered to me.

"Is this a pet show, or an oration?" Apricot whispered to me.

"...and then, how should I continue? Hmm..." Honey Pie Pony asked herself.

"If I may suggest, why don't you continue by starting the show?" a voice said from above the stage. Everyone looked towards the stage's top and realized that it was Raven.

"My oh my, isn't it our friend Raven? It's been berry berry long, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Indeed quite long, kid. Anyway, I want to ask if I'm allowed to... participate," he said.

"Why not? The more the berry merrier!" Strawberry said.

"But who's gonna be the owner?" Angel asked. "I mean, this is a pet show. There must be an owner for every pet."

"I came here for that kid, so he will be the one," Raven said, looking at me. He then flew to the back of the stage.

"Well, it looks like we have a new participant. Can someone handle the registration, or we don't need any? Anyway, let's start with Custard and Pupcake!" Honey Pie Pony announced and moved aside. Soon, Strawberry's two pets came out to the stage and performed what seemed like a folk dance, which seemed quite weird to me. But because everyone applauded when they finished I followed what the crowd was doing. Later, other pets also performed on stage.

Vanilla Icing played a trumpet.

Marmalade played a harp.

Chocolate Chipmunk moved around the stage riding a monocycle.

Shoofly Frog jumped through obstacles which had been put around the stage for his performance.

Cola performed a hide and seek game for the audiences. They were told to try to find him several times while he was hiding disguised in the background of the stage.

Cheesecake were given math questions randomly asked by the audiences, and he gave the right answer for each question by writing on a whiteboard.

Triple Ripple sang with rhytm, similar to how people do a beatboxing.

Rhubarb Raccoon performed similar to Chocolate Chipmunk, although the monocycle was replaced by a beach ball.

Sourball Skunk got nervous on stage that she accidentally let her nature as a skunk manifested, causing some pets to faint. Even some kids almost fainted because of the stench. Luckily, Ginger had a device she had named The Amazing Odor Removing Machine, which she immediately took from her house and used to clear the air from the stench.

Hopsalot Bunny and Apple Ducklin' didn't perform much other than moving around the stage.

As the pets performed their part, I got more and more anxious because Raven's turn were getting closer and closer. Although I knew that the pet show was all just for fun, I could feel that deep down in my heart I wanted to win. I really hoped that Raven would perform something impressive, but remembering his last sentence at the previous day made me feel pessimistic.

"Alright then, now we are on to the last contestant. The one and only, Raven the crow!" Honey Pie Pony announced, and then she moved aside. Raven then came out to the stage.

"Hi, kids!" Raven shouted.

"Hi, Raven!" everyone greeted back.

"Do you like stories?" he asked.

"Yes, Raven!" everyone answered.

"Good, then I will tell you a story," he said, clearing his throat. "Once upon a time, there was a pirate captain. People called him Captain Cocoberry, and he was feared by everyone!"

"Everyone?" Lemon asked.

"Yes, everyone and everywhere. On oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, swamps, even water puddles!" he said, and everyone laughed.

"He's funny!" Peppermint commented, still giggling.

"One day, while he was walking to get onboard his ship, he tripped off and fell into the water," Raven said while acting to fall down. Everyone laughed. " ''HELP! I can't swim! Someone throw a life ring!'' he yelled in panic," Raven continued, acting like a drowning person, and everyone laughed.

"A pirate captain... can't swim? Yeah right," Peppermint said, still giggling.

" ``We don't have life rings! Do you want a swimsuit?'' one sailor asked," Raven said, and everyone laughed again. The story kept going for the next few minutes with unstoppable laughing from all audiences. I hadn't ever realized that Raven was such a good story teller, especially when it came to funny stories like the one he had just told.

After Raven had done telling, everyone were given a piece of paper and pencil. Each was instructed to secretly vote on two pets that were not his/her own pet. I personally liked Cola's performance the best so I voted on him, followed by Cheesecake's performance. After everyone had done voting, Honey Pie Pony started counting secretly behind the stage. Everyone waited in excitement, except me who was waiting in anxiety. Later Honey Pie Pony came out to the stage and began speaking.

"Alright then. Now that the counting is finished, it is time to announce the winner!" she announced. "The winner is..."

There was a silence for the next seconds which felt like forever to me. Everyone waited in excitement while I could feel my heartbeat increasing. I really expected to hear Raven's name coming out from Honey Pie Pony's mouth.

"Cola Chameleon with his Hide And Seek game!" she announced. Everyone then applauded on Peppermint, gave her a handshake, and some even hugged her. However, I sat still like a statue because the fact that I hadn't won had shocked me like a huge lightning bolt.

"Thanks, everyone. And I can assure you all that this time I didn't cheat," Peppermint said.

"Then, at the second place..." Honey Pie Pony announced. "Cheesecake with his mathematic performance!"

Everyone then did the same to Blueberry as what they had done to Peppermint. The announcement felt like a second lightning bolt to me, and I still didn't move at all from my place.

"Finally, the third place..." Honey Pie Pony announced. "Kinda unbelievable, but it's Sourball Skunk! With her... unforgettable performance if I might say,"

Lemon then received the same patronage from everyone, while I still didn't move at all from my place. I couldn't believe how making a stinky air pollution could be better than a good story telling everyone had loved. I tried to convince myself that it didn't matter because the event was all just for fun, but my inner heart still refused to accept.

"Here is the list of votes!" Honey Pie Pony announced, and then Cheesecake put a piece of paper on the stage's wall. Some of the kids, including me, went to the piece of paper to see who got how many votes.

Custard and Pupcake: 1

Vanilla Icing: 1

Marmalade: 0

Chocolate Chipmunk: 2

Shoofly Frog: 1

Cola Chameleon: 6

Cheesecake: 5

Tripple Ripple Toucan: 1

Sourball Skunk: 4

Rhubarb Raccoon: 2

Hopsalot Bunny: 0

Apple Ducklin': 0

Raven The Crow: 3

"Congratulations for the winner, and for those who didn't win, better luck next time!" Honey Pie Pony announced.

"Fourth place..." I said.

"Like I said, kid. Don't expect much," Raven said.

"It's fine. Thanks for your help," I said, even though my inner heart said otherwise. And so, the day ended with me trying to hide my sorrows.



One week later, Strawberry came to my house again. This time she told me about another event named Nearly Once A Yearly Strawberryland Games. I knew some things about the event because I watched the event the year before with Eagle Eye. Like the pet show, the games didn't run smoothly because of Peppermint's cheating on all games.

"Strawberry, you know better than me that I'm not into sports," I said. "I will just lose in every games."

"It doesn't matter who wins or who loses. It's all about going out there and putting your heart into it. That's the really fun part!" she said.

"Well, to be honest... it matters for me," I said, lowering my head and leaning on the tree of my house.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know why, but it seems I have a hard time trying to be a good sport," I said. "No matter how hard I try, something from the inside wants me to win."

"That's why you should come," she said. "You can try again, and you will become one eventually."

"Are you sure? It's easier said than done for me," I said.

"Berry sure!" she said.

"You sure have confidence. Okay, I'll come and see what will happen there," I said.

"Great! See you tomorrow, then!" she said, and she left the place.

After she had left, I thought about what would happen on the next day. I could imagine myself facing humiliations for losing every single game, and once again my inner heart told me to do something to win. I didn't know why I had done what I did next, but it really happened. I made a badge-shaped device I named Superiority. The shape of the badge was like a thunder, and whenever I wore the badge it would stimulate my body, resulting an increase in my physical abilities. After making it, I doubted on using it because I would be just the same like Peppermint in the previous year if I did.

At the next day, I came to the center outfield where the event would be held, already wearing Superiority on my shirt. When I arrived most of every other kids were already there, and with their pets as well. I joined the crowd and waited for the event to start.

Shortly after, everyone have arrived so it was time to start the event. Once again, Honey Pie Pony was the judge but she didn't begin with a long speech like in the pet show. Instead, she immediately began the event after a short speech. The first game was a skateboard race, and because there were twelve contestants the game was divided into two waves, and then two winners from each wave would compete in the third wave. I got the second wave so I watched the first wave first. The participants in the first wave were Strawberry, Huck, Orange, Apricot, Blueberry, and Lemon.

"On your mark, get set... and go!" Honey Pie Pony shouted, and the race began.

"Who do you think will win?" I asked Raspberry.

"If you ask me, I bet Huck will be the first," she answered. "But I'm not sure about the second. Probably either Orange or Strawberry."

Raspberry was right. Huck left the other racers far ahead while Strawberry and Orange followed with the former slightly ahead of the latter. The rest fell behind by a lot of distance. Later Huck came out as the winner while Strawberry came out as the runner up. Orange was behind her by only a split second.

"Nice one, Huck!" I said as he came back to the crowd.

"Thanks! By the way, I haven't seen that badge before," he said, looking at Superiority.

"Oh, this is just something to lift my spirit up," I lied.

Soon, the second wave began with me having to race against Raspberry, Ginger, Angel, Rainbow, and Peppermint. I doubted, but in the end I decided to keep wearing Superiority. In my thinking even with the badge on I would still lose because I didn't know how to skate, so with it on at least I would not lose shamefully.

"On your mark, get set... and go!" Honey Pie Pony shouted, and the second wave began.

Superiority turned out to be quite better than I had thought. I could skate on the track with relative ease, and I soon got in the third position with Raspberry quite far ahead and Rainbow right in front of me. Peppermint was close behind and the rest fell behind quite far. Later Raspberry came out as the winner while I crossed the finish line side-by-side with Rainbow. There was a small debate on who got the second place.

"Well, who got the second place?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really know," Rainbow replied. "But I think it was you."

"No, I think it was you, Rainbow," I said.

"Nah, it was you, matey," she said.

"You," I said.

"No, you!" she said.

"Alright, alright. Debate's over!" Honey Pie Pony interrupted. "As the judge, I decide that..." she continued, pausing for a moment. "Both of you got the second place, so all of you will be on the third wave."

Later, the third wave had five contestants. I knew that there was no way for me to win even with Superiority because of the presence of two tough opponents, so I decided to keep wearing it and see how far I could get.

"On your mark, get set... and go!" Honey Pie Pony shouted, and the third wave began.

It was just as I had thought. Huck was far ahead with Raspberry and Strawberry following behind him. Rainbow and I fell behind quite far away, but something I hadn't been expecting happened. Raspberry and Strawberry tried to overtake Huck, but all three of them bumped to each other. As the result, Huck and Raspberry fell off from the course while Strawberry got slowed down significantly. Both I and Rainbow noticed the chance so we overtook Strawberry and once again the race between us happened. I completely forgot that I was actually cheating and gave eveything I got. I didn't look anywhere else other than front. Right before crossing the finish line I suddenly lost my balance and fell down to the ground, seeing Rainbow to overtake me. I didn't realize what had happened when I stood up, but I saw that everybody were cheering over me.

"Huh? What happened?" I asked.

"You won, that's what," Peppermint said.

"Huh? Wasn't it Rainbow?" I asked again. "I fell down, right?"

"You fell down right on the finish line, just a split second before Rainbow crossed it," Honey Pie Pony said. "And that qualified you as the winner."

"Really? It's kinda... unbelievable for me," I said, not believing.

"Yeah, you got the first place! Congratulations!" Strawberry said. I was very happy for a moment, but then I realized something.

"Thanks, everyone. But, I have to say this..." I said, lowering my head and pausing for a moment. "I don't deserve to win."

"Huh? Why not?" Angel asked.

"This badge," I said, pointing at Superiority. "It's not just for lifting my spirit up like I had said. It actually increases my abilities. I cheated..."

"What? Why did you do that?" Raspberry asked. Everyone else also seemed surprised.

"I can't do any games, I feared that I would lose shamefully in every games. So I made this just so at least I wouldn't look like a fool," I said. "But I ended up winning because of this, and that didn't feel right," I continued. There was a silence for the next few seconds. Then we heard Honey Pie Pony clearing her throat.

"Okay, according to the rulebook page 235 paragraph 4, stimulants in any kind of form are not allowed. So, as the judge I have no other choice than disqu..." she said before interrupted.

"Hold on a second!" Huck said, coming to me. "May I try that badge?"

"Huh? Well, okay..." I said, taking Superiority off from my shirt and giving it to Huck. He then put it on his vest and tried skating around. Then he attempted a few stunts on it and did them all successfully. After that, he came back to the crowd.

"Nice moves, Huck!" Orange said.

"Yeah, totally cool!" Ginger said.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Apricot said.

"Was it because of the badge?" Raspberry asked.

"Hmm, I don't think so. I usually can do those by myself, and I didn't feel any change," Huck said, taking Superiority from his vest. "I don't think this badge works if you ask me. Someone else wants to try?" He offered.

"I will," Lemon said, taking Superiority and putting it on her clothes. Then she attempted some skating moves and failed in every attempt. She then returned to the crowd. "I didn't feel any change at all."

"Hold on, stand out, let me see!" Ginger said, taking Superiority from Lemon's hand and observed it. "There it is. This is why, am I right?"

"What is it?" Strawberry asked.

"You see, this badge has a tiny little switch to turn it on and off. And now its position is off, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Oh, you're berry right!" Strawberry said, noticing the switch on the back side of the badge.

"So I have forgotten to turn it on all this time?" I said. "And that means..."

"That means you won by yourself, fair and square," Raspberry said. "Congratulations!" she continued, and everyone else applauded me as well.

"Okay, now shall we begin the next game?" Honey Pie Pony asked.

"Yes, of course," I said, putting Superiority back on my shirt without touching the switch. "This will always be my spirit lifter," I continued, and then once again the fun wonderful time began.

I still wondered though. Had I really forgotten to turn it on...? While still wondering about that, I looked at Huck and he gave me a wink.

--End of Chapter 28-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-51.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:49:00 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-51.html Quote:Chapter 27: The Untold Legend of The Lost Treasure


As the five mermaids left the sea serpent and her group, a shadowy creature secretly watched them from high above. Nobody seemed to realize the presence of the creature as it slowly descended down to the latter group.

"I should have realized it from the beginning..." the creature said with low voice. It continued to come closer to the group, and the sea serpent turned her head.

"Oh, you! No, don't come here! Please don't!" the serpent said with fear. The fishes around her also became afraid that all of them ran away leaving her alone.

"You know what you will get for getting in the way of my ambition..." the creature said, coming closer to the serpent.

"NO...!!!" the serpent screamed in agony, but there was nobody to hear it.

At a quite far distance, the group of five mermaids were swimming together in joy of having successfully reunited as friends they had been before. Because the day almost ended, they intended to go back to their homes and sleep. However, suddenly Strawberry stopped and looked back.

"What't the matter, Strawberry?" Coco asked.

"I don't know. I felt like I heard a scream," Strawberry replied.

"I didn't hear anything," Rainbow said.

"Me too," Seaberry said.

"Absoloo-tely nothing at all," Blueberry said.

"Maybe you just imagined it?" Coco said.

"Yeah, maybe it was just my imagination..." Strawberry said.

The group then continued to swim, but that didn't last long because suddenly a big red fish they recognized as one of the sea serpent's underlings came to their front and stopped them. Its face showed great fear.

"What happened?" Seaberry asked the fish, then the fish replied in a language only she could understood. After hearing those, Seaberry got surprised and started to leak tears as the fish left the group.

"What did he say?" Strawberry said.

"No... That can't be..." Seaberry said, lowering her head.

"What happened?" Coco asked.

"Something really bad?" Rainbow asked.

"We won't know if you don't tell us," Blueberry said.

"The sea serpent..." Seaberry said, pausing for a moment. "She died..."

"What?! How could that happened?" Coco asked in surprise as the rest became as surprised as her.

"Not long after we left her, she got attacked by a sea gorgon," Seaberry replied.

"Sea gorgon?" Strawberry asked.

"I thought sea gorgon is just a legend," Blueberry said.

"You know about it?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, a sea gorgon is a horrible creature. It looks just like us mermaids, but the lower part of the body is more like a snake. Snakes cover its head like hair, and any creature who look at its eyes will become stone," Blueberry replied.

"How horrible..." Coco said.

"Let's go back and help," Strawberry said.

"No! We have no chance at all against a horrible creature like that!" Rainbow said.

"Yeah, and he told us those because he didn't want us to come back there only to run into trouble!" Seaberry said.

"We can try to do something or go home and wait until the sea gorgon come into our home. What's your choice?" Strawberry said.

The last sentence Strawberry had said seemed to struck the other mermaids right into their heart. They fell into complete silence for a few moments until Rainbow spoke out.

"You're right, Strawberry. Let's go back there," Rainbow said.

"Yeah, count me in too," Coco said. Blueberry and Seaberry stayed in silence.

"How about the others?" Strawberry asked, looking at the two.

"Well..." Blueberry said, pausing for a moment. "I'd like to see a living legend for once. I'll go with you."

"I..." Seaberry said, pausing briefly. "I'll go too. You were right, Strawberry."

After everything had been settled, the five mermaids went back to the place where they had left the sea serpent. Once they arrived there, they saw a shattered stone statue of the sea serpent on open field. The face part of the statue showed a sign of great fear.

"No... Why should this happen to you...?" Strawberry said, leaking tears.

"Blueberry, do you know any way to get her back?" Coco asked.

"Well..." Blueberry replied, pausing briefly. "The only way to dispel it is by killing the sea gorgon. However, the statue has been destroyed so it will be of no use..."

"Indeed..." suddenly a heavy voice said from behind the mermaids. "Killing me is the only way to dispel my stone gaze, but that will never happen!" the voice continued, followed by an evil laughter.

"Oh no! Run away and don't look back!" Blueberry shouted, and all the mermaids did what she had told them. However, some snakes from the sea gorgon's hair quickly elongated and bound the tail of all the mermaids. Then they were dragged closer to the sea gorgon. They covered their eyes with their hands to prevent themselves from being turned into stone, but they knew that the situation was hopeless.

"Relax, little mermaids. I won't turn you into stone just yet," the sea gorgon said.

"What do you want from us?" Coco asked, still covering her eyes.

"The Lost Treasure. That's what I want," the sea gorgon answered. "By the way, can't you just look at me?! You all are covering your eyes and I take that as an insult!"

"But we will turn into stone if we don't do this," Rainbow said, still covering her eyes.

"Heh, that will happen only if I use my stone gaze, which I don't right now. Now open your eyes and see me! Or, would you rather being eaten by my snakes instead?" the sea gorgon threatened.

All mermaids took the message and slowly opened their eyes. Then they looked towards the sea gorgon. The size of the sea gorgon was quite larger than the sea serpent, and indeed its traits followed the description Blueberry had said. They looked at the sea gorgon's face, which was like a beautiful lady. But the beauty on her face was defeated by her pale blue skin, snakes on her head, and the gaze of her eyes which felt very evil. None of the mermaids were turned into stone after looking at her eyes so they knew that the sea gorgon hadn't lied about her ability.

"You said The Lost Treasure? Those sand dollar?" Blueberry asked.

"Not exactly, dear. The real Lost Treasure is more than just those silly gold coins. But indeed for now I want you all to gather those gold right here," the sea gorgon said.

"But most of them were lost in a sea quake," Seaberry said.

"I know. That's why I want you to work hard for me and gather EVERY SINGLE piece of the remaining ones!" the sea gorgon said, followed by her evil laughter.

And so, all the five mermaids were forced to gather the remaining pieces of gold coins. Some snakes from the sea gorgon's head had been separated from the sea gorgon to watch over the mermaids. As the five mermaids gathered the gold, the snakes swam around the area while occasionally gazing at the mermaids.

"Now we're back into this situation. Only that now the watchers are snakes," Blueberry said.

"And it all thanks to someone who somehow convinced us to run into this trouble," Rainbow said with upset face.

Strawberry heard what they had said, but she kept herself silent. While still gathering the gold, she kept thinking of a plan to defeat the sea gorgon. Everytime she picked up a gold coin, she saw a reflection of herself and that gave her an idea. However, she still couldn't think of a good way to pull it off so she kept silent and continued working.

The work took three days until all the remaining gold coins were gathered in front of the sea gorgon. During those three days the mermaids were only allowed for little rest, so they were quite exhausted. As the mermaids brought the treasure chest taken from the castle where the sea serpent kept her last gold, the sea gorgon waited with evil smile on her face.

"Here it is. The last of the gold," Coco said as they came close to the sea gorgon and put the chest on the pile of gold in front of her.

"Well done, my dears. Now that you have completed your work, I no longer have any need on you," the sea gorgon said, then the five watch snakes quickly bound them. Their hands were still free, but they couldn't move away from their position.

"What are you going to do to us?" Seaberry asked.

"I will just turn you into stone with my stone gaze!" the sea gorgon said. "However, I'm not someone without gratitude. I will let you see the real Lost Treasure before turning you all into stone," she continued, followed by her evil laughter.

After finishing her laughter, the sea gorgon started to concentrate with her hands put towards the pile of gold. The snakes on her head seemed to understand what she was doing, and they all gazed at the gold. There was a silence for the next few seconds, and then the gorgon's hands started to shine. The pile of gold also started to shine brighter than before. The sea gorgon then slowly lifted her hands, and then the mermaids saw that slowly the light of the gold started to separate from the coins. One minute later the golden light were completely separated from the pile of gold coins, which have lost their golden color and looked more like they were made from sand.

"This is much less than I expected, but it should be still enough," the sea gorgon said, looking at the golden light. Then, she concentrated once more and the golden light started to shrink. It kept shrinking until it finally disappeared, leaving an object behind which looked like a small crystal with gold color. The sea gorgon then took the crystal with smile of satisfaction.

"Is that the real Lost Treasure?" Blueberry asked.

"That tiny crystal?" Rainbow said.

"Indeed, my dears. This crystal contains incredible magical power. With this the world will be mine!" the sea gorgon said, followed by her evil laughter.

"We're done for..." Coco said.

"Now I will start by turning you all into stone," the sea gorgon said, looking at the five mermaids. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again. Lights came out from her eyes towards the five mermaids.

"Goodbye, dears!" she said, but at the last second each mermaid took a gold coin which she had been hiding in her dress and held it towards the sea gorgon. All of them ended up petrified along with the coin each of them held, but the coin managed to reflect some light back to the sea gorgon.

"No! Curse you, mermaids!" the sea gorgon shouted as her body slowly turned into stone. "You have ruined my ambition! That's it! I will put my final curse into all of you! You all will remain as stone forever even after I die!"

After saying those, the sea gorgon casted her magic upon the five stone statues. Right after finishing the magic, the sea gorgon screamed in agony and her body completely turned into stone. Its petrified body then fell to the side and hit a rock, resulting it being shattered into pieces. The snake which bound the statues of the mermaids disintegrated right at the same time, and then the statues fell into the ground still intact.

Not long after, a lot of fishes including the sea serpent's underlings came. After realizing what had happened, they all mourned over the mermaid statues.

After all were done mourning, it was decided that the five statues of the mermaids would be preserved on the spot as memorials. For evermore, all sea dwellers would never forget the sacrifice of the mermaids.

--The End--



After I finished reading the untold part, I began to understand why Seaberry didn't want to tell that untold part. Even though it was quite a happy ending in general, for the five main characters the ending was not happy at all because they had ended up stuck in stone forever. Not to mention that the sea serpent had died not long after reforming. I then realized that it was already over bedtime after I had finished reading the book. I then put the book into my bookshelf and went to sleep.

At the next day I decided to visit Seaberry at her house to talk a little bit about that legend. So, after having breakfast I immediately got onboard Falcon and flew it towards Seaberry Shore. Once I arrived there I switched Falcon into underwater mode and let it to slowly descend down into the water. After I was completely underwater I piloted Falcon towards the cave where Seaberry's house was located. However, on the way I noticed Seaberry feeding seaberries to sea sweeties. She also noticed me, so with my hand movements I told her about visiting her house. She seemed to understand it perfectly and began to swim towards the cave. While on the way I wondered how Seaberry could hold her breath that long, but I decided to put that aside.

Soon after, both of us arrived right inside the cave. Seaberry welcomed me warmly and then we entered the house.

"So, what happened that you came here?" she asked.

"Well, I have read the whole book," I replied. "And now I understand why you didn't want to tell the untold part."

After I had said those, there was a few seconds of silence and Seaberry lowered her head.

"Is there something wrong? I mean, it's just a... legend, right?" I asked.

"Actually, there is something more to the legend," she said.

"Huh? What is it?" I asked.

"Come with me. I will show you," she said, walking away.

I then followed Seaberry outside her house. She then walked to the stairs behind her house which I had actually been wondering about but I had forgotten to ask. Both of us then climbed the stairs for a few minutes until we reached a door at the end of the path. The door had no handle, keyhole, or such, but I noticed an insertion at its center which looked like a group of sea shells. Seaberry then took her hair ornament and put it into the insertion. The hair ornament perfectly matched the shape of the insertion, and then the door opened inwards. Seaberry then took her hair ornament back from the door.

"Come inside," she said, putting her hair ornament back on her head.

I then entered the room behind the door, which seemed not so spacious at the first sight. However, I couldn't believe what I saw next. In that room I saw statues of five mermaids put in line, and all of them looked exactly like the friends I knew. Their positions were also the same as described in the legend: holding a stone sand dollar in front.

"The... mermaids? So that means..." I said, looking at Seaberry.

"I found these statues while swimming around, and I brought them here into my storage room with the help of my fish friends. And yeah, the legend is true," Seaberry said.

I then observed all the statues of the mermaids. All of them had petrified tears on their cheeks, and I could feel their deep sorrows and frights. Looking at all those made me feel very bad about them.

"Is there any way, to get them back?" I asked.

"You know it yourself, Blackberry. The curse will stay forever and nobody can change that," she replied. I then began thinking for a while until an unsure idea came to my mind.

"The crystal," I said. "The crystal has an enormous magical power. Maybe, just maybe, it can dispel the curse."

"You mean the Lost Treasure?" Seaberry asked. "But Blackberry, that crystal has been lost for long. There's no way we can find it again."

"I know. But still..." I said, looking at the five statues. "I wish I could do anything to get them back. They didn't do anything to deserve something like this..."

As I said those, I started to leak tears. I then wiped them immediately because it felt embarassing for a boy like me to cry.

"Ah, sorry. I don't know why I became a crybaby just now," I said.

"Blackberry..." Seaberry said, pausing for a moment. "Actually, there is something that might work."

"Huh? What is it?" I asked.

Seaberry then took her hair ornament off from her head. Then, she took something from the inside of one of the sea shells. It was an oval teal stone which emitted light of the same color.

"This is Cerulean Lapis, a magical stone. Of course this is not as powerful as the Lost Treasure, but this might still be able to dispel the curse," she said.

"You have something like that? Why didn't you use it from the beginning?" I asked.

"I believe you remember about what you asked two days ago, right?" she asked back. "About my differences."

"I remember of course," I replied, then I realized something. "Hey, did you mean...?"

"Yeah, by having this stone in my hair ornament, I can see well underwater, and I even can breathe underwater," she said, lowering her head. "If I use this to free them, it probably will vanish and I will not be able to see my fish friends. I even won't be able to leave this cave..."

"Oh..." I said, running out of words. There was a silence for the next few seconds.

"But... now I realize that it was just a selfish reason. They sacrificed themselves for others, why shouldn't I sacrifice this little stone for them?" she said, looking at the Cerulean Lapis.

"seaberry..." I said, and suddenly the Cerulean Lapis shined its teal light brighter than before. It then floated away from Seaberry's hands towards the five statues.

"What happened?" I asked, moving away from the statues.

"I don't know. I have no idea," she replied.

After the Cerulean Lapis had been right in front of the five statues, it shined even brighter that our eyes were blinded by its light. We could barely see anything under the blinding light, but we still could see that it started to crack and the crack quickly spread all over the small stone. Soon, the Cerulean Lapis shattered, but the next thing we saw was a shining gold crystal revealed under the shattered stone.

"A gold crystal...?" I said. "Don't tell me it's..."

"That can't be... the Lost Treasure? I have been carrying it all this time?" Seaberry said.

While we were still wondering, the gold crystal floated closer to the five mermaids and shined even brighter to the point that we had to cover our eyes with our hands. That kept going for the next few seconds until we felt that the light had faded slightly. We then opened our eyes only to see that the five statues had disappeared while the crystal was still there. The crystal then floated out from the storage room.

"Let's follow it," I said, running towards the door. Seaberry soon followed.

Both of us followed the shining crystal all the way to the water surface where I had parked Falcon. The crystal stopped above the water surface and then it once again shined so bright that we had to cover our eyes again. Once the light slightly faded, we opened our eyes and saw the five mermaids on the water surface, de-petrified, alive, and well. The crystal then slowly floated back to Seaberry's hands and completely faded its light.

"We're... back?" mermaid Blueberry asked, looking around her body.

"It seems so," mermaid Rainbow said.

"The sea gorgon's curse has been dispelled?" mermaid Coco asked.

"So that's the power of the Lost Treasure..." mermaid Seaberry said.

"Thank you berry much for bringing us back!" mermaid Strawberry said to us.

"No, it wasn't us. It was this crystal all by itself," Seaberry replied.

"We didn't do anything at all," I said.

"But still, we are grateful to be back," mermaid Blueberry said.

"Come play with us sometime," mermaid Coco said.

"I'd be happy to," Seaberry said, pausing for a moment. "Although, I don't know if I can," she continued, looking at the crystal in her hands which had almost completely lost its light.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" mermaid Strawberry asked, then Seaberry answered by telling about how the Lost Treasure, which somehow had been disguised as Cerulean Lapis, had enabled her to see and breathe underwater.

"Now that it almost lost its power, I don't know if I can do that anymore," she ended her speech.

"Hmm..." mermaid Strawberry said, thinking for a moment. "Maybe this can work," she continued, showing a golden sand dollar she had been holding.

"Oh, a golden sand dollar! That seems worth a try," I said.

"Let's try it then," Seaberry said.

All the mermaids then gave their golden sand dollar to me. I then held the five coins close to the crystal in Seaberry's hands. At first nothing happened, but slowly I noticed that the crystal started to absorb the gold color from the coins. Soon, the gold color was completely removed from the coins leaving them to become regular sand dollar, while the crystal started to shine and float from Seaberry's hands. There was a short moment of blinding lights, and when we regained our vision we noticed that the Lost Treasure had once again become a Cerulean Lapis.

"Oh, my Cerulean Lapis!" Seaberry said in excitement. The stone then floated back into Seaberry's hands and she put it into her hair ornament. Then she jumped down into the water and came back a few seconds later. "It works! Thank you very much!"

"I'm berry happy for you," mermaid Strawbery said.

Later, the five mermaids left the place to start their new life. I was glad that all had ended well for everyone. The mermaids had been given a second life while Seaberry hadn't lost her precious magic stone. Because there was nothing more to do, I decided to go home. After saying goodbye to Seaberry, I got on Falcon and departed back to Blackberry Bushes, my home sweet home.

Although, I still felt sorry for the sea serpent who died just after reforming...

--End of Chapter 27-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 27: The Untold Legend of The Lost Treasure


As the five mermaids left the sea serpent and her group, a shadowy creature secretly watched them from high above. Nobody seemed to realize the presence of the creature as it slowly descended down to the latter group.

"I should have realized it from the beginning..." the creature said with low voice. It continued to come closer to the group, and the sea serpent turned her head.

"Oh, you! No, don't come here! Please don't!" the serpent said with fear. The fishes around her also became afraid that all of them ran away leaving her alone.

"You know what you will get for getting in the way of my ambition..." the creature said, coming closer to the serpent.

"NO...!!!" the serpent screamed in agony, but there was nobody to hear it.

At a quite far distance, the group of five mermaids were swimming together in joy of having successfully reunited as friends they had been before. Because the day almost ended, they intended to go back to their homes and sleep. However, suddenly Strawberry stopped and looked back.

"What't the matter, Strawberry?" Coco asked.

"I don't know. I felt like I heard a scream," Strawberry replied.

"I didn't hear anything," Rainbow said.

"Me too," Seaberry said.

"Absoloo-tely nothing at all," Blueberry said.

"Maybe you just imagined it?" Coco said.

"Yeah, maybe it was just my imagination..." Strawberry said.

The group then continued to swim, but that didn't last long because suddenly a big red fish they recognized as one of the sea serpent's underlings came to their front and stopped them. Its face showed great fear.

"What happened?" Seaberry asked the fish, then the fish replied in a language only she could understood. After hearing those, Seaberry got surprised and started to leak tears as the fish left the group.

"What did he say?" Strawberry said.

"No... That can't be..." Seaberry said, lowering her head.

"What happened?" Coco asked.

"Something really bad?" Rainbow asked.

"We won't know if you don't tell us," Blueberry said.

"The sea serpent..." Seaberry said, pausing for a moment. "She died..."

"What?! How could that happened?" Coco asked in surprise as the rest became as surprised as her.

"Not long after we left her, she got attacked by a sea gorgon," Seaberry replied.

"Sea gorgon?" Strawberry asked.

"I thought sea gorgon is just a legend," Blueberry said.

"You know about it?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, a sea gorgon is a horrible creature. It looks just like us mermaids, but the lower part of the body is more like a snake. Snakes cover its head like hair, and any creature who look at its eyes will become stone," Blueberry replied.

"How horrible..." Coco said.

"Let's go back and help," Strawberry said.

"No! We have no chance at all against a horrible creature like that!" Rainbow said.

"Yeah, and he told us those because he didn't want us to come back there only to run into trouble!" Seaberry said.

"We can try to do something or go home and wait until the sea gorgon come into our home. What's your choice?" Strawberry said.

The last sentence Strawberry had said seemed to struck the other mermaids right into their heart. They fell into complete silence for a few moments until Rainbow spoke out.

"You're right, Strawberry. Let's go back there," Rainbow said.

"Yeah, count me in too," Coco said. Blueberry and Seaberry stayed in silence.

"How about the others?" Strawberry asked, looking at the two.

"Well..." Blueberry said, pausing for a moment. "I'd like to see a living legend for once. I'll go with you."

"I..." Seaberry said, pausing briefly. "I'll go too. You were right, Strawberry."

After everything had been settled, the five mermaids went back to the place where they had left the sea serpent. Once they arrived there, they saw a shattered stone statue of the sea serpent on open field. The face part of the statue showed a sign of great fear.

"No... Why should this happen to you...?" Strawberry said, leaking tears.

"Blueberry, do you know any way to get her back?" Coco asked.

"Well..." Blueberry replied, pausing briefly. "The only way to dispel it is by killing the sea gorgon. However, the statue has been destroyed so it will be of no use..."

"Indeed..." suddenly a heavy voice said from behind the mermaids. "Killing me is the only way to dispel my stone gaze, but that will never happen!" the voice continued, followed by an evil laughter.

"Oh no! Run away and don't look back!" Blueberry shouted, and all the mermaids did what she had told them. However, some snakes from the sea gorgon's hair quickly elongated and bound the tail of all the mermaids. Then they were dragged closer to the sea gorgon. They covered their eyes with their hands to prevent themselves from being turned into stone, but they knew that the situation was hopeless.

"Relax, little mermaids. I won't turn you into stone just yet," the sea gorgon said.

"What do you want from us?" Coco asked, still covering her eyes.

"The Lost Treasure. That's what I want," the sea gorgon answered. "By the way, can't you just look at me?! You all are covering your eyes and I take that as an insult!"

"But we will turn into stone if we don't do this," Rainbow said, still covering her eyes.

"Heh, that will happen only if I use my stone gaze, which I don't right now. Now open your eyes and see me! Or, would you rather being eaten by my snakes instead?" the sea gorgon threatened.

All mermaids took the message and slowly opened their eyes. Then they looked towards the sea gorgon. The size of the sea gorgon was quite larger than the sea serpent, and indeed its traits followed the description Blueberry had said. They looked at the sea gorgon's face, which was like a beautiful lady. But the beauty on her face was defeated by her pale blue skin, snakes on her head, and the gaze of her eyes which felt very evil. None of the mermaids were turned into stone after looking at her eyes so they knew that the sea gorgon hadn't lied about her ability.

"You said The Lost Treasure? Those sand dollar?" Blueberry asked.

"Not exactly, dear. The real Lost Treasure is more than just those silly gold coins. But indeed for now I want you all to gather those gold right here," the sea gorgon said.

"But most of them were lost in a sea quake," Seaberry said.

"I know. That's why I want you to work hard for me and gather EVERY SINGLE piece of the remaining ones!" the sea gorgon said, followed by her evil laughter.

And so, all the five mermaids were forced to gather the remaining pieces of gold coins. Some snakes from the sea gorgon's head had been separated from the sea gorgon to watch over the mermaids. As the five mermaids gathered the gold, the snakes swam around the area while occasionally gazing at the mermaids.

"Now we're back into this situation. Only that now the watchers are snakes," Blueberry said.

"And it all thanks to someone who somehow convinced us to run into this trouble," Rainbow said with upset face.

Strawberry heard what they had said, but she kept herself silent. While still gathering the gold, she kept thinking of a plan to defeat the sea gorgon. Everytime she picked up a gold coin, she saw a reflection of herself and that gave her an idea. However, she still couldn't think of a good way to pull it off so she kept silent and continued working.

The work took three days until all the remaining gold coins were gathered in front of the sea gorgon. During those three days the mermaids were only allowed for little rest, so they were quite exhausted. As the mermaids brought the treasure chest taken from the castle where the sea serpent kept her last gold, the sea gorgon waited with evil smile on her face.

"Here it is. The last of the gold," Coco said as they came close to the sea gorgon and put the chest on the pile of gold in front of her.

"Well done, my dears. Now that you have completed your work, I no longer have any need on you," the sea gorgon said, then the five watch snakes quickly bound them. Their hands were still free, but they couldn't move away from their position.

"What are you going to do to us?" Seaberry asked.

"I will just turn you into stone with my stone gaze!" the sea gorgon said. "However, I'm not someone without gratitude. I will let you see the real Lost Treasure before turning you all into stone," she continued, followed by her evil laughter.

After finishing her laughter, the sea gorgon started to concentrate with her hands put towards the pile of gold. The snakes on her head seemed to understand what she was doing, and they all gazed at the gold. There was a silence for the next few seconds, and then the gorgon's hands started to shine. The pile of gold also started to shine brighter than before. The sea gorgon then slowly lifted her hands, and then the mermaids saw that slowly the light of the gold started to separate from the coins. One minute later the golden light were completely separated from the pile of gold coins, which have lost their golden color and looked more like they were made from sand.

"This is much less than I expected, but it should be still enough," the sea gorgon said, looking at the golden light. Then, she concentrated once more and the golden light started to shrink. It kept shrinking until it finally disappeared, leaving an object behind which looked like a small crystal with gold color. The sea gorgon then took the crystal with smile of satisfaction.

"Is that the real Lost Treasure?" Blueberry asked.

"That tiny crystal?" Rainbow said.

"Indeed, my dears. This crystal contains incredible magical power. With this the world will be mine!" the sea gorgon said, followed by her evil laughter.

"We're done for..." Coco said.

"Now I will start by turning you all into stone," the sea gorgon said, looking at the five mermaids. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again. Lights came out from her eyes towards the five mermaids.

"Goodbye, dears!" she said, but at the last second each mermaid took a gold coin which she had been hiding in her dress and held it towards the sea gorgon. All of them ended up petrified along with the coin each of them held, but the coin managed to reflect some light back to the sea gorgon.

"No! Curse you, mermaids!" the sea gorgon shouted as her body slowly turned into stone. "You have ruined my ambition! That's it! I will put my final curse into all of you! You all will remain as stone forever even after I die!"

After saying those, the sea gorgon casted her magic upon the five stone statues. Right after finishing the magic, the sea gorgon screamed in agony and her body completely turned into stone. Its petrified body then fell to the side and hit a rock, resulting it being shattered into pieces. The snake which bound the statues of the mermaids disintegrated right at the same time, and then the statues fell into the ground still intact.

Not long after, a lot of fishes including the sea serpent's underlings came. After realizing what had happened, they all mourned over the mermaid statues.

After all were done mourning, it was decided that the five statues of the mermaids would be preserved on the spot as memorials. For evermore, all sea dwellers would never forget the sacrifice of the mermaids.

--The End--



After I finished reading the untold part, I began to understand why Seaberry didn't want to tell that untold part. Even though it was quite a happy ending in general, for the five main characters the ending was not happy at all because they had ended up stuck in stone forever. Not to mention that the sea serpent had died not long after reforming. I then realized that it was already over bedtime after I had finished reading the book. I then put the book into my bookshelf and went to sleep.

At the next day I decided to visit Seaberry at her house to talk a little bit about that legend. So, after having breakfast I immediately got onboard Falcon and flew it towards Seaberry Shore. Once I arrived there I switched Falcon into underwater mode and let it to slowly descend down into the water. After I was completely underwater I piloted Falcon towards the cave where Seaberry's house was located. However, on the way I noticed Seaberry feeding seaberries to sea sweeties. She also noticed me, so with my hand movements I told her about visiting her house. She seemed to understand it perfectly and began to swim towards the cave. While on the way I wondered how Seaberry could hold her breath that long, but I decided to put that aside.

Soon after, both of us arrived right inside the cave. Seaberry welcomed me warmly and then we entered the house.

"So, what happened that you came here?" she asked.

"Well, I have read the whole book," I replied. "And now I understand why you didn't want to tell the untold part."

After I had said those, there was a few seconds of silence and Seaberry lowered her head.

"Is there something wrong? I mean, it's just a... legend, right?" I asked.

"Actually, there is something more to the legend," she said.

"Huh? What is it?" I asked.

"Come with me. I will show you," she said, walking away.

I then followed Seaberry outside her house. She then walked to the stairs behind her house which I had actually been wondering about but I had forgotten to ask. Both of us then climbed the stairs for a few minutes until we reached a door at the end of the path. The door had no handle, keyhole, or such, but I noticed an insertion at its center which looked like a group of sea shells. Seaberry then took her hair ornament and put it into the insertion. The hair ornament perfectly matched the shape of the insertion, and then the door opened inwards. Seaberry then took her hair ornament back from the door.

"Come inside," she said, putting her hair ornament back on her head.

I then entered the room behind the door, which seemed not so spacious at the first sight. However, I couldn't believe what I saw next. In that room I saw statues of five mermaids put in line, and all of them looked exactly like the friends I knew. Their positions were also the same as described in the legend: holding a stone sand dollar in front.

"The... mermaids? So that means..." I said, looking at Seaberry.

"I found these statues while swimming around, and I brought them here into my storage room with the help of my fish friends. And yeah, the legend is true," Seaberry said.

I then observed all the statues of the mermaids. All of them had petrified tears on their cheeks, and I could feel their deep sorrows and frights. Looking at all those made me feel very bad about them.

"Is there any way, to get them back?" I asked.

"You know it yourself, Blackberry. The curse will stay forever and nobody can change that," she replied. I then began thinking for a while until an unsure idea came to my mind.

"The crystal," I said. "The crystal has an enormous magical power. Maybe, just maybe, it can dispel the curse."

"You mean the Lost Treasure?" Seaberry asked. "But Blackberry, that crystal has been lost for long. There's no way we can find it again."

"I know. But still..." I said, looking at the five statues. "I wish I could do anything to get them back. They didn't do anything to deserve something like this..."

As I said those, I started to leak tears. I then wiped them immediately because it felt embarassing for a boy like me to cry.

"Ah, sorry. I don't know why I became a crybaby just now," I said.

"Blackberry..." Seaberry said, pausing for a moment. "Actually, there is something that might work."

"Huh? What is it?" I asked.

Seaberry then took her hair ornament off from her head. Then, she took something from the inside of one of the sea shells. It was an oval teal stone which emitted light of the same color.

"This is Cerulean Lapis, a magical stone. Of course this is not as powerful as the Lost Treasure, but this might still be able to dispel the curse," she said.

"You have something like that? Why didn't you use it from the beginning?" I asked.

"I believe you remember about what you asked two days ago, right?" she asked back. "About my differences."

"I remember of course," I replied, then I realized something. "Hey, did you mean...?"

"Yeah, by having this stone in my hair ornament, I can see well underwater, and I even can breathe underwater," she said, lowering her head. "If I use this to free them, it probably will vanish and I will not be able to see my fish friends. I even won't be able to leave this cave..."

"Oh..." I said, running out of words. There was a silence for the next few seconds.

"But... now I realize that it was just a selfish reason. They sacrificed themselves for others, why shouldn't I sacrifice this little stone for them?" she said, looking at the Cerulean Lapis.

"seaberry..." I said, and suddenly the Cerulean Lapis shined its teal light brighter than before. It then floated away from Seaberry's hands towards the five statues.

"What happened?" I asked, moving away from the statues.

"I don't know. I have no idea," she replied.

After the Cerulean Lapis had been right in front of the five statues, it shined even brighter that our eyes were blinded by its light. We could barely see anything under the blinding light, but we still could see that it started to crack and the crack quickly spread all over the small stone. Soon, the Cerulean Lapis shattered, but the next thing we saw was a shining gold crystal revealed under the shattered stone.

"A gold crystal...?" I said. "Don't tell me it's..."

"That can't be... the Lost Treasure? I have been carrying it all this time?" Seaberry said.

While we were still wondering, the gold crystal floated closer to the five mermaids and shined even brighter to the point that we had to cover our eyes with our hands. That kept going for the next few seconds until we felt that the light had faded slightly. We then opened our eyes only to see that the five statues had disappeared while the crystal was still there. The crystal then floated out from the storage room.

"Let's follow it," I said, running towards the door. Seaberry soon followed.

Both of us followed the shining crystal all the way to the water surface where I had parked Falcon. The crystal stopped above the water surface and then it once again shined so bright that we had to cover our eyes again. Once the light slightly faded, we opened our eyes and saw the five mermaids on the water surface, de-petrified, alive, and well. The crystal then slowly floated back to Seaberry's hands and completely faded its light.

"We're... back?" mermaid Blueberry asked, looking around her body.

"It seems so," mermaid Rainbow said.

"The sea gorgon's curse has been dispelled?" mermaid Coco asked.

"So that's the power of the Lost Treasure..." mermaid Seaberry said.

"Thank you berry much for bringing us back!" mermaid Strawberry said to us.

"No, it wasn't us. It was this crystal all by itself," Seaberry replied.

"We didn't do anything at all," I said.

"But still, we are grateful to be back," mermaid Blueberry said.

"Come play with us sometime," mermaid Coco said.

"I'd be happy to," Seaberry said, pausing for a moment. "Although, I don't know if I can," she continued, looking at the crystal in her hands which had almost completely lost its light.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" mermaid Strawberry asked, then Seaberry answered by telling about how the Lost Treasure, which somehow had been disguised as Cerulean Lapis, had enabled her to see and breathe underwater.

"Now that it almost lost its power, I don't know if I can do that anymore," she ended her speech.

"Hmm..." mermaid Strawberry said, thinking for a moment. "Maybe this can work," she continued, showing a golden sand dollar she had been holding.

"Oh, a golden sand dollar! That seems worth a try," I said.

"Let's try it then," Seaberry said.

All the mermaids then gave their golden sand dollar to me. I then held the five coins close to the crystal in Seaberry's hands. At first nothing happened, but slowly I noticed that the crystal started to absorb the gold color from the coins. Soon, the gold color was completely removed from the coins leaving them to become regular sand dollar, while the crystal started to shine and float from Seaberry's hands. There was a short moment of blinding lights, and when we regained our vision we noticed that the Lost Treasure had once again become a Cerulean Lapis.

"Oh, my Cerulean Lapis!" Seaberry said in excitement. The stone then floated back into Seaberry's hands and she put it into her hair ornament. Then she jumped down into the water and came back a few seconds later. "It works! Thank you very much!"

"I'm berry happy for you," mermaid Strawbery said.

Later, the five mermaids left the place to start their new life. I was glad that all had ended well for everyone. The mermaids had been given a second life while Seaberry hadn't lost her precious magic stone. Because there was nothing more to do, I decided to go home. After saying goodbye to Seaberry, I got on Falcon and departed back to Blackberry Bushes, my home sweet home.

Although, I still felt sorry for the sea serpent who died just after reforming...

--End of Chapter 27-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-50.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:45:30 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-50.html Quote:Chapter 26: Prologue to The Untold


One week had passed after the friendship festival. All of the new friends had returned to their homes, and life continued without anything so special. I hadn't made any more new devices because I had no new idea, so over the one week I only walked around visiting friends from time to time. Sometimes I remembered the day one year before, when I still had no friends at all. I didn't know what I would have done without them. Thanks to them I had completely removed my inconfidence and had started to go out more. I could imagine me not being my current self if I hadn't met them.

After having lunch on that day, I decided to give Strawberry a visit because I hadn't seen her in the last four days. I walked to her house, but only to find that she was not at home. I didn't know what had happened, but I noticed that the ripe berries on her garden were all over the ground like if someone had thrown them around. Looking at the mess I decided to pick all the berries up and put them on a basket I found nearby. After I was done, I decided to visit Angel Cake so I walked to Cakewalk. Once I arrived there I knocked on the door and she opened it.

"Hello, Blackberry," she greeted. "Please come in!"

"Hi there, Angel," I greeted back. "What are you doing right now?"

"Not much," she replied.

"Same here. That's why I walked around visiting here and there," I said. "By the way, Strawberry is not home. Do you know where she might be going?"

"She went to Seaberry Shore three days ago with Rainbow," she answered. "She said Coco Calypso needed some help."

"And let me guess... she left her sister again, right?" I said.

"Well, that's not exactly right," she said. "Apple didn't want to go with her. I don't know why, though."

"Oh, really?" I remarked. "Who is taking care of Apple now?"

"Orange Blossom. Custard and Pupcake are there as well," she replied.

"Hmm... I feel like visiting them there. Do you want to come with me?" I said.

"Why not?" she replied, and the two of us walked to Orange Blossom Acres.

When we arrived there, we climbed the stairset to her house and knocked on the door. Orange opened it soon after, but she put her pointer finger in front of her lip and pointed inward. From the door we saw Apple sleeping on the sofa along with Strawberry's two pets.

"Nap time I see," I said with low voice.

"We can talk outside," Orange said, slowly closing the door from the outside.

"I just wonder why she didn't want to go with Strawberry this time. Has she said anything like that?" I asked.

"No, she has not said anything about that. But maybe it's because she has been there a few times," she answered.

"I see. Then there will be no problem," I said.

Soon after, I left the place along with Angel Cake to let the three of them to have their rest. I then separated ways with Angel Cake and went to my home. On the way I kept thinking about Seaberry Shore, especially the sea. I hadn't ever thought about going underwater before, and I was sure the sea had many wonderful things to see. With that in mind, I decided to modify Falcon's engine so it would be able to run underwater like a submarine as well. Once I arrived home I put the thoughts into realization over the next four hours. As the result, Falcon could then run underwater although the speed would be very slow while underwater. The modification also reduced its flight speed by around one quarter, but it didn't really matter for me.

After the work was done, I immediately piloted Falcon towards Seaberry Shore. On the way I thought of visiting Coco Calypso first before going under the sea, so I decided to land near her house first. Once I arrived I noticed Rainbow Sherbet's boat docked near one field of sand, and then I landed on that field of sand. I got off and walked towards Coco's house, then I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I then thought that they could be at the beach, so I walked there. However, when I got close to a large stone, I heard something from behind it.

"Where are you two going?" a voice I recognized as Coco asked.

"Just a little something we need to do," a voice I recognized as Blueberry said.

"Together," a voice I recognized as Rainbow said. Then there was a silence for a few seconds.

"Seaberry, the legend didn't end there, right?" a voice I recognized as Strawberry said.

"Heh, yeah. It was actually just the beginning of something horrible which happened next," a voice I had never heard before replied. "I wish I didn't know about that part..."

"How did you know, Strawberry?" Coco asked.

"The way Seaberry told us the legend," Strawberry replied. "It seemed that she was hiding something. But let's not mind about that."

"Yeah, some things are better left unknown," Seaberry said.

"Let's join our friends," Coco said, then I heard footsteps fading away.

I then walked to follow the footsteps towards the beach, and once I arrived at the beach I saw five girls in swimsuits on a distance. I could recognize four of them as my friends, but I had never seen the last one. I then thought that she must have been who they had called Seaberry. I then decided to wait near Coco's house until they returned, so I walked back.

Around half an hour later, while sitting on a rock, from a distance I noticed the girls returning from the beach, and they were already in their regular outfit. They seemed to notice me because they waved their hands to me.

"Hi, Blackberry! When did you come here?" Strawberry shouted.

"Not long ago!" I replied, approaching them.

"Too bad. If you have come earlier you would have heard Seaberry's story," Coco said.

"Yeah, it was absoloo-tely the best story I have ever heard!" Blueberry said.

"It's fine. By the way, I see someone I don't know yet here," I said, looking at the new girl.

"I'm Seaberry Delight. Nice to meet you," she said.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Blackberry Bun," I said.

"By the way, Blackberry. We are leaving for home now. I'm berry sorry that we cannot stay here for longer," Strawberry said. "I wish we could, but I'm starting to worry about Custard, Pupcake, and Apple Dumplin'"

"And I'm now absoloo-tely worried about Cheesecake," Blueberry said.

"I see. I guess I will stay for a little while longer. That is, if nobody minds," I said.

"Why should I? You can stay as long as you like!" Coco said.

Later, Strawberry along with Blueberry and Rainbow left Seaberry Shore. The sun was already setting so there was no point in going under the sea because there would be nothing to see because of the darkness. I, with Coco and Seaberry, then had dinner of seaberry treats while Seaberry repeated the story she had told to the others for me. Indeed she told me the story in a way that she seemed to be hiding something.

"Thanks for repeating the story for me, Seaberry. It is really a nice story," I said after she finished. It was already dark by then.

"It's not a problem," she replied. "Oh, I think it's time for me to go home."

"Where do you live?" I asked.

"Under the sea. You have to swim if you want to visit my house," she said.

"Under the sea...? I kinda don't get it," I said, wondering.

"There's a cave which leads to my house under the sea," she replied.

"Oh, okay. Now I understand. But... can you see clearly underwater? Especially in this darkness?" I asked.

"Everyone can, right?" she asked back.

"No, I can't see well underwater, let alone without sunlight," I replied.

"I can't too. You're the only one who can I think," Coco said.

"Oh..." she said, lowering her head. "So I'm the only one... different?"

"Ah, never mind that. Different or not, we are and will always be friends," I said, which seemed to cheer her up again.

"That's right, Seaberry. We'll always be friends no matter what," Coco said.

"Thanks," Seaberry said. "I guess I will take my leave now. See you tomorrow."

"Could you come again tomorrow? I'd like to visit your house tomorrow," I said.

"Even if you didn't ask, I sure will," she replied, and then she left the place swimming.

That night, I stayed in Coco's house. Because she didn't have any extra bed I my only option was to sleep on her sofa like the last time I had been there. Even though of that, the bamboo sofa felt comfortable. At the next day, Seaberry came as promised and then the three of us agreed to go to her house together.

"But... how to get there?" Coco asked. "I can't see much underwater."

"You remember my flying car, don't you Coco?" I said. "It now can dive underwater as well, so we can use it to get there."

"Oh, that's really good to hear! Where is it?" Coco asked, and then I took Falcon's remote from my pocket and pressed one button to reveal it from its invisibility.

"Right there. Let's go in," I said, walking towards Falcon. The two girls followed me as well.

After all of us had gotten onboard and put the seatbelts on, I piloted Falcon to fly over the sea for a few distances away from the beach. After that I slowly landed on the water surface and switched it to underwater mode.

"This is the first time I go underwater. Is it going to be safe?" Coco asked.

"It will be. Just relax and enjoy the ride," I replied.

"Okay if you say so," she said.

I then piloted Falcon to dive underwater, and it slowly sank into the sea. The next thing we saw was the beautiful underwater scenery of corals, many kinds of plants, and animals. The thing that attracted me the most was a group of fishes which looked very cute and beautiful.

"Those fishes are very beautiful," I said.

"Yeah, they are so cute," Coco said.

"Those are the sea sweeties I have told you about," Seaberry said.

"I see. So, where's your house?" I asked.

"Let's see..." she replied, looking around. "Ah, it's there, on the right. See that cave?"

"Ah, okay. Let's go there," I said, piloting Falcon towards the cave Seaberry had just mentioned.

"Is the cave large enough for this car to enter?" Coco asked, looking at how small the cave entrance was.

"We won't know until we try," I said, attempting to enter the cave.

Squeezing through the cave was apparently not as difficult as I had thought. Soon after, Falcon resurfaced from the water and a house with the shape of a giant seashell was the first thing we saw.

"That's your house?" I asked.

"I have never said it wasn't," Seaberry replied.

"What a beautiful house," Coco commented.

"Thanks," Seaberry said.

The three of us then got off from Falcon and walked to the house. At the inside, we saw that all the furniture there was made from seashells. The space inside was not that large, but it was comfortable enough for all of us.

"Your house sure is nice," Coco said as we all sat down on the chairs in Seaberry's living room.

"Thanks. Would you like something to drink?" Seaberry offered.

"No, thanks. I will save it for later," I kindly refused.

"Me too," Coco added.

"Okay then, now that we are all here, what are we going to do?" Seaberry asked.

"Well, you see, that legend..." I said a little bit timidly. "It doesn't end there, right?"

"Oh, you realized it too..." she said.

"Yeah, and now I want to know the missing part," I said.

"Well, I actually don't want to tell anyone else about that part," she said, lowering her head.

"Oh, too bad..." I said. I didn't insist because I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"But, if you really want to know it, I can show you," she said, which surprised me a bit.

"You said show?" I asked.

"Wait a moment," she said, standing up. She then left us and came back a few minutes later bringing a book.

"What is this book?" I asked.

"This book is the one which told me about the legend, and the untold part as well," she said, giving it to me. "You can have it."

"For me? Really?" I asked.

"I have done reading it, so it's better to give it to someone else rather than having it to collect dust," she said.

"Thank you very much," I said.

The next few hours were spent talking together and then enjoying underwater sceneries with Falcon. After we were done, with proper goodbye I left Coco and Seaberry at Coco's house. It only took a few minutes until I arrived at my house again. Once I got in my bedroom I immediately started reading the book Seaberry had given to me. I quickly read through the parts I had already known from Seaberry, and then I got to the untold part...

--End of Chapter 26-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 26: Prologue to The Untold


One week had passed after the friendship festival. All of the new friends had returned to their homes, and life continued without anything so special. I hadn't made any more new devices because I had no new idea, so over the one week I only walked around visiting friends from time to time. Sometimes I remembered the day one year before, when I still had no friends at all. I didn't know what I would have done without them. Thanks to them I had completely removed my inconfidence and had started to go out more. I could imagine me not being my current self if I hadn't met them.

After having lunch on that day, I decided to give Strawberry a visit because I hadn't seen her in the last four days. I walked to her house, but only to find that she was not at home. I didn't know what had happened, but I noticed that the ripe berries on her garden were all over the ground like if someone had thrown them around. Looking at the mess I decided to pick all the berries up and put them on a basket I found nearby. After I was done, I decided to visit Angel Cake so I walked to Cakewalk. Once I arrived there I knocked on the door and she opened it.

"Hello, Blackberry," she greeted. "Please come in!"

"Hi there, Angel," I greeted back. "What are you doing right now?"

"Not much," she replied.

"Same here. That's why I walked around visiting here and there," I said. "By the way, Strawberry is not home. Do you know where she might be going?"

"She went to Seaberry Shore three days ago with Rainbow," she answered. "She said Coco Calypso needed some help."

"And let me guess... she left her sister again, right?" I said.

"Well, that's not exactly right," she said. "Apple didn't want to go with her. I don't know why, though."

"Oh, really?" I remarked. "Who is taking care of Apple now?"

"Orange Blossom. Custard and Pupcake are there as well," she replied.

"Hmm... I feel like visiting them there. Do you want to come with me?" I said.

"Why not?" she replied, and the two of us walked to Orange Blossom Acres.

When we arrived there, we climbed the stairset to her house and knocked on the door. Orange opened it soon after, but she put her pointer finger in front of her lip and pointed inward. From the door we saw Apple sleeping on the sofa along with Strawberry's two pets.

"Nap time I see," I said with low voice.

"We can talk outside," Orange said, slowly closing the door from the outside.

"I just wonder why she didn't want to go with Strawberry this time. Has she said anything like that?" I asked.

"No, she has not said anything about that. But maybe it's because she has been there a few times," she answered.

"I see. Then there will be no problem," I said.

Soon after, I left the place along with Angel Cake to let the three of them to have their rest. I then separated ways with Angel Cake and went to my home. On the way I kept thinking about Seaberry Shore, especially the sea. I hadn't ever thought about going underwater before, and I was sure the sea had many wonderful things to see. With that in mind, I decided to modify Falcon's engine so it would be able to run underwater like a submarine as well. Once I arrived home I put the thoughts into realization over the next four hours. As the result, Falcon could then run underwater although the speed would be very slow while underwater. The modification also reduced its flight speed by around one quarter, but it didn't really matter for me.

After the work was done, I immediately piloted Falcon towards Seaberry Shore. On the way I thought of visiting Coco Calypso first before going under the sea, so I decided to land near her house first. Once I arrived I noticed Rainbow Sherbet's boat docked near one field of sand, and then I landed on that field of sand. I got off and walked towards Coco's house, then I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I then thought that they could be at the beach, so I walked there. However, when I got close to a large stone, I heard something from behind it.

"Where are you two going?" a voice I recognized as Coco asked.

"Just a little something we need to do," a voice I recognized as Blueberry said.

"Together," a voice I recognized as Rainbow said. Then there was a silence for a few seconds.

"Seaberry, the legend didn't end there, right?" a voice I recognized as Strawberry said.

"Heh, yeah. It was actually just the beginning of something horrible which happened next," a voice I had never heard before replied. "I wish I didn't know about that part..."

"How did you know, Strawberry?" Coco asked.

"The way Seaberry told us the legend," Strawberry replied. "It seemed that she was hiding something. But let's not mind about that."

"Yeah, some things are better left unknown," Seaberry said.

"Let's join our friends," Coco said, then I heard footsteps fading away.

I then walked to follow the footsteps towards the beach, and once I arrived at the beach I saw five girls in swimsuits on a distance. I could recognize four of them as my friends, but I had never seen the last one. I then thought that she must have been who they had called Seaberry. I then decided to wait near Coco's house until they returned, so I walked back.

Around half an hour later, while sitting on a rock, from a distance I noticed the girls returning from the beach, and they were already in their regular outfit. They seemed to notice me because they waved their hands to me.

"Hi, Blackberry! When did you come here?" Strawberry shouted.

"Not long ago!" I replied, approaching them.

"Too bad. If you have come earlier you would have heard Seaberry's story," Coco said.

"Yeah, it was absoloo-tely the best story I have ever heard!" Blueberry said.

"It's fine. By the way, I see someone I don't know yet here," I said, looking at the new girl.

"I'm Seaberry Delight. Nice to meet you," she said.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Blackberry Bun," I said.

"By the way, Blackberry. We are leaving for home now. I'm berry sorry that we cannot stay here for longer," Strawberry said. "I wish we could, but I'm starting to worry about Custard, Pupcake, and Apple Dumplin'"

"And I'm now absoloo-tely worried about Cheesecake," Blueberry said.

"I see. I guess I will stay for a little while longer. That is, if nobody minds," I said.

"Why should I? You can stay as long as you like!" Coco said.

Later, Strawberry along with Blueberry and Rainbow left Seaberry Shore. The sun was already setting so there was no point in going under the sea because there would be nothing to see because of the darkness. I, with Coco and Seaberry, then had dinner of seaberry treats while Seaberry repeated the story she had told to the others for me. Indeed she told me the story in a way that she seemed to be hiding something.

"Thanks for repeating the story for me, Seaberry. It is really a nice story," I said after she finished. It was already dark by then.

"It's not a problem," she replied. "Oh, I think it's time for me to go home."

"Where do you live?" I asked.

"Under the sea. You have to swim if you want to visit my house," she said.

"Under the sea...? I kinda don't get it," I said, wondering.

"There's a cave which leads to my house under the sea," she replied.

"Oh, okay. Now I understand. But... can you see clearly underwater? Especially in this darkness?" I asked.

"Everyone can, right?" she asked back.

"No, I can't see well underwater, let alone without sunlight," I replied.

"I can't too. You're the only one who can I think," Coco said.

"Oh..." she said, lowering her head. "So I'm the only one... different?"

"Ah, never mind that. Different or not, we are and will always be friends," I said, which seemed to cheer her up again.

"That's right, Seaberry. We'll always be friends no matter what," Coco said.

"Thanks," Seaberry said. "I guess I will take my leave now. See you tomorrow."

"Could you come again tomorrow? I'd like to visit your house tomorrow," I said.

"Even if you didn't ask, I sure will," she replied, and then she left the place swimming.

That night, I stayed in Coco's house. Because she didn't have any extra bed I my only option was to sleep on her sofa like the last time I had been there. Even though of that, the bamboo sofa felt comfortable. At the next day, Seaberry came as promised and then the three of us agreed to go to her house together.

"But... how to get there?" Coco asked. "I can't see much underwater."

"You remember my flying car, don't you Coco?" I said. "It now can dive underwater as well, so we can use it to get there."

"Oh, that's really good to hear! Where is it?" Coco asked, and then I took Falcon's remote from my pocket and pressed one button to reveal it from its invisibility.

"Right there. Let's go in," I said, walking towards Falcon. The two girls followed me as well.

After all of us had gotten onboard and put the seatbelts on, I piloted Falcon to fly over the sea for a few distances away from the beach. After that I slowly landed on the water surface and switched it to underwater mode.

"This is the first time I go underwater. Is it going to be safe?" Coco asked.

"It will be. Just relax and enjoy the ride," I replied.

"Okay if you say so," she said.

I then piloted Falcon to dive underwater, and it slowly sank into the sea. The next thing we saw was the beautiful underwater scenery of corals, many kinds of plants, and animals. The thing that attracted me the most was a group of fishes which looked very cute and beautiful.

"Those fishes are very beautiful," I said.

"Yeah, they are so cute," Coco said.

"Those are the sea sweeties I have told you about," Seaberry said.

"I see. So, where's your house?" I asked.

"Let's see..." she replied, looking around. "Ah, it's there, on the right. See that cave?"

"Ah, okay. Let's go there," I said, piloting Falcon towards the cave Seaberry had just mentioned.

"Is the cave large enough for this car to enter?" Coco asked, looking at how small the cave entrance was.

"We won't know until we try," I said, attempting to enter the cave.

Squeezing through the cave was apparently not as difficult as I had thought. Soon after, Falcon resurfaced from the water and a house with the shape of a giant seashell was the first thing we saw.

"That's your house?" I asked.

"I have never said it wasn't," Seaberry replied.

"What a beautiful house," Coco commented.

"Thanks," Seaberry said.

The three of us then got off from Falcon and walked to the house. At the inside, we saw that all the furniture there was made from seashells. The space inside was not that large, but it was comfortable enough for all of us.

"Your house sure is nice," Coco said as we all sat down on the chairs in Seaberry's living room.

"Thanks. Would you like something to drink?" Seaberry offered.

"No, thanks. I will save it for later," I kindly refused.

"Me too," Coco added.

"Okay then, now that we are all here, what are we going to do?" Seaberry asked.

"Well, you see, that legend..." I said a little bit timidly. "It doesn't end there, right?"

"Oh, you realized it too..." she said.

"Yeah, and now I want to know the missing part," I said.

"Well, I actually don't want to tell anyone else about that part," she said, lowering her head.

"Oh, too bad..." I said. I didn't insist because I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"But, if you really want to know it, I can show you," she said, which surprised me a bit.

"You said show?" I asked.

"Wait a moment," she said, standing up. She then left us and came back a few minutes later bringing a book.

"What is this book?" I asked.

"This book is the one which told me about the legend, and the untold part as well," she said, giving it to me. "You can have it."

"For me? Really?" I asked.

"I have done reading it, so it's better to give it to someone else rather than having it to collect dust," she said.

"Thank you very much," I said.

The next few hours were spent talking together and then enjoying underwater sceneries with Falcon. After we were done, with proper goodbye I left Coco and Seaberry at Coco's house. It only took a few minutes until I arrived at my house again. Once I got in my bedroom I immediately started reading the book Seaberry had given to me. I quickly read through the parts I had already known from Seaberry, and then I got to the untold part...

--End of Chapter 26-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-49.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:44:40 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-49.html Quote:Chapter 25: A Festival of Friends


We arrived at Strawberryland 30 minutes later without any trouble. I then piloted Blackbird towards my home and landed smoothly there. Once all of us got off, I put it into invisibility like usual.

"We're home again at last," I said.

"Thanks for the trip, Blackberry," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' happy," Apple said.

"By the way, do you know when Strawberry might arrive here?" Blueberry asked.

"Well..." I said, pausing to think. "Around midnight maybe."

"Midnight? Are you sure?" she asked again.

"Not really, but even if I made a mistake it shouldn't be too far," I replied.

"That's absoloo-tely not a good time to arrive," she said.

"Yeah, she might fall asleep and forget to land," I said.

"We should tell this to other friends," she said. "Let's gather them all in the clubhouse."

"Okay. Let's use Falcon then," I said, taking Falcon's remote from my backpack.

The next thing we did was going to each house of other friends and taking them to the clubhouse. Everything took around half an hour until every single kid in Strawberryland were gathered in the clubhouse.

"All right. Now that everyone's here, what's the matter?" Raspberry asked when I arrived at the clubhouse with Apricot.

"Yeah, what are you gonna tell us?" Angel asked.

"Hmph, I bet it'll be just a waste of time," Peppermint said.

"Okay," Blueberry said, clearing her throat. "Everyone, we all know that Strawberry is away to Pearis, right?"

"Yeah," Orange said.

"Something happened to her?" Huck asked.

"She's on her way back here now," Blueberry said. "But Blackberry noticed something bad."

"Huh? What is it? Is there a wind coming to blow her balloon away? Or a storm going to flip it over? What is it, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked.

"It's not that bad. It's just that..." I said, pausing for a brief moment. "Her arrival here will be around midnight."

"It will?" Lemon asked.

"Wait! That's it?" Apricot asked.

"Are you asking us to prepare a welcome back party?" Peppermint asked. "In... midnight? Yeah, right."

"We can't do that. Midnight is over bedtime," Orange said, then she seemed to realize something. "Oh! Now I understand!"

"I just realized it too, matey," Rainbow said. "She might fall asleep on her balloon."

"Yes, and then there will be absoloo-tely nobody to land the balloon," Blueberry said.

"What we're gonna do?" Angel asked, seeming worried.

"Apple worry," Apple said.

"We are all worried, Apple. You're not alone," I said.

"I'm thinking of having all of us watching for her in turn tonight," Blueberry said.

"We all? How?" Lemon asked.

"Let's see..." I said, thinking. "There are... twelve of us, right?"

"Yeah, I think," Huck said, looking around and counting. Almost everybody else did the same.

"We'll split into three groups of four," I said.

"Huh? For what?" Raspberry asked.

"Yeah, what we're gonna do with three groups?" Angel asked.

"I remember three places where we can have a good view over Strawberryland. We will put one group on each place," I said.

"Where are the places?" Orange asked.

"The tower of this clubhouse, Huck's fort, and the rooftop of my house," I replied.

"Sounds worth a try," Peppermint said.

"Let's get going then! What are you waiting for, huh everyone?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, that will be cool," Apricot said

After everything were settled, each group went to the place it was assigned on. The three kids who were with me to watch on my rooftop were Orange, Peppermint, and Rainbow. When the four of us arrived at my house, the sky was starting to get dark.

"Okay, now who's first to watch?" I asked. "The others should get some sleep now."

"Hmph. I will, but first you have to show us the way to your rooftop," Peppermint said.

"Oh, okay. Come here," I replied, walking towards one switch on the wall. "This is the switch you have to use to go to the rooftop,"

I then pressed the switch, resulting a ladder to come down from the ceiling. Then I climbed it and opened the trapdoor at its end. The three girls followed me after that, and soon the four of us were on the rooftop of my house.

"What a beautiful view!" Orange said.

"Hey! I can see my boat!" Rainbow said, pointing to Punch Bowl Pond.

"I can see the clubhouse from here," Peppermint said, looking towards a direction.

"Okay, now that it's settled, let's get some sleep," I said.

So, I along with Orange and Rainbow went to sleep on one sofa in the living room of my house while Peppermint stayed on the rooftop to watch for Strawberry's balloon. I didn't know how well the other groups were doing, especially the group with Apple because I knew Apple wouldn't be able to stay awake so that group pretty much only had three people, but I really hoped they were doing well.

Peppermint walked around my rooftop, occasionally using the binoculars I had left there. She didn't know how much time had passed during her turn, but she felt like she had been there for hours.

"Heh, the things you do for your friends," she mumbled in anxiety, still walking back and forth on my rooftop. She kept doing that for a while until later she came down to wake Rainbow up and switch with her.

"Rise and shine, kid!" she said, shaking Rainbow's shoulder.

"Huh...? Aye Aye, Captain," Rainbow replied, slowly getting up.

"You better do it right!" Peppermint said, and then she went to sleep on the part of the sofa where Rainbow had slept.

Rainbow then went up to the rooftop with drowsy eyes, leaving the rest of us sleeping on the sofa. It turned out that Peppermint couldn't stay still in her sleep because she kicked me several times, waking me up. In the end she fell to my side, forcing me to get away from the sofa. I couldn't sleep again after that, so I decided to switch with the one on the rooftop. I climbed the ladder to the rooftop, only to find Rainbow asleep there.

"Hey, Rainbow," I said, shaking her a little. She slowly woke up.

"Uh... Oh, I fell asleep? Sorry..." she said.

"Go back to sleep. I'll take it from here," I said.

"Oh, okay..." she said, yawning and walking to the trapdoor.

Once she was gone, I watched around for a while, occasionally using the binoculars. It only took a few minutes until drowsiness attacked, and I couldn't help sitting on the rooftop. In another few minutes I lied down and finally succumbed to the drowsiness.

"Hey, wake up you lazy bum!" A voice woke me up, and I recognized it as Peppermint's voice.

"You fell asleep too, matey?" Rainbow said.

"I didn't even get to watch," Orange said.

I slowly woke up, realizing that the sky was already bright. I had missed my watch, and that could mean bad things to Strawberry.

"Oh my, we better check on other groups and hope they did fine," I said.

"I don't think they did if you ask me," Peppermint said.

We then quickly went to Huck's fort, the closest of the two other places. When we arrived there, it turned out that Peppermint's thought was true. All four kids who had been placed there, to be exact Huck, Ginger, Angel, and Raspberry, were fast asleep.

"Hey, wake up, lazy bums!" Peppermint shouted, which woke them up in surprise.

"Huh? What?! What happened?" Huck asked.

"Yeah, what happened?" Angel asked.

"Come on, you all! Did you forget what you were doing last night?" Peppermint asked in upset tone.

"Yeah I remember of course. we are supposed to watch over Strawberry's balloon, am I right?" Ginger said. "But hey, I didn't get to watch at all. Nope, not ever did. Someone fell asleep, am I right again?"

"I watched for her last night, and then I switched with... Angel Cake," Raspberry said, then everybody else looked towards Angel Cake, who seemed to be timid at that time.

"Umm... Yeah... I fell asleep again after Raspberry woke me up... I'm sorry," she said, looking down.

"What's done is done. Our group fell asleep too, and I take all the blame," I said. "Let's go to the last group and hope they did well."

The eight of us then quickly went to the clubhouse. The situation there was not any better, because we saw Blueberry, Apple, and Lemon being fast asleep in the clubhouse's bedroom. I also found Apricot being fast asleep on the tower. After waking them up, we all gathered in the main room.

"So, none of the groups made it?" Blueberry asked.

"Seems so," I said.

"Apple worry," Apple said.

"What we're gonna do now?" Angel asked.

All of us fell into a silence, having no idea about what to do, when suddenly something happened.

"Hi, everyone! I'm back!" a voice we all recognized as Strawberry greeted loudly. We looked upon the front door, and indeed it was Strawberry who came. She was still wearing the new outfit I had seen briefly at the previous day.

"My, oh my! It's our friend Strawberry Shortcake! How was your trip, huh Strawberry Shortcake? And how did you get this nice dress, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"Yeah, Strawberry. How did you get that?" Angel asked, seeming relieved.

"Crepes Suzette made this for me! Isn't this berry nice?" Strawberry said.

"Yeah, it sure is," Angel said.

"Oh, and it's berry rare to see everyone here together. Is there a party here?" Strawberry asked. Nobody answered so there was a brief silence.

"Umm, yeah. There is," Peppermint said suddenly.

"Really? What party is it?" Strawberry asked.

"What else? A welcome back party for you!" Peppermint replied, which surprised Strawberry and everyone else quite a bit.

"Yeah... That's... right," Raspberry said.

"It is?" Lemon asked right before Raspberry quickly handgagged her mouth.

"Welcome back, Strawberry," I said.

"Oh, that's berry nice of you all. Thank you berry much, everyone!" Strawberry said.

So, the next few hours were spent having an ''Emergency Welcome Back Party'' thanks to Peppermint's quick thinking. During the few hours everyone attacked Strawberry with questions on how her trip had been, and Strawberry answered them all with pleasure. During those few hours everyone learned about the things which had happened in Strawberry's trip to Pearis.

"By the way, how did you know that I was coming?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, looks like it's now my turn to tell tales," I said, then I told her about my trip to follow her along with Blueberry and Apple. From my tales she learned about Blackbird, how her balloon's sandbag almost had harmed someone, and also the existence of another new friend from Pearis.

"We saw your balloon leaving Chez Crepes, so I could estimate when you would arrive here," I said, ending my tale.

"Yeah, but he somewhat did a mistake. He said you would have arrived last midnight," Raspberry said.

"We waited all the night watching for you, worrying that you would fall asleep on the balloon and fly over Strawberryland," Huck said.

"Not really, though. We all fell asleep," Blueberry said.

"Well, actually..." Strawberry said. "Blackberry was berry right."

"Huh, what do you mean, Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"We arrived at midnight," Strawberry replied. "Custard and Pupcake fell asleep, but I didn't."

"You didn't?" Lemon said.

"If you didn't fall asleep, then..." Angel said.

"Then that means all our worries were for nothing. Hmph!" Peppermint said, looking at me.

I could feel that everyone's eyes were looking at me and Blueberry. Both of us had made them all worried so much that they were willing to abandon sleep, but it all had been for nothing. There was a silence for a few seconds, and then Strawberry spoke out.

"Thank you everyone..." Strawberry said, starting to leak tears smiling. "I'm... berry happy to know that you all cared so much for me."

"Uh... no, it was nothing," Huck said.

"Yeah, Strawberry. It was no problem for us," Orange said.

"Still, I'm berry grateful to you all," Strawberry said, then she yawned.

"Are you tired, Strawberry? You should rest now," I said.

"Yeah, I think I still could use some sleep after all my adventures," she said.

"You can use the bedroom here if you're too tired to walk home, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Don't worry. I can walk home," Strawberry said, walking to the front door. "See you later, everyone."

"Wait! Let me take you there," I said, following her and calling Falcon at the same time.

"Thank you, Blackberry," she said as Falcon came landing near us.

Both of us got onboard and then I piloted Falcon towards Strawberry's house. The trip only lasted a little over one minute so there was no conversation. After I had landed Falcon, Strawberry got off and went into her house waving her hand to me. I did the same to her and then I departed back to the clubhouse. After landing there, I got off and went inside. Everyone were still inside as I entered, and they all looked at me in silence.

"Okay, everyone. I'm sorry that I have made you all worried for nothing," I said.

"No, it was not for nothing," Orange said.

"Yeah, we've made Strawberry happy," Angel said.

"And it all thanks to you, Blackberry," Huck said, putting his hand on my shoulder. So, all ended well for that day.

At the next day, I decided to visit the clubhouse again after having breakfast because I wanted to compare the difference between the scenery on its tower and on my own rooftop, especially because I had never used the clubhouse's tower before. When I arrived there, Strawberry was there along with her pets and the other three main girls. They seemed to be making decorations.

"Hi, everyone," I greeted as I entered.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted back.

"Is there going to be a party here?" I asked, looking at all the decorations they were making.

"Well, not really. You see, we don't know when and what time the friendship festival will take place, am I right? That's because we don't know when and what time the new friends will come, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"So, we're gonna prepare some early decorations for it," Angel said.

"I see. Anyway, I'm going to the tower for now, and after I'm done I will come down to help you," I said.

"Okay, Blackberry. Be careful there," Orange said.

I then climbed the stairset to the second floor. As I climbed the stairs, I still could hear Custard saying "This glue is so... sticky. How many decorations are we going to make, Strawberry?" but I didn't hear anything more after that because I was already too far from the bottom by then.

I arrived at the tower of the clubhouse, and I tried the telescope right away. The view was indeed enjoyable, but because the telescope was static I couldn't use it to take a look at the other way. Then I looked around without the telescope, and compared with the view on the rooftop of my house I personally preferred the view on this tower. Probably it was because of the clubhouse being placed on a hill, unlike my house which was located at a lowland. While enjoying the scenery, I noticed three butterfly letters coming to the clubhouse. They then entered the main room below and I didn't know what happened there next. I then went down the stairs to see if the butterfly letters were what I had thought of. As I arrived down, Angel Cake left the clubhouse.

"Where is she going?" I asked.

"The guests are coming, and Angel Cake going to make a friendship cake for the festival," Strawberry said.

"The guests? Who are they?" I asked.

"Crepes Suzette is one of them," she said.

"Then there's one with the name Frosty Puff. She's coming all the way from South Pole," Orange said.

"Also there's one coming from deep in a rain forest. Her name is Tangerina Torta," Ginger said.

"And also someone named Tea Blossom. She's coming from the whole other side of the planet," Strawberry said.

"Heh, so they are finally coming," I said.

"Huh? What do you mean, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked.

"Those three pictures on the wall are the ones you all just mentioned," I said, pointing at the three pictures at the wall Peppermint had drawn.

"Oh? I thought those are the pictures of imaginary friends put by someone," Orange said, looking at the pictures.

"Yeah, me too. Did you thought so too, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"Well, I did," Strawberry said, pausing for a brief moment. "But sometimes I believed that they were true."

"They are, I met them while I was putting Blackbird into its first use," I said. "Peppermint was with me as well, and she made those pictures."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Orange asked.

"Well, I wanted to let it become a surprise," I said. "But I changed my mind just now."

"Well, okay. Anyway, we're done here so now we are going to my house to prepare there. Are you coming with us, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"I think I will go to Angel Cake. Maybe she could use some help," I replied.

I then left the clubhouse first and walked towards Angel Cake's house. When I arrived there she seemed flustered. I could notice her having quite a bit of trouble looking at the mess in the kitchen.

"Hi there, Angel Cake," I greeted.

"Oh, hi, Blackberry," she greeted back.

"Do you need some help?" I asked.

"No, I can do it all by myself. No sweat!" she replied.

"No sweat, huh? No sugar, no flour, and no eggs as well I see," I said, looking at the empty bowls and shelves in her kitchen.

"Well, okay. Actually I kinda need some help," She said timidly. "But I told them I could do this alone."

"Alright. I'll give you the ingredients you need. I still have plenty in my kitchen and I'm not going to use them anytime soon anyway," I offered.

"Thanks, Blackberry," she said.

"I'm going home to take them first. I think you should go to Strawberry's house and tell your friends that you need some help," I said.

"Well, I..." she said, looking down.

"It's your call. Anyway, see you soon," I said, leaving her house.

I then walked to my house to take all the ingredients I had there. Once I arrived there I put them all, along with my kitchen utensils, in my backpack and went back to Angel Cake's house using Blackbird. When I arrived there she was nowhere to be found, but soon I saw her coming along with Tangerina Torta.

"Tangerina Torta! How have you been?" I greeted.

"Hiya, Blackberry Bun!" she replied in excitement.

"Huh? You know each other already?" Angel asked, wondering.

"Yes, we met one week ago," I answered. "Anyway, I have the ingredients for you,"

"Thank you, Blackberry," she said.

The three of us then went inside the house. After Angel Cake showed the room for her guest, Tangerina stayed there to unpack her bag while Angel Cake and me went to the kitchen. I took all the ingredients and utensils from my backpack and put them on the table there.

"What are these?" Angel asked, looking at the utensils. "I already have those of my own."

"If you like, you can use them. They can do their job faster than any other utensils of the same kind," I said. "I made them all myself. Just be careful not to..."

"Blackberry, you have been helping me alot," she interrupted, pausing for a moment. "But no, thanks. I'm gonna make the cakes with my own utensils."

"Okay, but I'll leave them here in case you change your mind," I said. "See you later."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Pearis. I don't want her to miss this," I replied, which she understood clearly.

After leaving Angel Cake's house, I got on Blackbird and ordered it to go to Pearis. With the usual keyword, Blackbird departed to Pearis. 30 minutes later I arrived in Pearis and landed on the usual lake. It seemed that the people had gotten used to Blackbird because nobody stopped to stare at me anymore. I then walked towards Cherry's house hoping that she would be there so I could just take her to Strawberryland without having to look for her first. Once I arrived there I took Speak All from my backpack and put it on my head, then I knocked on the door.

"Blackberry!" A voice I recognized as Cherry called from behind.

"Cherry!" I said as I turned around and approached her. "How have you been?"

"Cherry fine," she answered. "Where other friends?"

"They are all in Strawberryland. Would you like to come there?" I said. "There will be a friendship festival there."

"Friendship festival?" she asked.

"There are lots of new friends you have never seen before," I said.

"More friends?" she asked.

"Yes. So, would you like to come?" I asked.

"Cherry come!" she said in excitement.

So, everything was settled and the two of us departed to Strawberryland. The flight went without any trouble and we arrived 30 minutes later. However, as I piloted Blackbird over Angel Cake's house, I saw that the house and the ground in front of it had been flooded with doughs. I then landed Blackbird on nearby clean ground and got off along with Cherry, whom I had given Speak All to. We then approached the group who were standing near the edge of dough flood.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"Well, I had a big little accident," Angel replied.

"How accident?" Cherry asked.

"Well, I had to start over because of another little accident. I ran outta time so I used the things Blackberry had lend to me," Angel said.

"And you used them all in maximum power I guess?" I said, and she nodded with guilty feeling. "Yeah, that was the thing I wanted to tell you. Maximum power can cause something like this."

I didn't know what to say next because I was probably the one to blame as well for not properly warning Angel Cake. There was a silence for a few seconds, then I remembered something.

"By the way, where's Strawberry?" I asked.

"Well, she got really depressed and told us to call the festival off, then she left us. I sure could feel that she was really sad, right everyone? So what should we do now, huh everyone?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, maybe zee iz crying now in 'er 'ouse," Crepes said.

"Maybe we should go to her and cheer her up," Frosty said.

"But what about the festival? Is it really cancelled?" Tangerina asked.

"No, it is not and it will not be," I said. "Let's clean all these up and make the cake again, all together this time."

"You're right, Blackberry. Nothing will stop us, nope, not ever will!" Ginger said.

"But what about Strawberry?" Orange asked.

"I will go. It was my fault anyway for not being honest from the start," Angel said, taking her apron and chef hat off. Then she walked away leaving the rest of the group to do all the cleaning up. It was not that difficult, though. With everyone working together, and also with the help of Ginger's cleaning machine, the cleaning up only took less than one hour. Angel Cake returned right at the time we were done.

"Wow, you all have cleaned my house so fast. Thank you berry much!" she said.

"It was no problem. Nope, not at all!" Ginger said.

"Anyway, how's Strawberry?" I asked.

"She's fine. She will come with Tea Blossom soon, and then we can start making the friendship cake together," Angel replied.

"That's good to hear. I will get other friends to come here in the meantime," I said.

"Cherry go with Blackberry?" Cherry asked, pulling my shirt.

"Okay if you want to," I replied. "Shall we go now?"

"We go," Cherry said.

Then, the two of us left Angel Cake's house to invite the remaining friends who were yet to come. To be exact, they were Huck, Blueberry, Raspberry, Lemon, Apricot, Rainbow, and Peppermint. We walked to their homes and asked them to come with us to the festival, and all of them agreed with pleasure. As the nine of us arrived at Strawberry's house, where the festival was supposed to be held, we saw that they had finished making the friendship cake. So, all of us approached them and let the wonderful fun time to start.


--End of Chapter 25-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 25: A Festival of Friends


We arrived at Strawberryland 30 minutes later without any trouble. I then piloted Blackbird towards my home and landed smoothly there. Once all of us got off, I put it into invisibility like usual.

"We're home again at last," I said.

"Thanks for the trip, Blackberry," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' happy," Apple said.

"By the way, do you know when Strawberry might arrive here?" Blueberry asked.

"Well..." I said, pausing to think. "Around midnight maybe."

"Midnight? Are you sure?" she asked again.

"Not really, but even if I made a mistake it shouldn't be too far," I replied.

"That's absoloo-tely not a good time to arrive," she said.

"Yeah, she might fall asleep and forget to land," I said.

"We should tell this to other friends," she said. "Let's gather them all in the clubhouse."

"Okay. Let's use Falcon then," I said, taking Falcon's remote from my backpack.

The next thing we did was going to each house of other friends and taking them to the clubhouse. Everything took around half an hour until every single kid in Strawberryland were gathered in the clubhouse.

"All right. Now that everyone's here, what's the matter?" Raspberry asked when I arrived at the clubhouse with Apricot.

"Yeah, what are you gonna tell us?" Angel asked.

"Hmph, I bet it'll be just a waste of time," Peppermint said.

"Okay," Blueberry said, clearing her throat. "Everyone, we all know that Strawberry is away to Pearis, right?"

"Yeah," Orange said.

"Something happened to her?" Huck asked.

"She's on her way back here now," Blueberry said. "But Blackberry noticed something bad."

"Huh? What is it? Is there a wind coming to blow her balloon away? Or a storm going to flip it over? What is it, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked.

"It's not that bad. It's just that..." I said, pausing for a brief moment. "Her arrival here will be around midnight."

"It will?" Lemon asked.

"Wait! That's it?" Apricot asked.

"Are you asking us to prepare a welcome back party?" Peppermint asked. "In... midnight? Yeah, right."

"We can't do that. Midnight is over bedtime," Orange said, then she seemed to realize something. "Oh! Now I understand!"

"I just realized it too, matey," Rainbow said. "She might fall asleep on her balloon."

"Yes, and then there will be absoloo-tely nobody to land the balloon," Blueberry said.

"What we're gonna do?" Angel asked, seeming worried.

"Apple worry," Apple said.

"We are all worried, Apple. You're not alone," I said.

"I'm thinking of having all of us watching for her in turn tonight," Blueberry said.

"We all? How?" Lemon asked.

"Let's see..." I said, thinking. "There are... twelve of us, right?"

"Yeah, I think," Huck said, looking around and counting. Almost everybody else did the same.

"We'll split into three groups of four," I said.

"Huh? For what?" Raspberry asked.

"Yeah, what we're gonna do with three groups?" Angel asked.

"I remember three places where we can have a good view over Strawberryland. We will put one group on each place," I said.

"Where are the places?" Orange asked.

"The tower of this clubhouse, Huck's fort, and the rooftop of my house," I replied.

"Sounds worth a try," Peppermint said.

"Let's get going then! What are you waiting for, huh everyone?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, that will be cool," Apricot said

After everything were settled, each group went to the place it was assigned on. The three kids who were with me to watch on my rooftop were Orange, Peppermint, and Rainbow. When the four of us arrived at my house, the sky was starting to get dark.

"Okay, now who's first to watch?" I asked. "The others should get some sleep now."

"Hmph. I will, but first you have to show us the way to your rooftop," Peppermint said.

"Oh, okay. Come here," I replied, walking towards one switch on the wall. "This is the switch you have to use to go to the rooftop,"

I then pressed the switch, resulting a ladder to come down from the ceiling. Then I climbed it and opened the trapdoor at its end. The three girls followed me after that, and soon the four of us were on the rooftop of my house.

"What a beautiful view!" Orange said.

"Hey! I can see my boat!" Rainbow said, pointing to Punch Bowl Pond.

"I can see the clubhouse from here," Peppermint said, looking towards a direction.

"Okay, now that it's settled, let's get some sleep," I said.

So, I along with Orange and Rainbow went to sleep on one sofa in the living room of my house while Peppermint stayed on the rooftop to watch for Strawberry's balloon. I didn't know how well the other groups were doing, especially the group with Apple because I knew Apple wouldn't be able to stay awake so that group pretty much only had three people, but I really hoped they were doing well.

Peppermint walked around my rooftop, occasionally using the binoculars I had left there. She didn't know how much time had passed during her turn, but she felt like she had been there for hours.

"Heh, the things you do for your friends," she mumbled in anxiety, still walking back and forth on my rooftop. She kept doing that for a while until later she came down to wake Rainbow up and switch with her.

"Rise and shine, kid!" she said, shaking Rainbow's shoulder.

"Huh...? Aye Aye, Captain," Rainbow replied, slowly getting up.

"You better do it right!" Peppermint said, and then she went to sleep on the part of the sofa where Rainbow had slept.

Rainbow then went up to the rooftop with drowsy eyes, leaving the rest of us sleeping on the sofa. It turned out that Peppermint couldn't stay still in her sleep because she kicked me several times, waking me up. In the end she fell to my side, forcing me to get away from the sofa. I couldn't sleep again after that, so I decided to switch with the one on the rooftop. I climbed the ladder to the rooftop, only to find Rainbow asleep there.

"Hey, Rainbow," I said, shaking her a little. She slowly woke up.

"Uh... Oh, I fell asleep? Sorry..." she said.

"Go back to sleep. I'll take it from here," I said.

"Oh, okay..." she said, yawning and walking to the trapdoor.

Once she was gone, I watched around for a while, occasionally using the binoculars. It only took a few minutes until drowsiness attacked, and I couldn't help sitting on the rooftop. In another few minutes I lied down and finally succumbed to the drowsiness.

"Hey, wake up you lazy bum!" A voice woke me up, and I recognized it as Peppermint's voice.

"You fell asleep too, matey?" Rainbow said.

"I didn't even get to watch," Orange said.

I slowly woke up, realizing that the sky was already bright. I had missed my watch, and that could mean bad things to Strawberry.

"Oh my, we better check on other groups and hope they did fine," I said.

"I don't think they did if you ask me," Peppermint said.

We then quickly went to Huck's fort, the closest of the two other places. When we arrived there, it turned out that Peppermint's thought was true. All four kids who had been placed there, to be exact Huck, Ginger, Angel, and Raspberry, were fast asleep.

"Hey, wake up, lazy bums!" Peppermint shouted, which woke them up in surprise.

"Huh? What?! What happened?" Huck asked.

"Yeah, what happened?" Angel asked.

"Come on, you all! Did you forget what you were doing last night?" Peppermint asked in upset tone.

"Yeah I remember of course. we are supposed to watch over Strawberry's balloon, am I right?" Ginger said. "But hey, I didn't get to watch at all. Nope, not ever did. Someone fell asleep, am I right again?"

"I watched for her last night, and then I switched with... Angel Cake," Raspberry said, then everybody else looked towards Angel Cake, who seemed to be timid at that time.

"Umm... Yeah... I fell asleep again after Raspberry woke me up... I'm sorry," she said, looking down.

"What's done is done. Our group fell asleep too, and I take all the blame," I said. "Let's go to the last group and hope they did well."

The eight of us then quickly went to the clubhouse. The situation there was not any better, because we saw Blueberry, Apple, and Lemon being fast asleep in the clubhouse's bedroom. I also found Apricot being fast asleep on the tower. After waking them up, we all gathered in the main room.

"So, none of the groups made it?" Blueberry asked.

"Seems so," I said.

"Apple worry," Apple said.

"What we're gonna do now?" Angel asked.

All of us fell into a silence, having no idea about what to do, when suddenly something happened.

"Hi, everyone! I'm back!" a voice we all recognized as Strawberry greeted loudly. We looked upon the front door, and indeed it was Strawberry who came. She was still wearing the new outfit I had seen briefly at the previous day.

"My, oh my! It's our friend Strawberry Shortcake! How was your trip, huh Strawberry Shortcake? And how did you get this nice dress, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"Yeah, Strawberry. How did you get that?" Angel asked, seeming relieved.

"Crepes Suzette made this for me! Isn't this berry nice?" Strawberry said.

"Yeah, it sure is," Angel said.

"Oh, and it's berry rare to see everyone here together. Is there a party here?" Strawberry asked. Nobody answered so there was a brief silence.

"Umm, yeah. There is," Peppermint said suddenly.

"Really? What party is it?" Strawberry asked.

"What else? A welcome back party for you!" Peppermint replied, which surprised Strawberry and everyone else quite a bit.

"Yeah... That's... right," Raspberry said.

"It is?" Lemon asked right before Raspberry quickly handgagged her mouth.

"Welcome back, Strawberry," I said.

"Oh, that's berry nice of you all. Thank you berry much, everyone!" Strawberry said.

So, the next few hours were spent having an ''Emergency Welcome Back Party'' thanks to Peppermint's quick thinking. During the few hours everyone attacked Strawberry with questions on how her trip had been, and Strawberry answered them all with pleasure. During those few hours everyone learned about the things which had happened in Strawberry's trip to Pearis.

"By the way, how did you know that I was coming?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, looks like it's now my turn to tell tales," I said, then I told her about my trip to follow her along with Blueberry and Apple. From my tales she learned about Blackbird, how her balloon's sandbag almost had harmed someone, and also the existence of another new friend from Pearis.

"We saw your balloon leaving Chez Crepes, so I could estimate when you would arrive here," I said, ending my tale.

"Yeah, but he somewhat did a mistake. He said you would have arrived last midnight," Raspberry said.

"We waited all the night watching for you, worrying that you would fall asleep on the balloon and fly over Strawberryland," Huck said.

"Not really, though. We all fell asleep," Blueberry said.

"Well, actually..." Strawberry said. "Blackberry was berry right."

"Huh, what do you mean, Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"We arrived at midnight," Strawberry replied. "Custard and Pupcake fell asleep, but I didn't."

"You didn't?" Lemon said.

"If you didn't fall asleep, then..." Angel said.

"Then that means all our worries were for nothing. Hmph!" Peppermint said, looking at me.

I could feel that everyone's eyes were looking at me and Blueberry. Both of us had made them all worried so much that they were willing to abandon sleep, but it all had been for nothing. There was a silence for a few seconds, and then Strawberry spoke out.

"Thank you everyone..." Strawberry said, starting to leak tears smiling. "I'm... berry happy to know that you all cared so much for me."

"Uh... no, it was nothing," Huck said.

"Yeah, Strawberry. It was no problem for us," Orange said.

"Still, I'm berry grateful to you all," Strawberry said, then she yawned.

"Are you tired, Strawberry? You should rest now," I said.

"Yeah, I think I still could use some sleep after all my adventures," she said.

"You can use the bedroom here if you're too tired to walk home, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Don't worry. I can walk home," Strawberry said, walking to the front door. "See you later, everyone."

"Wait! Let me take you there," I said, following her and calling Falcon at the same time.

"Thank you, Blackberry," she said as Falcon came landing near us.

Both of us got onboard and then I piloted Falcon towards Strawberry's house. The trip only lasted a little over one minute so there was no conversation. After I had landed Falcon, Strawberry got off and went into her house waving her hand to me. I did the same to her and then I departed back to the clubhouse. After landing there, I got off and went inside. Everyone were still inside as I entered, and they all looked at me in silence.

"Okay, everyone. I'm sorry that I have made you all worried for nothing," I said.

"No, it was not for nothing," Orange said.

"Yeah, we've made Strawberry happy," Angel said.

"And it all thanks to you, Blackberry," Huck said, putting his hand on my shoulder. So, all ended well for that day.

At the next day, I decided to visit the clubhouse again after having breakfast because I wanted to compare the difference between the scenery on its tower and on my own rooftop, especially because I had never used the clubhouse's tower before. When I arrived there, Strawberry was there along with her pets and the other three main girls. They seemed to be making decorations.

"Hi, everyone," I greeted as I entered.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted back.

"Is there going to be a party here?" I asked, looking at all the decorations they were making.

"Well, not really. You see, we don't know when and what time the friendship festival will take place, am I right? That's because we don't know when and what time the new friends will come, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"So, we're gonna prepare some early decorations for it," Angel said.

"I see. Anyway, I'm going to the tower for now, and after I'm done I will come down to help you," I said.

"Okay, Blackberry. Be careful there," Orange said.

I then climbed the stairset to the second floor. As I climbed the stairs, I still could hear Custard saying "This glue is so... sticky. How many decorations are we going to make, Strawberry?" but I didn't hear anything more after that because I was already too far from the bottom by then.

I arrived at the tower of the clubhouse, and I tried the telescope right away. The view was indeed enjoyable, but because the telescope was static I couldn't use it to take a look at the other way. Then I looked around without the telescope, and compared with the view on the rooftop of my house I personally preferred the view on this tower. Probably it was because of the clubhouse being placed on a hill, unlike my house which was located at a lowland. While enjoying the scenery, I noticed three butterfly letters coming to the clubhouse. They then entered the main room below and I didn't know what happened there next. I then went down the stairs to see if the butterfly letters were what I had thought of. As I arrived down, Angel Cake left the clubhouse.

"Where is she going?" I asked.

"The guests are coming, and Angel Cake going to make a friendship cake for the festival," Strawberry said.

"The guests? Who are they?" I asked.

"Crepes Suzette is one of them," she said.

"Then there's one with the name Frosty Puff. She's coming all the way from South Pole," Orange said.

"Also there's one coming from deep in a rain forest. Her name is Tangerina Torta," Ginger said.

"And also someone named Tea Blossom. She's coming from the whole other side of the planet," Strawberry said.

"Heh, so they are finally coming," I said.

"Huh? What do you mean, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked.

"Those three pictures on the wall are the ones you all just mentioned," I said, pointing at the three pictures at the wall Peppermint had drawn.

"Oh? I thought those are the pictures of imaginary friends put by someone," Orange said, looking at the pictures.

"Yeah, me too. Did you thought so too, huh Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger asked.

"Well, I did," Strawberry said, pausing for a brief moment. "But sometimes I believed that they were true."

"They are, I met them while I was putting Blackbird into its first use," I said. "Peppermint was with me as well, and she made those pictures."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Orange asked.

"Well, I wanted to let it become a surprise," I said. "But I changed my mind just now."

"Well, okay. Anyway, we're done here so now we are going to my house to prepare there. Are you coming with us, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"I think I will go to Angel Cake. Maybe she could use some help," I replied.

I then left the clubhouse first and walked towards Angel Cake's house. When I arrived there she seemed flustered. I could notice her having quite a bit of trouble looking at the mess in the kitchen.

"Hi there, Angel Cake," I greeted.

"Oh, hi, Blackberry," she greeted back.

"Do you need some help?" I asked.

"No, I can do it all by myself. No sweat!" she replied.

"No sweat, huh? No sugar, no flour, and no eggs as well I see," I said, looking at the empty bowls and shelves in her kitchen.

"Well, okay. Actually I kinda need some help," She said timidly. "But I told them I could do this alone."

"Alright. I'll give you the ingredients you need. I still have plenty in my kitchen and I'm not going to use them anytime soon anyway," I offered.

"Thanks, Blackberry," she said.

"I'm going home to take them first. I think you should go to Strawberry's house and tell your friends that you need some help," I said.

"Well, I..." she said, looking down.

"It's your call. Anyway, see you soon," I said, leaving her house.

I then walked to my house to take all the ingredients I had there. Once I arrived there I put them all, along with my kitchen utensils, in my backpack and went back to Angel Cake's house using Blackbird. When I arrived there she was nowhere to be found, but soon I saw her coming along with Tangerina Torta.

"Tangerina Torta! How have you been?" I greeted.

"Hiya, Blackberry Bun!" she replied in excitement.

"Huh? You know each other already?" Angel asked, wondering.

"Yes, we met one week ago," I answered. "Anyway, I have the ingredients for you,"

"Thank you, Blackberry," she said.

The three of us then went inside the house. After Angel Cake showed the room for her guest, Tangerina stayed there to unpack her bag while Angel Cake and me went to the kitchen. I took all the ingredients and utensils from my backpack and put them on the table there.

"What are these?" Angel asked, looking at the utensils. "I already have those of my own."

"If you like, you can use them. They can do their job faster than any other utensils of the same kind," I said. "I made them all myself. Just be careful not to..."

"Blackberry, you have been helping me alot," she interrupted, pausing for a moment. "But no, thanks. I'm gonna make the cakes with my own utensils."

"Okay, but I'll leave them here in case you change your mind," I said. "See you later."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Pearis. I don't want her to miss this," I replied, which she understood clearly.

After leaving Angel Cake's house, I got on Blackbird and ordered it to go to Pearis. With the usual keyword, Blackbird departed to Pearis. 30 minutes later I arrived in Pearis and landed on the usual lake. It seemed that the people had gotten used to Blackbird because nobody stopped to stare at me anymore. I then walked towards Cherry's house hoping that she would be there so I could just take her to Strawberryland without having to look for her first. Once I arrived there I took Speak All from my backpack and put it on my head, then I knocked on the door.

"Blackberry!" A voice I recognized as Cherry called from behind.

"Cherry!" I said as I turned around and approached her. "How have you been?"

"Cherry fine," she answered. "Where other friends?"

"They are all in Strawberryland. Would you like to come there?" I said. "There will be a friendship festival there."

"Friendship festival?" she asked.

"There are lots of new friends you have never seen before," I said.

"More friends?" she asked.

"Yes. So, would you like to come?" I asked.

"Cherry come!" she said in excitement.

So, everything was settled and the two of us departed to Strawberryland. The flight went without any trouble and we arrived 30 minutes later. However, as I piloted Blackbird over Angel Cake's house, I saw that the house and the ground in front of it had been flooded with doughs. I then landed Blackbird on nearby clean ground and got off along with Cherry, whom I had given Speak All to. We then approached the group who were standing near the edge of dough flood.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"Well, I had a big little accident," Angel replied.

"How accident?" Cherry asked.

"Well, I had to start over because of another little accident. I ran outta time so I used the things Blackberry had lend to me," Angel said.

"And you used them all in maximum power I guess?" I said, and she nodded with guilty feeling. "Yeah, that was the thing I wanted to tell you. Maximum power can cause something like this."

I didn't know what to say next because I was probably the one to blame as well for not properly warning Angel Cake. There was a silence for a few seconds, then I remembered something.

"By the way, where's Strawberry?" I asked.

"Well, she got really depressed and told us to call the festival off, then she left us. I sure could feel that she was really sad, right everyone? So what should we do now, huh everyone?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, maybe zee iz crying now in 'er 'ouse," Crepes said.

"Maybe we should go to her and cheer her up," Frosty said.

"But what about the festival? Is it really cancelled?" Tangerina asked.

"No, it is not and it will not be," I said. "Let's clean all these up and make the cake again, all together this time."

"You're right, Blackberry. Nothing will stop us, nope, not ever will!" Ginger said.

"But what about Strawberry?" Orange asked.

"I will go. It was my fault anyway for not being honest from the start," Angel said, taking her apron and chef hat off. Then she walked away leaving the rest of the group to do all the cleaning up. It was not that difficult, though. With everyone working together, and also with the help of Ginger's cleaning machine, the cleaning up only took less than one hour. Angel Cake returned right at the time we were done.

"Wow, you all have cleaned my house so fast. Thank you berry much!" she said.

"It was no problem. Nope, not at all!" Ginger said.

"Anyway, how's Strawberry?" I asked.

"She's fine. She will come with Tea Blossom soon, and then we can start making the friendship cake together," Angel replied.

"That's good to hear. I will get other friends to come here in the meantime," I said.

"Cherry go with Blackberry?" Cherry asked, pulling my shirt.

"Okay if you want to," I replied. "Shall we go now?"

"We go," Cherry said.

Then, the two of us left Angel Cake's house to invite the remaining friends who were yet to come. To be exact, they were Huck, Blueberry, Raspberry, Lemon, Apricot, Rainbow, and Peppermint. We walked to their homes and asked them to come with us to the festival, and all of them agreed with pleasure. As the nine of us arrived at Strawberry's house, where the festival was supposed to be held, we saw that they had finished making the friendship cake. So, all of us approached them and let the wonderful fun time to start.


--End of Chapter 25-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-48.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:43:17 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-48.html Quote:Chapter 24: Little Cherry


At the next day after the trip to Pearis, I went to Blueberry Muffin's house to ask if they wanted to go to Pearis again to look for Strawberry, whom I assumed to be still there.

"Apple Dumplin' not want," Apple said, which surprised me a bit.

"Oh, why is that?" I asked.

"Apple Dumplin' play here. Tomorrow go," she replied, which I could clearly understand.

"Tomorrow then?" Blueberry asked.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow then," I said, and I left the place.

Even though it had been settled, what I had seen at the previous night still worried me. Strawberry couldn't drive a car, and I had seen her driving a bus. Not to mention the man who had been chasing her. Because I was very curious, I decided to go to Pearis again on my own.

Right after arriving home, I took my backpack and got onboard Blackbird. I then turned its engine on, set the destination, and spoke the usual keyword. "Hit it, Blackbird!"

The flight went without any trouble, and 30 minutes later Blackbird arrived in Pearis. I then switched it into manual control and piloted it to land on the lake where I had parked it at the previous day. After completing the landing, I put Speak All on my head, got off Blackbird, and put the vehicle into invisibility. Like in the previous day, some people stared with confused face, but I ignored them and walked away.

While walking towards Chez Crepes, where I expected Strawberry to be, I noticed a bus parked nearby as the bus I had seen at the previous night because the man who had chased the bus was standing right next to it drinking a cup of coffee. I then approached the man.

"Hello, sir," I greeted.

"Good day, how can I help?" he replied.

"Well, I'm curious about what happened last night," I said. "I saw you chasing this bus."

"Oh, that... Two kids accidentally made my bus run while I was sitting at a nearby cafe having a cup of coffee," he replied. "That's why now I have my coffee right here. I don't want it to happen again."

"Oh, but I heard you yelling ``Stop! Thief!'' that time," I said.

"I was surprised and panicked. But when I found out that they were kids, I then understood," he said.

"Did anything bad happen to them?" I asked.

"No, they found the brake at the right time," he replied.

"Glad to hear that," I said.

"Are they your friends?" he asked.

"Umm, yes," I said.

"One of them gave me money for damage, but they only broke the gear shift stick. The amount she gave was too much. Maybe I can ask you to return this to her?" he said, taking some money from his pocket and giving it to me.

"Oh, okay," I said, accepting the money.

"Well, it's time to work again. I better get going," The man said, looking at his watch. "Do you want me to take you to her place?"

"Hmm, no, I'll walk myself. Thanks," I replied.

"Okay, then see you later, kid," he said, getting on his bus, and then the bus went away.

With the information I had just obtained, I had no reason to stay in Pearis for any longer. I then decided to go home immediately and let Strawberry have her good time with her new friend for that day. While walking back to where I had parked Blackbird, Someone called me from behind.

"Hey, Blackberry!" the voice I recognized as Cherry called.

"Oh, hi, Cherry!" I replied, turning around to see her.

"Where Blackberry friends?" she asked.

"They are home. I come alone today," I replied. "And I'm going back home now."

"Why so fast?" she asked.

"I'll come again tomorrow. Don't worry," I replied.

"Cherry can go to Blackberry home?" she asked, which kinda surprised me.

"Uh, well, my house is... far away," I said.

"Cherry can walk far," she said.

"No, I mean, umm..." I said, running out of words.

"Blackberry not like Cherry?" she asked.

"Of course it's not like that. It's just that..." I said, pausing for a moment. I doubted on granting her wish because like how I felt about Apple, Cherry was still too little to do a long trip. However, like before, pity defeated it. "Alright then, come with me."

"Thank you!" she said, clapping her hands in excitement. Then I brought her with me to the place I had parked Blackbird.

"Wait a moment..." I said, digging through my pocket to find Blackbird's remote.

"Okay," she replied as I found the remote. I then put Blackbird out of its invisibility, which then surprised her. "What this?"

"This is Blackbird. Now do you still want to come to my house?" I asked.

"Cherry want," she replied.

"Then get inside, otherwise we won't get there at all," I said. She then got inside and sat on the left back seat as I sat on the pilot seat.

"This car? Or this plane?" she asked as I turned the engine on and set the destination.

"I can say... plane. Hit it, Blackbird!" I replied, and Blackbird departed to Strawberryland.

"Aaaa!" she shouted, being pressed by the force of acceleration.

"Hold on! It will pass!" I told her, and soon the acceleration stopped.

"Cherry surprised," she said.

"It's fine, don't worry. We will arrive in 30 minutes," I said.

"Where Blackberry home?" she asked.

"A place called Strawberryland," I answered.

"Strawberryland?" she said. "Many friends?"

"Yes, there are a lot of friends there. You have met Blueberry Muffin, right. She really loves books and she has a lot of them in her house," I said.

"More friends?" she asked.

"Yes. There's also this Angel Cake. She is..." I replied and ended up telling her everything about every friends I knew. Even when Blackbird arrived in Strawberryland, I was not finished yet.

"More friends?" she kept asking.

"It's better to meet them yourself. We're here," I replied, noticing that Blackbird had stopped right above Strawberryland. "Switch to manual."

While piloting Blackbird manually towards my house, I noticed a group of friends, who were Raspberry, Orange, Huck, Ginger, Apple, and Angel, playing ball in the outfield. I then thought it would be better to land there so that Cherry could meet them soon, and i decided so. I then piloted Blackbird towards the group and landed next to them. I could notice their confused face because they hadn't ever seen Blackbird yet, but then I got off.

"Hi, everyone," I greeted them.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Raspberry greeted back. "See? I told you that it must have been him!"

"I thought so too, but that is not the flying car I remember," Orange said.

"So you've made a new flying car, huh Blackberry Bun? What's the difference, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked. "And what's with that thing on your head, huh Blackberry Bun?"

"Well, we can save that for later. Let me introduce you all to a new friend," I said.

"A new friend? Who? Where?" Huck asked.

"Come here, Cherry!" I said towards Blackbird, and Cherry came out from it.

"Cherry!" Apple said.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Angel commented.

"Cherry not understand," Cherry said, which put everyone else besides me into a confused face.

"Huh? What did she say?" Orange asked.

"I don't understand," Raspberry said.

"Oh, I forgot..." I said, taking Speak All from my head and then putting it on Cherry's head. "There. Now introduce yourself, Cherry."

"Hi, everyone. Me Cherry Cuddler," Cherry said.

"Hi, Cherry. I'm Angel Cake," Angel said.

"The name's Ginger Snap. Like in snap!" Ginger said, snapping her finger.

"I'm Huckleberry Pie," Huck said.

"I'm Orange Blossom," Orange said.

"Raspberry Torte," Raspberry said.

"Cherry know Apple Dumplin'" Apple said.

"Where do you come from?" Angel asked.

"Pearis," Cherry answered.

"Pearis? The place Strawberry is going to?" Orange asked.

"Certainly," I replied, then I told them all about my trip with Blueberry and Apple and how we had met Cherry for the first time. After I was done telling, all of us began to have a fun time playing together. The wonderful time lasted for several hours until Cherry began to look tired and drowsy.

"Cherry tired," she said, yawning.

"Huh? But there are still a lot of time before bedtime," Huck said, looking at the bright blue sky.

"In Pearis it's almost bedtime," I said, looking at my watch. "Come, Cherry. I'll take you home."

"We meet again?" Cherry asked.

"Yes, of course," Raspberry said.

"Let's play again someday," Huck said.

"Come here, Cherry. Let me hug you first before you go," Angel said, offering open arms.

"Cherry love hug," Cherry said, approaching Angel and then the two of them had a big hug.

Cherry then got onboard Blackbird and I followed as well. She waved her hand to the kids and they did the same to her, saying proper goodbye as I closed Blackbird's door. Soon, Blackbird departed to Pearis leaving the kids on the outfield of Strawberryland gazing at the bright blue sky.

Half an hour later we arrived in Pearis, and indeed it was already dark over there. I got off Blackbird expecting Cherry to follow, but she didn't. I then had a bad feeling and took a look at the back seat, and indeed the feeling was right. Cherry fell asleep on the seat, and looking at her peaceful face I couldn't make it to wake her up. I then carefully took Speak All from her head and put it on my head. Then I carefully put her on my back and carried her on it.

I intended to somehow find Cherry's house and carry her all the way there, although I still didn't know how. I remembered her saying that her house was close, so I then decided to ask people around if they knew about Cherry and her home. Just as I started to walk away from Blackbird, someone called from behind.

"Hey, kid!" the voice I recognized as the dog catcher called.

"Oh, good evening, sir," I replied, turning around.

"I see that you are indeed a visitor like I thought," he said, looking at Blackbird which I had forgotten to put invisibility on.

"Yeah, I come from a far away place," I replied. "Its name is Strawberryland."

"Strawberryland?!" he said with surprised face.

"You know it?" I asked.

"Well, you see, I have a twin brother and he works there as a ticket collector on trains," he replied. "Anyway, what happened to Little Cherry?"

"Oh, you actually know her?" I asked.

"Almost every people around here know her as Little Cherry. Everyday she walks around and greets every single person she meets," he answered.

"Oh, that's good to hear. She visited Strawberryland and fell asleep on the way back here. Now I'm looking for her house so I can carry her there," I said.

"I see. Then I'll take you there myself," he said.

"Thank you, sir!" I said.

The dog catcher then escorted me all the way to Cherry's house, which was not much different than Chez Crepes in terms of size. It was indeed close from the place I had parked Blackbird at.

"Does she live alone here?" I asked as we stood right in front of her house.

"Yes," he replied. "But with so many friends she has around, I can't say that she lives alone."

"I see..." I said.

"Let's go in. She welcomes anyone to come so she never locks the door," he said, opening the front door.

"Isn't it dangerous?" I asked. I thought that it was possible for someone as mean as Licorice Whip or Purple Pie Man to exist in the city, looking at the amount of people living in it.

"Many people think so too and tried to advise her, but well..." he replied. "She is too trusting when it comes to this."

"Oh, I see," I said.

We then went all the way to Cherry's bedroom, which in my opinion was nice and cozy. I then carefully put her on the bed there and covered her with the blanket on it. I took one last look on her cute and peaceful face and then the two of us quietly left the bedroom and the house as well.

"Thank you for the help, sir," I said, closing the front door.

"It was no problem," he replied. "By the way, the poodle found its owner."

"That's good to hear," I said as both of us started to walk back to my Blackbird.

"The owner is the girl who owns Chez Crepes," he said. "Oh, and I saw the girl in strawberry hat with her too,"

"I see. I'll come again tomorrow to visit her," I said.

Later we arrived at the place where I had parked Blackbird. I then got onboard and turned the engine on, but before closing the door I said my farewell to the dog catcher.

"Bye for now, sir. Once again thanks for your help," I said.

"You're welcome, kid. And say hello to my brother for me if you meet him someday," he said.

I nodded as a reply, and then I closed Blackbird's door. After setting the destination and speaking the usual keyword, Blackbird departed to Strawberryland, leaving the dog catcher gazing at the night sky and waving his hand.

30 minutes later I arrived back in Strawberryland. I saw that the same kids were still playing in the outfield. I then landed next to them and got off.

"She's now asleep in her house," I said.

"I sure hope to meet her again," Orange said.

"Yeah, she's very nice," Huck said.

"She's so cute and cheerful! And hugging her felt so nice!" Angel said.

"You can say that again," Raspberry said.

"By the way, Blackberry. You haven't answered my question, am I right? I bet this new flying car has something special the other car doesn't, am I right again? What is it, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked.

"Well, alright. This is Blackbird. It is much faster than Falcon and can travel in much longer distance," I replied, looking towards Blackbird. "However, there are many things which Falcon can do while Blackbird can't."

"Really? What are those things, huh Blackberry Bun?" she asked again, and I replied telling her the same things I had told Blueberry at the day before. The rest of the day passed without anything special.

At the next day, as I had promised, I went back to Pearis with Blueberry and Apple. On the way of the flight, I told Blueberry about the bus chase which happened to Strawberry, and the money I had to return to Crepes Suzette. After we arrived I landed Blackbird on the usual spot, and then the three of us walked towards Chez Crepes. However, while we were getting close, at a distance we saw Strawberry's balloon floating up leaving the city.

"Binoculars!" I said, and my backpack gave me the item which I used to take a closer look at the balloon. Indeed the passengers were Strawberry and her pets, although I noticed Strawberry wearing a different outfit.

"I think we are a little too late," Blueberry said.

"Late," Apple said.

"Let's go there anyway. We haven't seen the new friend, right?" I said.

"You're right. Let's go there," Blueberry said.

"Apple want see new friend," Apple said.

The three of us continued walking until we arrived at Chez Crepes. We noticed one mannequin in the display wearing Strawberry's outfit and then we went inside. There was a girl looking away from us, seeming not to notice us entering. The girl wore Strawberry's outfit, but because of her long pink hair I could notice that she was not Strawberry.

"Strawberry Shortcake? Is that you?" Blueberry said, seeming not to notice the difference. The girl then looked at us.

"Good day! 'ow can I 'elp you?" she said.

"Oh, you're not Strawberry," Blueberry said.

"No. I'm Crepes Suzette. Strawbelly S'ortcake iz my friend and ze 'az gone 'ome," she said.

"Is my Speak All not functioning well, or is she trying to speak in our language? It's kinda hard to understand her," I whispered to Blueberry.

"She's trying to speak in our language," Blueberry said.

"I see," I said, then I put Speak All off from my head.

"We are friends of Strawberry too. I'm Blueberry Muffin," Blueberry said to Crepes. "Nice to meet you, Crepes."

"Apple Dumplin' is Strawberry sister," Apple said.

"I'm Blackberry Bun," I said. "Oh, before I forget. Please take this," I continued, giving her the money from the bus driver.

"What iz zese money?" Crepes asked.

"The one you gave to the bus driver. I met him yesterday, and he said it was too much so he asked me to return this," I answered.

"O' I zee. T'ankz," she said, accepting the money.

"So, are you coming to the festival?" I asked.

"Feztival? W'at feztival?" she asked, pausing for a brief moment. "Oh, Strawbelly's friendz'ip feztival! I zure will!"

"That's good to hear," I said.

"But not now! You zee, t'ere iz a fas'ion contezt t'morrow and I'm going to be t'ere!" she said. "After t'at I will write 'er a letter and t'en I'll come!"

"I see. Then I wish you luck on the contest," I said.

"Merci!" she said. "T'at means t'ank you!"

Soon, the three of us left Chez Crepes. There was not much left to do because we had walked around town two days before, so at first we intended to go home. However, I soon remembered something.

"By the way, how about visiting Cherry's house?" I asked.

"That's absoloo-tely a great idea!" Blueberry said.

"Where Cherry house?" Apple asked.

"It's close from Blackbird like she has said," I replied, putting Speak All back on my head.

"Then let's go there," Blueberry said, and then we walked towards Cherry's house.

The trip towards Cherry's house didn't take long. Soon we arrived in front of her house, and I knocked on the door. We waited for a moment but there was no answer. I knocked the door once again, but like before there was no answer at all. I then tried opening the door, but it was locked.

"It's locked..." I said. "That's weird."

"Probably she's walking around town like before," Blueberry said.

"No. I was told that she never locks her door," I replied. "I have a bad feeling... Vision!"

My backpack then gave me the device I had asked for, and then I replaced my glasses with it. Using the device, I observed the inside of Cherry's house. At first I only saw empty rooms, but once I got to see Cherry's living room I got surprised. I saw a man whose face was covered in cloth and shades digging through all shelves, cabinets, and drawers in the house. In the same room I saw Cherry sitting on the floor leaning to the wall. Her arms and legs were tied up and her mouth was gagged with a cloth.

"Oh no. There's a thief inside, and he has taken Cherry hostage," I said.

"What?!" Blueberry said, surprised.

"Call the police, quickly!" I said, taking Replicator and copying Speak All to Blueberry's head.

"What about you?" she asked as the copy of Speak All materialized on her head.

"I will go inside to make sure Cherry will be fine," I said, taking Blind Spot and putting it on my shirt.

"Okay, be careful," she said, and then she left with Apple in a hurry.

I then used Key Master to open the door quietly. Once I got inside I closed and locked the door again, and then I quietly walked to the living room. When I got there the thief was still in there searching for things to steal. I had no idea about how to buy time so the police would come before the thief escaped or harmed Cherry any further.

While thinking, I got careless and bumped on a small shelf, resulting the fall of some things which had been put on it. The thief got alarmed and looked towards the place I was standing on. Of course he didn't see me because Blind Spot kept me invisible.

"Who's there?!" he shoutes, and I kept myself silent.

Because there was no answer, the thief then continued searching. I still got no idea at all, so for then I decided to approach Cherry and calm her down, because she seemed very afraid. I then quietly kneeled next to her and started whispering.

"Cherry..." I whispered.

"Mmm?" Cherry mumbled, looking around.

"It's me. Blackberry Bun," I whispered. "Don't worry, Cherry. I'm here to keep you safe. Just calm down, okay?"

"Mmm..." Cherry mumbled, nodding. Her face no longer showed any fright.

"Hey! Who are you talking to?!" the thief suddenly asked.

"Mmmm!" Cherry mumbled, shaking her head.

"Don't say you're talking with a... ghost!? I'm afraid of ghost," he said, starting to show signs of fear.

"Mmm," Cherry mumbled and shook her head again. Then the thief continued his search.

What had just happened gave me an idea. I then took Telekinator and used it to lift a small vase and put it again quickly so it made a noise. The thief noticed the sound and looked at the vase. I then lifted the vase and put it down once again. The thief started to show greater signs of fear.

"G-g-ghost?" he said, trembling. Then I lifted more things with both telekinator and my own hand, and I also shook some furniture in the room. Seeing all those seemed to frighten him so greatly that he became speechless and didn't move at all.

"D-d-don't come near me!" he said, trembling greatly. Another idea came to my mind and I put it into practice immediately.

"I'm the guardian of this house! You have trespassed into my home, and you will be punished!" I shouted with heavy voice.

"N-n-no! Please no!" he begged, running away towards the front door. I followed him and saw him trying to open the door I had locked. He was so afraid that he didn't notice the key of the door hanging in the keyhole.

"What punishment should I give you for breaking in?" I shouted with heavy voice again.

"No! Please don't! I... I have learned my lesson! No more breaking into a house! I promise!" he said, leaning to the door and trembling. I then heard a sound of siren coming close.

"Then turn yourself in to the police outside!" I shouted.

"O-okay! I will!" he said, calming down.

He then opened the door and turn himself in to the police Blueberry had called. One policeman immediately went inside after the thief had confessed to have a hostage in the house. In the living room he saw Cherry still tied up and gagged there, and immediately released her.

"Are you okay, Little Cherry?" he asked.

"Cherry afraid..." Cherry said, hugging the policeman.

"It's okay, Little Cherry. It's over now," he said. "Next time please lock the door and don't open it for someone you don't know okay?"

"Cherry promise..." Cherry said.

After everything had been over and the policemen had left, there were only Cherry, Blueberry, and Apple left inside the house. I then took Blind Spot off from my shirt and threw it back into my backpack.

"I'm glad we were here at the right time," I said.

"Thank you, all," Cherry said. "Cherry promise Cherry lock door."

"That's good to hear," I said.

All of us then spent some fun time together until Cherry's bedtime came. With proper goodbye the three of us then left Cherry's house and walked back to where I had parked Blackbird. Soon, we arrived there, got onboard, and then with the usual keywords Blackbird departed to Strawberryland.

--End of Chapter 24-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 24: Little Cherry


At the next day after the trip to Pearis, I went to Blueberry Muffin's house to ask if they wanted to go to Pearis again to look for Strawberry, whom I assumed to be still there.

"Apple Dumplin' not want," Apple said, which surprised me a bit.

"Oh, why is that?" I asked.

"Apple Dumplin' play here. Tomorrow go," she replied, which I could clearly understand.

"Tomorrow then?" Blueberry asked.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow then," I said, and I left the place.

Even though it had been settled, what I had seen at the previous night still worried me. Strawberry couldn't drive a car, and I had seen her driving a bus. Not to mention the man who had been chasing her. Because I was very curious, I decided to go to Pearis again on my own.

Right after arriving home, I took my backpack and got onboard Blackbird. I then turned its engine on, set the destination, and spoke the usual keyword. "Hit it, Blackbird!"

The flight went without any trouble, and 30 minutes later Blackbird arrived in Pearis. I then switched it into manual control and piloted it to land on the lake where I had parked it at the previous day. After completing the landing, I put Speak All on my head, got off Blackbird, and put the vehicle into invisibility. Like in the previous day, some people stared with confused face, but I ignored them and walked away.

While walking towards Chez Crepes, where I expected Strawberry to be, I noticed a bus parked nearby as the bus I had seen at the previous night because the man who had chased the bus was standing right next to it drinking a cup of coffee. I then approached the man.

"Hello, sir," I greeted.

"Good day, how can I help?" he replied.

"Well, I'm curious about what happened last night," I said. "I saw you chasing this bus."

"Oh, that... Two kids accidentally made my bus run while I was sitting at a nearby cafe having a cup of coffee," he replied. "That's why now I have my coffee right here. I don't want it to happen again."

"Oh, but I heard you yelling ``Stop! Thief!'' that time," I said.

"I was surprised and panicked. But when I found out that they were kids, I then understood," he said.

"Did anything bad happen to them?" I asked.

"No, they found the brake at the right time," he replied.

"Glad to hear that," I said.

"Are they your friends?" he asked.

"Umm, yes," I said.

"One of them gave me money for damage, but they only broke the gear shift stick. The amount she gave was too much. Maybe I can ask you to return this to her?" he said, taking some money from his pocket and giving it to me.

"Oh, okay," I said, accepting the money.

"Well, it's time to work again. I better get going," The man said, looking at his watch. "Do you want me to take you to her place?"

"Hmm, no, I'll walk myself. Thanks," I replied.

"Okay, then see you later, kid," he said, getting on his bus, and then the bus went away.

With the information I had just obtained, I had no reason to stay in Pearis for any longer. I then decided to go home immediately and let Strawberry have her good time with her new friend for that day. While walking back to where I had parked Blackbird, Someone called me from behind.

"Hey, Blackberry!" the voice I recognized as Cherry called.

"Oh, hi, Cherry!" I replied, turning around to see her.

"Where Blackberry friends?" she asked.

"They are home. I come alone today," I replied. "And I'm going back home now."

"Why so fast?" she asked.

"I'll come again tomorrow. Don't worry," I replied.

"Cherry can go to Blackberry home?" she asked, which kinda surprised me.

"Uh, well, my house is... far away," I said.

"Cherry can walk far," she said.

"No, I mean, umm..." I said, running out of words.

"Blackberry not like Cherry?" she asked.

"Of course it's not like that. It's just that..." I said, pausing for a moment. I doubted on granting her wish because like how I felt about Apple, Cherry was still too little to do a long trip. However, like before, pity defeated it. "Alright then, come with me."

"Thank you!" she said, clapping her hands in excitement. Then I brought her with me to the place I had parked Blackbird.

"Wait a moment..." I said, digging through my pocket to find Blackbird's remote.

"Okay," she replied as I found the remote. I then put Blackbird out of its invisibility, which then surprised her. "What this?"

"This is Blackbird. Now do you still want to come to my house?" I asked.

"Cherry want," she replied.

"Then get inside, otherwise we won't get there at all," I said. She then got inside and sat on the left back seat as I sat on the pilot seat.

"This car? Or this plane?" she asked as I turned the engine on and set the destination.

"I can say... plane. Hit it, Blackbird!" I replied, and Blackbird departed to Strawberryland.

"Aaaa!" she shouted, being pressed by the force of acceleration.

"Hold on! It will pass!" I told her, and soon the acceleration stopped.

"Cherry surprised," she said.

"It's fine, don't worry. We will arrive in 30 minutes," I said.

"Where Blackberry home?" she asked.

"A place called Strawberryland," I answered.

"Strawberryland?" she said. "Many friends?"

"Yes, there are a lot of friends there. You have met Blueberry Muffin, right. She really loves books and she has a lot of them in her house," I said.

"More friends?" she asked.

"Yes. There's also this Angel Cake. She is..." I replied and ended up telling her everything about every friends I knew. Even when Blackbird arrived in Strawberryland, I was not finished yet.

"More friends?" she kept asking.

"It's better to meet them yourself. We're here," I replied, noticing that Blackbird had stopped right above Strawberryland. "Switch to manual."

While piloting Blackbird manually towards my house, I noticed a group of friends, who were Raspberry, Orange, Huck, Ginger, Apple, and Angel, playing ball in the outfield. I then thought it would be better to land there so that Cherry could meet them soon, and i decided so. I then piloted Blackbird towards the group and landed next to them. I could notice their confused face because they hadn't ever seen Blackbird yet, but then I got off.

"Hi, everyone," I greeted them.

"Hi, Blackberry!" Raspberry greeted back. "See? I told you that it must have been him!"

"I thought so too, but that is not the flying car I remember," Orange said.

"So you've made a new flying car, huh Blackberry Bun? What's the difference, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked. "And what's with that thing on your head, huh Blackberry Bun?"

"Well, we can save that for later. Let me introduce you all to a new friend," I said.

"A new friend? Who? Where?" Huck asked.

"Come here, Cherry!" I said towards Blackbird, and Cherry came out from it.

"Cherry!" Apple said.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Angel commented.

"Cherry not understand," Cherry said, which put everyone else besides me into a confused face.

"Huh? What did she say?" Orange asked.

"I don't understand," Raspberry said.

"Oh, I forgot..." I said, taking Speak All from my head and then putting it on Cherry's head. "There. Now introduce yourself, Cherry."

"Hi, everyone. Me Cherry Cuddler," Cherry said.

"Hi, Cherry. I'm Angel Cake," Angel said.

"The name's Ginger Snap. Like in snap!" Ginger said, snapping her finger.

"I'm Huckleberry Pie," Huck said.

"I'm Orange Blossom," Orange said.

"Raspberry Torte," Raspberry said.

"Cherry know Apple Dumplin'" Apple said.

"Where do you come from?" Angel asked.

"Pearis," Cherry answered.

"Pearis? The place Strawberry is going to?" Orange asked.

"Certainly," I replied, then I told them all about my trip with Blueberry and Apple and how we had met Cherry for the first time. After I was done telling, all of us began to have a fun time playing together. The wonderful time lasted for several hours until Cherry began to look tired and drowsy.

"Cherry tired," she said, yawning.

"Huh? But there are still a lot of time before bedtime," Huck said, looking at the bright blue sky.

"In Pearis it's almost bedtime," I said, looking at my watch. "Come, Cherry. I'll take you home."

"We meet again?" Cherry asked.

"Yes, of course," Raspberry said.

"Let's play again someday," Huck said.

"Come here, Cherry. Let me hug you first before you go," Angel said, offering open arms.

"Cherry love hug," Cherry said, approaching Angel and then the two of them had a big hug.

Cherry then got onboard Blackbird and I followed as well. She waved her hand to the kids and they did the same to her, saying proper goodbye as I closed Blackbird's door. Soon, Blackbird departed to Pearis leaving the kids on the outfield of Strawberryland gazing at the bright blue sky.

Half an hour later we arrived in Pearis, and indeed it was already dark over there. I got off Blackbird expecting Cherry to follow, but she didn't. I then had a bad feeling and took a look at the back seat, and indeed the feeling was right. Cherry fell asleep on the seat, and looking at her peaceful face I couldn't make it to wake her up. I then carefully took Speak All from her head and put it on my head. Then I carefully put her on my back and carried her on it.

I intended to somehow find Cherry's house and carry her all the way there, although I still didn't know how. I remembered her saying that her house was close, so I then decided to ask people around if they knew about Cherry and her home. Just as I started to walk away from Blackbird, someone called from behind.

"Hey, kid!" the voice I recognized as the dog catcher called.

"Oh, good evening, sir," I replied, turning around.

"I see that you are indeed a visitor like I thought," he said, looking at Blackbird which I had forgotten to put invisibility on.

"Yeah, I come from a far away place," I replied. "Its name is Strawberryland."

"Strawberryland?!" he said with surprised face.

"You know it?" I asked.

"Well, you see, I have a twin brother and he works there as a ticket collector on trains," he replied. "Anyway, what happened to Little Cherry?"

"Oh, you actually know her?" I asked.

"Almost every people around here know her as Little Cherry. Everyday she walks around and greets every single person she meets," he answered.

"Oh, that's good to hear. She visited Strawberryland and fell asleep on the way back here. Now I'm looking for her house so I can carry her there," I said.

"I see. Then I'll take you there myself," he said.

"Thank you, sir!" I said.

The dog catcher then escorted me all the way to Cherry's house, which was not much different than Chez Crepes in terms of size. It was indeed close from the place I had parked Blackbird at.

"Does she live alone here?" I asked as we stood right in front of her house.

"Yes," he replied. "But with so many friends she has around, I can't say that she lives alone."

"I see..." I said.

"Let's go in. She welcomes anyone to come so she never locks the door," he said, opening the front door.

"Isn't it dangerous?" I asked. I thought that it was possible for someone as mean as Licorice Whip or Purple Pie Man to exist in the city, looking at the amount of people living in it.

"Many people think so too and tried to advise her, but well..." he replied. "She is too trusting when it comes to this."

"Oh, I see," I said.

We then went all the way to Cherry's bedroom, which in my opinion was nice and cozy. I then carefully put her on the bed there and covered her with the blanket on it. I took one last look on her cute and peaceful face and then the two of us quietly left the bedroom and the house as well.

"Thank you for the help, sir," I said, closing the front door.

"It was no problem," he replied. "By the way, the poodle found its owner."

"That's good to hear," I said as both of us started to walk back to my Blackbird.

"The owner is the girl who owns Chez Crepes," he said. "Oh, and I saw the girl in strawberry hat with her too,"

"I see. I'll come again tomorrow to visit her," I said.

Later we arrived at the place where I had parked Blackbird. I then got onboard and turned the engine on, but before closing the door I said my farewell to the dog catcher.

"Bye for now, sir. Once again thanks for your help," I said.

"You're welcome, kid. And say hello to my brother for me if you meet him someday," he said.

I nodded as a reply, and then I closed Blackbird's door. After setting the destination and speaking the usual keyword, Blackbird departed to Strawberryland, leaving the dog catcher gazing at the night sky and waving his hand.

30 minutes later I arrived back in Strawberryland. I saw that the same kids were still playing in the outfield. I then landed next to them and got off.

"She's now asleep in her house," I said.

"I sure hope to meet her again," Orange said.

"Yeah, she's very nice," Huck said.

"She's so cute and cheerful! And hugging her felt so nice!" Angel said.

"You can say that again," Raspberry said.

"By the way, Blackberry. You haven't answered my question, am I right? I bet this new flying car has something special the other car doesn't, am I right again? What is it, huh Blackberry Bun?" Ginger asked.

"Well, alright. This is Blackbird. It is much faster than Falcon and can travel in much longer distance," I replied, looking towards Blackbird. "However, there are many things which Falcon can do while Blackbird can't."

"Really? What are those things, huh Blackberry Bun?" she asked again, and I replied telling her the same things I had told Blueberry at the day before. The rest of the day passed without anything special.

At the next day, as I had promised, I went back to Pearis with Blueberry and Apple. On the way of the flight, I told Blueberry about the bus chase which happened to Strawberry, and the money I had to return to Crepes Suzette. After we arrived I landed Blackbird on the usual spot, and then the three of us walked towards Chez Crepes. However, while we were getting close, at a distance we saw Strawberry's balloon floating up leaving the city.

"Binoculars!" I said, and my backpack gave me the item which I used to take a closer look at the balloon. Indeed the passengers were Strawberry and her pets, although I noticed Strawberry wearing a different outfit.

"I think we are a little too late," Blueberry said.

"Late," Apple said.

"Let's go there anyway. We haven't seen the new friend, right?" I said.

"You're right. Let's go there," Blueberry said.

"Apple want see new friend," Apple said.

The three of us continued walking until we arrived at Chez Crepes. We noticed one mannequin in the display wearing Strawberry's outfit and then we went inside. There was a girl looking away from us, seeming not to notice us entering. The girl wore Strawberry's outfit, but because of her long pink hair I could notice that she was not Strawberry.

"Strawberry Shortcake? Is that you?" Blueberry said, seeming not to notice the difference. The girl then looked at us.

"Good day! 'ow can I 'elp you?" she said.

"Oh, you're not Strawberry," Blueberry said.

"No. I'm Crepes Suzette. Strawbelly S'ortcake iz my friend and ze 'az gone 'ome," she said.

"Is my Speak All not functioning well, or is she trying to speak in our language? It's kinda hard to understand her," I whispered to Blueberry.

"She's trying to speak in our language," Blueberry said.

"I see," I said, then I put Speak All off from my head.

"We are friends of Strawberry too. I'm Blueberry Muffin," Blueberry said to Crepes. "Nice to meet you, Crepes."

"Apple Dumplin' is Strawberry sister," Apple said.

"I'm Blackberry Bun," I said. "Oh, before I forget. Please take this," I continued, giving her the money from the bus driver.

"What iz zese money?" Crepes asked.

"The one you gave to the bus driver. I met him yesterday, and he said it was too much so he asked me to return this," I answered.

"O' I zee. T'ankz," she said, accepting the money.

"So, are you coming to the festival?" I asked.

"Feztival? W'at feztival?" she asked, pausing for a brief moment. "Oh, Strawbelly's friendz'ip feztival! I zure will!"

"That's good to hear," I said.

"But not now! You zee, t'ere iz a fas'ion contezt t'morrow and I'm going to be t'ere!" she said. "After t'at I will write 'er a letter and t'en I'll come!"

"I see. Then I wish you luck on the contest," I said.

"Merci!" she said. "T'at means t'ank you!"

Soon, the three of us left Chez Crepes. There was not much left to do because we had walked around town two days before, so at first we intended to go home. However, I soon remembered something.

"By the way, how about visiting Cherry's house?" I asked.

"That's absoloo-tely a great idea!" Blueberry said.

"Where Cherry house?" Apple asked.

"It's close from Blackbird like she has said," I replied, putting Speak All back on my head.

"Then let's go there," Blueberry said, and then we walked towards Cherry's house.

The trip towards Cherry's house didn't take long. Soon we arrived in front of her house, and I knocked on the door. We waited for a moment but there was no answer. I knocked the door once again, but like before there was no answer at all. I then tried opening the door, but it was locked.

"It's locked..." I said. "That's weird."

"Probably she's walking around town like before," Blueberry said.

"No. I was told that she never locks her door," I replied. "I have a bad feeling... Vision!"

My backpack then gave me the device I had asked for, and then I replaced my glasses with it. Using the device, I observed the inside of Cherry's house. At first I only saw empty rooms, but once I got to see Cherry's living room I got surprised. I saw a man whose face was covered in cloth and shades digging through all shelves, cabinets, and drawers in the house. In the same room I saw Cherry sitting on the floor leaning to the wall. Her arms and legs were tied up and her mouth was gagged with a cloth.

"Oh no. There's a thief inside, and he has taken Cherry hostage," I said.

"What?!" Blueberry said, surprised.

"Call the police, quickly!" I said, taking Replicator and copying Speak All to Blueberry's head.

"What about you?" she asked as the copy of Speak All materialized on her head.

"I will go inside to make sure Cherry will be fine," I said, taking Blind Spot and putting it on my shirt.

"Okay, be careful," she said, and then she left with Apple in a hurry.

I then used Key Master to open the door quietly. Once I got inside I closed and locked the door again, and then I quietly walked to the living room. When I got there the thief was still in there searching for things to steal. I had no idea about how to buy time so the police would come before the thief escaped or harmed Cherry any further.

While thinking, I got careless and bumped on a small shelf, resulting the fall of some things which had been put on it. The thief got alarmed and looked towards the place I was standing on. Of course he didn't see me because Blind Spot kept me invisible.

"Who's there?!" he shoutes, and I kept myself silent.

Because there was no answer, the thief then continued searching. I still got no idea at all, so for then I decided to approach Cherry and calm her down, because she seemed very afraid. I then quietly kneeled next to her and started whispering.

"Cherry..." I whispered.

"Mmm?" Cherry mumbled, looking around.

"It's me. Blackberry Bun," I whispered. "Don't worry, Cherry. I'm here to keep you safe. Just calm down, okay?"

"Mmm..." Cherry mumbled, nodding. Her face no longer showed any fright.

"Hey! Who are you talking to?!" the thief suddenly asked.

"Mmmm!" Cherry mumbled, shaking her head.

"Don't say you're talking with a... ghost!? I'm afraid of ghost," he said, starting to show signs of fear.

"Mmm," Cherry mumbled and shook her head again. Then the thief continued his search.

What had just happened gave me an idea. I then took Telekinator and used it to lift a small vase and put it again quickly so it made a noise. The thief noticed the sound and looked at the vase. I then lifted the vase and put it down once again. The thief started to show greater signs of fear.

"G-g-ghost?" he said, trembling. Then I lifted more things with both telekinator and my own hand, and I also shook some furniture in the room. Seeing all those seemed to frighten him so greatly that he became speechless and didn't move at all.

"D-d-don't come near me!" he said, trembling greatly. Another idea came to my mind and I put it into practice immediately.

"I'm the guardian of this house! You have trespassed into my home, and you will be punished!" I shouted with heavy voice.

"N-n-no! Please no!" he begged, running away towards the front door. I followed him and saw him trying to open the door I had locked. He was so afraid that he didn't notice the key of the door hanging in the keyhole.

"What punishment should I give you for breaking in?" I shouted with heavy voice again.

"No! Please don't! I... I have learned my lesson! No more breaking into a house! I promise!" he said, leaning to the door and trembling. I then heard a sound of siren coming close.

"Then turn yourself in to the police outside!" I shouted.

"O-okay! I will!" he said, calming down.

He then opened the door and turn himself in to the police Blueberry had called. One policeman immediately went inside after the thief had confessed to have a hostage in the house. In the living room he saw Cherry still tied up and gagged there, and immediately released her.

"Are you okay, Little Cherry?" he asked.

"Cherry afraid..." Cherry said, hugging the policeman.

"It's okay, Little Cherry. It's over now," he said. "Next time please lock the door and don't open it for someone you don't know okay?"

"Cherry promise..." Cherry said.

After everything had been over and the policemen had left, there were only Cherry, Blueberry, and Apple left inside the house. I then took Blind Spot off from my shirt and threw it back into my backpack.

"I'm glad we were here at the right time," I said.

"Thank you, all," Cherry said. "Cherry promise Cherry lock door."

"That's good to hear," I said.

All of us then spent some fun time together until Cherry's bedtime came. With proper goodbye the three of us then left Cherry's house and walked back to where I had parked Blackbird. Soon, we arrived there, got onboard, and then with the usual keywords Blackbird departed to Strawberryland.

--End of Chapter 24-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-47.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:42:22 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-47.html Quote:Chapter 23: Pearis


Two days have passed after my trip around the world with Peppermint. During the two days I had repaired Blackbird's recharger and put protection seals on the engine so it wouldn't have any more sand coming into it. I also made a new device named Speak All, the shape of which was a headset with a mike. If I wore it whenever someone spoke to me with a different language I didn't know, it would translate the language and I would hear everything in the language I knew. It also worked the other way so I would have no problem at all talking with anyone. I had made the device because I had known someday I would travel to a place where people speak in different languages.

After having lunch, I decided to go to the rooftop of my house and see the scenery around. I climbed the ladder which led to the rooftop and opened the trapdoor at its end. I then stood on the roof and saw that the scenery was quite enjoyable on that day, looking at the nice weather and the summer breeze I felt. I spent some minutes gazing at the scenery until I noticed something.

"A hot air balloon?" I thought, looking at the strawberry-shaped hot air balloon passing by. I then quickly came down into my house and returned to the roof with my spyglasses. I used it to take a closer look at the balloon and saw that the passengers were Strawberry and her two pets. I wondered where she was going to, but then I remembered something and decided to go to her house immediately.

I walked to Strawberry's house quite fast because I was curious about her sister. If Strawberry was away, then who would take care of Apple? With that in mind I kept walking towards her house. The trip went without anything happened on the way, and I arrived ten minutes later. I knocked on the door and then someone opened it. To my surprise, it was Huck who opened the door.

"Hi, Blackberry," he said.

"Hi, Huck. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Strawberry is away visiting a new friend, and I take care of the house in the meantime," he answered. "Not much to do, though. Just a little cleaning up daily and then done."

"A new friend? Who?" I asked.

"I heard that the name was Crepes Suzette. She lives in a place named Pearis if I remember it right," he answered.

"I see. By the way, I wonder about Apple. Where is she now?" I asked.

"Apple stays in Blueberry Muffin's place for now," he replied.

"Strawberry left her sister just like that? That does not feel right for me," I said.

"Can't be helped. The trip might be too dangerous for her. That's what Strawberry said," he said.

"I think I'll visit her now," I said. "See you later."

"Wait. I'll go with you. I'm done cleaning anyway," he said.

Later, the two of us walked to Blueberry Valley to visit Blueberry Muffin and Apple Dumplin there. The trip went without anything happened on the way, and as we arrived we heard something from inside the house.

"Apple Dumplin' go!" a voice we recognized as Apple said.

"It might be dangerous, Apple. And you're still..." another voice we recognized as Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' not too little!" Apple said.

We immediately entered the house to see what was happening. Once we entered, Apple noticed us and walked to me. Then she hugged my left leg.

"What's happening here?" I asked.

"Apple Dumplin' follow Strawberry," Apple said.

"Follow Strawberry? How?" I asked again.

"Blackberry car follow Strawberry," Apple replied.

"She wants to follow Strawberry with the help of your flying car. What was the name... Falcon wasn't it?" Blueberry said. "But I said..."

"Apple Dumplin' not too little!" Apple quickly interrupted, still hugging my leg. Then she started to pull my shirt. "Blackberry help Apple Dumplin'"

"Umm... I'd like to help but..." I said, pausing for a moment.

"Blackberry think Apple Dumplin' too little too?" Apple asked, looking at me with sore eyes.

"No. I mean... Falcon can't go that far," I replied. "It will run out of energy and fall into the ocean."

My last sentence unexpectedly depressed Apple very bad. I could see her sad face as she released her hug and walked away from me.

"Apple Dumplin' go sleep," Apple said with weak voice, and Blueberry took her into her bedroom. A few minutes later Blueberry returned to us.

"She's asleep now. But... she leaked some tears before that," Blueberry said.

"Pity..." I said.

Soon after, me and Huck left the place. On the way there was a conversation between us.

"I really feel bad about Apple," Huck said.

"Me too," I said.

"Is it true that Falcon can't go that far?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's true..." I said, pausing for a moment. "Although..."

"Although what?" he asked.

"Never mind. It's not possible," I replied, and then the two of us separated right in front of my house.

I spent the next hour thinking about Apple. Falcon indeed couldn't go all the way to Pearis because of its limited energy. Of course Blackbird could do that easily, but because it only had two seats that meant I would be the only one watching over her. I kinda hated to admit it, but Apple Dumplin' was indeed still too little to do such a long trip to a far away place. There had to be at least one other person watching her. So, I decided to modify Blackbird a little so it would have three seats instead of two. I had to sacrifice half of its speed, but it was still much faster than Falcon after the modification.

At the next day, I immediately went to Blueberry's house after having breakfast. I saw that Apple was still quite depressed when I arrived there.

"Apple Dumplin' go..." Apple mumbled while sitting anxiously on a sofa.

"She still wants to follow Strawberry?" I whispered to Blueberry.

"Yes, she absoloo-tely wants to," she whispered me back.

"If let's say we can go to Pearis, would you let her?" I whispered.

"I would, if you take me as well. Strawberry entrusted Apple to me, and I absoloo-tely have to watch over her," she whispered back.

"I see... I suppose you have to start packing your bag now," I whispered, and then I approached Apple.

"Do you really want to go?" I asked Apple.

"Apple Dumplin' go," she replied.

"Okay, I'll help you," I said, which surprised her. "But promise me one thing."

"Apple Dumplin' promise!" she replied with excitement.

"I haven't even said it. Anyway, promise me to stay close to us, okay?" I said.

"Apple Dumplin' stay close," she replied, still in excitement.

"Your Falcon actually can go there?" Blueberry asked.

"Meet me at my house later and see for yourselves," I said. "Now I'll go home and prepare."

"Okay," Blueberry said as I left her house.

I went home and filled my backpack with all of my devices, then I waited for the two girls to come. Some minutes later I heard a doorbell and I opened the door. Indeed the guests below were Blueberry and Apple as expected.

"Okay, now that you are here, we can go immediately," I said, taking my backpack and then going down the ladder.

"Where Blackberry car?" Apple asked.

"Come with me," I said, walking to the back side of the house.

The two girls followed me to the back of my house. I could see Apple being cheerful again like the usual Apple I had been knowing. Blueberry was also happy to see that as she walked hand-in-hand with the little girl. Once we were near Blackbird, I took its remote from the side pocket of my backpack and pressed one button to reveal it from its invisibility. The two girls were quite surprised seeing the new vehicle.

"This no Blackberry car," Apple said.

"Yeah, this is absoloo-tely not Falcon," Blueberry said.

"This is Blackbird. I made it one week ago," I said.

"Oh, then where is Falcon?" Blueberry asked. I then took Falcon's remote from the other side pocket of my backpack and pressed the button to reveal it.

"It's right there. Like I said, Pearis is too far for Falcon so we will go there with Blackbird," I replied. "Come aboard."

Then all of us got onboard Blackbird with me sitting at the front as the pilot and the two girls sitting at the back side-by-side. I turned the engine on and as usual the monitor displayed the map of the planet and a flashing red arrow to mark the current position.

"Pearis, France," I said, and then a flashing green dot appeared at the east of current position. "Have you put your seatbelt on?"

"Yes," Blueberry replied.

"Apple Dumplin' too," Apple said.

"Okay. Hit it, Blackbird!" I said, and Blackbird floated high. There was a pause for a few seconds, and then it began accelerating. Like before, the acceleration pressed us all to our seats.

"Woooow!" Blueberry shouted.

"Aaaa!" Apple yelled.

"Hold on. It will pass soon," I said, and then a few seconds later the acceleration gradually ended. "All right. 30 minutes and we're there."

"That fast? This one is absoloo-tely better than Falcon," Blueberry said.

"Not really. There are some points where Falcon is better than Blackbird," I replied.

"What are they?" she asked.

"First. As you can see, there are only three seats," I replied. "I can't use this to bring many friends to travel with me,"

"Oh..." Blueberry said.

"Then, Blackbird is fast only in long distance trips. While flying around in an area it is very slow," I said.

"Apple understand," Apple said.

"Also, I can't call it to come to me like I can do with Falcon," I continued.

"Are there more?" Blueberry asked.

"Yeah. It can't become invisible while flying. And lastly, it doesn't have a harpoon," I said.

"Falcon has a harpoon? For what?" Blueberry asked.

"Its useful for many things," I replied, remembering what had happened around one year before in the Land of Dreams and also another occasion where the harpoon had saved Rainbow.

The trip continued without much conversation. Later Blackbird finally deccelerated, implying that the destination was near. Once it completely stopped, we looked around and saw that we were right above a big city. For me, the city felt like a pastry-themed Greenhill.

"Switch to manual," I said, and a steering wheel came out.

"Where are we going to land?" Blueberry asked.

"There's a lake over there," I replied, pointing at a visible lake on a distance. "Blackbird can float like a boat, so landing on water will not be a problem."

I then piloted Blackbird to land on the lake I had just seen. The landing was smooth and went without any trouble. I then docked it at the edge of the lake so all of us could get off on the ground instead of having to swim first. Once I finished docking, the three of us got off, but not without some people staring at us with confused face.

"Some people are looking at us," Blueberry said.

"Probably they are not used to seeing a vehicle like Blackbird," I said, putting Blackbird into invisibility. "I say just ignore them."

"Oh, alright," Blueberry said, and the three of us walked away from that place.

The walk inside the city didn't feel so great for me, probably because I had seen and walked in a big city before. However, for Blueberry who had never seen such, and for Apple who had not seen much of Greenhill, the walk seemed to be an astonishing one.

"Is Strawberry here already?" Blueberry asked.

"I don't know. But looking at the speed of her balloon, she should be here..." I said, pausing for a moment to think. "Well, about now."

"Apple Dumplin' see Strawberry," Apple said.

"What? Where?" Blueberry asked.

"Strawberry balloon," Apple replied, pointing upward.

All of us looked upwards and indeed we saw a strawberry-shaped hot air balloon I recognized as the same one I had seen at the previous day. However, I noticed a huge hole on it.

"It looks like trouble," I said.

Then, to make matters worse for people below, Strawberry started to drop sandbags. The first one dropped on the ground, but I saw her going to drop the second one right above a little girl whose age was just slightly older than Apple.

"Telekinator!" I shouted and my backpack threw it right into my grip. I then quickly used it so the sandbag stopped right above the girl's head. Then I slowly moved the sandbag to the ground. The girl seemed to notice everything happening.

"Are you okay?" I asked, approaching the girl. Blueberry and Apple followed me as well.

"Merci!" the girl replied.

"Uh... what?" I asked.

"It looks like the language here is different," Blueberry said.

"Oh I see. Speak All!" I said and my backpack threw the device into my grip. I then wore it on my head and turned it on.

"What is that, Blackberry?" Blueberry asked.

"Something I made two days ago," I replied, then I asked the little girl again. "Are you okay?"

"Me fine. Thank you," the girl replied.

"I'm Blackberry Bun. What's your name?" I asked.

"Me Cherry Cuddler," the girl replied. "And me go home now."

The girl then left us waving her hand, and we did the same too.

"You know, I was confused seeing you speaking in her language all of the sudden," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' too," Apple said.

"This is Speak All, and I suppose you already know what this is for," I said, pointing at the headset I wore and throwing Telekinator for my backpack to suck. "I guess I'll keep wearing this for now."

"Yeah. By the way, who was she?" Blueberry asked.

"Her name was Cherry Cuddler," I replied. "Anyway, let's go to Strawberry."

"Yeah, let's go," she said.

The three of us then walked towards where Strawberry's balloon seemed to had fallen. On the way we saw another sandbag on the road, but we couldn't find the balloon or Strawberry herself.

"Where could she be?" Blueberry asked.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Apple Dumplin' not know," Apple said.

"Let's ask around," I said, looking around to see if there was any people to ask.

"You're the only one who can," Blueberry said.

I then asked some people around if they had seen the hot air balloon. After asking some people, I returned to Blueberry and Apple.

"They said she had gone that way along with another girl," I said, pointing to a direction.

"Another girl? Who?" Blueberry asked.

"I was lucky. One person recognized the girl as Crepes Suzette, the owner of a nearby boutique named Chez Crepes," I replied. "And she's also the new friend Strawberry wanted to visit, looking at the name."

"That's absoloo-tely good to hear. Let's go now," she said.

The three of us then walked towards the boutique one person had mentioned. Because all of us had never been in Pearis, there were some occasions where we got lost and had to ask around again. In the end we finally found the building with ``Chez Crepes`` on it.

"There it is," I said.

"Let's go in," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' can not wait," Apple said.

I knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response at all. Out of curiosity, I tried opening the door and it turned out that it was not locked. All of us then quietly went inside to see if there was anybody there. However, we couldn't find any people inside.

"Where are they now?" I said, wondering.

"Well..." Blueberry said, pausing for a moment. "Maybe they are walking around the city now."

"That's possible. Maybe we can walk around the city as well and see if we can meet her along the way by chance. What do you think?" I asked.

"Apple like walk around," Apple said.

"That's an absoloo-tely good idea," Blueberry said.

So, the three of us walked around the city for sightseeing while also hoping to meet Strawberry on the way. We enjoyed the walk very much that without our knowing it started to get dark. Luck was not on our side because even after the night arrived we hadn't met Strawberry.

"It's night now, but..." Blueberry said, pausing for a moment. "Why Apple isn't sleepy yet?"

"Apple not sleepy," Apple said.

"Different time zone. In Strawberryland now there are still some hours before bedtime," I answered.

"Oh, I see," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' not understand," Apple said.

"You'll understand in time," I said.

While still walking, suddenly we heard a dog barking and a girl screaming. We immediately ran towards the source of the voice, and found a wild dog cornering a little girl who was no other than Cherry Cuddler.

"Cherry!" I shouted.

"Blackberry! Cherry scared!" Cherry said, trembling and leaking tears. I immediately ran to her, grabbed her, and brought her running away from the dog. The dog chased the two of us and it kept doing that until I finally ran out of stamina in an alleyway. The dog then cornered us both, making the situation hopeless.

"Cherry scared..." Cherry said, sobbing.

"I'll protect you, Cherry," I said, hugging her even though I was trembling as well.

"There you are!" we heard a voice. We looked on the source and found out that it was from a dog catcher. He then ran towards the dog, ready to use his net to catch the dog. The dog seemed aware of the dog catcher and immediately ran away. The catcher kept chasing the dog, leaving both of us in the alley. However, later he returned without the dog.

"Heh, that dog sure can run," he said with upset face. "Are you two okay?"

"Cherry Cuddler fine," Cherry replied.

"How about you, boy?" he asked.

"I... I'm just fine," I replied, running out of breath.

"Glad to hear that. Stray dogs often cause trouble," he said, and suddenly rain fell down so the three of us decided to take shelter under a nearby canopy.

"You catch stray dogs everyday?" I asked.

"Yes, and I just caught a poodle a few minutes ago," he replied.

"A poodle?" I asked.

"That one seemed like a lost dog. I'll put an announcement at the pound so the owner can retrieve the dog later," he said.

"Oh, I see," I said.

"Rain stop," Cherry said, noticing that the rain had stopped.

"If you two are okay, I guess I can leave you here now," he said.

"Yes, thank you for the help, sir," I said.

"You're welcome," he replied and then he left us.

"Thank you, Blackberry," Cherry said.

"I... I did nothing," I replied.

"You tried," she said.

"Well... okay, you're welcome. But now I'm separated from my friends," I said, realizing that I had left Blueberry and Apple.

"Blackberry friend?" she asked.

"Yeah, I hope they won't get into trouble," I said. "Let's look for them."

The two of us then walked in the alley for some minutes until we saw the dog catcher we had met before. He seemed to be upset, looking at the cage on his truck.

"Hello again, sir. Something wrong happened?" I asked.

"Yeah. The poodle escaped somehow," he answered, pointing at the opened cage.

"Escape?" Cherry said.

"I'll go looking for the dog," he said.

"By the way, sir. Have you seen my friends? A girl in blue with blueberry hat, and a little girl in yellow with apple images on it," I asked.

"Hmm... no. I have just seen a girl in strawberry hat, but no girl in blueberry hat," he replied.

"Strawberry hat? That could be my friend as well! Where did she go?" I asked.

"That way," he replied, pointing to a direction.

"I see. Thank you, sir!" I said, immediately walking to the direction.

"You're welcome," he replied and left the place as well.

The two of us walked towards the direction, only to end up lost again. Cherry actually knew the place because she had been living there, but because we were looking for Blueberry and Apple or Strawberry, and we didn't know where they were, that was the same as lost.

"Stop! Thief!" suddenly we heard a voice.

"What was that?" I said, wondering.

"Cherry not know," Cherry said.

We looked around to see if we could find out what was going on, and saw a bus running wild towards us. We immediately stepped aside to avoid it, and to my surprise I could recognize the driver as Strawberry. Not long after that, someone I assumed to be the real driver of the bus passed by running while yelling the same words I had heard.

"What is Strawberry doing? Stealing a bus?" I thought, wondering.

"Blackberry!" someone, whose voice I recognized as Blueberry, said from behind. "I was looking for you!"

"Blackberry no leave us again," Apple said.

"Sorry, but that was an emergency," I replied.

"Blackberry friend?" Cherry asked.

"Yes. This is Blueberry Muffin, and this is Apple Dumplin'" I answered.

"Apple Dumplin' tired," Apple said, yawning.

"Oh, it's almost her bedtime, isn't it?" Blueberry said. "We don't bring anything for sleeping. We have no choice other than returning to Strawberryland."

"Well, by coincidence the lake where I have parked Blackbird is right there," I said, pointing to a lake I recognized as the place I had parked Blackbird at.

"Cherry tired too," Cherry said, yawning.

"Oh, we'll take you to your home first. Where is it?" I asked.

"Cherry home close. Cherry walk alone," she said, then she left us waving her hand and we did the same.

After Cherry disappeared from our sight, all of us agreed to return to Strawberryland and come back to Pearis at the next day. I didn't tell Blueberry and Apple about what I had seen. I could only hope Strawberry didn't get into big trouble.

--End of Chapter 23-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 23: Pearis


Two days have passed after my trip around the world with Peppermint. During the two days I had repaired Blackbird's recharger and put protection seals on the engine so it wouldn't have any more sand coming into it. I also made a new device named Speak All, the shape of which was a headset with a mike. If I wore it whenever someone spoke to me with a different language I didn't know, it would translate the language and I would hear everything in the language I knew. It also worked the other way so I would have no problem at all talking with anyone. I had made the device because I had known someday I would travel to a place where people speak in different languages.

After having lunch, I decided to go to the rooftop of my house and see the scenery around. I climbed the ladder which led to the rooftop and opened the trapdoor at its end. I then stood on the roof and saw that the scenery was quite enjoyable on that day, looking at the nice weather and the summer breeze I felt. I spent some minutes gazing at the scenery until I noticed something.

"A hot air balloon?" I thought, looking at the strawberry-shaped hot air balloon passing by. I then quickly came down into my house and returned to the roof with my spyglasses. I used it to take a closer look at the balloon and saw that the passengers were Strawberry and her two pets. I wondered where she was going to, but then I remembered something and decided to go to her house immediately.

I walked to Strawberry's house quite fast because I was curious about her sister. If Strawberry was away, then who would take care of Apple? With that in mind I kept walking towards her house. The trip went without anything happened on the way, and I arrived ten minutes later. I knocked on the door and then someone opened it. To my surprise, it was Huck who opened the door.

"Hi, Blackberry," he said.

"Hi, Huck. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Strawberry is away visiting a new friend, and I take care of the house in the meantime," he answered. "Not much to do, though. Just a little cleaning up daily and then done."

"A new friend? Who?" I asked.

"I heard that the name was Crepes Suzette. She lives in a place named Pearis if I remember it right," he answered.

"I see. By the way, I wonder about Apple. Where is she now?" I asked.

"Apple stays in Blueberry Muffin's place for now," he replied.

"Strawberry left her sister just like that? That does not feel right for me," I said.

"Can't be helped. The trip might be too dangerous for her. That's what Strawberry said," he said.

"I think I'll visit her now," I said. "See you later."

"Wait. I'll go with you. I'm done cleaning anyway," he said.

Later, the two of us walked to Blueberry Valley to visit Blueberry Muffin and Apple Dumplin there. The trip went without anything happened on the way, and as we arrived we heard something from inside the house.

"Apple Dumplin' go!" a voice we recognized as Apple said.

"It might be dangerous, Apple. And you're still..." another voice we recognized as Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' not too little!" Apple said.

We immediately entered the house to see what was happening. Once we entered, Apple noticed us and walked to me. Then she hugged my left leg.

"What's happening here?" I asked.

"Apple Dumplin' follow Strawberry," Apple said.

"Follow Strawberry? How?" I asked again.

"Blackberry car follow Strawberry," Apple replied.

"She wants to follow Strawberry with the help of your flying car. What was the name... Falcon wasn't it?" Blueberry said. "But I said..."

"Apple Dumplin' not too little!" Apple quickly interrupted, still hugging my leg. Then she started to pull my shirt. "Blackberry help Apple Dumplin'"

"Umm... I'd like to help but..." I said, pausing for a moment.

"Blackberry think Apple Dumplin' too little too?" Apple asked, looking at me with sore eyes.

"No. I mean... Falcon can't go that far," I replied. "It will run out of energy and fall into the ocean."

My last sentence unexpectedly depressed Apple very bad. I could see her sad face as she released her hug and walked away from me.

"Apple Dumplin' go sleep," Apple said with weak voice, and Blueberry took her into her bedroom. A few minutes later Blueberry returned to us.

"She's asleep now. But... she leaked some tears before that," Blueberry said.

"Pity..." I said.

Soon after, me and Huck left the place. On the way there was a conversation between us.

"I really feel bad about Apple," Huck said.

"Me too," I said.

"Is it true that Falcon can't go that far?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's true..." I said, pausing for a moment. "Although..."

"Although what?" he asked.

"Never mind. It's not possible," I replied, and then the two of us separated right in front of my house.

I spent the next hour thinking about Apple. Falcon indeed couldn't go all the way to Pearis because of its limited energy. Of course Blackbird could do that easily, but because it only had two seats that meant I would be the only one watching over her. I kinda hated to admit it, but Apple Dumplin' was indeed still too little to do such a long trip to a far away place. There had to be at least one other person watching her. So, I decided to modify Blackbird a little so it would have three seats instead of two. I had to sacrifice half of its speed, but it was still much faster than Falcon after the modification.

At the next day, I immediately went to Blueberry's house after having breakfast. I saw that Apple was still quite depressed when I arrived there.

"Apple Dumplin' go..." Apple mumbled while sitting anxiously on a sofa.

"She still wants to follow Strawberry?" I whispered to Blueberry.

"Yes, she absoloo-tely wants to," she whispered me back.

"If let's say we can go to Pearis, would you let her?" I whispered.

"I would, if you take me as well. Strawberry entrusted Apple to me, and I absoloo-tely have to watch over her," she whispered back.

"I see... I suppose you have to start packing your bag now," I whispered, and then I approached Apple.

"Do you really want to go?" I asked Apple.

"Apple Dumplin' go," she replied.

"Okay, I'll help you," I said, which surprised her. "But promise me one thing."

"Apple Dumplin' promise!" she replied with excitement.

"I haven't even said it. Anyway, promise me to stay close to us, okay?" I said.

"Apple Dumplin' stay close," she replied, still in excitement.

"Your Falcon actually can go there?" Blueberry asked.

"Meet me at my house later and see for yourselves," I said. "Now I'll go home and prepare."

"Okay," Blueberry said as I left her house.

I went home and filled my backpack with all of my devices, then I waited for the two girls to come. Some minutes later I heard a doorbell and I opened the door. Indeed the guests below were Blueberry and Apple as expected.

"Okay, now that you are here, we can go immediately," I said, taking my backpack and then going down the ladder.

"Where Blackberry car?" Apple asked.

"Come with me," I said, walking to the back side of the house.

The two girls followed me to the back of my house. I could see Apple being cheerful again like the usual Apple I had been knowing. Blueberry was also happy to see that as she walked hand-in-hand with the little girl. Once we were near Blackbird, I took its remote from the side pocket of my backpack and pressed one button to reveal it from its invisibility. The two girls were quite surprised seeing the new vehicle.

"This no Blackberry car," Apple said.

"Yeah, this is absoloo-tely not Falcon," Blueberry said.

"This is Blackbird. I made it one week ago," I said.

"Oh, then where is Falcon?" Blueberry asked. I then took Falcon's remote from the other side pocket of my backpack and pressed the button to reveal it.

"It's right there. Like I said, Pearis is too far for Falcon so we will go there with Blackbird," I replied. "Come aboard."

Then all of us got onboard Blackbird with me sitting at the front as the pilot and the two girls sitting at the back side-by-side. I turned the engine on and as usual the monitor displayed the map of the planet and a flashing red arrow to mark the current position.

"Pearis, France," I said, and then a flashing green dot appeared at the east of current position. "Have you put your seatbelt on?"

"Yes," Blueberry replied.

"Apple Dumplin' too," Apple said.

"Okay. Hit it, Blackbird!" I said, and Blackbird floated high. There was a pause for a few seconds, and then it began accelerating. Like before, the acceleration pressed us all to our seats.

"Woooow!" Blueberry shouted.

"Aaaa!" Apple yelled.

"Hold on. It will pass soon," I said, and then a few seconds later the acceleration gradually ended. "All right. 30 minutes and we're there."

"That fast? This one is absoloo-tely better than Falcon," Blueberry said.

"Not really. There are some points where Falcon is better than Blackbird," I replied.

"What are they?" she asked.

"First. As you can see, there are only three seats," I replied. "I can't use this to bring many friends to travel with me,"

"Oh..." Blueberry said.

"Then, Blackbird is fast only in long distance trips. While flying around in an area it is very slow," I said.

"Apple understand," Apple said.

"Also, I can't call it to come to me like I can do with Falcon," I continued.

"Are there more?" Blueberry asked.

"Yeah. It can't become invisible while flying. And lastly, it doesn't have a harpoon," I said.

"Falcon has a harpoon? For what?" Blueberry asked.

"Its useful for many things," I replied, remembering what had happened around one year before in the Land of Dreams and also another occasion where the harpoon had saved Rainbow.

The trip continued without much conversation. Later Blackbird finally deccelerated, implying that the destination was near. Once it completely stopped, we looked around and saw that we were right above a big city. For me, the city felt like a pastry-themed Greenhill.

"Switch to manual," I said, and a steering wheel came out.

"Where are we going to land?" Blueberry asked.

"There's a lake over there," I replied, pointing at a visible lake on a distance. "Blackbird can float like a boat, so landing on water will not be a problem."

I then piloted Blackbird to land on the lake I had just seen. The landing was smooth and went without any trouble. I then docked it at the edge of the lake so all of us could get off on the ground instead of having to swim first. Once I finished docking, the three of us got off, but not without some people staring at us with confused face.

"Some people are looking at us," Blueberry said.

"Probably they are not used to seeing a vehicle like Blackbird," I said, putting Blackbird into invisibility. "I say just ignore them."

"Oh, alright," Blueberry said, and the three of us walked away from that place.

The walk inside the city didn't feel so great for me, probably because I had seen and walked in a big city before. However, for Blueberry who had never seen such, and for Apple who had not seen much of Greenhill, the walk seemed to be an astonishing one.

"Is Strawberry here already?" Blueberry asked.

"I don't know. But looking at the speed of her balloon, she should be here..." I said, pausing for a moment to think. "Well, about now."

"Apple Dumplin' see Strawberry," Apple said.

"What? Where?" Blueberry asked.

"Strawberry balloon," Apple replied, pointing upward.

All of us looked upwards and indeed we saw a strawberry-shaped hot air balloon I recognized as the same one I had seen at the previous day. However, I noticed a huge hole on it.

"It looks like trouble," I said.

Then, to make matters worse for people below, Strawberry started to drop sandbags. The first one dropped on the ground, but I saw her going to drop the second one right above a little girl whose age was just slightly older than Apple.

"Telekinator!" I shouted and my backpack threw it right into my grip. I then quickly used it so the sandbag stopped right above the girl's head. Then I slowly moved the sandbag to the ground. The girl seemed to notice everything happening.

"Are you okay?" I asked, approaching the girl. Blueberry and Apple followed me as well.

"Merci!" the girl replied.

"Uh... what?" I asked.

"It looks like the language here is different," Blueberry said.

"Oh I see. Speak All!" I said and my backpack threw the device into my grip. I then wore it on my head and turned it on.

"What is that, Blackberry?" Blueberry asked.

"Something I made two days ago," I replied, then I asked the little girl again. "Are you okay?"

"Me fine. Thank you," the girl replied.

"I'm Blackberry Bun. What's your name?" I asked.

"Me Cherry Cuddler," the girl replied. "And me go home now."

The girl then left us waving her hand, and we did the same too.

"You know, I was confused seeing you speaking in her language all of the sudden," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' too," Apple said.

"This is Speak All, and I suppose you already know what this is for," I said, pointing at the headset I wore and throwing Telekinator for my backpack to suck. "I guess I'll keep wearing this for now."

"Yeah. By the way, who was she?" Blueberry asked.

"Her name was Cherry Cuddler," I replied. "Anyway, let's go to Strawberry."

"Yeah, let's go," she said.

The three of us then walked towards where Strawberry's balloon seemed to had fallen. On the way we saw another sandbag on the road, but we couldn't find the balloon or Strawberry herself.

"Where could she be?" Blueberry asked.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Apple Dumplin' not know," Apple said.

"Let's ask around," I said, looking around to see if there was any people to ask.

"You're the only one who can," Blueberry said.

I then asked some people around if they had seen the hot air balloon. After asking some people, I returned to Blueberry and Apple.

"They said she had gone that way along with another girl," I said, pointing to a direction.

"Another girl? Who?" Blueberry asked.

"I was lucky. One person recognized the girl as Crepes Suzette, the owner of a nearby boutique named Chez Crepes," I replied. "And she's also the new friend Strawberry wanted to visit, looking at the name."

"That's absoloo-tely good to hear. Let's go now," she said.

The three of us then walked towards the boutique one person had mentioned. Because all of us had never been in Pearis, there were some occasions where we got lost and had to ask around again. In the end we finally found the building with ``Chez Crepes`` on it.

"There it is," I said.

"Let's go in," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' can not wait," Apple said.

I knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response at all. Out of curiosity, I tried opening the door and it turned out that it was not locked. All of us then quietly went inside to see if there was anybody there. However, we couldn't find any people inside.

"Where are they now?" I said, wondering.

"Well..." Blueberry said, pausing for a moment. "Maybe they are walking around the city now."

"That's possible. Maybe we can walk around the city as well and see if we can meet her along the way by chance. What do you think?" I asked.

"Apple like walk around," Apple said.

"That's an absoloo-tely good idea," Blueberry said.

So, the three of us walked around the city for sightseeing while also hoping to meet Strawberry on the way. We enjoyed the walk very much that without our knowing it started to get dark. Luck was not on our side because even after the night arrived we hadn't met Strawberry.

"It's night now, but..." Blueberry said, pausing for a moment. "Why Apple isn't sleepy yet?"

"Apple not sleepy," Apple said.

"Different time zone. In Strawberryland now there are still some hours before bedtime," I answered.

"Oh, I see," Blueberry said.

"Apple Dumplin' not understand," Apple said.

"You'll understand in time," I said.

While still walking, suddenly we heard a dog barking and a girl screaming. We immediately ran towards the source of the voice, and found a wild dog cornering a little girl who was no other than Cherry Cuddler.

"Cherry!" I shouted.

"Blackberry! Cherry scared!" Cherry said, trembling and leaking tears. I immediately ran to her, grabbed her, and brought her running away from the dog. The dog chased the two of us and it kept doing that until I finally ran out of stamina in an alleyway. The dog then cornered us both, making the situation hopeless.

"Cherry scared..." Cherry said, sobbing.

"I'll protect you, Cherry," I said, hugging her even though I was trembling as well.

"There you are!" we heard a voice. We looked on the source and found out that it was from a dog catcher. He then ran towards the dog, ready to use his net to catch the dog. The dog seemed aware of the dog catcher and immediately ran away. The catcher kept chasing the dog, leaving both of us in the alley. However, later he returned without the dog.

"Heh, that dog sure can run," he said with upset face. "Are you two okay?"

"Cherry Cuddler fine," Cherry replied.

"How about you, boy?" he asked.

"I... I'm just fine," I replied, running out of breath.

"Glad to hear that. Stray dogs often cause trouble," he said, and suddenly rain fell down so the three of us decided to take shelter under a nearby canopy.

"You catch stray dogs everyday?" I asked.

"Yes, and I just caught a poodle a few minutes ago," he replied.

"A poodle?" I asked.

"That one seemed like a lost dog. I'll put an announcement at the pound so the owner can retrieve the dog later," he said.

"Oh, I see," I said.

"Rain stop," Cherry said, noticing that the rain had stopped.

"If you two are okay, I guess I can leave you here now," he said.

"Yes, thank you for the help, sir," I said.

"You're welcome," he replied and then he left us.

"Thank you, Blackberry," Cherry said.

"I... I did nothing," I replied.

"You tried," she said.

"Well... okay, you're welcome. But now I'm separated from my friends," I said, realizing that I had left Blueberry and Apple.

"Blackberry friend?" she asked.

"Yeah, I hope they won't get into trouble," I said. "Let's look for them."

The two of us then walked in the alley for some minutes until we saw the dog catcher we had met before. He seemed to be upset, looking at the cage on his truck.

"Hello again, sir. Something wrong happened?" I asked.

"Yeah. The poodle escaped somehow," he answered, pointing at the opened cage.

"Escape?" Cherry said.

"I'll go looking for the dog," he said.

"By the way, sir. Have you seen my friends? A girl in blue with blueberry hat, and a little girl in yellow with apple images on it," I asked.

"Hmm... no. I have just seen a girl in strawberry hat, but no girl in blueberry hat," he replied.

"Strawberry hat? That could be my friend as well! Where did she go?" I asked.

"That way," he replied, pointing to a direction.

"I see. Thank you, sir!" I said, immediately walking to the direction.

"You're welcome," he replied and left the place as well.

The two of us walked towards the direction, only to end up lost again. Cherry actually knew the place because she had been living there, but because we were looking for Blueberry and Apple or Strawberry, and we didn't know where they were, that was the same as lost.

"Stop! Thief!" suddenly we heard a voice.

"What was that?" I said, wondering.

"Cherry not know," Cherry said.

We looked around to see if we could find out what was going on, and saw a bus running wild towards us. We immediately stepped aside to avoid it, and to my surprise I could recognize the driver as Strawberry. Not long after that, someone I assumed to be the real driver of the bus passed by running while yelling the same words I had heard.

"What is Strawberry doing? Stealing a bus?" I thought, wondering.

"Blackberry!" someone, whose voice I recognized as Blueberry, said from behind. "I was looking for you!"

"Blackberry no leave us again," Apple said.

"Sorry, but that was an emergency," I replied.

"Blackberry friend?" Cherry asked.

"Yes. This is Blueberry Muffin, and this is Apple Dumplin'" I answered.

"Apple Dumplin' tired," Apple said, yawning.

"Oh, it's almost her bedtime, isn't it?" Blueberry said. "We don't bring anything for sleeping. We have no choice other than returning to Strawberryland."

"Well, by coincidence the lake where I have parked Blackbird is right there," I said, pointing to a lake I recognized as the place I had parked Blackbird at.

"Cherry tired too," Cherry said, yawning.

"Oh, we'll take you to your home first. Where is it?" I asked.

"Cherry home close. Cherry walk alone," she said, then she left us waving her hand and we did the same.

After Cherry disappeared from our sight, all of us agreed to return to Strawberryland and come back to Pearis at the next day. I didn't tell Blueberry and Apple about what I had seen. I could only hope Strawberry didn't get into big trouble.

--End of Chapter 23-- ]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-46.html Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:41:37 +0000 Blackberry Bun]]> https://www.strawberryforum.org/board/thread-46.html Quote:Chapter 22: In 80 Minutes


"You really can't do anything?!" Peppermint shouted as Blackbird flew at maximum speed towards South Pole.

"I can't! It has set the next stop as South Pole and I can't cancel it!" I replied.

"Ohh, I should have stayed home!" she said.

I didn't reply at all, and the flight continued for the next few minutes until Blackbird finally deccelerated. After the decceleration, Blackbird went down and landed roughly on the icy surface. After that the engine stopped working and I couldn't turn it back on. Because we were in the South Pole, of course the weather was freezing and the fact that we weren't wearing warm clothes didn't make things any better. Not to mention the blizzard outside.

"Can we just get out of here? It's freezing here!" Peppermint said.

"Nothing is working! I'm trying but..." I said, then I noticed something ahead. "Look, there's a house."

"A house? In this kind of place?" she said. "And it's made from... ice blocks? Yeah right."

"Let's try going there. It's much better than staying here anyway," I said.

The two of us left Blackbird and walked to the house I had just seen, while bracing ourselves from the cold, freezing blizzard. When we were getting closer, someone opened the door. It was a girl dressed in a seemingly very warm clothes.

"Come inside quick!" The girl shouted, and both of us ran into the house. After we were in, the girl closed the door.

"Thanks for the shelter," I said, trembling from the cold.

"It's no problem. Now please sit by the heater and use the blankets there," the girl replied. "I'll make hot chocolate for you both."

Both of us then sat down by the heater and covered ourselves in blankets. Soon after, the girl came to us bringing two glasses of hot chocolate. After drinking some sips of it, we felt much better than a few minutes before.

"Feel better now?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, thanks for the help," I replied.

"Yeah... thank you..." Peppermint said.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Blackberry Bun," I said.

"Peppermint Fizz..." Peppermint said.

"I'm Frosty Puff. Welcome to Niceland," the girl said as a penguin came to her. "And this is Freezer Pop."

"It's nice to know you both," I said.

"Where are you from? You don't look like anyone around here," Frosty asked.

"A place named Strawberryland," I replied.

"Strawberryland? The place mentioned in this letter?" Frosty asked, taking something from her pocket and showed it to us. It was indeed another of Strawberry's butterfly letters.

"That's right," I said.

"You wrote the letter?" she asked.

"No, it was our friend," I replied.

"I'd like to come there. But you see, I can't go out in this blizzard. This will last for one more week I think," she said.

"What?! So now both of us are stuck here, inside these blocks of ice, for one week?!" Peppermint said. "Ohh, I really should have just stayed home!"

"Well, maybe not," I said, searching inside my pocket.

"Great! You still have that dimension door thing, right?" she asked in excitement.

"Unfortunately no. I filled my pocket with my tools when making Blackbird. I left all my devices home," I replied. "I'll repair Blackbird and then we can go."

"No, no, no. The blizzard will freeze you. Forget all I have said," Peppermint said, surprised.

"She's right, Blackberry. I don't know what you were talking about, but please don't go out from here until the blizzard let up," Frosty said.

"Hmm... yeah, I guess you're right," I said, looking at the blizzard outside.

So, both of us decided to stay in Frosty Puff's house until the blizzard let up around one week later. During our stay, Peppermint's feeling towards Frosty Puff was at first the same as the one she had had towards Rainbow Sherbet, but she gradually started to like Frosty Puff and at the end they became close friends. Peppermint also drew a picture of Frosty and another of Tangerina to put in the clubhouse for everyone else in Strawberryland to see. After staying for five nights, the blizzard finally let up and I decided to repair Blackbird immediately.

"Wear these. They will keep you warm," Frosty said, giving me her extra mantle, gloves, and boots.

"Thanks," I said and I wore those.

I then went out and found Blackbird covered in snow. I immediately cleaned all the snows from it, which took half an hour, and then started to clean all the sand from the engine. After I was done cleaning the engine, I did a check on the engine to see if there was any more problems. Once I were done, I moved Blackbird right in front of the door of Frosty Puff's house.

"How's the plane?" Peppermint asked as I came in.

"It's fine. We can go anytime," I replied, which excited her. "Although..."

"Although what?" she asked as her excitement stopped.

"The sand has broken the recharger, and I can't fix it here," I replied.

"Recharger?" Peppermint asked.

"To make it simple, it no longer can refill its energy. We can only use the remaining energy and that's it," I said.

"What?! How much do we have?" Peppermint said, seeming worried.

"Don't worry so much. Its energy is still enough for 80 minutes of flight. Still more than enough to go around the world if you want," I replied and Peppermint calmed down.

"Okay, that's good to hear," she said.

"So, you are leaving now?" Frosty asked.

"Yes, we have stayed here long enough," I replied. "I'm sure we will meet again in Strawberryland."

"I will come for sure," she said. Suddenly the blizzard came again, although not as hard as the previous.

"Again...?" Peppermint said.

"No worries. Blackbird can endure this easily," I said.

"Once the blizzard stops I will send a reply letter," Frosty said.

"I'm sure everyone will be waiting for that to come. Bye for now," I said.

We then left Frosty Puff's house and got onboard Blackbird. I turned the engine on and the monitor in front of each of us displayed the world map, current position, as well as a timer of 80 minutes which immediately started to count down.

"So, are we going home now?" I asked.

"Well, I sorta like this trip and don't want it to end so soon..." Peppermint replied, pausing for a moment. "But if you say so, go right ahead."

"Like I said before, the remaining energy is still enough to go around the world before going home. How about going to the other side of the planet first?" I asked.

"That would be great," she replied.

"Okay, then let's go... here!" I said, touching one part of the map, which immediately displayed the name of the place. "Great Wall of Chocolate... Hit it, Blackbird!"

Blackbird then floated high and accelerated towards the place. As usual the high acceleration pressed both of us to our seats, but it later ended as Blackbird reached its maximum speed.

"35 minutes and we're there," I said.

"Are you sure we will have enough to go home?" Peppermint asked.

"Yes I'm sure of it," I replied. "Just relax and enjoy."

The flight continued without any trouble. Later Blackbird deccelerated and stopped right in front of a very long wall made from chocolate, which both of us assumed as the Great Wall of Chocolate. Because we were on the other side of the planet, it was starting to get dark while in Strawberryland we knew it was still morning over there. The sunset view we saw was so breathtaking that I regretted for not bringing a camera.

"Nice view isn't it?" I said.

"Yeah, sorta," Peppermint replied.

"Let's try landing and see if we can meet another new friend here," I said, switching Blackbird into manual control.

"As long as we still have enough to go home," she said.

"Don't worry about that. And look, there's a house there," I said, pointing at a house below. We then landed on an open field near the house and got off. Then we walked towards the house with a hope of meeting a new friend. However, when we came closer, a voice was heard from behind.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing here?" the voice said. We looked on the source and saw a girl in red clothes looking at us with angry face.

"Umm... we just came to visit," I replied, then we heard another voice.

"Don't be so harsh, Mint Tea. They are my guests," the voice said. We looked back and saw another girl right in front of the door of the house we had been walking to. "Please come in!"

"Hmph!" Mint said as both me and Peppermint went into the house.

"Please have a seat. I'll talk with her," the girl said and she went out. Then both of us heard a conversation right behind the door.


"There's something wrong with those two."

"Something wrong? But what..."

"They're different! That's what."

"Mint!"

"The way they look, the way they came, just about everything! I don't want to be their friend and you shouldn't either!"

"Mint! Don't say that right here! They will hear!"

"So what? The sooner they leave the better. That's all I want to say!"

"Mint..."

"Oh, and consider my words again about you going to that place!"


As we heard the conversation, I noticed Peppermint starting to leak tears. I knew that the whole conversation hurt her feeling, so I approached her and tried to cheer her up although I knew it wouldn't work.

"I know it hurts, but please be strong," I said.

"No... that's not it..." she replied, wiping her tears.

"Huh?" I asked.

"It's because..." she replied, but stopped because the girl who had the house entered.

"Please forgive Mint Tea," she said. "She has difficult times to accept new people."

"It's fine. By the way, I'm Blackberry Bun," I replied.

"Peppermint Fizz," Peppermint said.

"I'm Tea Blossom. Welcome to Plum Blossom Province," the girl said as a panda came to her. "And this is Marza Panda. She's the great great granddaughter of the panda queen."

"It's nice to know you," I said, then I noticed something on the table in the middle of the room. "Hey, that letter..."

"It's a letter from Strawberryland. You know about that place?" Tea Blossom asked.

"Know about it? We live in Strawberryland," I answered. "So, what do you think about that?"

"I will surely come. It's always nice to meet new friends," she replied.

"It's nice to hear that," I said.

Then, we spent the remaining time we had until Tea Blossom needed to go to sleep. During the few hours Peppermint drew a picture of Tea Blossom, but she didn't speak much and her face expression was not so happy. Tea Blossom wondered about that and asked but Peppermint replied with an answer that she had been fine.

"It's almost your bedtime, isn't it? Then I guess we will leave now," I said, looking at the clock in the house.

"We will meet again, right?" Tea Blossom asked.

"We sure will. Everyone will be waiting for you to come to Strawberryland," I replied.

"I will send a letter once I can come," she replied, and I left the house with Peppermint.

Both of us got on Blackbird and I turned the engine on. Like before, the monitor displayed the world map, current position, and the timer which were at 39 minutes 25 seconds and counting down. I then touched one part of the map and it displayed the name of Strawberryland.

"Hit it, Blackbird!" I said, and Blackbird flew towards our home, Strawberryland.

"By the way, what did you want to say back then?" I asked.

"Huh? About what?" Peppermint asked back.

"When we heard Mint Tea..." I said.

"Oh... that..." she said, pausing for a moment. "It did hurt, but what hurt me more was that..." she continued and paused again.

"What was it?" I asked.

"I was... I was just like that when Rainbow came. To remember that I have ever been that mean... it really hurts..." she said.

"Oh..." I said, then I was speechless for a moment. "But it's a past, and now you are close friends with her. That's all that matters."

"Heh, yeah. Sorry for being a crybaby just now," she said.

"Nah, there's nothing wrong with it," I replied, and the flight continued without any more talks.

Later, we arrived at Strawberryland when the remaining time was 8 minutes 27 seconds. I immediately landed Blackbird right on the ground next to my house where it was placed before.

"Home again at last," I said, getting off.

"That was quite a good trip," Peppermint said, getting off as well.

"So, you're going to put your drawings in the clubhouse?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course," she answered.

"I think I'll go with you if you don't mind," I said.

"Hmph, why should I?" she said. "It's your call."

So, the two of us walked to the clubhouse to put Peppermint's drawings on its wall. When we arrived at the clubhouse, there were three friends inside, who were Raspberry, Apricot, and Rainbow.

"Oh, hi Blackberry and Peppermint," Apricot greeted as the two of us came in.

"Hi, Apricot. How are you today?" I replied.

"I'm just fine," she replied.

"Where have you been? I came to your house two days ago and there was nobody there," Raspberry asked.

"Around the world in 80 minutes," I answered, which made them confused.

"Uh, what? You mean 80 days? The book?" she asked.

I giggled a little and then I told them about my trip around the world with Peppermint which actually had not been 80 minutes. I had said that because the actual trip around the planet had happened in that 80 minutes. As I told them the story, Peppermint put the drawings she had made on the clubhouse's wall.

"And those three are the new friends," I said, pointing at the three drawings.

"You know..." Raspberry said, looking at the drawings. "They look kinda... different."

"Yeah, indeed," Apricot said.

"But that's what makes friendship interesting," I said.

"Yes, you're right, matey," Rainbow said.

"Don't tell anyone else about them until they come here," I said.

"Why not?" Apricot asked.

"Let it become a surprise for Strawberry and the others," I replied.

"That's an interesting idea," Raspberry said. "Okay, I won't say anything."

"That will be cool," Apricot said.

"Leave it to me, mateys," Rainbow said.

And so, all of us agreed not to tell anyone else about the new friends. I could imagine the day when all of them come to the friendship festival and all the fun that would happen. I couldn't wait for the day when the new friends come.

--End of Chapter 22-- ]]> Quote:Chapter 22: In 80 Minutes


"You really can't do anything?!" Peppermint shouted as Blackbird flew at maximum speed towards South Pole.

"I can't! It has set the next stop as South Pole and I can't cancel it!" I replied.

"Ohh, I should have stayed home!" she said.

I didn't reply at all, and the flight continued for the next few minutes until Blackbird finally deccelerated. After the decceleration, Blackbird went down and landed roughly on the icy surface. After that the engine stopped working and I couldn't turn it back on. Because we were in the South Pole, of course the weather was freezing and the fact that we weren't wearing warm clothes didn't make things any better. Not to mention the blizzard outside.

"Can we just get out of here? It's freezing here!" Peppermint said.

"Nothing is working! I'm trying but..." I said, then I noticed something ahead. "Look, there's a house."

"A house? In this kind of place?" she said. "And it's made from... ice blocks? Yeah right."

"Let's try going there. It's much better than staying here anyway," I said.

The two of us left Blackbird and walked to the house I had just seen, while bracing ourselves from the cold, freezing blizzard. When we were getting closer, someone opened the door. It was a girl dressed in a seemingly very warm clothes.

"Come inside quick!" The girl shouted, and both of us ran into the house. After we were in, the girl closed the door.

"Thanks for the shelter," I said, trembling from the cold.

"It's no problem. Now please sit by the heater and use the blankets there," the girl replied. "I'll make hot chocolate for you both."

Both of us then sat down by the heater and covered ourselves in blankets. Soon after, the girl came to us bringing two glasses of hot chocolate. After drinking some sips of it, we felt much better than a few minutes before.

"Feel better now?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, thanks for the help," I replied.

"Yeah... thank you..." Peppermint said.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Blackberry Bun," I said.

"Peppermint Fizz..." Peppermint said.

"I'm Frosty Puff. Welcome to Niceland," the girl said as a penguin came to her. "And this is Freezer Pop."

"It's nice to know you both," I said.

"Where are you from? You don't look like anyone around here," Frosty asked.

"A place named Strawberryland," I replied.

"Strawberryland? The place mentioned in this letter?" Frosty asked, taking something from her pocket and showed it to us. It was indeed another of Strawberry's butterfly letters.

"That's right," I said.

"You wrote the letter?" she asked.

"No, it was our friend," I replied.

"I'd like to come there. But you see, I can't go out in this blizzard. This will last for one more week I think," she said.

"What?! So now both of us are stuck here, inside these blocks of ice, for one week?!" Peppermint said. "Ohh, I really should have just stayed home!"

"Well, maybe not," I said, searching inside my pocket.

"Great! You still have that dimension door thing, right?" she asked in excitement.

"Unfortunately no. I filled my pocket with my tools when making Blackbird. I left all my devices home," I replied. "I'll repair Blackbird and then we can go."

"No, no, no. The blizzard will freeze you. Forget all I have said," Peppermint said, surprised.

"She's right, Blackberry. I don't know what you were talking about, but please don't go out from here until the blizzard let up," Frosty said.

"Hmm... yeah, I guess you're right," I said, looking at the blizzard outside.

So, both of us decided to stay in Frosty Puff's house until the blizzard let up around one week later. During our stay, Peppermint's feeling towards Frosty Puff was at first the same as the one she had had towards Rainbow Sherbet, but she gradually started to like Frosty Puff and at the end they became close friends. Peppermint also drew a picture of Frosty and another of Tangerina to put in the clubhouse for everyone else in Strawberryland to see. After staying for five nights, the blizzard finally let up and I decided to repair Blackbird immediately.

"Wear these. They will keep you warm," Frosty said, giving me her extra mantle, gloves, and boots.

"Thanks," I said and I wore those.

I then went out and found Blackbird covered in snow. I immediately cleaned all the snows from it, which took half an hour, and then started to clean all the sand from the engine. After I was done cleaning the engine, I did a check on the engine to see if there was any more problems. Once I were done, I moved Blackbird right in front of the door of Frosty Puff's house.

"How's the plane?" Peppermint asked as I came in.

"It's fine. We can go anytime," I replied, which excited her. "Although..."

"Although what?" she asked as her excitement stopped.

"The sand has broken the recharger, and I can't fix it here," I replied.

"Recharger?" Peppermint asked.

"To make it simple, it no longer can refill its energy. We can only use the remaining energy and that's it," I said.

"What?! How much do we have?" Peppermint said, seeming worried.

"Don't worry so much. Its energy is still enough for 80 minutes of flight. Still more than enough to go around the world if you want," I replied and Peppermint calmed down.

"Okay, that's good to hear," she said.

"So, you are leaving now?" Frosty asked.

"Yes, we have stayed here long enough," I replied. "I'm sure we will meet again in Strawberryland."

"I will come for sure," she said. Suddenly the blizzard came again, although not as hard as the previous.

"Again...?" Peppermint said.

"No worries. Blackbird can endure this easily," I said.

"Once the blizzard stops I will send a reply letter," Frosty said.

"I'm sure everyone will be waiting for that to come. Bye for now," I said.

We then left Frosty Puff's house and got onboard Blackbird. I turned the engine on and the monitor in front of each of us displayed the world map, current position, as well as a timer of 80 minutes which immediately started to count down.

"So, are we going home now?" I asked.

"Well, I sorta like this trip and don't want it to end so soon..." Peppermint replied, pausing for a moment. "But if you say so, go right ahead."

"Like I said before, the remaining energy is still enough to go around the world before going home. How about going to the other side of the planet first?" I asked.

"That would be great," she replied.

"Okay, then let's go... here!" I said, touching one part of the map, which immediately displayed the name of the place. "Great Wall of Chocolate... Hit it, Blackbird!"

Blackbird then floated high and accelerated towards the place. As usual the high acceleration pressed both of us to our seats, but it later ended as Blackbird reached its maximum speed.

"35 minutes and we're there," I said.

"Are you sure we will have enough to go home?" Peppermint asked.

"Yes I'm sure of it," I replied. "Just relax and enjoy."

The flight continued without any trouble. Later Blackbird deccelerated and stopped right in front of a very long wall made from chocolate, which both of us assumed as the Great Wall of Chocolate. Because we were on the other side of the planet, it was starting to get dark while in Strawberryland we knew it was still morning over there. The sunset view we saw was so breathtaking that I regretted for not bringing a camera.

"Nice view isn't it?" I said.

"Yeah, sorta," Peppermint replied.

"Let's try landing and see if we can meet another new friend here," I said, switching Blackbird into manual control.

"As long as we still have enough to go home," she said.

"Don't worry about that. And look, there's a house there," I said, pointing at a house below. We then landed on an open field near the house and got off. Then we walked towards the house with a hope of meeting a new friend. However, when we came closer, a voice was heard from behind.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing here?" the voice said. We looked on the source and saw a girl in red clothes looking at us with angry face.

"Umm... we just came to visit," I replied, then we heard another voice.

"Don't be so harsh, Mint Tea. They are my guests," the voice said. We looked back and saw another girl right in front of the door of the house we had been walking to. "Please come in!"

"Hmph!" Mint said as both me and Peppermint went into the house.

"Please have a seat. I'll talk with her," the girl said and she went out. Then both of us heard a conversation right behind the door.


"There's something wrong with those two."

"Something wrong? But what..."

"They're different! That's what."

"Mint!"

"The way they look, the way they came, just about everything! I don't want to be their friend and you shouldn't either!"

"Mint! Don't say that right here! They will hear!"

"So what? The sooner they leave the better. That's all I want to say!"

"Mint..."

"Oh, and consider my words again about you going to that place!"


As we heard the conversation, I noticed Peppermint starting to leak tears. I knew that the whole conversation hurt her feeling, so I approached her and tried to cheer her up although I knew it wouldn't work.

"I know it hurts, but please be strong," I said.

"No... that's not it..." she replied, wiping her tears.

"Huh?" I asked.

"It's because..." she replied, but stopped because the girl who had the house entered.

"Please forgive Mint Tea," she said. "She has difficult times to accept new people."

"It's fine. By the way, I'm Blackberry Bun," I replied.

"Peppermint Fizz," Peppermint said.

"I'm Tea Blossom. Welcome to Plum Blossom Province," the girl said as a panda came to her. "And this is Marza Panda. She's the great great granddaughter of the panda queen."

"It's nice to know you," I said, then I noticed something on the table in the middle of the room. "Hey, that letter..."

"It's a letter from Strawberryland. You know about that place?" Tea Blossom asked.

"Know about it? We live in Strawberryland," I answered. "So, what do you think about that?"

"I will surely come. It's always nice to meet new friends," she replied.

"It's nice to hear that," I said.

Then, we spent the remaining time we had until Tea Blossom needed to go to sleep. During the few hours Peppermint drew a picture of Tea Blossom, but she didn't speak much and her face expression was not so happy. Tea Blossom wondered about that and asked but Peppermint replied with an answer that she had been fine.

"It's almost your bedtime, isn't it? Then I guess we will leave now," I said, looking at the clock in the house.

"We will meet again, right?" Tea Blossom asked.

"We sure will. Everyone will be waiting for you to come to Strawberryland," I replied.

"I will send a letter once I can come," she replied, and I left the house with Peppermint.

Both of us got on Blackbird and I turned the engine on. Like before, the monitor displayed the world map, current position, and the timer which were at 39 minutes 25 seconds and counting down. I then touched one part of the map and it displayed the name of Strawberryland.

"Hit it, Blackbird!" I said, and Blackbird flew towards our home, Strawberryland.

"By the way, what did you want to say back then?" I asked.

"Huh? About what?" Peppermint asked back.

"When we heard Mint Tea..." I said.

"Oh... that..." she said, pausing for a moment. "It did hurt, but what hurt me more was that..." she continued and paused again.

"What was it?" I asked.

"I was... I was just like that when Rainbow came. To remember that I have ever been that mean... it really hurts..." she said.

"Oh..." I said, then I was speechless for a moment. "But it's a past, and now you are close friends with her. That's all that matters."

"Heh, yeah. Sorry for being a crybaby just now," she said.

"Nah, there's nothing wrong with it," I replied, and the flight continued without any more talks.

Later, we arrived at Strawberryland when the remaining time was 8 minutes 27 seconds. I immediately landed Blackbird right on the ground next to my house where it was placed before.

"Home again at last," I said, getting off.

"That was quite a good trip," Peppermint said, getting off as well.

"So, you're going to put your drawings in the clubhouse?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course," she answered.

"I think I'll go with you if you don't mind," I said.

"Hmph, why should I?" she said. "It's your call."

So, the two of us walked to the clubhouse to put Peppermint's drawings on its wall. When we arrived at the clubhouse, there were three friends inside, who were Raspberry, Apricot, and Rainbow.

"Oh, hi Blackberry and Peppermint," Apricot greeted as the two of us came in.

"Hi, Apricot. How are you today?" I replied.

"I'm just fine," she replied.

"Where have you been? I came to your house two days ago and there was nobody there," Raspberry asked.

"Around the world in 80 minutes," I answered, which made them confused.

"Uh, what? You mean 80 days? The book?" she asked.

I giggled a little and then I told them about my trip around the world with Peppermint which actually had not been 80 minutes. I had said that because the actual trip around the planet had happened in that 80 minutes. As I told them the story, Peppermint put the drawings she had made on the clubhouse's wall.

"And those three are the new friends," I said, pointing at the three drawings.

"You know..." Raspberry said, looking at the drawings. "They look kinda... different."

"Yeah, indeed," Apricot said.

"But that's what makes friendship interesting," I said.

"Yes, you're right, matey," Rainbow said.

"Don't tell anyone else about them until they come here," I said.

"Why not?" Apricot asked.

"Let it become a surprise for Strawberry and the others," I replied.

"That's an interesting idea," Raspberry said. "Okay, I won't say anything."

"That will be cool," Apricot said.

"Leave it to me, mateys," Rainbow said.

And so, all of us agreed not to tell anyone else about the new friends. I could imagine the day when all of them come to the friendship festival and all the fun that would happen. I couldn't wait for the day when the new friends come.

--End of Chapter 22-- ]]>