It's time to welcome a popular and beloved series into the Gameverse! To be fair, I've only seen a few clips of the show (and parodies), but even from those, I've formed sort of an attachment to the characters. X3
Part 9: A Girl Named Jolene Kemuri
Gruntilda sealed Robi within a glass container attached to a Life Clock machine. She sneered as the boy pounded his orange-skinned fists against the glass. "You thought you would win, you thought it was easy, but facing Grunty has made you queasy. I'll drink your youth nice and fresh and turn your remains into mesh."
"Do not be hasty, Gruntilda. The boy may yet have use for us."
"What could he possibly…eh?" Grunty faced the entrance. She recognized the woman's voice, but it wasn't echoing from her cauldron. The portly witch walked into the next room, immediately falling aghast at her guest. "Malefi-"
"Silence!" the woman clacked her staff to the floor. She was a foot taller than Gruntilda, draped in a black cloak with red and purple innings. Her delicate hands and boney face were green and the sclera of her eyes yellow. Black horns rested atop her head. "We do not speak our names. There are many ears open… the spirits and time keepers especially. We must keep ourselves hidden as much as possible."
"Then no need for prying ears to overhear." Gruntilda shut the door. Robi just barely had a look at the strange woman. "To what do I owe this visit, Fairy Dear?"
"The Executives have made a decision. The destined Firstborn Guardians will be captured and kept alive. There is a chance we can use them to locate and control the Firstborn."
"This was the Heroine's doing, I surmise? Such an old tactic is no surprise. It's true that I've yet to find the Firstborn in this tower, despite the fragments of chi I've found and harnessed for power. Is this why you've come here then? To use this boy for your agen…da?"
"Your rhyming needs work. But, with a bit of forceful magic, we may be able to tap into Robi's unseen connection to the Firstborn and track her whereabouts. We will also need to capture the Kateenian for the same purpose. Speaking of, I assume your past selves are in the process of recapturing those fools?"
"My Grunties are all on the case, as well as B, going to the Kateenian's place. …Oh, I don't mean Enforcer B, but rather my old vice-president, you see."
"Yes, I am aware. Though you agreed to be aligned with our mission, you do not wish to depend too much on our resources."
"An old and experienced witch must stay in shape. There's still plenty of juice left in this old grape. These brats have picked a fight with me, so the only ones they'll face are Grunty! And B!"
"Then so long as you have things under control, I shall not interfere. But I will stay to ensure those children are dealt with. Until then, I feel quite famished. The kitchen is this way, correct?" The Fairy's cloak slid along the ground as she showed herself out.
…
On Oni Mountain, Nuts Grunty commanded a large Cauldron Craft, unloading missiles of dark magic unto the peaks. The students cowered in their school, watching the adults take flight to fight. "Onari!" Kappa called out as his best friend dashed out of the tree. "Where are you going?!"
At Portorosso, Kent Taylor threw fists of lava at Mecha-Grunty, who blocked them with Protego before zipping around and ramming the Hawaiian. "Dang it! My bending should be stronger than this! How is this curse spread over such a wide area?!"
"Grunty's power, you should not misjudge! If she wanted, she could turn you into fudge!"
"I at least hope you mean the good kind."
Luca and Alberto watched the battle from the relative safety of the ocean. "It looks like everyone's managed to retreat to the hills." Alberto said. "I hope Giulia's with them."
"Robi… Jolene…" Luca looked to Alberto's island. "I just saw them an hour ago, but do you think something's happened to them?"
"What if something did?"
"The portal to that Gruntilda's lair is in your house. I…I'm gonna see if I can check on them."
"Luca!" Alberto watched questioningly as his friend swam to the island.
At Egypt, Bone Grunty burrowed her Hag 1 drill beneath the sand, ambushing Spike with mortars and lasers from random parts underneath. Spike felt her position with Seismic Sense and barely dodged the attacks. "Although I may just be bones, it's time your spiky head was cooked! I mean, done! Ugh, curse you, sisters!" The witch cast a wave of magic to conjure a sand tornado from the drill, brushing it over Spike as his bending wrestled for control over the vortex of sand.
"(Nefertine, maybe we should try to get Robi and Jolene.)" Tanis suggested.
"(But how do we find them? Do we just go through that portal they took to get here?)"
"(It's worth a shot! Let's check it out!)"
At Central Park, a giant humanoid bee in a business suit commanded a swarm of his smaller vermin to sting all the park's guests. "The times may change, but it's all the same business!" Capital B declared. "We're reclaiming this park in Gruntilda's name! Maybe I'll build a nice factory over it! Eh?!" B was baffled as his bees began to falter in their work. "What are you doing?! Is this the work of that alien girl? This oughta snuff her out!" The business bee fired stingers that exploded with pesticide along the ground. Lily held her breath and ran from the cloud.
"Tupu, I think we should head to the city." Norton said. "All the other people are."
"But I cannot let the animals get hurt!"
"We can't fight that thing! Lily said she would handle it. I know she's small, but look at how she controls those plants." A tree grew its branch to grab B's leg, swinging him around.
"Tupu must do something. Hmmm…that bee came from that magic gate. The same one Robi and Jolene come through. Maybe I will find something in there!"
"Tupu, no!" Norton's wild friend was quick to pounce toward the portal.
…
After a long walk and a heaviness in her legs and head, Jolene finally found a small town. It was peaceful, pleasant… and full of those bizarre, blue waves. Jolene simply came to accept those as a normal phenomenon. She saw a band of kids dancing in a field. Maybe they've seen Robi or her friends? And maybe… more of those puzzle pieces were hidden around here? (Play the Peanuts Theme!)
World 5: Peanutville
Jolene crossed the field toward the kids. On the way, there were pairs of Grublin kids called Younglins, whom were spinning spiked jump-ropes. A Music Note was within each of the five jump-ropes, so Jolene had to jump carefully to get them. The group of dancing kids was to her right; a blonde boy was playing a tiny piano, a white dog with black ears was playing a red guitar, and a dirty boy with noticeable stench lines was swinging his arm wildly at a violin… neither playing it nor contributing to the music. But he was still having fun.
Jolene looked left and saw two other kids. A black-haired girl in a blue dress and pigtails had a football propped to the ground. "Come on, Charlie Brown. Go on and kick the ball." she said to a baldheaded boy in a yellow shirt with a black zigzag design.
"Nuh-uh! I'm not falling for it this time! If I try to kick the ball, you'll pull it away, and I'll land flat on my back."
"I'm not lying, Charlie Brown. I promise I'm not."
"And how can I be sure you aren't?"
"I bought this magical Truth Potion from a witch." The girl raised a bottle of silver potion. "See? It's certified."
Charlie Brown read the tag on the side. Certified witch-branded Truth Potion, a brand you can trust! "Now, I'll take another sip!" She opened the bottle and chugged the last bit down. "I, Lucy Van Pelt, do solemnly swear to hold down this ball and let Charlie Brown kick it."
Charlie seemed to look away and speak to no one. "Wow… a real, certified Truth Potion. I think she really means it this time." Excitement filling him, Charlie ran several dozen yards away. Then, with a determined smirk, he came dashing back. "I'm gonna do it! I'm going to kick the ball!"
Charlie swung his brown sneaker and, "AAAAAAAAH!" Lucy pulled the ball away, causing Charlie to flip up into the air, a full 360 degrees, and crashed on his back.
A smirking Lucy leaned directly over his upside-down face. "The truth hurts, doesn't it, Charlie Brown? Oh, by the way, this is just a sports drink from Europe. You should try it sometime."
"Good grief…?" Charlie turned left. Lucy curiously looked the same way. Jolene was staring at them drolly.
"What're you looking at, Blobhead?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy, I don't think I've seen that girl before. Are you new here?"
"I'm looking for Robi and Mom and Dad. And Lily, Kent, and Spike…"
"We don't know anyone with those names." Lucy answered.
"Well, Snoopy has a brother named Spike." Charlie replied. "But I don't think that's who she means. Where did you come from? What's your name?"
"I'm Jolene…Jolene Kemuri. And I'm from, uh, Ashland, West Virginia. It's weird that there's a West Virginia when there's not a East. Can there be a west without east?"
"West Virginia? That's far. And why do you look so dirty and beat up? Were you hurt by a bully?"
"Uh…it was a witch?"
"A witch?" Lucy asked skeptically. "Oh, please, I'm the one who invented that trick!"
"Hey, have you met the others, yet?" Charlie smiled. "If not, we'll introduce ya!"
"Leave the introductions to me, Charlie." Lucy said arrogantly as she pulled Jolene toward the dancing kids. "It'll set a bad example for her if she's with you." Charlie fumed at the remark.
"Heeeeey! Attention, everyone!" The kids stopped and addressed Lucy. "Allow me to introduce the newest kid in the neighborhood, Miss Jolene Kemuri! Jolene, meet the Peanuts!"
"A new kid?!" exclaimed a girl with blonde hair and pink dress with spots. "Goodness gracious! I didn't know they were making new ones!"
"Put 'er there, pal!" A girl with freckles, chestnut hair, and sandals shook Jolene's hand. "Name's Patty, Peppermint Patty, and if ya need anything, don't be afraid to ask. Say, why do you look so beaten-up, anyway?"
"She thinks she got beat up by a witch," Lucy answered, "but it was obviously some bully."
"It wasn't you, was it, Lucy?"
"Ah! Patty, how dare you accuse me of such a thing!"
A black-haired girl with a red shirt and glasses approached Patty from behind. "Sir, I've been seeing some weird things around town lately. Can we be sure it wasn't a witch?"
"M-Marcie?!" Patty blushed.
"Uh…" The word 'sir' confused Jolene. Pointing at Patty, she asked, "Are you a boy?"
"No! I am not a 'sir'! And I told you to quit calling me that, Marcie!"
"Sorry, sir."
"Grrrrrr!"
"She says she's looking for some friends of hers." Charlie said. "You haven't seen any other new kids around, have you?"
"Nothing but those weird goblins we've seen walking around." said a boy with a blanket and red shirt with black stripes. "But they don't look very nice."
"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we invite Jolene to the football game coming up?"
"Does she know how to play football?" Patty asked.
"She's probably better at it than Blockhead." Lucy thumbed at Charlie, who fumed once more.
"Well, first thing we gotta do is get her in shape!" Patty jumped. "Come, Jolene! To the gym!" The tomboy ran off to a school building, Jolene and the gang following. "It might take me some time to get set up, but-" Jolene was bewildered as she crossed a wave of blue aura at the same time entering the gym. "Thank you for your patience, Jolene! Allow me to present the Peppermint Powerup Course!"
It seemed the gym had been modified into a platforming obstacle course. "Now, Jolene, to make sure you're fit for the challenge ahead, you gotta make it to the top of the gym! I'll have a prize waiting for ya if you do! Good luck!"
Patty would sing the "I'm in Shape" song as Jolene jumped a stairway of rubber platforms. The platforms wobbled from her weight, causing her to tumble off several times. "Robi, I need he-…" Jolene remembered Robi wasn't here to use his Flutter Jump. She could only rely on her own skill to jump these platforms. Jolene hopped the platforms and let herself stabilize on each one. From the last step, she needed to climb a rope, sticking clay to her hands to make the feat easier. She then needed to jump a series of small platforms, suspended by ropes like swings. The first platform swayed forward upon her landing, Jolene flailing her arms for balance. She jumped the other swings with caution, eventually reaching a safe platform on the wall.
"You'll have to wall run, Jolene! Can you do it?!" There were footprints along the wall to indicate this. Jolene simply needed to attach clay to her soles to walk across them. "Wah! I don't believe it!" Patty gawked. Jolene reached a platform beside the next wall and would have to jump and grab some monkey bars, climbing across them. Unfortunately, Jolene clung a part that was loose and would up falling to the floor. "Oh, too bad, Jolene. You'll have to start again."
Jolene redid the course. When she got back to the monkey bars, she noted the spots that were slightly loose and had to grab the ones past them. Jolene landed on a safe platform at the start of a long, suspended pool. There were barriers over parts of the surface and bottom, so as Jolene put on her flippers, she simply had to dive and surface to go between the barriers. Jolene climbed onto a platform at the end and would have to jump her way up thin platforms jutting out of the wall. She stretched Clay Arms to pull up to the first one and took her time to make jumps carefully. "Waaah—oomph!" She slipped off a platform and plopped on the floor.
"Aw, you almost made it, Jolene." Patty said. "Try again."
Jolene had to redo the course three more times before she could do that section right. She was too used to relying on Flutter Jumps for tricky sections. She didn't remember it being this hard. But with enough tries and patience, Jolene grabbed the Jiggy at the top. "NICE! You did it, Jolene! This calls for a dance!"
When Jolene returned to the floor, all the Peanuts appeared for a Jiggy Dance in their trademark style! They lifted Jolene, threw her up, and let her plop on her rump. Jolene shook off the dizziness and put the Jiggy away. "We'll be having the football game in that field past the door." Patty pointed. "Can't wait to see you there!"
While the Peanuts left the gym through the exit, Jolene felt the need to go to where Patty pointed. When she opened the field door, she crossed another wave of blue aura. The football field was suddenly occupied, the Peanuts on Jolene's side and a team of brutish, shadowy monsters in football gear on the opposite. "Jolene! Jolene!" Charlie ran up in panic. "This is terrible! Those Footbullies have taken over the field! Every time we try to get the ball, they run up and kick us!" Jolene observed the ball in the center. "What do we do?"
Jolene approached the football, propped up by its side point. "Uhhh…" If picking up the ball was the problem, maybe she should make sure it stays there?" She picked it up, attached some clay to the point, and stuck it back on the ground. "OOOOOOOOG!"
"AAAH!" Charlie screamed. "Jolene, you made them angry! Watch out! One's coming!" Jolene gasped as a Footbully charged straight for her. In this situation, maybe it would calm down if she let it have the ball? Jolene bent up a Clay Fist to hit the ball toward the bully with good force—said force wound up clonking the bully and KOing it. "WOW! How did you do that, Jolene?! …Watch out, here come the others!"
The Footbullies charged from various angles, so Jolene had to reposition and punch the ball from the opposite way. Some of the Footbullies ran in zigzaggy paths, some of which were pretty wide before they suddenly decided to charge direction. These patterns confused Jolene, so two bullies managed to sock and knock her across the field. Despite the blackened eye and bloody nose, Jolene got up to play again. Those Footbullies would go back to position and repeat the same pattern, giving Jolene the edge to knock them out. "Jolene, you did it!" Charlie jumped. "You beat all the Footbullies! Now we can play our game in peace! And look! There's another one of those puzzle pieces."
A Jiggy was under the Footbullies' goal post. Jolene went to collect it, the Peanuts treating her to another Jiggy Dance. The Peanuts would engage in practice until the field workers would clean the bullies off. Jolene lazily wandered around the field and found a Brown Jinjo under the stands. She eventually decided to return to the main town area, passing through the blue waves. "Hey, Jolene." Charlie approached her with a friendly wave. "Thanks for your help at the game yesterday. What is that gooey stuff you use, anyway?"
"I'm a claybender." She bent a small wad of clay to demonstrate. "It's funny 'cause clay is already pretty bendable."
"Wow! How do you do that?! Are you magic?!"
"Dad says it's not magic, 'cause magic people use wands."
"That's incredible!"
"More like freaky." Lucy retorted, approaching the duo. "Still, I didn't think you looked very human."
"Lucy!"
"Anyway, I've been asking around, and it doesn't sound like anyone knows a Robi or those other people you mentioned. But I have seen more of those shiny puzzle pieces you seem to like." Lucy smiled wryly. "And I might be able to give you some hints for a small fee." She walked up to a yellow stand that read Psychiatric Help 5¢ – The Doctor is In.
"Jolene, do you know what those puzzles are?"
"Uh…me and my friends were collecting them… in a game."
"Really? Then if we find them, we might find your friends?"
"I dunno…"
"Well, then let's try to find them." Charlie walked up to Lucy and put a nickel on her desk. "The first clue is on me."
"I saw a guy take one of those jigsaws on the train." Lucy said. "But the train already left to the Whistling Woods. You'd need wings if you plan to catch up with it!"
Charlie led Jolene to the train station. Like Lucy said, the train was already gone, but there was a Wing Pad on the platform. "Uhhh…" Jolene stood on the pad. She half-expected to go taking off to the sky, but she didn't have the wings to do this. It even saddened her. Jolene left the station, Charlie joining her. "I guess we can't do anything about it. Well, where do you wanna go, Jolene?"
"I'll go where you wanna go, Jolene."
Jolene winced. She remembered Robi saying that… but when? And where? Her head was a little too dizzy to remember. She remembered something about… a river or two. "Is there a river anywhere?"
"There's one at Camp Remote. It's this way." Charlie led her to an arched gate at the foot of a pine tree mountain, which read, Camp Remote: This Way. They passed a blue wave while traversing up the mountain.
The air became a mild cold as Jolene saw the Peanuts in coats and hats, standing by the river. "Jolene! Charlie! This is awful!" The blonde girl ran up in panic.
"What's wrong, Sally?" Charlie asked his sister.
"That mean Brutus Gang ruined our rafts! They're going to win the Raft Race!"
"Hahaha!" A trio of bullies and their cat chortled from their motorboat. "Eat our waves, suckers!"
"We're never gonna make a new raft in time!"
"A… raft?" Jolene remembered sailing a few rivers with a raft. In fact… it was one made from claybending! Jolene bent out a large amount of clay from her Infi-Cube and molded it into a raft fit for all the Peanuts.
"WHOOOOOAA!" the Peanuts gawked. "Jolene's magic saves the day!" Patty exclaimed.
"I'm sure there's a scientific mechanism behind it, sir."
"Stop calling me 'sir,' Marcie, and get in the boat!"
"There's no way this icky thing is gonna be fast enough to catch up." Lucy complained.
But Snoopy perked up with an idea! The monochrome pup stuck a pole into the center of the raft and hooked up a sail. A strong breeze carried the boat with ease! "Crud! They're back in the race!" yelled a Brutus. "Let's try out these bombs the monsters gave us!" The bullies dropped Shrapnels in the water.
"AAAAH! We don't have a way to steer!" Charlie screamed.
But there was a way: Jolene thrusted her arms left or right to maneuver the boat with her bending. "YAAAAAAH!" the kids cheered. There came a tight turn left, and Jolene would have to slow down and turn carefully to avoid the Shrapnel the bullies dropped. "Crud! They're too far away!" Patty yelled. "Jolene, take the path on the right! I think it's a shortcut!"
"But sir, that's the slide used for the waterwheel!"
"It's our only hope, Marcie! Let's go!"
"Okay…" Jolene directed her raft toward the right path. The river would slope down onto the thin, wooden, suspended slide that looped down the mountains.
"Wait a sec, this boat is too big to fit on that!" Patty panicked. "Jolene, why didn't you make a thinner boat?!"
"Thinner boat? Okay." She used her bending to stretch the raft thin enough to fit and slide down the canal. The Peanuts screamed, flailing back from the momentum. The slide would make several turns, in which the kids would have to lean toward the corner to keep from flying off. They all managed to survive the ride, but the clay would get wedged at the top of the waterwheel. The sudden stopping caused the boat to squish back into its shorter, wider form.
"We're stuck!" Sally cried. "Why isn't it moving?!"
"Is something jamming it from inside?" Linus asked.
Jolene saw a footprint trail leading down the wheel's middle. She walked down and saw a branch stuck between part of the wheel. She grabbed it with clay an yanked it out. When the wheel began to turn, Jolene ran back up into the boat. "WHOOOOA!" The clay was rolled off the wheel, splashing back into the river. "There's the Finish Line, Jolene!" Patty pointed. Jolene swung her arms to give the boat extra momentum. The bullies were tailing just behind them, but they crossed the goal too late.
"YAAAAAAY!"
"That's not fair!" a bully yelled. "You cheated!"
"You're the cheaters here!" Charlie accused. "C'mon, Jolene, let's get the prize!"
"You'll get it over our exhaust fumes!" The bullies tried turning the motor up to full throttle. "Ugh! Why isn't it working? C'mon, you stupid-" the motor blew up in their faces, riddling the boys and cat with soot. The Peanuts shared in laughter at their humiliation. They would also treat Jolene to another Jiggy Dance as she claimed the trophy on shore!
"Jolene, I found something weird." Charlie led her behind the nearby log cabin. "Look at this switch." He showed her a switch designed like an Easter Egg. "When those monsters showed up, I noticed they set up strange doors in the Town Square. This button looks like one of them."
If Jolene knew anything about floor switches, it was to smash them. She jumped and Ground Pounded. Since it didn't seem to do anything, the duo made their walk back to town. Charlie led Jolene to the Town Square, indicating the four doors installed in the pedestal of the city's founder, Charles Schulz. There was a heart door, pumpkin door, Christmas tree door, and egg door, which was open. The curious pair entered the egg, but they came straight back out into the square. However, it seemed like the area was in spring… and Marcie was standing by a giant cooking pot.
"Hey, Chuck. Jolene. You think you can do me a favor?"
"What is it, Marcie?"
"It's time for the annual Easter Egg hunt, but the monsters spilled potions on all the eggs and made them grow legs. Now they keep running around and won't let me catch them. Think you can help round them up for me?"
"Uhhh…" Jolene was confused. She was sure Christmas, New Years, and Valentine's Day had to come before Easter, but she didn't remember having either. Not even Thanksgiving…
"Yeah, Marcie, I don't think you're supposed to…whoa! They really are running around!" Charlie pointed at the bunch of colorful eggs frantically running with little chicken legs. "Should we catch them, Jolene?"
"Eggs are unborn birdies, right? How come we eat unborn birdies, but not unborn cows or other animals?"
"I, uh…I don't know?"
Either way, collecting eggs is what they do on Easter, so Jolene figured that's what they should do. She and Charlie ran around to grab the eggs, an easier task for the bender as she could stretch clay to grab them. They would have to carry and throw the eggs into the pot before they shook free. Jolene learned the hard way that some of the eggs had fuses and would explode if they tried to grab them. By the time the duo caught and cooked 20 eggs, Patty came stomping up in anger.
"MARCIE! I told you we're not supposed to eat the eggs!"
"The expiration date was just around the corner, sir. We'll get the best taste outta them, yet." Marcie pulled one of the boiled eggs out and bit into it. "Ow! Hey, this isn't yolk." A Jiggy hatched from the egg. "I believe this is yours, Jo." She tossed it to Jolene.
During their egg collection, Jolene saw a Christmas tree switch on one of the sidewalks, proceeding to smash it. She also saw a Pink Jinjo between the ears of a large Easter Bunny statue, climbing up to free it. Jolene returned to the "Main Square" through the egg door and saw the Christmas door had opened. Jolene was immediately hit with a wave of cold, her small feet sinking into the snow.
Christmas lights had covered the houses and a large tree lit up the opposite end of the square. Lucy, Sally, and Charlie were standing upset around it. "Oh, hey, Jolene. Aren't you cold?" Charlie asked.
"Uhh…is it Christmas?"
"Not anymore. Christmas is ruined." Sally cried. "Those mean monsters took our presents and hid them somewhere. And it's almost time to exchange gifts!"
"Say, if you're as good at finding presents as you are those notes or puzzle pieces, why don't you look for them for us?" Lucy asked doubtfully.
"Presents…"
Jolene opened a present Robi gave her two Christmases ago. "It's a Colors of Galaxia Play-Doh set!" Robi beamed. "The colors match Galaxia's planets. I bet you can make some cool things with them. Huhu, maybe you can turn me into a Kateenian. And Lily into a yeti!"
"Hmmm…" Presents were the best part of Christmas. Jolene accepted the job and went to explore town. She first checked the neighborhood of the Peanuts' houses. Snoopy seemed a little cranky that he was locked out of his doghouse. Jolene decided to smash it open with her Clay Fist, finding a present labeled To Schroeder, From Lucy, with piano key wrapping. There was a soccerball and goal net in Patty's backyard, a Dammer guarding it. It sidestepped, anticipating where Jolene would kick the ball. A strong punch to its face would dizzy the Dammer. She stunned it on the side of the goal, giving her plenty of room to kick the ball past. The ball would spring off the net, hit the Dammer's back, and topple it on its front. Jolene could Ground Pound its weak back, releasing a present upon bursting the rock. To Heather, From Charlie.
Jolene explored the snow-covered field where she first met Lucy and Charlie. Sentient ice cubes called Chinkers would spin at her, but were easily shattered by her fists. There was a frozen pond where kids were skiing in circles repeatedly. Jolene saw a cracked spot in the pond with a present underneath. She smashed it open and suffered the chilling water as she grabbed the present, To Linus, From Sally. But before heading back, Jolene noticed a bizarre gate south of the pond, sealed with a Star of David. The label above it read South Park.
Jolene returned to the tree and returned the Peanuts their presents. "AAAAH!" Sally screamed in delight. "Jolene, you're amazing!" She gave her a big hug. "You're…you're wet! Jolene, what happened?"
"I-I-I-It was under the water…"
"They threw my sweet babboo's present underwater?! Ooooo, those jerks! Golly, I wanna… On second thought, I think you deserve this present, Jolene."
Jolene took the present back. Curious, she ripped the box open and found a fluffy, warm blanket. "Seriously?" Lucy glared. "You were gonna give my brother another blanket? That blockhead doesn't need two blankets to carry around!"
Sally smiled as she put the blanket around Jolene's freezing form. "You know, you can have my present, too." Charlie smiled, opening it himself. "I was gonna give this ribbon to Heather, but…hey! This isn't my present!" He pulled a Jiggy out of the present! "Good grief, did they make a copy of my present and hide it somewhere else?! Oh well. You need this anyway, right?"
"Ugh, go ahead and give her your presents." Lucy scoffed, leaving the tree. "I'm gonna give Schroeder his new electric piano."
After treating Jolene to another Jiggy Dance, she noticed the Yellow Jinjo cage hanging up in the tree, blending in with the Christmas lights. …She also noticed the star on top matched the one from the South Park gate. Sadly, she had no way to reach either. But while looking for a way, she found the pumpkin switch against the tree's bark, so she pressed it in. While returning to the central statue, Jolene saw the Flight Pad beside it. Maybe if she had a way to use that… (End song.)
Jolene climbed back to the Main Square and into the pumpkin door. Halloween night was eerie with a howling breeze, autumn leaves drifting and crunching beneath Jolene's shoes. Remembering what happened last Halloween made Jolene a little worried, especially being all alone. While searching the square, Jolene discovered a familiar top-hat. …It was familiar, except for the curled, orange and black horns. Jolene picked the hat up and it was immediately slurped in.
Jolene landed on the floor of Facilier's top-hat… except the side decorations looked a bit more demonic. The central pool was a gassy orange. The mystical music that usually played here was an eerie off-key. "Why, hello, little Joley!" Raymond Facilier danced into view! …His mouth was not only creepily stretched, but there seemed to be an inner pair of lips. His hat was wider than normal and his slitted eyes were orange. "Now, how do we keep running into each other like this?"
"U…Uncle Raymond? I don't know where Robi is."
"Ha ha ha, I don't either, kiddo! But since you're here, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." The witch-doctor stuck a syringe into the pool and sucked the potion into it. "I saw those kids gathering around a big pumpkin in the field. It's like they're worshipping the darn thing! Why don't you squirt this on the pumpkin? It'll give it a little growth spurt. Go on, kiddo, don't be shy!"
"Uhhh…" Jolene was confused. Shouldn't he be wondering about Robi, too? He didn't look worried, so… maybe there's nothing to worry about? Jolene left the hat and made her way to the field. A great pumpkin patch had been hoed into the ground, and amongst the many orange fruits was a large one in the center, surrounded by the Peanuts. But first, she explored the field for a potential Jinjo and found an orange one blended in with the pumpkins. She then approached the Peanuts.
"Hey, Jolene. What's that you got there?" Charlie asked.
"Uncle Raymond gave it to me. He says it'll help the pumpkin grow."
"Then put it on!" Linus cheered. "Maybe that's what we need to summon the Great Pumpkin!"
"When are you gonna get over this crummy Great Pumpkin nonsense?" Lucy asked.
"If my sweet babboo says the Great Pumpkin is real, then it is!" Sally declared. "Hurry, Jolene, put it on!"
Jolene squirted the potion on the pumpkin. The kids were awed as it slowly grew bigger, even carving eyes and a mouth on its own. "You've sure helped us out a lot, Jolene." Charlie smiled. "You've been with us more than a year, but it feels like we met only yesterday. I'm sorry we haven't been able to find Robi… and that your injuries never seem to heal. But it's not too late for things to change."
"Mmm…" Has she really been here a whole year? Is this what they mean by 'time flies'? …Time… She feels like she learned something about 'time' recently… but what was it…
Jolene's eyes wandered while waiting for the pumpkin to grow. Another peculiar sight caught her gaze: a distant factory fizzing beyond the blue auras. The curious child approached the factory, passing the aura as the air grew heavy with fumes. "Cough, cough! Factories are stinky. Why can't they put on deodorant like…like…?"
The Peanuts were chained by the ankles, pushing the handles of a giant crank. They wore shabby, ragged clothes and covered in filth, their faces wrought with misery. "What's this? A loose child?!" Jolene whipped left. A short, leprechaun man with a long horn and short horn approached her, scowling with grit sharp teeth. "You need to get back to work, child. Stand still, I have a spare set of cuffs."
"JOLENE!" Patty exclaimed. "You got out?!"
"JOLENE, RUN!" Charlie screamed. "Save yourself! Don't let them take you, too!"
"SILENCE!" The leprechaun struck him with an energy whip. "You're working overtime for that! But even that won't compare to the punishment I have for you!" He whipped the ground beside a flinching Jolene. "I might serve you in the king's main course tonight, you little runaway!"
"JOLENE, RUN!" She remembered Robi yelling the same words. But Jolene didn't remember running… and when she didn't, that's when the witch beat her up… that's right! So, if she didn't run now, this leprechaun might beat her up, too! Jolene spun around and ran back the way she came!
"Come BACK here, you ugly little-!" The leprechaun's words disappeared along with his form beyond the blue aura.
Jolene was back in the pumpkin patch, falling on her knees tiredly. That's right… Robi told her to run… because they were fighting…fighting with that witch. But they were beaten up… Robi was taken prisoner… and Jolene was hurt terribly. She woke by the playground, sick, hurt… and alone. "Jolene…"
"Robi…" The tears hurt leaking out of her blackened eye. Her friend was gone… her parents were gone… she didn't even know where that building was… She was all alone…
"Jolene!"
"Robi…" She stuck her finger in the soil and began to draw Robi's face. She drew his teeth a little big and misshapen, his square glasses covering the upper half of his head, resulting in drawing his wavy hair a little wider than it should be. His face was always cute to look at… Her hand felt cold without him holding it… He liked to let Jolene lead the way, even though she barely knew where to go. She didn't know where to go now… she didn't know…
"JOLENE!" Peppermint Patty hoisted her up by the shoulders. "Look up, ya clay brain! We gotta run! The Great Pumpkin is—AAAAH!" She was yanked into the air by a vine, swallowed by an enormous jack-o-lantern with a thick vine body. Jolene was in terror as a lump traveled down the pumpkin's stem. Patty's shape would appear in a glowing green bulb, along with ones holding the other Peanuts, who screamed and banged the insides in panic. (Play "Scorch 'N' Torch" from DK: Tropical Freeze.)
Jolene's arm was grabbed by a hand, Charlie Brown dragging her into a sprint. "Huff, Jolene! What was in that medicine?! I don't think the Great Pumpkin liked it!"
"I-I-I, it-it-it was… Uncle Raymond?"
Charlie slowed to a stop as they came upon the witch-doctor himself. "When a pumpkin grows this fast, it needs to consume nutrients fast. Luckily, there's lots of fresh meat around here."
"Who is this crazy weirdo?!" Charlie asked.
"Yuh…you're not… Uncle…"
"Hah, you're too late to figure that out! I guess you're as sluggish as you look." The man ripped off his skin mask, revealing a pair of twisty orange and black horns and wavy orange hair.
"Yeesh! What a creepy costume!" Charlie winced. "What're you supposed to—AAAH!" A vine wrapped the bald youth, swinging him around the air. "JOLENE! HEEEELP!"
"Oh, don't be sad for them." The man shrugged. "This is only a time rift. It's just a small bubble of time from the past that floated up through a fissure to the present's surface. Anything that happens in this bubble won't affect the present as you know it. That said, trying to pop these bubbles will create too many ripples. The more you mess around in these places, the more branches in the River of Time there'll end up being. Creating too many branches will lead to more rifts and more chaos. Eventually, things will get out of hand, and something might just have to abolish the ultimate source of the distortion! That's exactly what Grunty and her cohorts are aiming for."
"JOLEEEENE!" The pumpkin swallowed Charlie whole.
"Me? I was just hired to help sniff out that other intruder. You know, the one with the silly hat. But when this time rift started popping up, I decided to add my own ingredient to the mix. But then again, why am I wasting time explaining this to someone who won't get it? Even if the Great Pumpkin wasn't about to eat you. But hey, your brain's so sluggish that you won't feel it digest you in time, anyway."
Jolene looked up at the snarling pumpkin, her bruised face wet with tears and despair. Her parents were gone… her friends were gone… and her new friends were being eaten alive. Their muffled voices called out her name, called her for help. But she didn't know what to say… Robi always did most of the talking. And he helped her with the fighting. She wanted Robi back… she wanted him back… she wanted…
The Great Pumpkin lunged at her—a giant Clay Fist socked it in its fruity face and blew him back. "Huh?" The demon, Turas, didn't expect that sudden of a reaction. How did she mold out that much clay so quickly?
"I… want… Robi…" Jolene stomped onto her feet, clay dripping down her dress and enveloping her legs. "I want Robi…" The clay grew around her crying face, her arms, and then her dress. "I WANT ROBIIIIII!"
Turas stepped back, shock-ridden as the girl grew into a blobbish giant. A frowning mouth stretched open in the head, a pair of droopy, furious eyes above it. A grayish-purple aura burned over the giant, adding hues to its clay. "It can't be! How did this brat unlock a Fury Mode?! Shouldn't Gruntilda's curse do anything about this? Good thing the drugs in that pumpkin are really potent. Let's see how well the abomination holds up!" Turas retreated a safe distance as the pumpkin lunged at Jolene again.
Boss fight: Carnivorous Festive Fruit, THE GREAT PUMPKIN
The beast grew two huge pumpkin fists and swung them, Jolene countering them with a force that generated an earthquake. Great Pumpkin swung an uppercut, striking and stretching Jolene's head upward, but this didn't stop her from punching around its arm and socking him in the head. As it flew sideways, Jolene slammed it with her other fist, pressing the pumpkin's head to the soil. During this period as it struggled for recovery, Jolene jumped out of the blobbish giant and ran to the Peanuts' pods, lain along the soil. She ran to Charlie's prison and Ground Pounded to smash it open, followed by smashing his sister's pod. "My sweet babboo!" Sally's first concern was running to Linus' pod, frantically banging it. "Are you alright in there?!"
"My blanket's decomposing!" Linus was protecting himself in his blanket. "Things don't look good for ol' Linus…"
"I'll get you out of there! Don't worry!"
"Sally, no!" Charlie screamed as the Great Pumpkin regained consciousness. He and Jolene ran, but the pumpkin was able to flip Sally back into its maw, trapping her inside Linus' pod. "At least we'll be digested together, Linus!"
"Good grief…"
Great Pumpkin retreated several meters away and began to roll them at the giant, afterwards calling them back. Jolene remembered a similar situation from the football field: she molded a giant football, attached to the ground, and would punch it in whatever angle the pumpkins rolled from. When she was in direct alignment with the monster itself, she knocked the pumpkin back and bashed its master unconscious. She quickly slid her way over and exited the clay to smash Marcie and Patty free. "Hold me, sir!" Marcie hugged her friend for comfort.
"Now isn't the time, Marcie!" Patty picked her up and bolted. Great Pumpkin inflated his own head and approached Jolene with rapid, compact head-swings. Jolene locked both fists into one and spun as well. The freed Peanuts could feel the force of her generated wind, and the vibration as the fists and head collided. The action stopped the Great Pumpkin completely, but Jolene wouldn't give it a chance to recover as the blobbish giant grew a leg and kicked it back. She dealt another solid punch to knock it out, the head shrinking to normal. She jumped out of the giant and ran to smash Sally and Linus free, followed by Lucy.
"Is that all of them?" Patty asked.
"No!" Charlie gasped. "Snoopy and Woodstock are still trapped!"
The puppy and his little bird companion lay defeatedly inside the pod. The Great Pumpkin grew smaller heads that detached with viny bodies of their own. These Punkins charged at the Peanuts, but Jolene would mold Clay Clones of the kids. Her Fury gave the clones their own sentience with the objective of fighting the Punkins. Meanwhile, Jolene engaged the master in another battle of fists. Both fists managed to lock each other in place while the pumpkin tried to burrow its head into the giant's center. Thankfully, Jolene dug her real body downward, using the giant to trap the head. She escaped and ran to rescue Snoopy.
"I don't think so!" Turas rushed to intercept her. You may have my pumpkin pinned, but you left yourself wide open-" Jolene stomped and swung her arms, pushing him away in a wave of soil. "Even your normal earthbending is slightly stronger?!" Jolene leapt to smash Snoopy and Woodstock free.
The Great Pumpkin pushed itself free of Jolene's giant, frantic at seeing the kids free. "Don't give up now!" Turas yelled. "I borrowed this from the witch. Try this for nourishment!" He withdrew an orange Crystal Jiggy and threw it into the pumpkin's mouth. It flared up with an orange aura, rapidly pounding its fists to squish the Clay Clones. Jolene ordered her giant to pull her back in.
"Hey! Stay away from me!" Patty yelled, Marcie cowering behind her as their two Punkins approached.
"Protect me, sir!"
"Stop calling me 'SIR'!" With a forceful stomp, Patty's foot sank into the soil, and a gush of soil jutted out and pushed the Punkins away. "W…WHUH?!"
"Wow! I always thought you had heavy feet, sir."
"H…How did I do that?!"
"That looked like the same power Jolene has!" Charlie exclaimed. "Is Patty a 'bender,' too?"
The Great Pumpkin began to smash and splatter Jolene's fists, dealing a punch to the giant's center and knocking it several yards back. "Ha ha ha! Looks like that little snack was all it needed!" Turas smirked. Jolene's giant reformed as the beast came charging. When she realized it was fed a Crystal Jiggy, and how she was fighting with fists of her element, similar to Spike, a thought came to mind: when Jolene punched again, the Great Pumpkin went flying back with great force. "What?! How?!"
Jolene's fists balled as the four Crystal Jiggies emerged over the knuckles. "You're using those Crystal Jigsaws as knuckles?! That's cheating!" As the pumpkin got up for more, Jolene's four Jiggies were easily able to combat its power of one.
"Jolene! Knock it over here, quick!" Charlie jumped beside a certain tree. Jolene understood and punched the Great Pumpkin in the tree's direction, stopping just before it. The pumpkin recovered, snarling down at Charlie Brown. But Charlie merely looked up in bravery. …The pumpkin felt motion above it and looked up. The tree had a mouth.
"Meet the Kite-Eating Tree, you ugly son of a beachball!" The tree opened wide and CHOMPED the pumpkin's head hole! It chewed and slurped until the rest of its viny body went down.
"Hey!" Turas ran for the tree. "Give back my pumpkin, you wretched weed! I was gonna submit it to the Evil Pumpkins Contest after this!" The tree merely leaned down at him and, "PBBBBBTTTHHHHH!" Spat orange gunk all over the demon. "Sigh…looks like I'll have to grow a new entry. It's only a matter of time before 'they' catch wind of this, anyway, so I think I'll try again elsewhere. But first a quick trip to the Underwhere Washers…" Turas frantically shook off whatever gunk he could before jumping into a Gap.
"Ow!" In doing so, he flung a stick at Patty. "What the heck is this?" (End song.)
Jolene's Fury died, the clay receding into her Infi-Cube. Exhausted by the effort, the child fainted. The Peanuts all gathered around her. "Jolene… you saved us." Charlie smiled.
"Man, I thought she was good before, but that was awesome!" Patty exclaimed. "And look at me! I can do it now, too!" She stomped the soil and thrusted Charlie away with a wave. "Whoops! Sorry, Chuck!"
"C'mon, Lucy, even you gotta admit that was cool." Linus said.
"Alright, fine. I guess it was."
"Well, don't just leave her laying there!" Sally picked up the head and Patty the legs. "You can stay at our house, Jolene."
The others walked with them to make sure they arrived home safely. Linus curiously picked up the Crystal Jiggy from the juicy remains.
Eight hours later
"Mmmmnn…yaaaaawn…" Jolene woke in the warmth of a nice, cozy bed. She'd been changed into a blue nightgown.
"You're awake!" Charlie greeted her at the bedside. "My sister changed your clothes. She put your regular dress in the washer. She and Patty also gave you a bath before putting you in bed, so… sorry if that freaks you out." He scratched his head, sheepish at the idea. "Are you okay?"
"Ummm…did I have a bad dream?"
"You mean about the Great Pumpkin? No, that was definitely real. We were all eaten, but you saved us! Your powers are amazing!"
"Hmmm…"
"C'mon, the others are downstairs. We better let them know you're up."
Jolene followed Charlie down. "Joleeeene!" The Peanuts surprised her with hugs all around. "You were awesome last night!" Linus cheered. "I'm never waiting for the Great Pumpkin again!"
"And get this, I have a superpower now, too!" Patty said. "I can't wait to see what else I can do with it!"
"That weird guy seemed to drop these." Marcie held up the Crystal Jiggy and strange stick with a black and red design. "We offer them as tribute, sir."
"Not her, too, Marcie!"
"By the way, you know those puzzles you've been collecting?" Charlie asked. "Well… while we were dealing with the Great Pumpkin, this jigsaw puzzle just appeared on the table for some reason." Charlie pointed to the dining table, where a cereal, toast, and orange breakfast was set up. "Maybe the monsters put it there. There's even a stool that looks like your Jigsaws."
Jolene walked up to it. The "stool" was the same Jiggy pedestal from the lair. When Jolene stood on it, it glowed. There were five pieces missing from the small puzzle. Jolene held her Jiggies above it, and they magically shrank to fit. The puzzle formed… "The newspaper stand?" Charlie observed. "Should we check that out?"
"Jolene, eat your breakfast first!" Sally insisted. "We don't want you to get hungry!"
"Okay. You shouldn't exercise without calories in your tummy."
"I'll go bring your dress; it's probably done by now."
"Speaking of which," Lucy smirked, "why do you wear a diaper, anyway?"
"Don't ask her that!" Linus shouted.
After eating and getting dressed, the Peanuts brought Jolene to the newspaper stand. The newspaper depicted a comic image of the Mysterious Lair. Jolene reached, and her hand magically warped into the image. The Peanuts gasped in awe. "R…Robi's in there…"
"Robi? In the newspaper?" Charlie asked. "I don't get it. Is that… where you came from, Jolene?"
"I…I have to go. I gotta find Robi."
"Do you want us to come with you?"
"Uh…I dunno…"
"Why not? What's in there?"
"You're right. If there are more of those monsters, I don't know how we could help." Linus frowned. "Not when you have all that power. Even Patty isn't sure what to do with hers."
"Then we're gonna have to start training!" Patty stated. "I'll get us all in shape so we can help you! But if you find Robi, you gotta promise to come back here!"
"Okay…"
"Good luck, Jolene!" The gang waved. "From now on, you're an honorary Peanut!"
"…" Jolene smiled. …But a concern came to mind. "If I'm a peanut, I gotta make sure no one's allergic to me…"
"Just go in the newspaper, you blobhead." Lucy remarked.
Jolene stuck her head and arms in first, kicking to flip the rest of herself into the newspaper portal. She fell out of a similar newspaper that depicted Peanutville. It was in a room that resembled a small version of the Town Square. In fact… it was at the top of the stairs left of the lair's lobby. This was the same room that was previously under construction. "Peanutville is open." Jolene read the sign. "I can go in there now. Wait… I was already in there. I gotta bring Robi here." Jolene, after their many times backtracking, remembered the way back up. She had to get up to where Robi was.
Gruntilda's Lair
The Fairy magically peered into Robi's prison chamber. Having grasped the hopelessness of his situation, Robi merely sat still in the glass prison and sobbed, the Life Clock slowly absorbing his youth. Fairy stirred a veil of magic around herself and transformed into a pretty young maiden with golden hair, rose-red lips, and a gray peasant's dress. She opened the door and gracefully walked in. "Poor child… ripped away from your beloved."
"Hn?" Robi glanced up. "…Who're you?"
"Call me Briar Rose. Though, some call me Sleeping Beauty. You know, boy… perhaps your precious Jolene is only asleep. Waiting to be woken by love's first kiss."
"You're just one of Grunty's helpers, aren't you? Go away…"
"A hundred years of ageless sleep, she waits for dear Robi to find her. A story of true love and bravery… between two hilariously dim brats."
"AAAAAAHHH!" The Fairy began to electrify Robi with her staff.
"Now then… where is she hiding? I'll dig deep into your aura until I find the connection!"
"W-What're you talking ab—OOOOUUUT!"
The sounds of his pain were music to Gruntilda's ears. "After all the pain you brought to me, now you can wallow in misery. In the meantime, I must tend to another nuisance. I shan't have to spend long on these…um…er…!" A frustrated Grunty grabbed a thesaurus and quickly flipped through to find a word. "Aha! -on these kids who don't know prudence!"
Lair's Lake Area
"Nefer-tine?" Tupu tried to pronounced.
"Toe-pu?" Luca pointed at his toes and rear.
"Lu-kun?" Onari thought she repeated.
"O-na-ri?" Nefertine pronounced.
Their first exchange was met with confusion. When these five kids had gone through the portal and began exploring the wondrous and Mysterious Lair, they didn't expect to find other strange kids. "Tehehehe!" Tanis giggled. "Don't tell me we all came here for the same reason."
"What do you mean?" Luca asked. "Wait, do you guys know Robi and Jolene, too?"
"Hai! We do!" Onari jumped.
"The evil witch's minions have invaded my home," Tupu explained, "so I came to search for them."
"(That's why we're here, too!)" Nefertine exclaimed, Tanis translating her.
"But… where do we find them?" Luca asked.
"I came down from that mountain." Onari pointed. "But it looks like this fortress goes even higher. If you two came from the lower levels, maybe Robi and Jolene are up there!"
"But how do WE get up there?" Luca asked. "Unless we can ride on your cloud?"
"My cloud can only carry me." Onari frowned. "If only you guys were smaller, so I could carry all of you."
"Perhaps I may have the solution!" a manly French voice announced.
The kids were awestruck as a top-hat bounced toward them. The hat flipped and grew into a certain witch-doctor. "Uncle Raymond!" the kids chorused.
"I couldn't help but notice you all together. Y'all are here to help those little two heroes, right? Then it's only fair that I lend a hand, too. Or should I say a hat! If you need a ride up there, we can just jump into my hat and let Onari-chan carry us. The bad news is, I might not be able to help much once we're up there. Gruntilda took my wand, but with any luck, it's stashed away somewhere up there. Until then, I hope you kids are up to this. We're goin' straight up to the nest of Gruntilda herself, the one who cursed all your homes. Are you sure you're ready?"
"I…I'm not sure." Luca shirked, his head dropping and fiddling with his fingers. "This is even scarier than when I first went to the human town. But I had Alberto and Giulia with me… so, if you guys are with me, maybe we can do this!"
"I won't be afraid!" Onari declared. "I may not have lightningbending, but I am a Thunder Spirit! Today is my chance to be a great hero!"
"(I can't turn down an adventure like this!)" Nefertine said excitedly. "(I'll help however I can!)"
"I may be just a bag of dust," Tanis bounced, "but this mummy's got your back!"
"If Shoobz could never catch me, Tupu will not lose to Gruntilda!"
"It looks like we're all agreed!" Raymond decided. "TO THE TOP!" Everyone but Onari jumped into his top-hat! Onari picked the magic headwear up, smiling as the tiny group waved up at her. She tucked the hat under her arm and soared to the top of the lair.
"The ground is scarred." Onari observed. "There must have been a great battle here. I wonder if I can…" She hovered above the cracked ground and Ground Pounded her cloud. "Dun," a bolt struck once, "skun," twice, "skun," thrice, "skun. OSHI, OSHI!" With a few more strong pounds, the roof ruptured open! Onari landed and let her friends out.
"Hey, you broke us a way in!" Raymond beamed. "Good goin', kiddo!"
"Hey, we should come up with a team name!" Tupu suggested. "Norton says that team names help unify teams."
"Okay, but what should we call ourselves?" Luca asked.
"Do we have anything in common?" Onari asked.
"(Well, we're all kids.)" Nefertine tapped her chin. "(And those two did talk about a Kids Next Door.)"
"But the KND has a bunch of teams." Tanis replied. "We need a special name for us."
"Hmmmmm…" The kids all tapped a foot in trying to think of something they all shared.
"Wait!" Luca perked up. "We all came from different times to get here!"
"We DID?" Tupu gasped.
"Yeah, Rob and Jo figured that out their selves." Raymond confirmed. "These portals are actually a bunch of time machines or something."
"Except me." Tanis said. "I know them from the present!"
"But you're still from a different time from us." Luca reasoned. "Maybe we should be… the Friends of Time!"
"Haha! I love it!" the mummy clapped.
"(Because our friendship extends across time itself!)" Nefertine beamed.
"What about the Heroes of Time?" Onari asked.
"Norton says there is already a hero named that." Tupu answered.
"Friends of Time it is!"
"Tupu agrees! So, how about we show Grunty who we are?"
The Friends of Time perched firmly on the edge of the hole, looking determinedly into the darkness. They all squat and leapt down, their feet touching the interior.