This one's kinda long. I guess it makes up for the short chapter before.
Joel and Mike found themselves back at the End of Time. Upon their arrival, the old man accosted them.
"So, you've been to the Magic Realm. You're much closer to unlocking the mystery of the imbalance in the time-space continuum. But before that, can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" Mike asked.
The old man pointed to the `bots, who were on the platform below them. "Get them out of here!"
"Send them to Lucca's house in the year 2001," Joel told the man. "If she knows they belong to me and Mike, she probably won't care."
Mike cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure about that?"
Joel nodded. "She wouldn't care. She loves messing with machines anyway."
"That takes care of our first problem," Mike said. "However, even if we find Chekov, there's no way to return to the Magic Realm."
"There just might be a way," the old man stated. "However, you'll need to find Chekov in order to do so. Just use one of the time portals to head back to the Middle Ages."
"Okay, we'll do that," Mike replied. He and Joel headed up the stairs until they found the portal that took them to Truce Village. They stepped in and were appalled at the sight that greeted them.
***
The bodies of many were scattered across the ground. A woman wearing a pendant similar to Mike's rushed by the two. A castle sentry shot her in the back with an arrow.
"What's going on?!" Mike asked in shock.
"We're killing all the Mystics. You're almost on time for the execution of their leader."
"Leader?" Joel repeated. Magus had been sucked into the portal with them. Therefore, he could no longer be there.
"Yes, their leader. He calls himself Chekov." Joel and Mike gasped at the sentry's comment. "But there's still time before the execution. If you see someone with a red pendant, kill them." The sentry ran off to search for more victims.
"Oh my God," Mike muttered. "What about me? If they saw my pendant, then..."
"Wait a minute," Joel said. "Where are the King and Queen? I'm positive that they would not condone a massacre in their kingdom. Let's go see them."
***
The two crept through Guardia Forest and headed to the castle. The place was not guarded, and the King and Queen were not on their thrones.
"Did something happen to them?" Joel wondered aloud.
"Maybe. But what about the Prince?" Mike pointed to the staircase leading to the Prince's chambers. "Let's go check out his room."
They ascended the winding staircase and walked through the hall leading to the Prince's room. Joel knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" a female voice asked.
"Joel Robinson and Mike Nelson," Joel replied. "Can we come in?"
"Well, can you?"
Joel rolled his eyes. "May we come in?"
"Yes, you may."
Joel opened the door to find the Queen sitting next to the feather bed. Prince Nigel was lying in bed. His hair and face were stained with blood.
"I know what's going on out there," the Queen stated. "But Nigel and I are powerless to stop it. Nigel can't make it out of bed, and I must tend to him."
"What about the King?" Mike inquired.
"He is visiting a foreign dignitary. It's about trading between their countries. However, he would not tolerate the bloodbath outside."
Nigel broke his long silence. "Joel and Mike, I must ask for your help once more. Please restore order to this kingdom."
"We'll do our best," Mike replied. He turned to Joel. "Do you have a plan?"
Joel nodded and headed over to the Prince's wardrobe. "I'll hang on to that pendant for you. You're going to be Prince Nigel again, okay?"
"Well then, I must excuse myself." The Queen rose from her chair and walked out the door. She closed it once she had left.
"Okay..." Joel started rummaging through all the clothes. "You'll need a jumpsuit and a cape..." Joel pulled out the two items and threw them on the floor. He continued to shuffle through the Prince's belongings until he found a jeweled belt and a tall pair of boots.
"How...do I get this on?" Mike had stripped off his shirt and pants and was struggling with the jumpsuit.
"It buttons from the back." Joel picked up the top of the jumpsuit and held it up. Once Mike had slipped his arms through the sleeves, Joel began buttoning up the back. After some time had passed, Mike asked, "Are you done yet?"
"Nope. There are a lot more buttons on this than I thought."
"Why are there so many damned buttons?!" Mike griped. "No wonder people in the Middle Ages were so sexually frustrated." Joel couldn't keep himself from laughing at the comment.
Once he was finished with the buttons, Joel helped Mike pin on the cape. Mike tied the belt around his waist while Joel started lacing up the boots. Like the jumpsuit, they took forever to get into, since there were so many holes.
"Give me your rod, too." Joel held out his hand. Mike pulled the pendant out of his pocket and deposited it in Joel's hand. He knelt down and pulled the rod out of his clothes, then placed it in front of Joel.
"Are you ready?" Joel asked.
"Yeah. I should be fine." That statement was proven wrong when Mike fell face flat onto the floor. "How can women even WALK in these things?!" he snapped indignantly.
Joel offered his hand to Mike and helped him up. "Maybe you should practice walking around a bit."
Mike began walking around in circles. Slowly, he was getting used to balancing on the heels. He headed for the door.
"Oh, good," Joel said. "I guess he'll be fine af--" He was interrupted by the sound of Mike screaming as he fell to the floor. Joel slapped a hand across his face. "Spoke too soon."
Mike pushed himself off the floor, then walked in circles for a little while. When he was confident enough, he headed out the door.
Joel sighed deeply. "Please let this work."
***
The villagers were gathered around Chekov, who was tied to a stake. The soldiers from the castle were throwing piles of tinder around Chekov's feet. A soldier in full armor held a torch in one hand. When the soldiers were finished with the tinder, he spoke to Chekov.
"Chekov, you still maintain your innocence. I will give you one final chance. Just tell us you're guilty. There's no point in lying. Maybe then, we will let you go."
"I have done nothing wrong!" Chekov objected. "You can't accuse someone of a crime without proof!"
"You have a red pendant. That's plenty of proof. So, you refuse to change your plea?"
"I am innocent!" Chekov cried vehemently.
After stumbling through Guardia Forest, Mike finally reached the village. After silently cursing the fashion of the Kingdom's royalty, he attempted to divert the villagers' attention from Chekov. "Stop this at once!" he yelled. Everyone ignored him, so he tried another statement. "In the name of my father, stop this at once!"
It worked. When the villagers and the soldiers saw him, they knelt down in reverence.
"Prince Nigel!" one of the soldiers cried. "How on earth did you recover from those wounds?"
Mike slowly made his way towards the crowd. "That's not your concern," he continued. "Release him."
"But, he is the leader--"
Mike was beginning to get used to the role. He decided to have a little fun with it. "How dare you conduct an execution without the approval of me or my mother! Just because my father is gone does not give you the excuse to take the law into your own hands! Wait until my father hears about this."
"Prince Nigel, please have mercy!" The soldier with the torch threw it down and bowed down to Mike. Mike stomped on the fire, extinguishing it.
"Who started this?" Mike inquired. "Someone must have told everyone to begin murdering all those innocent people." There was no response. "Answer me!!"
"Uh..." one of the villagers stammered. "I only participated because the soldiers told me to. There's no way I can turn down their orders! Please forgive me!"
Mike eyed the soldiers suspiciously. "And where did you receive your orders?"
"From the Captain!" one soldier exclaimed. "We can't go against the Captain of the Guards!" Mike realized that the Captain was the one groveling at his feet, since he had the fanciest armor.
"Prince Nigel--" the Captain began.
"Have mercy?" Mike repeated. "Have mercy?! You turned the soldiers and the citizens of Guardia into the pawns of your diabolical chess game. I have no mercy for the likes of you." Mike then decided to use his newly acquired power to his advantage. "Knights of Guardia!"
"Yes, your Highness?" one replied.
"Make preparations for a humiliation ceremony. It shall be held at noon tomorrow, on this spot. I shall have the Captain of the Guards stripped of his knighthood."
"Prince Nigel!" the Captain objected.
"Silence!" Mike crossed his arms over his chest. "You make me sick. Knights, throw him in the dungeon." Two soldiers rose from the ground, then picked up the Captain by his arms before dragging him away. "Now, release him."
One soldier rose and stepped over to the stake. He drew his sword and sliced the ropes that bound Chekov to the stake.
Mike spoke again. "Chekov, please come with me. I must speak with you." Chekov hesitated before walking over to Mike. Mike took him back through the forest and into the castle. With great difficulty, he climbed the castle stairs, then led Chekov to the Prince's chambers. Inside, Joel and Nigel were waiting for them.
"Hey!" Chekov glanced at Nigel, then at Mike. "You're not the Prince! Who are you?!"
"I'm Mike Nelson, and he's Joel Robinson." Mike pointed at Joel. "Princess Schala asked us to find you."
"Schala?!" Chekov perked up at the mention of her name. "How is she?"
"She wants to find the other two Sages and overthrow Pearl," Joel stated. "Do you have any idea where they could be?"
"None whatsoever," Chekov replied. "We should probably return to the Magic Realm. I have a feeling that Schala is in danger."
"Can we stay here for a little bit?" Mike asked. "I want to see the humiliation ceremony for myself."
"Humiliation ceremony?!" The Prince pushed himself into a seated position. "What did you do out there?!"
"The Captain of the Guards started the whole massacre, so I stripped him of his knighthood."
"I don't think my father would do that," Nigel said. "He would have just killed him."
"That's no good," Mike continued. "If you let him live, but strip him of his knighthood, he'll live in guilt and dishonor for the rest of his life."
Nigel smiled. "I see. That's better than anything my father could come up with. I'll have Mother fix me up so that I can be there tomorrow."
Mike knelt down and began to untie the boots. Joel noticed him and smiled.
"That was quite a convincing performance, `Prince Nigel.' You should be on the stage."
Mike shook his head. "I'm not that good of an actor."
"Are you kidding?" Joel said. "I was watching you from the window the whole time. That was amazing. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn you were him."
"Really?" Mike pulled the boots off his feet. "All I did was try to say things he probably would."
Chekov gasped, then turned to the two. "Hurry and get dressed!" he told Mike. "I just received a telepathic message from Schala. The Ocean Palace has been completed!"