Peter Carrot-top

  Chapter 11

  Off to War - Part 1

  Meanwhile, as Peter was in school, his parents and

  other family members were going to war to save Baja from

  the hands of Marcus Carrot-Top. Sam was very unhappy at his

  brother and the fact that he had ruined his family name for

  years. Yet, deep down inside, Sam truly loved his brother

  and he was torn between fighting for Baja and fighting his

  brother. Nevertheless, Sam had to make a huge decision on

  how he was going to handle the war and the conflict with

  his brother.

  He got the crew up and ready as soon as Peter left for

  school. Red Fox and Samantha came up with great plans on

  how they would attack the wizards in the forest. Meanwhile

  Sam's father David was building weapon upon weapon, until

  he got them right. Jane was still practicing her skills to

  create a deadly plant, if she needed to rely on it. She

  took out an old jewelry box that was given to her many

  years ago. It was golden on the outside, engraved with

  pictures of a large green plant. The colors on the box were

  so vibrant; it did not even look old. As Jane opened the

  box, a small beam of light caught her eyes. There was a

  tiny blue seed the size of a quarter, and it began to hop

  and jump all over the inside of the box, which was

  protected by a red velvet cloth.

  Jane remembered receiving this box when she was a

  little girl, after the entire world of Baja had discovered

  her talents for planting. She was told only to use this

  blue seed in the event of life or death, and to always

  protect it and to never let it get in the wrong hands. Even

  when Jane was on earth, she never let the seed out of her

  sight. Wherever she went, so did the blue seed, which was

  called the seed of great destruction.

  Jane held the seed up to her eye sight and saw its

  great beauty. There was no other seed like it throughout

  the galaxy, and what Jane held in her hands was very

  powerful. She put the seed in a pouch that was hooked onto

  her belt. Jane had now made and gotten all the plants and

  formulas that she would need on the battlegrounds, and then

  it was time to go.

  The Carrot-Tops and their families said a prayer to

  the Lord to guide them and keep them safe through their

  journey, and then the five of them were on their way, along

  with Oscar the cat.

  Dorothy stayed home to wait for Peter when he arrived

  from school. She kissed her son and husband goodbye and a

  look of worry began to fill her face. Sam let his mother

  know that everything would be okay, and if something were

  to go wrong that she and Peter would have everything they'd

  need for the rest of their lives. By this time, the tears

  were falling and Sam began to wipe them from his mother's

  eyes, letting her know that everything would be okay. To

  get her mind off of things, she should head down to the toy

  store and start making toys since Christmas was coming.

  Dorothy agreed to this and took off.

  At this point, there was no turning back; everyone in

  the group had a huge task ahead of them. First, there were

  only five of them and they were going to face seven

  powerful wizards and the unknown Ambassador Forest. Sam

  wished that at this time he had more men, and as they were

  leaving the house a huge shadow covered up the sun. At

  first, Sam and his family thought that they were under

  attack, but it was far from the truth.

  Up in the air was a large golden balloon, but not just

  any balloon, one made by the hands of Sam's father. It had

  the Baja codes and symbols that glowed up and down its

  sides. The balloon was made more like a floating capsule

  that hovered in the air; it was equipped with powerful

  rockets and jet propellers. The balloon was large, but yet

  so quiet in the air, it was as if the balloon had some type

  of stealth abilities.

  "What is this?" asked Sam to his father.

  "Just a little gift I cooked up," said David.

  Sam and his family stared at the beauty of the jet for

  a while; it was large and magnificent. It was built to hold

  at least one thousand men. David explained to his son that

  many years ago, before Sam was kicked out of Baja, he

  developed and built many secret weapons because in a dream

  he was told that he would be the supplier of the war. At

  first, David admitted that he did not know what this dream

  meant, but one of the elders came to him in the dream

  telling him that destruction was coming and Baja needed to

  be protected from its enemies.

  So, many years later, David had developed many secret

  weapons and hid them in a tunnel under the mansion. This

  was the first time that he had even told Sam about all of

  his works and the hiding place in Baja. David explained to

  his son that everything happens for a reason, and that the

  elders would be protecting them all through the war. Sam

  nodded his head in agreement, and began to accept the fact

  that he must now be ready to fight for Baja and the Carrot-

  Top's name.

  David then made a big surprise move and called

  Samantha Grey to come and take the keys to start the large

  vessel. Samantha couldn't believe that David was entrusting

  her to drive it, but what he was teaching his son was how a

  real leader builds faith in his soldiers. David was now

  letting Sam know what it takes to be a leader in the war

  ahead and showing Sam to trust his people to achieve a

  satisfactory result.

  A white light came down as Sam pressed a button to

  release the winging stairs. Everyone began to load the

  vessel, when suddenly there was the sound of the loud

  marching of footsteps and men chanting as if they were

  going to war. Sam and his teammates stood ready to fight.

  As the gates opened, there were at least a few hundred

  men, all dressed in armor and fighting gear. Oscar began to

  growl and salivated, letting the intruders know that he was

  ready and willing to fight to keep his family safe. As the

  men came in, they immediately saw that the Carrot-Tops were

  ready for war. But, they were not there to start a war, but

  to help them fight it.

  These men were David's friends when they were all

  slaves in the underground, but many of them had turned

  their back on David and Sam. David had sent out one last

  plea, and asked the men to join him in the war to save

  Baja. At first, there was no answer; so David thought that

  the men were still angry and did not want to help save

  Baja. After all, Baja had made them slaves; now the same

  men and women that were slaves were fighting for the world

  that once enslaved and mistreat them.

  David was very surprised to see all of his old friends

  again; it was like going back in time. David told Oscar to

  settle down and let the big cat know that these were their

  allies. David went toward the line and hugged a huge guy;

 
his arms were muscular and solidly built. His head was

  bald, and his skin was very dark. He had big white teeth

  that had fangs out the sides. His hazel eyes made him so

  breathtaking; he was humongous, and the size of his hands

  could crush a person to death. Around his neck he was

  adorned in golden jewelry. The only thing he carried was a

  bow and arrow; the arrows were sharp and long, hanging out

  of the protected bag. The arrows and the bow glowed with

  the symbols of Baja, and his name was Boweloft.

  David introduced Boweloft to his family, and then all

  the rest of the soldiers came marching in. Boweloft

  explained to David that he was angry at the way Baja had

  enslaved him like a dog, but found it in his heart to

  forgive and to come back and help his friend. David was

  very pleased, and gave Boweloft another big hug.

  Boweloft had also convinced the eight hundred women

  and men to come too, but he was sad to tell David that two

  hundred of the remaining men and women went to fight on the

  side of the wizards. David was not surprised, and he

  already knew the ones who would betray him. But, somewhere

  in his heart, David was hoping that there would have been a

  little mercy on their part, and they would have stuck with

  him through thick and thin. Yet, David was happy to see

  Boweloft, a man who was an honest leader and a fighter.

  Oscar went around sniffing the entire army so that he

  would be able to track anyone by their scent. The next

  thing that happened was that the mass of people began to

  load the vessel one by one.

  "Now this is an army," said David to Sam.

  "But, father, how many of these men can we truly

  trust?" said Sam.

  "None, you will just have to watch them and take a

  chance," said David.

  Sam felt as if his job of leader had just gotten a lot

  harder; he now had eight hundred men and women that he did

  not know fighting in his army, and he didn't feel as if he

  could trust any of them. That these were the same friends

  who had once betray his family filled him with dread, but

  David let his son know that, in life, there must be a give

  and take. At this point, they needed all the help they

  could get, because without these fighters there would be no

  way that they could take down the wizards and their evil

  supporters.

  Sam agreed with his father, and boarded the vessel

  with the other fighters. The fighters were from all over

  the four corners of Baja; many of them made or brought

  their own weapons, and unlike Sam, many of them already

  knew what to expect. There were knifes, bows and arrows,

  swords, shields, and every type of weapon imaginable. The

  crew was ready for a war.

  What David did not tell Sam was that he had promised

  all who joined his army millions of the Carrot-Top fortune.

  If Sam had known this, he never would have agreed, but

  David knew that he had to somehow get the attention of

  Boweloft, since he was the leader and the voice of the

  underground people. The strategy was very successful.

  David knew what it would take to bring out the help

  that he wanted, but at this time, Sam was too immature in

  the game of war and did not need to know everything. The

  hundreds of men and women joining the fight for Baja had

  all pitched in and load the vessel. One by one, they began

  to load food, weapons, camping equipment, and all the

  necessary items that they would need.

  Finally, the vessel was loaded; Samantha started the

  engine and ordered everyone aboard. This was the last call,

  as the engine started and flames shot from its pipes. Sam

  gazed upon his home that he was leaving behind a second

  time, but this time would be different; he was going to

  prove that his family was innocent for once and for all.

  Sam now had the look of a warrior in his eyes; he was ready

  to fight, and there was nothing that would stop him.

  Meanwhile, up in front, Samantha was getting a crash

  course in air training. This was a model vessel that she

  had never seen before, and David was teaching her how his

  machine worked.

  "You are a brilliant man," said Samantha.

  David just smiled at the compliment and continued

  showing her how the vessel worked. It had the fanciest

  gadgets, like a talking face to guide her as a second

  pilot, and screens that the pilot could see everything that

  was going on way in the back of the vessel. The inside was

  inscribed with hieroglyphics and other codes of Baja, which

  no one knew what they meant. The only people that could

  interpret new or old codes were the elders, and they were

  in hibernation.

  Codes of Baja were on everything the average citizens

  buy, from clothing to fabrics, to food. So when David

  bought all of his materials, the codes were already

  embedded into the materials of the vessel, and many other

  things that he made. All of the fighters on the vessel were

  complimenting the creator; they had never seen anything

  like this before and were going through it like miners on a

  search for gold.

  "Relax and eat," said Sam.

  There was plenty of food to feed the army for days.

  The soldiers ate and ate until they began to settle down

  and take a nap. There were songs and music playing in the

  background as the vessel went up in the air, and they were

  on their way to the Ambassador Forest.

  Jane was very nervous that some of the men on the

  plane were not as trustworthy as her father-in-law might

  like to think. So, she shared this distress with her

  husband; and while the soldiers were asleep, Jane and Sam

  called a meeting. They all voiced their concerns to David,

  and he assured his family that there would be nothing to

  worry about, that these were good people.

  Yet, these were also the people that turned their

  backs on the Carrot-Top family when they were exiled from

  Baja. This was the concern of Jane and Sam, but David

  brushed it off and once again assured his family that he

  had it under control. However, there was, at times, a look

  of worry in David's eye. But, this was a chance that they

  had to take if they wanted to win the war. David was a

  fighter and a leader, and he saw this situation through the

  eyes of a leader.

  "Sometimes you have to make deals with the devil,"

  said David to his family.

  After the brief meeting, everyone went to take a long

  rest; the Ambassador Forest was miles and miles away.

  Everyone needed to be well-rested and ready to fight in the

  morning. Yet, there were a few restless bodies walking

  through the vessel. Many of them were second guessing

  themselves and wondering if this war was really worth the

  risk of losing it all.

  When David saw this he gathered up the team and talked

  about the good times, which he promised would come back

  again. After a few drinks of wine and a stomach we
ll

  filled, the vessel of men and women began to shout again,

  and their spirits were high to go to war. As Samantha drove

  the vessel toward the map coordinates, the passengers

  looked out of the window and stared out on a world they

  were sworn to protect.

  From above, Baja was a mystical place, the long silver

  and golden vines that reached out to the heavens, courtesy

  of Jane Carrot-Top. Baja was mystical upon itself, the only

  place in the galaxy where ghosts could stay alive and make

  a good life, until they were called to the next level to

  reach the kingdom of the Creator. The skies began to burst

  with rainbows that, every once in a while, would attached

  themselves to a cloud or two.

  The sun shone brightly in the afternoon skies, and

  large dragons flew through the air at the speed of light;

  gracing the fighters with their wonders. These dragons were

  called onox's, and they were the protectors of the skies

  over Baja and beyond. They were also very playful. Many of

  them came close to the vessel, teasing the passengers to

  play with them. Sam threw a turkey bone out of the window

  and watched the dragons chase after it.

  Too bad he left out Oscar, because Oscar had become

  very jealous and wanted his fair share of the human food.

  So Sam gave in and gave Oscar a big hug and a large turkey

  bone that he delightfully went into the corner of the room

  and ate to his enjoyment. But, not too far in the sky,

  Samantha noticed a hooded dark creature approaching.

  Somehow, Sam and Jane had seen this hooded creature or had

  heard about it, but neither she nor Sam could put their

  thoughts together.

  The creature came playing through the skies on large

  bats with long white fangs; there must have been a dozen or

  so of these hideous creatures. Samantha dove the vessel,

  ducking and dodging the hooded creature. She watched and

  watched, but was not afraid; somehow she knew that this

  thing was nothing more than a big bluff.

  But others on the ship took the threat very seriously

  and started to unpack their weapons. The hooded mask man

  came close to the vessel. No face, eyes or features could

  be seen, just the eeriness of a ghostly visitor. He ordered

  the vessel to turn around and not enter the Ambassador

  Forest. But on a large speaker, Sam told the hooded mask

  man that they were getting into the forest one way or

  another.

  The masked man was not too happy and demanded the

  vessel once again turn around, but Samantha never complied,

  and drove the vessel ever faster. Behind the vessel, the

  hooded mask man kept up and began to throw some type of sun

  rays at the vessel. It was built strong and could withstand

  the abuse for a little while.

  Meanwhile, the men on the vessel began to take out

  their bows and arrows, and began to shoot at the nasty bats

  that were flying and bumping into the vessel causing

  mayhem. These creatures were huge and powerful; they

  possessed the strength and ability to move through the air

  twice as fast as their size might make someone thing they

  could.

  The fighters on board kept shooting powerful golden

  arrows at the beasts. Boweloft was at the head of the pack,

  ordering their fire and every move. Jane began to command

  her plants to come out of the earth and attack, and so the

  plants did. They came out with long stems and vines,

  reaching up to the skies, ready to eat anything in sight,

  and the big bats were just the right serving. As the bats

  flew around, bumping and biting the sides of the vessel,

  Jane's plants came out of the ground like a swarm of bees.

  These plants were huge and grungy looking; fangs came out

  of the sides of their petals. They were carnivores, and

  they wanted all the meat they could find. Because they hid

  deep below the surface, they had a dusty old color to them;

  their leaves were dark gray instead of green, and once

  summoned, these plants destroyed everything in sight.

  "Attack!" shouted Jane.

  As the plants started eating the large bats, one by

  one, the plants ran their vines up the sides of the bats

  and snagged them like fish on a fisherman's hook. The

  plants sucked and drank the blood of the bats, and chewed

  up their bones.

  Meanwhile, the hooded mask man kept on ordering more

  bats to attack, but instead of attacking, the bats were

  outnumbered by the plants that Jane had summoned. One by

  one, the plants ripped out the hearts and flesh of the bats

  and munched on their bones. The hooded mask figure flew off

  on his one remaining bat and shouted, "Stay out of the

  Ambassador Forest!"

  Into the clouds he went, leaving behind the stink of

  old bat carcasses. All the fighters in the vessel began to

  cheer and were encouraged by David to keep on fighting. He

  was a man of words and leadership. Sam admired his father

  very much and wanted to be just like him; so Sam began to

  study David to see how to lead an army like he once had.

  By the latter part of the day, David had all those who

  were second guessing themselves filled with pride and joy

  to be a fighter for their world. The men and women on board

  were now much more confident that they were doing the right

  thing. The cheering and eating went on for hours as David

  and Red Fox went out to walk the vessel to inspect the

  damage. It was damaged very badly and was leaking vital

  fuel that they needed.

  The Ambassador Forest was miles away; and to make

  matters worst, they were soon over the Azul Sea, the most

  dangerous sea in the universe. It was created by the elders

  a long, long time ago; to protect the entrance of Baja and

  its surrounding moons, just like the Ambassador Forest. The

  Azul Sea was rarely traveled, and those who had dared to

  take it never returned. Red Fox told David that he had to

  tell the crew that they all had to abandon the ship and

  force land on the Azul Sea.

  David told Red Fox not to get the fighters down, that

  they had just won a victory over evil. Red Fox insisted

  that they needed to know, but because David was the

  captain, he commanded Red Fox to keep quiet until the time

  was right. So, reluctantly, Red Fox said nothing to the

  crew, but was very disappointed that he was forced to keep

  a secret that he did not want to.

  Inside the vessel, David called the main crew, which

  was Sam, Samantha, Red Fox, Boweloft and Jane, together.

  David explained to them what had happened and ordered them

  not to tell the rest of the crew for the simple fact that

  he did not want hysteria to breakout and the crew start to

  second guessing themselves. The team agreed not to say

  anything until the time was right.

  Suddenly, in the pilot pit, the screen on the

  dashboard began to blink with the word: "emergency". It

  showed that the fuel level was almost gone; then it was r />
  time to tell the fighters that they would soon have to land

  in the Azul Sea. David took a deep breath and got the

  crew's attention. Sam reluctantly held back the seriousness

  of the situation, fearing that he would lose all of his

  fighters. But David went on and told the crew that the bats

  had destroy the fuel tanks and the vessel would have to

  make an emergency landing, in the sea of the Azul.

  "Sea of the Azul? Are you crazy?" shouted one fighter.

  This got the attention of the other fighters and fear

  began to set in, and soon everyone wanted to back out of

  the mission. For this, they were chastised by Boweloft and

  the others. There were pep talks and great war stories; but

  most of the crew was afraid to go on.

  So finally, Sam offered to let them leave and take the

  emergency ship back home before it was too late. Most of

  the men got up and began to run toward the emergency exit,

  until they heard Boweloft scream.

  "You cowards, never in your life have you stood for

  something; now is the time."

  This got everyone's attention, and the crowd stopped

  running and began to turn around. They apologized, and took

  their places on the vessel; most of the fighters were

  embarrassed that they acted that way, and apologized over

  and over again. Sam and his family accepted their

  apologies, and gave them all the support they needed.

  The vessel had become very quiet; everyone was on edge

  and nervous, most of the fighters were very young and had

  never been part of a war. Most of these men and women came

  out of the slave camp that David and Dorothy were in; so

  they had good reason to be afraid and nervous.

  Soon after that, all the lights in the vessel began to

  blow out, one by one; the power was failing and the vessel

  was going down slowly. The crew was told to jump out into

  the Azul Sea. No one wanted to jump first; the water from

  above was a thick black slush, and the waves were very

  powerful. There were dragons and many beast-like creatures

  swimming in the water; some of them were mystifying and

  strange looking.

  There were the beaver sharks, the first known sharks

  to have fur on them and the size of an average horse and

  carriage. They swam in packs, and were always ready to eat.

  Then there were the flying fish; they were the size of a

  tuna, but they had beautiful butterfly wings and red and

  white skin. They flew into the air for about a minute and

  sprayed green algae all over the sea to catch food in the

  thick slim. Although these creatures were beautiful, they

  were very deadly; one intake of the algae and a person

  would decay in seconds. The Azul Sea was filled with many

  unknown creatures and species that many in Baja had never

  seen or knew that they existed.

  Then Sam remembered that when he led his army in Baja

  the first time, he had a friend that used to sail the Azul

  Sea. He thought his friend was nothing more than a

  storyteller; until one day he brought back the head of an

  Azul dragon. From that day forward, Sam always believed

  everything this woman said, and they became good friends.

  She promised Sam that she would be sailing the Azul

  Sea all of her life, and that if he ever needed her, to

  send out an SOS, and she would rescue him. Sam never

  thought that he would ever need this woman, and that he

  would never travel to the Azul Sea, because it was

  forbidden by the elders. But this friend of Sam's was a

  daredevil, and she wanted to explore the ins and outs of

  Baja.

  Sam and Samantha used the last bit of energy from the

  ship to send for help. They sent out the magical codes that

  Sam had kept in his memory for many years. The SOS went out

  across the Azul Sea like a rainbow of musical notes; the

  codes were sophisticated and complicated; only a man or

  woman with Sam's knowledge could ever decipher them, and

  know how to send and receive these secret messages.

  The codes told a story across the late afternoon

  skies; they had everything in the message, from the number

  of people on the vessel to their destination, and the

  coordinates of the vessel. The code was so beautiful to

  watch, like a symphony in the skies; as the codes went to

  their destination they lit up the skies and showed the Azul

  Sea for what it was; fish attacking fish, and huge never

  before seen mammals tearing each other apart. Their way of

  survival was kill or be killed.

  Yet, while the Azul was very dangerous, it was also so

  beautiful. The crew sat and looked out the windows until

  the last light shut off, and then the vessel got very

  quiet. The sea became violent, throwing the vessel back and

  forth. Sam was gambling on the chance that his friend,

  after all these years, was still sailing the Azul Sea.

  David told his son that no one makes it out of the Azul Sea

  and tells about it.

  "Maybe the guy was lying," said Red Fox.

  But Sam did not want to think that he had believed a

  lie for all of these years. As the skies got darker and

  there was still no word; Sam was ready to give up. He knew

  there was no way for the entire crew to be saved; so all

  the boats should go to the women and young men of Baja.

  Perhaps, if they survived, they would be the next

  generation of survivors and caretakers of Baja.

  Sam and his family had to come up with a plan B and

  some way to save Baja; even if it meant only one person

  survived to tell the story. And, just as Sam and his father

  were going over plan B, there was a big gush of water into

  the ship. The ship was being invaded by a blood sucking

  octopus! The creature was covered in blue fur, and the

  black slush of the Azul Sea was all over its body. The eye

  on this creature alone was the size of two carriage wheels;

  the tentacles were long and sharp, its body wiggled and

  moved as if the ocean was inside of it, and when the

  creature opened its mouth, inside was forty rows of sharp

  teeth. There were hairs and bones stuck in the teeth.

  Sam immediately used his mental strength to push the

  creature into the air and away from the vessel, but it was

  so heavy that he couldn't move it out of the way. As time

  went on, the creature continued punching holes in the

  vessel with its twelve tentacles. Water began to fill the

  huge vessel very quickly; everyone began to scream and

  panic. Samantha came forward from the pilot pit and began

  to do martial arts on the monster, but it just took one of

  its sharp tentacles and hung Samantha by her clothing to

  the vessel's wall. The tentacle was so sharp and powerful

  that Samantha had a hard time freeing herself.

  Jane had no plants to control, and the only plant seed

  she had was in the baggage area. So, while the animal was

  fighting with the other crewmembers, Jane ran to the

  baggage area, through the thick slush, and got the golden

 
box with the magical seed. But then, a violent shake of the

  vessel from the huge creature made Jane accidentally drop

  the box. She watched as the box slipped out of her hands

  and into the ocean. She tried to catch it, but the Azul Sea

  had claimed it. The loss and sadness filled Jane's eyes;

  she'd had that seed from the time she was a little girl,

  and now it was lost in one flick of the wrist.

  Meanwhile, David and Sam began to cut away at the

  creature's long tentacles. It began to scream a piercing

  sound when its limbs were being cut off. Boweloft ordered

  his men to shoot as many arrows and weapons into the

  creature as possible. Each crewmember began to fight with

  all their might and abilities, but this octopus was not a

  quitter either. It put up a fierce fight, and was not

  letting the vessel go.

  The fighters aimed for the creature's eyes and

  tentacles; they were looking for anything that they could

  either puncture or cut off, but the creature, with its

  twelve arms, made it impossible for the crew to succeed. As

  the crewmembers were being swallowed up into the ocean one

  by one, there was a beacon of light from the north. The

  ship made a large horn-like noise to alert the distressed

  that help was just a few feet away. Suddenly, the rescue

  ship set off a large bright flare into the evening skies

  that lit up the air for miles to see.

  "Help is here!" shouted a fighter.

  Sam was happy; his friend had finally pulled through.

  From out of the rescue ship crawled mongolores, which were

  sea monkeys that carried flesh-eaters in their fur coats.

  They were cute cuddly creatures, but they could never be

  kept as pets because of the dangerous flesh-eaters that

  they harvested from their coats.

  One by one, the mongolores crawled onto the huge

  octopus and sprayed the flesh-eaters onto the skin of the

  creature; within seconds, the octopus began to turn the

  vessel loose. The flesh-eaters used their powerful claws to

  embed themselves in the octopus' body, eating and sucking

  everything in sight. The octopus began to shake violently

  as it was slowly dying and screaming from all the pain that

  it was in. The flesh-eaters were the size of a one pound

  dog, but by the time they finished eating, they could grow

  to the size of an elephant.

  Out of the mist and the evening sun came a long wooden

  pirate ship, made from the finest wood, gold and steel.

  There were at least three hundred crewmembers on board; the

  flag of Baja waved up high in the air, and the sign of hope

  came upon the remaining fighters' faces. The ship was at

  least a hundred feet long; the naked eye could not see its

  tail end. This ship was built for adventures and dangerous

  situations.

  One by one, the crewmembers of the pirate ship came

  aboard and began to rescue Sam and his team. Just in time,

  before David's war vessel went down. The men from the

  pirate ship were rough-looking; they never cracked a smile

  or showed concern on their faces. They did their jobs and

  went about their daily duties.

  Once on the pirate ship, a long slender beautiful

  woman with jet black hair that blew in the wind, black

  leather clothes and boots that were tight to the skin came

  forward. She watched over the rescue operation, and waited

  until Sam and his crew were all on board; beat up and

  tired, Sam hardly recognized his friend.

  "Bella, is that you?" said Sam.

  "Sam Carrot-Top," shouted Bella as the two hugged and

  gave a friendly kiss.

  "Everyone, this is Bella," said Sam.

  "You didn't tell me Bella was a girl, or looked so

  beautiful," said David, as Sam blush with embarrassment.

  "You didn't tell me either," said Jane.

  She got a bit jealous from the moment she laid eyes on

  Bella! She looked Bella up and down and saw how beautiful

  she was, and went for a walk along the ship.

  Bella was one of the toughest women known on the Azul

  Sea. Most people counted her stories as myths and fairy

  tales, but Sam was the only friend that truly believed in

  her. Bella and Sam were friends from primary school, and

  they both died on the way to school when they were a part

  of the world of the living. In real life, they were best

  friends, and even in death as ghosts, they stayed best

  friends.

  Baja was a place where only the dead have a second

  chance at living, if their lives were cut short; and from

  that day forward, Bella had always wanted to be an

  explorer. When she was fourteen, she sailed one of the

  oldest and toughest seas on the seven moons. This gave

  Bella instant fame and fortune. The crew was shocked to see

  a woman sailing the waters of the Azul Sea, and living to

  tell about it.

  Meanwhile, on the deck of the ship, Sam was explaining

  to a jealous Jane that Bella and he were best friends in

  another world, before he even met Jane. Jane had stopped

  crying and put her jealousy aside, and headed back to the

  front of the ship where the crewmembers were listening to

  Bella. She told her story as to why she had only one eye,

  and about the golden patch that covered it. But first, the

  crew looked for any surviving members. Unfortunately, none

  were found. Their bodies decayed once they swallowed the

  toxic waters. Sam was very sad and wanted this war to end

  peacefully, without anyone losing their lives.

  Bella gave him a pep talk and said, "My heart ached

  when I heard that you got exiled from Baja."

  She wiped Sam's face as Jane looked on. Sam quickly

  noticed the intense look in Jane's eyes, and introduced

  Bella formally to his wife. Bella was a strong, confident

  woman and let Jane know that Sam was never interested in

  girls like her; that Sam liked girls like Jane.

  "So see, you have nothing to worry about, Sam is a

  good man," said Bella to Jane.

  Jane let down her guard and finally gave Bella a warm

  welcome and gratitude for saving them. Bella then sent her

  men out to do a search and rescue of anything that was

  worth finding and salvaging. At this time, the crewmembers

  of Sam's ship were given hot baths, food and a warm and

  comfy place to lay their tired bones.

  The pirate ship had everything on it, from a huge

  gallery to a large kitchen; there were offices and wine

  rooms. The ship had at least three thousand rooms and an

  entertainment area. No one could believe the size of this

  ship, and how fast it moved through the waters.

  Because David was also a maker of things, he fell in

  love with Bella's ship right away, and wanted to reproduce

  one when he got home. But Bella would not give him the blue

  prints; she considered them personal and valuable. She also

  let David know that the ship was a ghost ship that could

  disappear and reappear in minutes, and all the work and new

  technology came from a secret source that she would not
/>
  give out. David began to offer Bella thousands of dollars

  if she would say the maker's name, but she was very wealthy

  herself and did not need his money.

  Yet, she played along with David, and said she would

  consider his offer. But deep down, Bella was an

  originalist; she wanted to be the only one with something,

  and this made her come across as snobbish; but she had her

  reason for this. Because of her secret nature, Sam loved

  this about Bella; he loved the confidence that his friend

  had.

  But Jane wanted to leave this ship as soon as possible

  and asked how long it would be before they got to the

  Ambassador Forest. Bella became very interested and loved

  the adventure; for many years she had been trying to get

  into the forest, but it was always guarded and locked. No

  one ever came in or out.

  Bella filled Sam and his crew in on what she had seen

  for many years going on in the Ambassador Forest. She spoke

  of lights and the cries of demons coming out of the earth;

  of how the earth shoke violently at night, and the strange

  creatures that came and went from it.

  So, all night long, Bella told stories around the

  gallery kitchen as the crew ate and feasted on the finest

  meals. While Bella told the story, Jane walked off and back

  up to the front of the ship. Samantha followed and began to

  comfort Jane; she let Jane know that all there was between

  Sam and Bella was close friendship, and that Jane had

  nothing to be jealous about.

  Yet, how could she not be jealous? Bella was a

  beautiful young lady; just gazing upon her beauty would

  make anyone fall in love with her. Even though Jane took

  Samantha's words into consideration, she could not get over

  the fact that her husband never mentioned Bella's name, not

  one time. Sam had told stories about the Azul Sea, but

  never mentioned Bella, and now Jane knew why; because Bella

  was a girl, and Sam knew that Jane would ultimately become

  jealous.

  But after a breath of fresh air, Samantha and Jane

  went back down in the belly of the ship where all kinds of

  stories were being told by Bella. She had already become

  popular with the crew; she was like one of the guys. Sam

  was also sitting there, listening and gazing at Bella. Jane

  went over and pulled him by his shirt collar, and asked him

  to stop the love gazing at Bella. Sam gently kissed Jane on

  the lips, and pushed her aside as he went back and listened

  to Bella's stories.

  Jane ran off to a room that was set up for her, and

  lay on the bed, crying and weeping. David then pulled his

  son aside and gave him a lesson in how to tend to a woman

  who sincerely loved him. David let Sam know that his wife

  loved him and was afraid, and he needed to go in and talk

  to her. Sam did so, but he told his father that there

  wasn't anything going on between Bella and him. They were

  just friends who had been away from each other for a long

  time, and now it was time for them to catch up on old

  times. David just shook his head and pointed Sam in the

  direction of his wife.

  Sam gently knocked on the door and comforted his wife,

  letting her know that he would always love her, and that

  Bella was just a friend who happened to be a woman. Jane

  accepted this and went off to sleep in her husband's arms.

  The sun had finally set, and the Azul Sea was nothing

  more than darkness. The feasting and storytelling was over,

  and the crew turned in for the night. Bella then set course

  to the Ambassador Forest, and left the ship in the hands of

  her crew. While everyone was asleep, Boweloft searched the

  ship over and over again. It had secret tunnels that seemed

  to never end; pictures that were not pictures at all, but

  were watchers over the ship. Boweloft watched as the eyes

  on the pictures followed his every move; and then there

  were the secret closets that strange cries came from. Yet,

  Boweloft could not see who was making those cries.

  He stepped into the closet and suddenly sank to the

  bottom; the floor of the closet was made of sand, one wrong

  step and it would swallow you up. Boweloft went down,

  screaming and trying to cling to the wood panel with his

  fingernails, but he had no luck. He began to fall faster

  and faster, down the deep hole that led to nowhere.

  Boweloft could see the grains of sand as they passed by him.

  The sand began to cover his entire body and wrapped

  itself around him. Boweloft fought and fought with all his

  might, but there was no way of getting out of this trap; it

  was as if the sand was alive. Finally, Boweloft landed at

  the bottom pit, were a strange little boy was crying in the

  corner. He looked as if he was starving and had not eaten

  for days. The boy was chained to the walls and had on a

  rusty cloth garment.

  Boweloft called out to the young boy in the darkness,

  but he never turned around; so Boweloft called out again,

  asking him to say something, but the child never did. All

  he did was shake violently in the corner of the pit, and

  let out these piercing cries of help. The screams were so

  excruciating that they made Boweloft's ears bleed!

  The sand at the bottom of the ship was thin and hard

  to walk through; what little light was left in the oil

  lamps showed glimpses of the boy's face, and it was not a

  pretty sight. This boy had bat wings, black eyes, long

  black, matted hair that was in much disarray. He let out a

  loud cry, and launched himself at Boweloft, but he quickly

  pushed the boy out of his way.

  "What kind of creature are you?" asked Boweloft.

  "I am the sixth wizard; I can make all of your dreams

  come true," said the boy.

  "You can't be," said Boweloft.

  "But I am, my name is Hoyle," said the boy.

  He went on to tell Boweloft that he was Hoyle the

  Magnificent Card Thrower. His wizard skills in card

  throwing were the best around; no one was a match for his

  powers, until he was captured by the Huntress Bella of the

  Azul Sea.

  Boweloft did not believe Hoyle and asked him, if he

  was so great, how come he was captured by Bella. Hoyle went

  on to explain that he was the wizard that the world was

  talking about, the wizard who got sick and the only way

  that he could be saved was to get the rhino plant from the

  Azul Sea. While he was seeking the plant on his own, he was

  captured by Bella and her savage crew.

  Then Hoyle began to snarl and bark; showing his

  disgust with Bella and all the citizens of Baja. He had

  nothing good to say about Baja, and Boweloft could relate

  to this, because he was once a prisoner of Baja and had

  seen firsthand how cruel Baja had become. Hoyle went on to

  pick Boweloft's brain, and asked who he was here with. Not

  thinking, Boweloft told the story of the Carrot-Top's and

  how they had returned to Baja to save it from destruction.


  The creature began to laugh a wicked laugh, telling

  Boweloft that it was too late, and that no one could save

  Baja; the elders had been sleeping too long to ever be

  awakened. Boweloft's eyes began to grow with concern and he

  began to second guess himself as to why he was there. The

  creature was playing and messing with Boweloft's mind;

  that's why Hoyle was stuck in the sand pit where he could

  never use his mind powers to do wrong.

  Boweloft was in the middle of the greatest escape in

  Baja history. Hoyle got control of Boweloft's mind and

  summoned him to release him immediately. Boweloft had now

  become a zombie, and began to move in the direction of the

  creature. Once Hoyle saw that Boweloft was in his sight, he

  dragged Boweloft closer to him and began to drink his blood

  to regain his strength.

  After sucking Boweloft dry of blood, the creature's

  bones and flesh began to grow strong again. His flesh began

  to heal, the color in his skin came back, and his bat wings

  were no longer old and tattered. Hoyle began to grow

  stronger and stronger; he was no longer feeble and weak, he

  was strong again. He looked over the lifeless body of

  Boweloft; a once strong warrior had become victim to the

  card thrower.

  Hoyle began to laugh and jerk with pride; he was once

  again set free. He had cheated death again to become one of

  the most powerful wizards to overthrow Baja. An evil wicked

  laughter filled the belly of the ship, and roaring sounds

  went through the walls, awakening every member of the ship.

  Candles were lit, bows and arrows were taken out of their

  protective sheaves; the remaining warriors were ready for

  war.

  They all jumped out of bed and headed to the deck of

  the ship, but when they arrived, they saw nothing but the

  night skies. But deep down below, through a ship's window,

  they saw a strange creature dragging Boweloft's body like a

  rag doll across the wooden floor of the ship. The crew

  began to point and whisper.

  One man shouted, "It's Hoyle the Card Thrower of the

  seven wizards!"

  All the crewmembers were surprised and became afraid

  of the creature. Suddenly Bella jumped from her cabin to

  the upper deck, ready to fight the creature. Sam, Jane, Red

  Fox, and Samantha joined in the fight. Meanwhile, they

  began to question Bella on why she had one of the seven

  wizards on her ship, and what was she hiding?

  But there was no time for small talk; Sam and his

  friends began to battle the creature. Suddenly Hoyle jumped

  from the belly of the ship to the deck, breaking the wooden

  floors and boards. He had grown, he was not the weak little

  boy wizard anymore; Boweloft's blood had enough nutrients

  to fatten him up. Hoyle began to mumble and roar at Bella,

  showing the disgust and disappointment he had with her.

  Saliva began to spray from his mouth.

  The corners of his eyes and mouth began to form a

  white texture that hung down like sap; his cry was that of

  a bleeding sound that pierced the eardrum. His face began

  to pull back to his head; no one on the ship had ever seen

  anything like this, how could a little wizard boy become a

  humongous creature? Hoyle summoned forth his magical cards

  by reciting a secret spell of the wizards.

  "Hummm, chanting."

  Through the thick night skies came a ball of light no

  bigger than a human thumb. The light came over the ship and

  burst into an explosion, knocking the crew off their feet.

  Out of the light came a deck of golden cards.

  Sam began to mumble to himself, "I've seen those cards

  before, on the train to Baja."

  Hoyle began to throw his cards; he had them turning

  into swords, diggers, knives and balls of fire that chased

  the crewmembers. Bella was the first one brave enough to

  stand up to Hoyle's weapons. She began to fight the fire

  balls with her shield and swords; and Sam began to try and

  move the creature with his mind powers. Meanwhile, the

  other crewmembers began to fight and attack the creature.

  Samantha began to fly through the air using her

  ancient karate skills, kicking and punching with the power

  of ten men. Red Fox began to attack the creature with his

  fighting skills as he avoided getting killed by Hoyle's

  sharp knives that were coming straight at him.

  Hoyle had created a circle of weapons that were

  wearing the crew out; the weapons were coming non-stop as

  the crew tried to deflect the attacks. Jane then summoned

  her plants, but none came; she had no plants in the Azul

  Sea that were under her command, and she had lost her

  magical seed. Just as Jane was disappointed in herself, a

  quick dagger came at her heart, and Bella stepped in the

  way, blocking the dagger with her shield.

  "That was a close call," said Bella.

  She pushed Jane to the safe area as she worked on the

  monster's lower body. The more Hoyle came under attack, the

  more cards he threw out. But in a deck of fifty-two, he was

  coming up short, because the crew was killing all of his

  weapons. Each card that Hoyle threw out was either

  eliminated in a thick black smoke by Bella, Red Fox or

  Samantha.

  Hoyle was running out of cards; the crew was aware of

  how to beat him, and one by one they began to attack his

  cards. So every time Hoyle threw out a card, the crew would

  attack the card instead of him. By doing this, it caused

  Hoyle to get weaker, and as a last resort, he threw out

  twelve cards of queens, kings and jokers. The symbols

  popped off of the cards like a magical book. They were all

  dressed in their card attire; the queens and their gilded

  gowns and crowns, the joker in his outfit, the kings with

  their crown and capes, and they were each from a different

  suit. Whether it was a club, hearts, spades or diamonds;

  the cards attacked the crew.

  One by one, the cards began to fight the crew; these

  cards were very powerful, they came equipped with powers of

  fighting and battle knowledge, and this was when the crew

  needed all the help they could get. Bella shouted to her

  crew to fight, and keep fighting no matter what. The crew

  grew enough courage and strength to continue fighting the

  creature, but Hoyle was also strong and powerful.

  He divided and conquered; as the crew was fighting his

  cards, he began to join in. So now there was a much bigger

  problem; from all the fighting and the war going on, the

  ship began to sink from the holes and damage. Yet the

  fighting continued, and the crew defeated the cards, and

  then turned against Hoyle.

  But it was too late, Hoyle had flown away with the

  bones and decomposed body of Boweloft in the mid morning

  sky. Sam and Red Fox began to shoot arrows at Hoyle as he

  flew away, but it did no good, he was long gone with their

  friend.

  "We must hurry and leave, the ship is sink
ing," said

  Jane.

  But, there was nowhere to go; the sea of Azul was

  dangerous to swim in and the creatures of the ocean were

  waiting for an appetizer. Bella summoned her captain of the

  ship.

  "Mario, get us to port quickly," shouted Bella.

  Mario answered, "Yes! Ma captain," as he ran down to

  the ship's control room and pressed a magical button.

  The button gave the ship the ability to speed through

  the water ten times its normal speed. Suddenly huge

  propellers came out of the sides of the ship, and tiny

  monkeys began to put up new sails; running back and forth

  over the ship to get the sails up and in place. Then wings

  came out of the sides like those of an eagle spreading its

  long wings for miles.

  Suddenly a blast came, and the ship shot through the

  water like a rocket, blasting through everything in sight.

  The crew had a short amount of time to get to the

  Ambassador Forest before the ship sank. Bella and the crew

  held on tight as they rode through the rough seas and up

  and over very large waves. Dead fish dropped onto the decks

  of the ship from the blast and firepower of the ship's

  engines.

  "Faster!" shouted Bella to her captain, Mario.

  But the ship was going as fast as it could, any more

  pressure and it would split into pieces, leaving the crew

  stranded in the Azul Sea. From the look of the creatures

  that called the Azul Sea home, this would not be a good

  idea.

  For a few hours, the ship held up, and just as the

  crew was almost there, the ship suddenly stopped. Mario ran

  up to the deck and let Bella and her crew know that the

  ship could no longer take the strain, and they would have

  to get off here. The crew was a mere twenty feet from land,

  and they had no way of getting there because the Azul Sea

  was still there.

  Bella tested the waters, and let the crew know that it

  was not safe to enter. One fighter who was upset by the

  death of Boweloft demanded that he go and find help, but he

  was quickly stopped by Bella.

  "Old man, are you dumb beyond your years? This sea

  will kill you in seconds."

  But the man shrugged Bella off, and began to tell of

  the story of his friend Boweloft who was savagely eaten by

  a big bat creature. To honor his friend, he would save the

  crew. The old man jumped in the water. The minute his feet

  hit the thick black waters of the Azul Sea, he was eaten!

  "You fool," shouted Bella.

  She explained to the rest of the crew that she did not

  want any more heroes; the sea consisted of tiny creatures

  that feasted on the bodies of mammals, the human variety.

  Each crewmember got the point as they watched their friend

  being swallowed up by the Azul Sea. Many tried to help the

  man, but it was too late, he was gone for good; his

  stubbornness and arrogance caused him to lose his life, and

  Bella had no sympathy for him.

  The looks on the crewmembers' faces was one of sorrow

  and defeat; until David came in and began to revive the

  crowd, telling them that they had a reason to be sad, and

  to take that sadness and turn it into joy, one of revenge

  for their friends' lives. The crew began to cheer and shout

  until they could do no more.

  "Father, you have a way with words," said Sam, as he

  patted his father on the back.

  But there was still no way off of the ship; until Jane

  saw a vine on the land. She helped grow the vines and

  tresses of the forest, Jane summoned the vines to come

  forth and build a bridge. At first the crew thought that

  Jane had lost her mind and was suffering from some type of

  hysteria, but suddenly the ground shook and the vines began

  to do a snake dance from the shore. They called out to

  their creator Jane; this was there mother, the one who

  started their lives, the girl with the magical green thumb.

  Bella ordered one of her monkeys to fetch her

  binoculars. As the monkey came running back, Bella quickly

  looked into the ends and saw that the vines were building a

  bridge for them to cross.

  "It is really happening," said Bella as she passed the

  binoculars to Sam.

  And so it was; the vines began to build a bridge for

  their master, a mother they had not seen in years had come

  back to them. The vines crawled on their belly like snakes,

  did twists and turns in the air to step up and support

  their weaving together. The vines kept building until there

  was a bridge that led from shore to Bella's ship.

  "Good job, honey," said Sam, as he kissed Jane on the

  cheek.

  For once, Jane was glad to see that Sam had

  acknowledged her in front of Bella, and it was Jane's time

  to be in the spotlight instead of his good friend Bella.

  Bella smiled and enjoyed the couple as they made up.

  Everyone ran for the bridge made by the vines. Jane kissed

  the vines and told them thanks, that one day she would come

  and spend time with them. The vines let off a gentle cry to

  let her know that they understood and would wait for her

  return.

  Across the bridge they went as Bella left a few of her

  crew to fix the ship. The members of the crew took every

  weapon that they could find, and every supply that they

  could use. They were now on unknown territory. But, before

  Jane could get very far, a crewmember shouted.

  "Jane, we found your box!"

  Before Jane could answer, she saw the glitter and the

  shine from the box. She ran back, pushing through the crowd

  of fighters to get to her box. She was happy to again touch

  the special box that she had thought was lost forever.

  The crew settled on the shores of the Azul Sea,

  speculating on where to go next. They got something to eat

  and relaxed on the shores, until it was fully daylight. As

  daybreak came, and the men who stood guard woke everyone up

  from a long awaited nap, the crew stared at the forest.

  It was the most beautiful thing that anyone could look

  upon. There were streams made of silver mercury; trees and

  plants that bore all kinds of fruits, big fruits, small

  fruits, yellow, orange and red fruits, even blue fruits.

  The area gave off a pleasant smell of blueberries. There

  were giant earthworms that Bella killed for supper; she

  threw her dagger, it landed in the creature's heart. Then

  she gutted the creature and wrapped the pieces up in leaves

  for dinner.

  Some of the crew were a little disgusted with Bella's

  wild adventurous side, but they admired her bravery and

  courage. There were mountain tops that snowed, and big

  snowballs and avalanches would fall down, but by the time

  they hit the bottom, they would be melted by the hot sun.

  The Ambassador Forest was under lock and key; there was a

  huge statue with a golden dial around its neck. The statue

  was about forty feet tall, made of stone, and dressed in

  African tribal
colors, with a huge stone book in its right

  hand, and the outline of the sun on its head.

  The forest was guarded by some type of force field,

  and there was no way in. They could see through the force

  field, but getting in was another story. Oscar walked up to

  the force field, and suddenly it sucked him in!

  "My cat," said Jane.

  "Oh, he's okay," said Bella.

  Oscar licked his paws and face, and waited for his

  master, but Jane and her crew could not get in. That was

  because Oscar was an animal of Baja and not human. The

  forest was made for animals, so they were the only ones who

  could come and go. To test their theory, Jane ordered Oscar

  to come out, and without a problem, he came bursting out of

  the force field bubble. As the crew got closer, the giant

  statute began to move and talk.

  "Who dares enter into the forest of the holy center of

  Baja?"

  "It is I, Sam Carrot-Top, the protector and savior of

  Baja," said Sam.

  But the statute said nothing else, and then a code

  appeared in the heavens; if Sam and his crew could figure

  out the code, they would be able to enter. The codes were

  place in the heavens with the clouds and birds, which made

  it harder to determine the answer to the puzzle. But Bella

  had no problem figuring out the secret codes. With a few

  minutes of adding and deleting, she came up with the answer.

  "Through one secret and two lies, lies the key that

  will untie. Knock three times on the sun dial and the

  heavenly gates will open wide," said Bella.

  "Great job, Bella," said David as he took a stone and

  hit the dial three times.

  At first, nothing happened; then out of the blue the

  dial began to turn slowly, then faster and faster until

  sand covered the crew from head to toe. No one could move

  an inch, and then the sand turned into a sand storm, taking

  the crew and all its members into a spiral turn. Everything

  seemed to be spinning out of control, and then the crew was

  dropped in the middle of the forest.

  One by one, they fell from the sky, leaving Oscar as

  the last to enter. Because he was a cat, he landed on his

  feet, but the others fell flat on their backs, crying out

  from the bumps and bruises. The crew looked around and was

  astonished that they were in the middle of the Ambassador

  Forest.

  Everything was silent, too silent, unlike the

  shoreline, in the center of the forest was dead, lifeless.

  Dead birds and animals filled the ground; plants began to

  die, as if they had not been watered in years. Jane ran

  over to a big oak tree and began to grow it again with her

  magical green thumb. She watched as the tree went from old

  and dying to young and with green leaves. The tree began to

  cry out and tell Jane of an unlikely visitor of the forest

  who had come and destroyed everything, who had made

  everything dark again.

  Jane and Sam looked at each other and mumbled

  together, "Marcus."

  The tree began to crawl away with one look at Bella.

  "Wait," said Jane as the tree slithered away like a

  snake in the ground. "One look at you, and he ran."

  Jane began to question Bella and her ties to the

  forest, but Sam stood up for Bella and noted to Jane that

  she had saved her life. Jane then pulled David, Samantha,

  Sam, and Red Fox aside. She voiced her feelings on Bella,

  and that something was wrong; how could she guess the

  answer to the secret gates so quickly? And why was she here

  anyway? One of the questions was: was Sam too close to

  Bella to see that maybe she could be a spy? He defended her

  to Jane, but Jane was not buying her phony act and told

  Samantha to keep an eye on her.

  David had also become suspicious of Bella, but his son

  was too involved with Bella to see that she could possibly

  be an enemy. Jane had nothing more to say to Bella as they

  went through the forest. The crew could feel an eerie

  feeling of someone or something watching them, and they

  kept their guard up as they walked through the forest and

  saw all the destruction.

  Suddenly the ground began to shake and the leaves and

  branches from the dead trees and vines gathered up and

  formed a huge monster that attacked the crew! Oscar began

  to pull at its braches, but it kicked Oscar off of it, and

  made its way over to the hundreds of fighters in its path.

  One by one the tree creature began to bellow its way

  through the crowd of fighters, who were chopping at the

  roots of the tree creature. But the branches and roots on

  the creature were so strong that it bent most of the

  fighters' swords.

  "Order your vines to stop," said Sam to Jane.

  Jane put her anger aside and commanded the vines to

  stop. For a minute, it seemed to work, and then the trees

  began to die off and turn evil once more.

  "I order you to stop," said Jane.

  But the tree creature continued pummeling through the

  crowd of fighters, kicking and throwing them into the air

  and out of the force field. David watched as Bella

  pretended to help, but she wasn't really fighting the

  creature at all. She was instead controlling the creature

  with a small golden disc. David kept Bella in his sights as

  he went and helped the others.

  Jane then tried to summon the other trees in the

  forest that were alive and had not succumbed to the evil of

  the forest. All the trees that remained came crawling

  through the forest like and army of ants. One by one, the

  trees Jane summoned came and formed one big tree to fight

  the evil one. Her trees were filled with colors of bright

  origins; the trees formed up to look like a giant with

  stone armor, helmet and shield.

  The two giant trees began to fight, good verses evil;

  as they fought, this gave the army time to chop and cut at

  the evil tree's limbs. One by one the old, rotten limbs

  fell off, but they kept growing back, and this made the

  team have to work even harder on chopping down the limbs of

  the evil tree. The army had to duck and hide as huge tree

  limbs were falling from the air. Jane's tree was beating

  and winning against the evil tree. She popped open her

  magic box with the bean seed and threw it into the air. The

  seed did a spin and a twirl and exploded with a blast.

  Rainbow colors flew into the skies; everyone stopped and

  looked for a minute, but nothing happen.

  "Please tell me that that is not all that bean seed

  does," said Sam.

  But Jane had no idea what the seed really did; she had

  never used it before, and this would be her first time ever

  using it. Jane was very disappointed when nothing happened;

  the seed just fell to the ground and sprouted a little

  plant. Bella gave off a wicked smile, and the evil tree

  monster began to laugh as it bent down and put its big face

  against Jane's face.

  "Oh, what a cute little
seed," said the evil monster

  as it got back into the fight with the vines Jane had

  created.

  But that little plant began to grow very quickly, and

  it attached itself to Jane, crawling up her legs like a

  green snake. The plant then turned black, crawled itself to

  Jane's arm and attached itself from her elbow to her

  fingers. It was now under her control; the plant began to

  form into anything, from a huge hammer that smashed the

  toes of the evil rooted tree to a plant that spit fire and

  set the roots of the evil tree ablaze.

  The plant turned into a huge fist and began punching

  and hitting the tree to the ground. Jane had become a super

  hero; the fighters stared at her, they were amazed to see

  what a little plant could do. This little plant was very

  powerful and helpful in the fight. Once the evil rooted

  tree was on fire and fell to the ground, the army of

  fighters began to hover over it, cutting off its roots one

  by one, until they hit the main core and chopped it off.

  The tree died instantly, and once again the forest became

  quiet.

  Jane then summoned her good vines and trees to go

  forth and nourish the other trees of the forest since a war

  was coming, and they would be needed to defend Baja in the

  fight of its life. Jane's healthy trees went forth like

  race horses running through the forest, letting the weak

  and dead trees suck on their barks and leaves, bringing

  most of them back to life. Everyone could see that the

  forest was getting brighter again; animals started to come

  back to life. The forest was awakening from its sleep of

  darkness.

  While Jane was being congratulated by her army of

  friends, Bella slipped away into the cover of the trees and

  shrubs. Sam searched high and low for Bella, but she was

  nowhere to be found. Bella was gone; she had disappeared

  into thin air. David and Samantha got the army together and

  told them that they had a spy, and her name was Bella. When

  she was caught, she had to immediately be killed, upon the

  orders of the elders of Baja.

  Sam looked on in surprise as his father had turned on

  his friend. But David went to his son and explained that he

  saw Bella controlling the tree creature with a golden disc.

  Bella knew the secret of the gates because she had been

  here before. David went on to tell his son that not

  everyone was his friend.

  "But Bella was like a true friend, I can't believe she

  would do this to me," said Sam.

  "Well, believe it," said Jane as she shouted at Sam

  for not trusting her, but instead trusting Bella. "I tried

  to tell you that something was fishy about her, and yet you

  countered that I was being jealous!"

  Jane walked away from Sam; he hung his head low and

  stood by a shrub for a minute to think. He then put the

  pieces of the puzzle together and came running back to tell

  the crowd, but no one was ready to hear what he had to say.

  He had to apologize not only to them, but to Jane. So he

  did; he apologized to the entire crew and to his wife. Jane

  forgave him, but was reserved in what she said, to make

  everyone think that she was all right inside. But Jane was

  truly upset and disappointed with Sam, and he knew this,

  but he wanted the both of them to play it off until

  everything was settled and then they could deal with it.

  Sam went on to say, "The guardian of the gates was

  telling me that I needed to be careful, that my enemy was

  right under my nose."