Epilogue: The End of Ur

Ur lay in dead silence as the last remaining inhabitants felt the end coming on. No one was sure what to expect so they were quiet and waited. Suddenly from the sky a sound came echoing through the world. It was a familiar song; one that they all knew from times long passed. The music resonated in every stone and tree. It sank into the oceans and stopped every school of salmon in its tracks. Every animal, Vendor, Chunk of Sparkly, Bubble Tree and anything else with a voice sang along with this last song. Even Koro joined her voice with the chorus and looked up into the sky like everyone else. As the world faded out she finally felt at home.

<< Chapter 14: The Last Journey (male)
NOTES

<< Chapter 14: The Last Journey (female)

Chapter 14: The Last Journey

After his conversation with the spirit in the snow and his realization of the power contained within the Crystal Heart Wonder knew what he had to do. It wasn’t that there was a sudden solution to the problem; he just realized what was right and what was necessary. So he set off immediately with Desmond by his side. They went wherever the Crystal Heart guided them, waking up any creatures they found along the way. Whenever an animal regained its senses Wonder always asked if they would like to join him. Most of them did, but some of them preferred to stay behind. Rocks and trees were affected by the Heart’s power as well, though they obviously couldn’t come along. In this way Wonder quickly gained a substantial following.

They travelled for days on end, not wanting to lose the momentum they had built. With the Heart guiding them they made excellent time across the land, amassing more followers and heading toward their ultimate goal. Everything seemed to be falling into place, but Wonder couldn’t ignore the sadness that was brought on whenever he thought about his friends he had left at the tower. He had accepted his fate, but he would have liked to have seen them once more to say goodbye. Unfortunately he only had the Crystal Heart to guide him, and he didn’t know where it was leading. That’s why he was so surprised when the group found themselves in Jethimadh.

They had travelled through a similar region once already, but as soon as they crossed the border into Jethimadh Wonder could see the tower in the distance and he knew where they were. He decided to make a detour to the tower to check on his friends regardless of where the Heart wanted him to go. Coincidentally the Heart was leading him right back to the tower anyway, and this gave him confidence.

With his animal followers at his back he arrived at the tower just in time, it seemed. Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets looked as if they were on trial and poor Koro was locked up in a tiny cage being swung about by Uncle Friendly. Listening to the end of Friendly’s rant about traitors and saving Ur he knew he had to speak up, but this time he wasn’t afraid of what might happen because he knew he was right.

“I’m sorry, but this world can’t be saved. Not in the way that you think. If you really want to be saved the Giants need to wake up, and I’m the one who has to do it.”

The crowd seemed to be holding its breath, not really sure what to make of this new development.

“What is this?!” Uncle Friendly didn’t try to disguise his anger this time. “The traitor has returned? This doesn’t change anything. Now you can stand trial with your friends and we can keep you all from doing any more harm.”

Wonder stared Uncle Friendly down and approached the steps by a path that had opened up in the crowd. Desmond followed immediately behind, but the rest of the animals stayed where they were at his request.

“No, you’re wrong,” Wonder answered back once he was face to face with Uncle Friendly. “We’re not traitors and we’re not trying to destroy your world, you just don’t want to see it.” His words were firm, but not angry, and just loud enough for everyone gathered to hear.

“I heard it from your own lips; you want to wake the Giants and doom us all to non-existence!”

“True, the Giants need to be woken, and this land will cease to exist, but that doesn’t mean we will. The Glitchen have already moved on and this land will follow one way or another. Ur was always a temporary thing. A land created in a dream could never last forever.” Wonder turned to address the crowd. “You all had your time here to enjoy your lives. It was too short, but holding on to the decaying memory of what this place used to be is not the way to celebrate it.

“I can’t put the Giants back to sleep, and even if I could it wouldn’t do any good for anyone. In this state of half-waking Ur is slowly dying from the inside out. You’ve already seen the rocks, trees and animals losing pieces of their old selves. Eventually entire streets would start to fade until there was nothing left. It would be a long, slow, painful death. Ur deserves more than that and so do you. Help me, and let’s end this world the way it was always supposed to end: with music and cheering and friends by our side. I can’t save the world in the way that you had all hoped, but I can lead us into the next one the way the Giants intended.”

Wonder stared out at the Vendors and they stared back at him, too shocked to say anything. He turned to face Uncle Friendly who was staring down at him as if seeing him for the first time. His shoulders dropped and Wonder could almost swear he saw a tear forming in that giant orange eye of his. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and instead handed the cage to Wonder and walked away. The Vendors took this as a sign and cheered for Wonder. It didn’t seem to matter that he planned to end the world, it somehow gave them hope.

Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets rushed over while Wonder let Koro out of the cage.

“You made it back!” Mr. Trinkets shouted.

“We were so worried about you!” Magic Rock added.

Wonder laughed in spite of himself. “It seems like you should have been more worried about yourselves. What happened here?”

“You were gone and we didn’t know what to do, so we sort of tried to start a revolution.” Mr. Trinkets said. “It didn’t really work.”

“I can see that.” Wonder lifted Koro up in his hand and looked her over. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine now. I stuck around to help after Uncle Friendly sent you away, but I got caught. It’s a good thing you showed up or I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Speaking of which, how did you find your way back?” Magic Rock asked. “And what’s with all the animals?”

The animals that had followed Wonder were now mixing in with the Vendors and they seemed to be explaining things as best they could. Animals in Ur always had a knack for sensationalizing events or remembering them somewhat differently, but the main parts of the story seemed to be getting across.

“When I was in the tower I met Gwendolyn, a spirit from a lost age. She told me everything about Ur fading away and waking the Giants. She gave me this,” Wonder held up the Crystal Heart, “And told me it would guide me to the end of my quest. When I got sent away it led me back here and along the way I used it to wake up any animals I found, to help them remember who they used to be. Which reminds me, guys, this is Desmond,” Wonder motioned to the piggy at his side. “Desmond, this is Magic Rock, Mr. Trinkets and Koro.” They all nodded and greeted Desmond.

“I’ve heard a lot about you fellas. Nice to finally put a face with the names,“ he replied.

“So, what’s our next move?” Magic Rock asked.

Wonder thought for a moment. “Gwendolyn said this would guide me to the end of my quest, and it brought me here, but I feel like this isn’t it.” He held the Heart in his hand and closed his eyes, turning one way and then another, taking a few steps and then walking back. Finally he opened his eyes and smiled. “It’s that way,” he said pointing off in the distance.

“What is?” Koro asked.

“I’m not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough.”

Once the situation had been adequately explained to everyone they were all given the choice to go wherever they wanted. Most of the Vendors chose to follow Wonder, but a few stayed behind, including Uncle Friendly who seemed quite ashamed of everything that had happened. Wonder tried to comfort him and say that he understood his heart was in the right place, but he couldn’t convince Uncle Friendly to come along. Instead he stayed at the tower with Helga and a few others, determined to meet the end where they had made their new home.

All-in-all for a party that was heading toward certain destruction the group that left the tower base that day was in pretty high spirits. Animals and Vendors were talking and laughing, remembering better times and enjoying the company.

Wonder led the group with Magic Rock, Mr. Trinkets and Desmond at his side. Koro flew happily above them occasionally coming in to land on Wonder’s shoulder and talk about unimportant things. They tried to enjoy what they expected to be their last journey together, but it was hard to ignore the fact that none of them would be coming back from it. Still they kept things light and happy as they traveled through Chakra Phool and into a dark, craggy region. The terrain proved to be a bit of a challenge, but they were greatly aided (and entertained) by the fungus-like growths that shot them up into the air allowing them to easily reach new heights.

They kept traveling and eventually the sky lightened and the weather turned cold. Snow covered the ground and ice covered the rocks. Wonder and Desmond told the others about their first meeting and the beauty of the snowy forest at night. They each secretly wished they could see it one more time, but kept that to themselves. It wasn’t long until they reached a street that looked like many other streets they had traveled through, but to Wonder it felt different.

“It’s here, something’s different about this place,” he said, looking around.

High above them he noticed a door.

“There,” he said pointing it out to the others before springing upward from a bouncing growth. The others followed suit and shortly Wonder, Koro, Magic Rock, Mr. Trinkets and Desmond were all standing on the ledge to the door. The rest of the group waited down below, talking among themselves, not aware that this might be the end of the line.

Wonder looked at each of his friends. “I think this is it, guys. Through here is the end; where Gwendolyn says the dream world and the waking world are closest. Are you ready?”

They nodded in agreement and Wonder opened the door and stepped through. Everything was dark and he turned to see his friends still standing on the ledge. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Koro shook her head. “We can’t come in,” she said. “It won’t let us pass.”

“I’m afraid she’s right,” said Magic Rock. “It looks like this is a place for Glitchen only.”

The words hit him hard. After everything he had done in the past few days and all the confidence and courage he had gained Wonder still couldn’t help himself and broke down crying right there inside the doorway.

“But I don’t want to go alone!” he sobbed. “I need you with me.”

“You’re wrong,” Mr. Trinkets said. “You don’t need us there with you. You’re strong enough to do anything on your own.”

“He’s right you know,” Magic Rock added. “You’ve done more in your short time than most Glitchen could do in a hundred lifetimes.”

“Besides, you won’t be alone. We’ll all be right here, thinking about you and waiting to meet back up on the other side.” Desmond offered.

Wonder looked at them each and smiled through his tears. It wasn’t until that moment that he remembered the last words Gwendolyn ever spoke to him, “You have friends. Trust them. Lean on them to get you to your goal, but in the end you must walk the final road alone.” And Wonder knew she was right.

He stepped back out and gave them each a hug because he couldn’t say goodbye. Last of all he sat on the ground in front of Koro.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, but you were my first friend and you stood by me when I wouldn’t return the favor.”

Koro looked up into Wonder’s face. “You were my first friend too, and friends don’t just abandon each other. You never let me down. You always came back for me.”

Wonder offered his hand and Koro hopped onto it. He lifted Koro up to his face and kissed the top of her head. “Goodbye, Koro. I hope we see each other again.”

“Goodbye, Wonder. I’m sure we will.”

He placed Koro back on the ledge, stood up, gave his friends one more sad smile and then walked through the door without looking back. It was the scariest moment of his short life.

Once the door closed Wonder found himself walking on a narrow strip of grass in the sunset next to a wide body of water. It seemed so peaceful he couldn’t help but stop and stare out over the water for a moment. In the distance he could see another narrow strip of land with a hill on it. He was completely alone.

After another moment of quiet reflection he listened to the Crystal Heart. This place felt like the end of life, but not the end of a world. He still wasn’t where he needed to be so he moved on through another door opposite the one he had come in. When he walked through he expected to be in a new place, but instead he was standing on the hill he had seen in the distance. The rules of time and space seemed to be breaking down here near the edge of reality, but that didn’t bother him much. What did bother him was the lack of a door or another way out of any kind. He knew that he was close to his goal, but he wasn’t sure where to go next.

Wonder sat in the grass on the hill and stared out over the water once again. The colors of the perpetual sunset made him sad and he wished his friends could have seen it with him. He let his eyes follow the gradation of the sunlight from bright yellow to orange to pink to violet to blue and up to where the stars began to twinkle in the dark. He lay back, feeling the grass under his hands; trying to soak it all in before everything went away. He closed his eyes and breathed in the air here at the end of his life. It was sweet and pure.

He opened his eyes again to try to count the stars and see their patterns, but something else caught his attention. Up in the sky he saw what looked like letters among the clouds. He sat up and tried to make them out, but wisps of cloud kept drifting by obscuring the shapes. He continued to stare until his eyes hurt from the strain when finally the sky cleared revealing the simple message.

“Bye.”

He whispered the word to himself while he stared up into the sky. No sooner had the sound left his mouth than he began floating up toward the word. He looked back down to see the ground retreating as he kicked his feet and flailed his arms, but it was no use. He was being pulled up by some mysterious force and there was nothing he could do about it. Then in an instant he was calm as if a wave had washed over him. He felt the Crystal Heart and realized that he was finally going where he had been meant to go since he had woken up alone in the forest all those weeks ago.

Wonder floated up into the sky until the letters dissolved into nothing and he could see Ur laid out below in patches of blue, brown and green. From up there he could see where the outer edges were already starting to fade just like Gwendolyn told him they would. He wondered how long this world would have lasted left to its own devices, but there was no way of knowing.

Below him was Ur, above him were stars and empty blackness, and all around were chunks of rock floating independently. He guessed that these may have been bits of Ur pulled away from the surface when the Giants awoke, but it was just speculation. He found he could jump between them quite easily, and with a little effort he could even float around without touching the ground at all if he wanted. He wasn’t as graceful as Koro, but Wonder could understand what she meant about flying being preferable to walking.

He floated from rock to rock, exploring. There weren’t any trees or minerals here, but on every rock, covering every inch, he found notes left behind by Glitchen. He had stopped reading the notes scattered around Ur a long time ago because they made him sad, but he decided to take the time to read some now. These were some of the last thoughts of the Glitchen and he thought someone should remember them.

Wonder sat and read the notes for a long time. Some of them were short and sweet; simple goodbyes. Others were longer, more dramatic, but equally as heartfelt. He read poems and songs and confessions and each one he read he placed back exactly where he had found it.

Once he was done he dried his eyes and took out the music block Gwendolyn had given him. He held it in one hand with the Crystal Heart in the other. They both seemed so insignificant. It didn’t make sense that the objects that would bring about the end of the world should fit so neatly in his grip. The thought made him laugh and think about himself and how insignificant he had felt his entire life.

He sat down at the edge of one of the floating rocks and let his feet hang over the side. He held the Crystal Heart in his lap and sat the music block next to him on the ground. He pushed the play button and as the first notes rang out he looked down between his feet at the world he had helped bring to a close.

<< Chapter 13: A Failed Conspiracy | NOTES | Epilogue: The End of Ur >>

Chapter 14: The Last Journey

After her conversation with the spirit in the snow and her realization of the power contained within the Crystal Heart Wonder knew what she had to do. It wasn’t that there was a sudden solution to the problem; she just realized what was right and what was necessary. So she set off immediately with Desmond by her side. They went wherever the Crystal Heart guided them, waking up any creatures they found along the way. Whenever an animal regained its senses Wonder always asked if they would like to join her. Most of them did, but some of them preferred to stay behind. Rocks and trees were affected by the Heart’s power as well, though they obviously couldn’t come along. In this way Wonder quickly gained a substantial following.

They travelled for days on end, not wanting to lose the momentum they had built. With the Heart guiding them they made excellent time across the land, amassing more followers and heading toward their ultimate goal. Everything seemed to be falling into place, but Wonder couldn’t ignore the sadness that was brought on whenever she thought about her friends she had left at the tower. She had accepted her fate, but she would have liked to have seen them once more to say goodbye. Unfortunately she only had the Crystal Heart to guide her, and she didn’t know where it was leading. That’s why she was so surprised when the group found themselves in Jethimadh.

They had travelled through a similar region once already, but as soon as they crossed the border into Jethimadh Wonder could see the tower in the distance and she knew where they were. She decided to make a detour to the tower to check on her friends regardless of where the Heart wanted her to go. Coincidentally the Heart was leading her right back to the tower anyway, and this gave her confidence.

With her animal followers at her back she arrived at the tower just in time, it seemed. Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets looked as if they were on trial and poor Koro was locked up in a tiny cage being swung about by Uncle Friendly. Listening to the end of Friendly’s rant about traitors and saving Ur she knew she had to speak up, but this time she wasn’t afraid of what might happen because she knew she was right.

“I’m sorry, but this world can’t be saved. Not in the way that you think. If you really want to be saved the Giants need to wake up, and I’m the one who has to do it.”

The crowd seemed to be holding its breath, not really sure what to make of this new development.

“What is this?!” Uncle Friendly didn’t try to disguise his anger this time. “The traitor has returned? This doesn’t change anything. Now you can stand trial with your friends and we can keep you all from doing any more harm.”

Wonder stared Uncle Friendly down and approached the steps by a path that had opened up in the crowd. Desmond followed immediately behind, but the rest of the animals stayed where they were at his request.

“No, you’re wrong,” Wonder answered back once she was face to face with Uncle Friendly. “We’re not traitors and we’re not trying to destroy your world, you just don’t want to see it.” Her words were firm, but not angry, and just loud enough for everyone gathered to hear.

“I heard it from your own lips; you want to wake the Giants and doom us all to non-existence!”

“True, the Giants need to be woken, and this land will cease to exist, but that doesn’t mean we will. The Glitchen have already moved on and this land will follow one way or another. Ur was always a temporary thing. A land created in a dream could never last forever.” Wonder turned to address the crowd. “You all had your time here to enjoy your lives. It was too short, but holding on to the decaying memory of what this place used to be is not the way to celebrate it.

“I can’t put the Giants back to sleep, and even if I could it wouldn’t do any good for anyone. In this state of half-waking Ur is slowly dying from the inside out. You’ve already seen the rocks, trees and animals losing pieces of their old selves. Eventually entire streets would start to fade until there was nothing left. It would be a long, slow, painful death. Ur deserves more than that and so do you. Help me, and let’s end this world the way it was always supposed to end: with music and cheering and friends by our side. I can’t save the world in the way that you had all hoped, but I can lead us into the next one the way the Giants intended.”

Wonder stared out at the Vendors and they stared back at her, too shocked to say anything. She turned to face Uncle Friendly who was staring down at her as if seeing her for the first time. His shoulders dropped and Wonder could almost swear she saw a tear forming in that giant orange eye of his. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and instead handed the cage to Wonder and walked away. The Vendors took this as a sign and cheered for Wonder. It didn’t seem to matter that she planned to end the world, it somehow gave them hope.

Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets rushed over while Wonder let Koro out of the cage.

“You made it back!” Mr. Trinkets shouted.

“We were so worried about you!” Magic Rock added.

Wonder laughed in spite of herself. “It seems like you should have been more worried about yourselves. What happened here?”

“You were gone and we didn’t know what to do, so we sort of tried to start a revolution.” Mr. Trinkets said. “It didn’t really work.”

“I can see that.” Wonder lifted Koro up in her hand and looked her over. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine now. I stuck around to help after Uncle Friendly sent you away, but I got caught. It’s a good thing you showed up or I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Speaking of which, how did you find your way back?” Magic Rock asked. “And what’s with all the animals?”

The animals that had followed Wonder were now mixing in with the Vendors and they seemed to be explaining things as best they could. Animals in Ur always had a knack for sensationalizing events or remembering them somewhat differently, but the main parts of the story seemed to be getting across.

“When I was in the tower I met Gwendolyn, a spirit from a lost age. She told me everything about Ur fading away and waking the Giants. She gave me this,” Wonder held up the Crystal Heart, “And told me it would guide me to the end of my quest. When I got sent away it led me back here and along the way I used it to wake up any animals I found, to help them remember who they used to be. Which reminds me, guys, this is Desmond,” Wonder motioned to the piggy at her side. “Desmond, this is Magic Rock, Mr. Trinkets and Koro.” They all nodded and greeted Desmond.

“I’ve heard a lot about you fellas. Nice to finally put a face with the names,“ he replied.

“So, what’s our next move?” Magic Rock asked.

Wonder thought for a moment. “Gwendolyn said this would guide me to the end of my quest, and it brought me here, but I feel like this isn’t it.” She held the Heart in her hand and closed her eyes, turning one way and then another, taking a few steps and then walking back. Finally she opened her eyes and smiled. “It’s that way,” she said pointing off in the distance.

“What is?” Koro asked.

“I’m not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough.”

Once the situation had been adequately explained to everyone they were all given the choice to go wherever they wanted. Most of the Vendors chose to follow Wonder, but a few stayed behind, including Uncle Friendly who seemed quite ashamed of everything that had happened. Wonder tried to comfort him and say that she understood his heart was in the right place, but she couldn’t convince Uncle Friendly to come along. Instead he stayed at the tower with Helga and a few others, determined to meet the end where they had made their new home.

All-in-all for a party that was heading toward certain destruction the group that left the tower base that day was in pretty high spirits. Animals and Vendors were talking and laughing, remembering better times and enjoying the company.

Wonder led the group with Magic Rock, Mr. Trinkets and Desmond at her side. Koro flew happily above them occasionally coming in to land on Wonder’s shoulder and talk about unimportant things. They tried to enjoy what they expected to be their last journey together, but it was hard to ignore the fact that none of them would be coming back from it. Still they kept things light and happy as they traveled through Chakra Phool and into a dark, craggy region. The terrain proved to be a bit of a challenge, but they were greatly aided (and entertained) by the fungus-like growths that shot them up into the air allowing them to easily reach new heights.

They kept traveling and eventually the sky lightened and the weather turned cold. Snow covered the ground and ice covered the rocks. Wonder and Desmond told the others about their first meeting and the beauty of the snowy forest at night. They each secretly wished they could see it one more time, but kept that to themselves. It wasn’t long until they reached a street that looked like many other streets they had traveled through, but to Wonder it felt different.

“It’s here, something’s different about this place,” she said, looking around.

High above them she noticed a door.

“There,” she said pointing it out to the others before springing upward from a bouncing growth. The others followed suit and shortly Wonder, Koro, Magic Rock, Mr. Trinkets and Desmond were all standing on the ledge to the door. The rest of the group waited down below, talking among themselves, not aware that this might be the end of the line.

Wonder looked at each of her friends. “I think this is it, guys. Through here is the end; where Gwendolyn says the dream world and the waking world are closest. Are you ready?”

They nodded in agreement and Wonder opened the door and stepped through. Everything was dark and she turned to see her friends still standing on the ledge. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Koro shook her head. “We can’t come in,” she said. “It won’t let us pass.”

“I’m afraid she’s right,” said Magic Rock. “It looks like this is a place for Glitchen only.”

The words hit her hard. After everything she had done in the past few days and all the confidence and courage she had gained Wonder still couldn’t help herself and broke down crying right there inside the doorway.

“But I don’t want to go alone!” she sobbed. “I need you with me.”

“You’re wrong,” Mr. Trinkets said. “You don’t need us there with you. You’re strong enough to do anything on your own.”

“He’s right you know,” Magic Rock added. “You’ve done more in your short time than most Glitchen could do in a hundred lifetimes.”

“Besides, you won’t be alone. We’ll all be right here, thinking about you and waiting to meet back up on the other side.” Desmond offered.

Wonder looked at them each and smiled through her tears. It wasn’t until that moment that she remembered the last words Gwendolyn ever spoke to her, “You have friends. Trust them. Lean on them to get you to your goal, but in the end you must walk the final road alone.” And Wonder knew she was right.

She stepped back out and gave them each a hug because she couldn’t say goodbye. Last of all she sat on the ground in front of Koro.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, but you were my first friend and you stood by me when I wouldn’t return the favor.”

Koro looked up into Wonder’s face. “You were my first friend too, and friends don’t just abandon each other. You never let me down. You always came back for me.”

Wonder offered her hand and Koro hopped onto it. She lifted Koro up to her face and kissed the top of her head. “Goodbye, Koro. I hope we see each other again.”

“Goodbye, Wonder. I’m sure we will.”

She placed Koro back on the ledge, stood up, gave her friends one more sad smile and then walked through the door without looking back. It was the scariest moment of her short life.

Once the door closed Wonder found herself walking on a narrow strip of grass in the sunset next to a wide body of water. It seemed so peaceful she couldn’t help but stop and stare out over the water for a moment. In the distance she could see another narrow strip of land with a hill on it. She was completely alone.

After another moment of quiet reflection she listened to the Crystal Heart. This place felt like the end of life, but not the end of a world. She still wasn’t where she needed to be so she moved on through another door opposite the one she had come in. When she walked through she expected to be in a new place, but instead she was standing on the hill she had seen in the distance. The rules of time and space seemed to be breaking down here near the edge of reality, but that didn’t bother her much. What did bother her was the lack of a door or another way out of any kind. She knew that she was close to her goal, but she wasn’t sure where to go next.

Wonder sat in the grass on the hill and stared out over the water once again. The colors of the perpetual sunset made her sad and she wished her friends could have seen it with her. She let her eyes follow the gradation of the sunlight from bright yellow to orange to pink to violet to blue and up to where the stars began to twinkle in the dark. She lay back, feeling the grass under her hands; trying to soak it all in before everything went away. She closed her eyes and breathed in the air here at the end of her life. It was sweet and pure.

She opened her eyes again to try to count the stars and see their patterns, but something else caught her attention. Up in the sky she saw what looked like letters among the clouds. She sat up and tried to make them out, but wisps of cloud kept drifting by obscuring the shapes. She continued to stare until her eyes hurt from the strain when finally the sky cleared revealing the simple message.

“Bye.”

She whispered the word to herself while she stared up into the sky. No sooner had the sound left her mouth than she began floating up toward the word. She looked back down to see the ground retreating as she kicked her feet and flailed her arms, but it was no use. She was being pulled up by some mysterious force and there was nothing she could do about it. Then in an instant she was calm as if a wave had washed over her. She felt the Crystal Heart and realized that she was finally going where she had been meant to go since she had woken up alone in the forest all those weeks ago.

Wonder floated up into the sky until the letters dissolved into nothing and she could see Ur laid out below in patches of blue, brown and green. From up there she could see where the outer edges were already starting to fade just like Gwendolyn told her they would. She wondered how long this world would have lasted left to its own devices, but there was no way of knowing.

Below her was Ur, above her were stars and empty blackness, and all around were chunks of rock floating independently. She guessed that these may have been bits of Ur pulled away from the surface when the Giants awoke, but it was just speculation. She found she could jump between them quite easily, and with a little effort she could even float around without touching the ground at all if she wanted. She wasn’t as graceful as Koro, but Wonder could understand what she meant about flying being preferable to walking.

She floated from rock to rock, exploring. There weren’t any trees or minerals here, but on every rock, covering every inch, she found notes left behind by Glitchen. She had stopped reading the notes scattered around Ur a long time ago because they made her sad, but she decided to take the time to read some now. These were some of the last thoughts of the Glitchen and she thought someone should remember them.

Wonder sat and read the notes for a long time. Some of them were short and sweet; simple goodbyes. Others were longer, more dramatic, but equally as heartfelt. She read poems and songs and confessions and each one she read she placed back exactly where she had found it.

Once she was done she dried her eyes and took out the music block Gwendolyn had given her. She held it in one hand with the Crystal Heart in the other. They both seemed so insignificant. It didn’t make sense that the objects that would bring about the end of the world should fit so neatly in her grip. The thought made her laugh and think about herself and how insignificant she had felt her entire life.

She sat down at the edge of one of the floating rocks and let her feet hang over the side. She held the Crystal Heart in her lap and sat the music block next to her on the ground. She pushed the play button and as the first notes rang out she looked down between her feet at the world she had helped bring to a close.

<< Chapter 13: A Failed Conspiracy | NOTES | Epilogue: The End of Ur >>

Chapter 13: A Failed Conspiracy

Days passed without any sign from the Tower and Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were growing anxious. Uncle Friendly shrugged off their questions about Wonder, stating that the tower was a confusing place and he was likely just lost. He never mentioned their confrontation to anyone.

“I’m worried about Wonder,” Mr. Trinkets whispered to Magic Rock a few days after he had entered the tower.

“I know, so am I. He should have found his way out by now one way or another,” Magic Rock whispered back. Uncle Friendly had become irritated at the mention of Wonder and they didn’t want him over hearing their conversation.

“I’ve been thinking. Why couldn’t one of us go in after him?”

Magic Rock shook his head. “You heard what Uncle Friendly said; no one but a Glitch can get in the tower.”

“Yes, that’s what he said, but what about Koro? She was in one of Wonder’s bags and she obviously made it inside.”

“True, but I imagine it was because Wonder took her in. And anyway, Uncle Friendly rarely leaves the front steps and I doubt he’ll be too keen to send in a rescue party.” Magic Rock watched Uncle Friendly pacing in front of the tower door.

“He has been acting strange lately, hasn’t he?” Mr. Trinkets asked. “I don’t know if he’s really up to something or I’m just feeling suspicious, but I don’t trust him. I think I’d like to take a walk around the tower and clear my head a bit.”

Magic Rock nodded. “Yeah, OK. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things.”

Mr. Trinkets stood up and shuffled through the crowd of Vendors around the side of the tower. He tried to act like nothing was wrong even though he was beginning to feel very uncomfortable there. He shambled around the side and began inspecting the tower base. There was a door here, but it didn’t do him much good as it was locked and had a sign reading “Coming Soon” hanging on it. Whatever was planned for this entrance was never finished so he kept walking.

Around the next corner he still didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, but he tried the door here too. This one also seemed to be locked, though he thought he could see a hallway on the other side through the dark windows. He jiggled the handle a few more times before getting exasperated and moving on.

The last side of the tower looked much like the other three, and like the others it had a door that he suspected he wouldn’t be able to open, but he never got the chance to try because as he was walking up to it he heard a voice from the trees whisper his name.

“Psst. Mr. Trinkets! Mr. Trinkets! Over here! In the trees!”

Mr. Trinkets turned toward the voice, but he didn’t see anyone standing among the trees. “Hello? Where are you?”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down! Look up, Mr. Trinkets.”

He did as instructed and there, among the branches of the tree closest to him, was Koro. She looked half-crazed, eyes darting side to side like she was looking for someone, but it was definitely Koro.

“Koro, what are you doing up there?” Mr. Trinkets asked in a whisper. “Where’s Wonder?”

“Wonder’s gone! That big fat slug with the tie sent him away!”

Mr. Trinkets tried to process this. “What are you talking about? You mean Uncle Friendly? What do you mean he sent Wonder away? Wonder never came out of the tower.”

“Yes he did. He came out days ago! He came out of this door and talked to me and then that monster showed up and yelled at him and asked him about the tower and then POOF! he was gone, just like that!”

Mr. Trinkets wasn’t really sure what to make of all this and it didn’t help that Koro was so panicked. “Koro, you’ve got to calm down and tell me what happened. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“I can’t! He’ll hear me! I almost flew away for good when he told me to, but I stayed because I didn’t know what else to do. Wonder’s gone and I don’t know where he sent him. I only stayed because I thought you guys might know what to do, but I couldn’t risk getting caught.”

“It’s OK, Koro. No one’s going to catch you.” He thought for a moment. “Let’s move to a different street. No one will hear us and you can tell me everything that happened. Then I can go back and tell Magic Rock and we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Koro nodded and led him two streets away just to be safe.

Once Koro calmed down a bit she told Mr. Trinkets everything she could remember about what happened in the tower and afterward. She recalled something about Wonder’s conversation with Uncle Friendly, but she never got the full story of Room 23 from Wonder so she didn’t know all of the details; she only knew that Wonder’s plan had changed and he wanted to wake the Giants up, not put them back to sleep. Mr. Trinkets seemed a little upset at that, but without knowing the whole story he was determined to keep an open mind until he could discuss things with Magic Rock.

Mr. Trinkets thanked Koro and before he went back to the front of the tower he told her to stay nearby and be on the lookout for either himself or Magic Rock to return soon. She cawed an agreement and flew back into the trees to hide.

When Mr. Trinkets returned he found everything exactly as he had left it. Magic Rock looked up as he approached.

“Find anything interesting?” Magic Rock asked, slightly teasing.

“Yes, actually, I did,” and Mr. Trinkets proceeded to recount his meeting with Koro as quickly and quietly as possible.

Magic Rock was stunned to hear what had happened between Wonder and Uncle Friendly, but he quickly made up his mind. “We can’t let on that anything is wrong. I’m not sure what he’s capable of and I don’t want to wake up one day to find myself teleported halfway across Ur as well. We can do more good here while we try to come up with some sort of plan.”

The days dragged on with no word from Wonder and it was beginning to look more and more like he wasn’t coming back. Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets occasionally made trips to speak with Koro, but the more they talked the less they were sure of what to do. They tried to make sense of the little bit that Koro heard during the exchange between Uncle Friendly and Wonder, but they couldn’t understand his new plan. They were trying to save the world, why would Wonder want to end it?

With nothing to go on Magic Rock decided to change tactics. He and Mr. Trinkets began spending more time talking to the Vendors; trying to feel them out about Uncle Friendly’s new role as leader. Unfortunately the Vendors seemed more than happy with the way Uncle Friendly was handling things even if they weren’t entirely sure about his plan to put the Giants to sleep. The main problem seemed to be that no one else had any answers nor were they willing to take charge. Magic Rock hinted that he might be up for leading them, but without a better plan of action no one seemed very interested in supporting his coup.

After a few days Magic Rock sat down with Mr. Trinkets away from the main group to talk about what should be done.

“If we’re going to do something we need to do it soon,” Mr. Trinkets insisted.

“I know that, but what would you suggest? The Vendors all think Uncle Friendly is doing a fine job. No one suspects him of anything and I don’t have anything better to offer them anyway.” Magic Rock had become increasingly frustrated with the situation.

“Well, maybe taking over for Friendly isn’t what needs to be done.”

“What are you suggesting, Mr. Trinkets?” Magic Rock’s eyes narrowed.

“Maybe it’s time we left. We know Wonder is gone and every day it seems he’s less likely to return. There’s nothing for us here. Let Friendly have his group of Vendors. What harm can they do?”

“That’s just it; I’m not sure what harm they could do, but I’d rather be here to stop them from doing it! As far as we know this is the last group of sentient beings in Ur and you want to abandon them? No, we can’t leave. We have to stay and do what we can.”

“Do what we can about what, my dear Magic Rock?” Uncle Friendly’s voice oozed with false sweetness from behind Magic Rock whose eyes almost bulged out of his head at the sound.

“Uncle Friendly! I didn’t realize you were standing there.” He stammered as he spun around.

“No, I should think not.”

“Whatever you heard, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”

“And I’m sure it’s not. I heard enough to know you’re conspiring against me. Now why would you do that?”

“Conspiring? We—I—no, definitely not, it’s just—“Magic Rock was tripping over his words in a panic.

“Save it,” Uncle Friendly cut him off. “I’ve suspected you ever since I saw the Glitch talking to that Rook; I just hoped it wasn’t true. Well I’ve got more than enough evidence now.” Uncle Friendly pulled a cage from behind his back and in it was a very defeated looking Koro.

“You thought you were being very sneaky about this whole business I’m sure, but I’m sneakier. I’ve been watching you two over the last few days and the last time you met with this filthy bird I followed you. As soon as you left I laid a trap for it and here we are.”

Koro looked up at Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets. “I’m sorry, guys. I tried to get away, but I wasn’t quick enough.”

“It’s OK Koro. You’ll be alright,” Mr. Trinkets reassured her, though he wasn’t so confident himself.

Uncle Friendly smiled menacingly at them. “Now, let’s go address the people, shall we?”

Uncle Friendly led Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets to the steps at the foot of Jethimadh Tower holding Koro out in front of him like he might hold a lantern to light his path. Once they were all standing at the top of the stairs he called for the crowd’s attention, though it was unnecessary because the sight of a caged Rook was more than enough to silence the group.

“Attention, everyone! Attention! I’m afraid I have some dark news to announce.” He shot Magic Rock a sideways glance. “It seems some of our own have been conspiring against us!”

The Vendors looked around at each other confused.

“It seems that Magic Rock and his butler here don’t want Ur to be saved! They want to see this world destroyed, and you along with it! They want it so badly that they even conspired against us with the Rook!” At this last exclamation Uncle Friendly thrust the cage up high in front of him so that everyone could see. Koro squawked in surprise and the Vendors all became agitated at the sight.

Uncle Friendly pushed on. “Even worse, I’m afraid, is that young Wonder, who we sent into the tower with hopes of saving Ur, has fallen under the sway of the Rook as well.”

At this the crowd let out a collective gasp. It was one thing for butlers and Magic Rocks to work with the Rook, but it was utterly unthinkable that a Glitch should ever even consider it.

“Unfortunately our hopes of putting Ur back together with Wonder’s help have been dashed, but that doesn’t mean we are defeated. I have taken care of the Glitch-traitor myself and I am committed to finding a way to save our world if it takes me the rest of my life!”

Uncle Friendly was feeling quite pleased with himself, but before the crowd could react a voice interrupted from the back of the assembly.

“You’re wrong, Friendly!”

Everyone turned to see who was challenging Uncle Friendly’s authority, and there at the end of the street, with his own gathering of piggies, chickens, butterflies, batterflies, sloths, foxes, heli kitties and all other manner of creature, was Wonder.

“I’m sorry, but this world can’t be saved. Not in the way that you think. If you really want to be saved the Giants need to wake up, and I’m the one who has to do it.”

<< Chapter 12: The Forest at Night | NOTES | Chapter 14: The Last Journey >>

Chapter 13: A Failed Conspiracy

Days passed without any sign from the Tower and Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were growing anxious. Uncle Friendly shrugged off their questions about Wonder, stating that the tower was a confusing place and she was likely just lost. He never mentioned their confrontation to anyone.

“I’m worried about Wonder,” Mr. Trinkets whispered to Magic Rock a few days after she had entered the tower.

“I know, so am I. She should have found her way out by now one way or another,” Magic Rock whispered back. Uncle Friendly had become irritated at the mention of Wonder and they didn’t want him over hearing their conversation.

“I’ve been thinking. Why couldn’t one of us go in after her?”

Magic Rock shook his head. “You heard what Uncle Friendly said; no one but a Glitch can get in the tower.”

“Yes, that’s what he said, but what about Koro? She was in one of Wonder’s bags and she obviously made it inside.”

“True, but I imagine it was because Wonder took her in. And anyway, Uncle Friendly rarely leaves the front steps and I doubt he’ll be too keen to send in a rescue party.” Magic Rock watched Uncle Friendly pacing in front of the tower door.

“He has been acting strange lately, hasn’t he?” Mr. Trinkets asked. “I don’t know if he’s really up to something or I’m just feeling suspicious, but I don’t trust him. I think I’d like to take a walk around the tower and clear my head a bit.”

Magic Rock nodded. “Yeah, OK. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things.”

Mr. Trinkets stood up and shuffled through the crowd of Vendors around the side of the tower. He tried to act like nothing was wrong even though he was beginning to feel very uncomfortable there. He shambled around the side and began inspecting the tower base. There was a door here, but it didn’t do him much good as it was locked and had a sign reading “Coming Soon” hanging on it. Whatever was planned for this entrance was never finished so he kept walking.

Around the next corner he still didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, but he tried the door here too. This one also seemed to be locked, though he thought he could see a hallway on the other side through the dark windows. He jiggled the handle a few more times before getting exasperated and moving on.

The last side of the tower looked much like the other three, and like the others it had a door that he suspected he wouldn’t be able to open, but he never got the chance to try because as he was walking up to it he heard a voice from the trees whisper his name.

“Psst. Mr. Trinkets! Mr. Trinkets! Over here! In the trees!”

Mr. Trinkets turned toward the voice, but he didn’t see anyone standing among the trees. “Hello? Where are you?”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down! Look up, Mr. Trinkets.”

He did as instructed and there, among the branches of the tree closest to him, was Koro. She looked half-crazed, eyes darting side to side like she was looking for someone, but it was definitely Koro.

“Koro, what are you doing up there?” Mr. Trinkets asked in a whisper. “Where’s Wonder?”

“Wonder’s gone! That big fat slug with the tie sent her away!”

Mr. Trinkets tried to process this. “What are you talking about? You mean Uncle Friendly? What do you mean he sent Wonder away? Wonder never came out of the tower.”

“Yes she did. She came out days ago! She came out of this door and talked to me and then that monster showed up and yelled at her and asked her about the tower and then POOF! she was gone, just like that!”

Mr. Trinkets wasn’t really sure what to make of all this and it didn’t help that Koro was so panicked. “Koro, you’ve got to calm down and tell me what happened. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“I can’t! He’ll hear me! I almost flew away for good when he told me to, but I stayed because I didn’t know what else to do. Wonder’s gone and I don’t know where he sent her. I only stayed because I thought you guys might know what to do, but I couldn’t risk getting caught.”

“It’s OK, Koro. No one’s going to catch you.” He thought for a moment. “Let’s move to a different street. No one will hear us and you can tell me everything that happened. Then I can go back and tell Magic Rock and we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Koro nodded and led him two streets away just to be safe.

Once Koro calmed down a bit she told Mr. Trinkets everything she could remember about what happened in the tower and afterward. She recalled something about Wonder’s conversation with Uncle Friendly, but she never got the full story of Room 23 from Wonder so she didn’t know all of the details; she only knew that Wonder’s plan had changed and she wanted to wake the Giants up, not put them back to sleep. Mr. Trinkets seemed a little upset at that, but without knowing the whole story he was determined to keep an open mind until he could discuss things with Magic Rock.

Mr. Trinkets thanked Koro and before he went back to the front of the tower he told her to stay nearby and be on the lookout for either himself or Magic Rock to return soon. She cawed an agreement and flew back into the trees to hide.

When Mr. Trinkets returned he found everything exactly as he had left it. Magic Rock looked up as he approached.

“Find anything interesting?” Magic Rock asked, slightly teasing.

“Yes, actually, I did,” and Mr. Trinkets proceeded to recount his meeting with Koro as quickly and quietly as possible.

Magic Rock was stunned to hear what had happened between Wonder and Uncle Friendly, but he quickly made up his mind. “We can’t let on that anything is wrong. I’m not sure what he’s capable of and I don’t want to wake up one day to find myself teleported halfway across Ur as well. We can do more good here while we try to come up with some sort of plan.”

The days dragged on with no word from Wonder and it was beginning to look more and more like she wasn’t coming back. Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets occasionally made trips to speak with Koro, but the more they talked the less they were sure of what to do. They tried to make sense of the little bit that Koro heard during the exchange between Uncle Friendly and Wonder, but they couldn’t understand her new plan. They were trying to save the world, why would Wonder want to end it?

With nothing to go on Magic Rock decided to change tactics. He and Mr. Trinkets began spending more time talking to the Vendors; trying to feel them out about Uncle Friendly’s new role as leader. Unfortunately the Vendors seemed more than happy with the way Uncle Friendly was handling things even if they weren’t entirely sure about his plan to put the Giants to sleep. The main problem seemed to be that no one else had any answers nor were they willing to take charge. Magic Rock hinted that he might be up for leading them, but without a better plan of action no one seemed very interested in supporting his coup.

After a few days Magic Rock sat down with Mr. Trinkets away from the main group to talk about what should be done.

“If we’re going to do something we need to do it soon,” Mr. Trinkets insisted.

“I know that, but what would you suggest? The Vendors all think Uncle Friendly is doing a fine job. No one suspects him of anything and I don’t have anything better to offer them anyway.” Magic Rock had become increasingly frustrated with the situation.

“Well, maybe taking over for Friendly isn’t what needs to be done.”

“What are you suggesting, Mr. Trinkets?” Magic Rock’s eyes narrowed.

“Maybe it’s time we left. We know Wonder is gone and every day it seems she’s less likely to return. There’s nothing for us here. Let Friendly have his group of Vendors. What harm can they do?”

“That’s just it; I’m not sure what harm they could do, but I’d rather be here to stop them from doing it! As far as we know this is the last group of sentient beings in Ur and you want to abandon them? No, we can’t leave. We have to stay and do what we can.”

“Do what we can about what, my dear Magic Rock?” Uncle Friendly’s voice oozed with false sweetness from behind Magic Rock whose eyes almost bulged out of his head at the sound.

“Uncle Friendly! I didn’t realize you were standing there.” He stammered as he spun around.

“No, I should think not.”

“Whatever you heard, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”

“And I’m sure it’s not. I heard enough to know you’re conspiring against me. Now why would you do that?”

“Conspiring? We—I—no, definitely not, it’s just—“Magic Rock was tripping over his words in a panic.

“Save it,” Uncle Friendly cut him off. “I’ve suspected you ever since I saw the Glitch talking to that Rook; I just hoped it wasn’t true. Well I’ve got more than enough evidence now.” Uncle Friendly pulled a cage from behind his back and in it was a very defeated looking Koro.

“You thought you were being very sneaky about this whole business I’m sure, but I’m sneakier. I’ve been watching you two over the last few days and the last time you met with this filthy bird I followed you. As soon as you left I laid a trap for it and here we are.”

Koro looked up at Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets. “I’m sorry, guys. I tried to get away, but I wasn’t quick enough.”

“It’s OK Koro. You’ll be alright,” Mr. Trinkets reassured her, though he wasn’t so confident himself.

Uncle Friendly smiled menacingly at them. “Now, let’s go address the people, shall we?”

Uncle Friendly led Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets to the steps at the foot of Jethimadh Tower holding Koro out in front of him like he might hold a lantern to light his path. Once they were all standing at the top of the stairs he called for the crowd’s attention, though it was unnecessary because the sight of a caged Rook was more than enough to silence the group.

“Attention, everyone! Attention! I’m afraid I have some dark news to announce.” He shot Magic Rock a sideways glance. “It seems some of our own have been conspiring against us!”

The Vendors looked around at each other confused.

“It seems that Magic Rock and his butler here don’t want Ur to be saved! They want to see this world destroyed, and you along with it! They want it so badly that they even conspired against us with the Rook!” At this last exclamation Uncle Friendly thrust the cage up high in front of him so that everyone could see. Koro squawked in surprise and the Vendors all became agitated at the sight.

Uncle Friendly pushed on. “Even worse, I’m afraid, is that young Wonder, who we sent into the tower with hopes of saving Ur, has fallen under the sway of the Rook as well.”

At this the crowd let out a collective gasp. It was one thing for butlers and Magic Rocks to work with the Rook, but it was utterly unthinkable that a Glitch should ever even consider it.

“Unfortunately our hopes of putting Ur back together with Wonder’s help have been dashed, but that doesn’t mean we are defeated. I have taken care of the Glitch-traitor myself and I am committed to finding a way to save our world if it takes me the rest of my life!”

Uncle Friendly was feeling quite pleased with himself, but before the crowd could react a voice interrupted from the back of the assembly.

“You’re wrong, Friendly!”

Everyone turned to see who was challenging Uncle Friendly’s authority, and there at the end of the street, with her own gathering of piggies, chickens, butterflies, batterflies, sloths, foxes, heli kitties and all other manner of creature, was Wonder.

“I’m sorry, but this world can’t be saved. Not in the way that you think. If you really want to be saved the Giants need to wake up, and I’m the one who has to do it.”

<< Chapter 12: The Forest at Night | NOTES | Chapter 14: The Last Journey >>

Chapter 11: Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Koro was still in shock several minutes after Wonder left her in the Rook Museum. This was exactly what she was afraid of happening. She should have explained things as soon as they met, but she was afraid of how Wonder might react. She definitely should have broached the subject when Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets joined them. They seemed to come to an understanding and maybe they could have helped explain things to Wonder.

Koro knew she could sit in the dark for hours thinking about all the ways she had messed up, but there wasn’t time for that now. She needed to get to Magic Rock somehow and tell him what had happened. She quickly came up against her first problem when she realized the door was shut and door knobs were not designed with Rook feet in mind. No matter how hard she tried Koro could get the door open. She was stuck in the Rook Museum.

“This is no time to panic,” she told herself, though she suspected this might actually be the perfect time to panic. She sat perfectly still trying to force an answer into her brain. She was concentrating with all her might when her feathers were ruffled by a slight breeze.

“A breeze?” She looked around the room but couldn’t see much in the dark. “If there’s a breeze then there must be a way out.”

She took to the air to search the room and find the source of the draft. She was flooded with relief when she found several small windows set into the wall near the ceiling and one of them was open just enough for her to squeeze through.

It wasn’t a perfect solution because she still couldn’t get back in the tower to search for Wonder, but it was better than being stuck in that awful museum for the rest of her life. From way up here at least she could easily keep an eye on what was happening on the ground without alerting any suspicion. She desperately wanted to talk to Magic Rock, but she found him on the steps of the tower talking to several Vendors and she didn’t dare risk exposing herself to them.

She flew a few laps around the tower and made a note of the exits and then perched on a ledge above a side door to think about what to do.

***

Inside the tower Wonder was still turning the Crystal Heart over in her hand and sifting through everything Gwendolyn had said. She knew Gwendolyn was telling her truth about not being able to put the world back together, but it wasn’t easy to think about.

Wonder also thought about the advice Gwendolyn had given her about trusting her friends. She thought about Koro and if she was really her friend. Wonder just wasn’t sure after what she had seen. The voice in the museum said that the Rook are evil, and Koro hadn’t tried to deny it. Even Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were terrified when they saw Koro, and they had talked about how terrible the Rook were. Of course, they had also traveled together after Wonder introduced them and even seemed to get along. They never did tell Wonder the truth about the Rook, which made her question what the truth was.

Maybe Koro was different. She certainly didn’t act like she wanted to destroy everything. And she had mentioned several times that she never really fit in with her family. Maybe she really did just want a friend.

“I’ve made a huge mistake.” Wonder admitted to herself. She resolved to find her way back to the Rook Museum and talk to Koro. She still wasn’t sure what was true, but she would decide for herself and not base her feelings on some voice in the wall.

Wonder climbed back down the vines and walked out the door into the familiar hallway. She tried to retrace her steps as best she could. The run down to Room 23 had been a bit of a blur, but she made her way back to the Mezzanine with relatively little trouble. She opened the door to the Rook Museum and cautiously poked her head inside.

“Koro?” She asked the dark room. “Koro, are you still here?”

No reply.

“Come out, Koro, please. I need to talk to you.”

Still nothing.

Wonder stepped all the way into the room and pulled out her Firefly Jar. She checked the museum, avoiding looking at the other Rook-related artifacts as much as possible. Koro was nowhere to be found and Wonder was at a loss until she looked up and noticed the open window. Her spirits fell. “I’ve probably frightened her off and she’s flown away to where I’ll never find her again.” She stepped back outside and sat down in the hallway to think about her next move.

“Koro’s gone, maybe for good. Everyone else is waiting for me outside to tell them how I’m going to save them and fix Ur, but now I know I can’t do that.” She let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back against the wall. “This is a fine mess.” Further down the hall she noticed a set of stairs leading down and got an idea. She thought up her new plan while she was walking down the stairs.

‘Maybe there’s another exit I can try. If I can sneak out a side entrance I might be able to get Magic Rock’s attention and talk to him alone. He always has good advice.’

This set of stairs ran straight and long right down to the ground floor. She inched open the door at the bottom and found it opened directly onto a street adjacent to the one the Vendors were waiting on. She stepped silently out and closed the door behind her. Now she just needed to figure out how to get Magic Rock’s attention without alerting anyone else.

Wonder had only been considering what to do for a moment or two when she heard a rustling noise in a tree nearby. She looked up into the branches but didn’t see anything.

“Koro? Is that you?”

The street was silent for a second before she heard Koro’s voice from the tree. “Please don’t run away again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Wonder was so relieved to hear Koro’s voice she almost shouted, but then she remembered the feeling of betrayal and it cooled her excitement. “Why did you lie to me, Koro?”

Koro’s large, black bird head peeked from around the trunk of the tree. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just thought if you knew what I was you would run me off like everyone else.” She sounded sincere and Wonder’s anger lost some of its edge.

“I didn’t even know what a Rook was, why would I have cared?”

“Because everyone hates the Rook! If I had told you what my people did what would you have thought of me?”

Wonder considered that. “I don’t know, but it would have been nice to have gotten the chance to make up my mind. You were my only friend; I’m sure I would have taken your word over some old stories about what happened in the past.”

“You’re probably right, I was just so afraid of being left alone again. You were my only chance at having a real friend. The Rook kicked me out because I didn’t want to attack the Glitchen, but the Glitchen only ran or tried to attack me because I’m a Rook. I spent most of my life on my own, hiding and watching. I thought the Giants waking up would be the best thing that could happen. I would disappear and nothing would matter anymore, but then I was still here and everyone else was gone. I was more alone than ever! When I saw you just waking up I thought, ‘Here’s my chance. Maybe this is the start of something better.’”

Wonder was dumbfounded. Koro had always changed the subject when Wonder asked about her family. She just assumed Koro missed them and it was too sad to talk about. She had never considered that anyone might be happier in this new version of Ur. “Oh… wow. I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, Koro. I didn’t know.”

Koro dismissed it with a flap of her wing. “I know, I know. It’s not your fault. I should have told you. When you’re forced to live your life as an outcast I guess it makes you paranoid, but that’s no excuse. I just wish—“ but Koro never finished her sentence.

“Well, what do we have here?” Uncle Friendly stepped out from behind a large root near the end of the street looking very pleased with himself. “I heard voices and thought I would come investigate. I’m glad I did. Conspiring with the Rook? I expected more of you, Wonder.”

“No, Uncle Friendly, you don’t understand!” Wonder protested, but Uncle Friendly cut her off.

“I understand enough! The Rook are the enemies of this world and if you’re conspiring with them then that makes you the enemy as well.”

“But—“

“Now, I know you’re young. You’re still learning about this place, but you need to understand: the Rook are evil and they want nothing more than to see this world destroyed. Now, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Uncle Friendly was towering over Wonder staring into her with his gigantic eye. “What did you find in the tower? Did you learn how to call the Giants back?”

Wonder didn’t know what to do. She was feeling panicked and her brain wasn’t working. All she could squeak out was, “No, not exactly.”

“Not exactly? Well, what does that mean?”

And then it was over. Wonder was too scared to think straight and started recounting everything that had happened in Room 23 including Gwendolyn’s plan to wake the Giants. Luckily she was so frightened she jumbled most of it and forgot some key parts, like the Crystal Heart, but Uncle Friendly got enough to understand that she wasn’t going to put the Giants back to sleep, she was going to wake them up and end this world for good.

He stared down at Wonder for a long time in shock until his surprise turned into a self-satisfied smirk. He pulled something from his pocket. “I don’t blame you, Wonder. You’re too young to understand what’s going on and the Rook have twisted your mind. But I can’t let you destroy this world. I have to do what I can to protect it.” He pressed something into Wonder’s hand.

Wonder looked down and saw what looked like a piece of paper. “What is—“

Uncle Friendly squeezed Wonder's hand around the paper and with a pop she disappeared.

Koro squawked and flapped her wings in the tree, but Uncle Friendly just looked up at her and smiled. “Go back to your friends and let them know your plan failed. Uncle Friendly is defending Ur now, and he won’t go down without a fight.” With that he turned and walked back toward the front of the tower.

<< Chapter 10: Room 23 | NOTES | Chapter 12: The Forest at Night >>

Chapter 11: Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Koro was still in shock several minutes after Wonder left her in the Rook Museum. This was exactly what she was afraid of happening. She should have explained things as soon as they met, but she was afraid of how Wonder might react. She definitely should have broached the subject when Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets joined them. They seemed to come to an understanding and maybe they could have helped explain things to Wonder.

Koro knew she could sit in the dark for hours thinking about all the ways she had messed up, but there wasn’t time for that now. She needed to get to Magic Rock somehow and tell him what had happened. She quickly came up against her first problem when she realized the door was shut and door knobs were not designed with Rook feet in mind. No matter how hard she tried Koro could get the door open. She was stuck in the Rook Museum.

“This is no time to panic,” she told herself, though she suspected this might actually be the perfect time to panic. She sat perfectly still trying to force an answer into her brain. She was concentrating with all her might when her feathers were ruffled by a slight breeze.

“A breeze?” She looked around the room but couldn’t see much in the dark. “If there’s a breeze then there must be a way out.”

She took to the air to search the room and find the source of the draft. She was flooded with relief when she found several small windows set into the wall near the ceiling and one of them was open just enough for her to squeeze through.

It wasn’t a perfect solution because she still couldn’t get back in the tower to search for Wonder, but it was better than being stuck in that awful museum for the rest of her life. From way up here at least she could easily keep an eye on what was happening on the ground without alerting any suspicion. She desperately wanted to talk to Magic Rock, but she found him on the steps of the tower talking to several Vendors and she didn’t dare risk exposing herself to them.

She flew a few laps around the tower and made a note of the exits and then perched on a ledge above a side door to think about what to do.

***

Inside the tower Wonder was still turning the Crystal Heart over in his hand and sifting through everything Gwendolyn had said. She knew Gwendolyn was telling the truth about not being able to put the world back together, but it wasn’t easy to think about.

Wonder also thought about the advice Gwendolyn had given him about trusting his friends. He thought about Koro and if she was really his friend. Wonder just wasn’t sure after what he had seen. The voice in the museum said that the Rook are evil, and Koro hadn’t tried to deny it. Even Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were terrified when they saw Koro, and they had talked about how terrible the Rook were. Of course, they had also traveled together after Wonder introduced them and even seemed to get along. They never did tell Wonder the truth about the Rook, which made him question what the truth was.

Maybe Koro was different. She certainly didn’t act like she wanted to destroy everything. And she had mentioned several times that she never really fit in with her family. Maybe she really did just want a friend.

“I’ve made a huge mistake.” Wonder admitted to himself. He resolved to find his way back to the Rook Museum and talk to Koro. He still wasn’t sure what was true, but he would decide for himself and not base his feelings on some voice in the wall.

Wonder climbed back down the vines and walked out the door into the familiar hallway. He tried to retrace his steps as best he could. The run down to Room 23 had been a bit of a blur, but he made his way back to the Mezzanine with relatively little trouble. He opened the door to the Rook Museum and cautiously poked his head inside.

“Koro?” He asked the dark room. “Koro, are you still here?”

No reply.

“Come out, Koro, please. I need to talk to you.”

Still nothing.

Wonder stepped all the way into the room and pulled out his Firefly Jar. He checked the museum, avoiding looking at the other Rook-related artifacts as much as possible. Koro was nowhere to be found and Wonder was at a loss until he looked up and noticed the open window. His spirits fell. “I’ve probably frightened her off and she’s flown away to where I’ll never find her again.” He stepped back outside and sat down in the hallway to think about his next move.

“Koro’s gone, maybe for good. Everyone else is waiting for me outside to tell them how I’m going to save them and fix Ur, but now I know I can’t do that.” He let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back against the wall. “This is a fine mess.” Further down the hall he noticed a set of stairs leading down and got an idea. He thought up his new plan while he was walking down the stairs.

‘Maybe there’s another exit I can try. If I can sneak out a side entrance I might be able to get Magic Rock’s attention and talk to him alone. He always has good advice.’

This set of stairs ran straight and long right down to the ground floor. He inched open the door at the bottom and found it opened directly onto a street adjacent to the one the Vendors were waiting on. He stepped silently out and closed the door behind him. Now he just needed to figure out how to get Magic Rock’s attention without alerting anyone else.

Wonder had only been considering what to do for a moment or two when he heard a rustling noise in a tree nearby. He looked up into the branches but didn’t see anything.

“Koro? Is that you?”

The street was silent for a second before he heard Koro’s voice from the tree. “Please don’t run away again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Wonder was so relieved to hear Koro’s voice he almost shouted, but then he remembered the feeling of betrayal and it cooled his excitement. “Why did you lie to me, Koro?”

Koro’s large, black bird head peeked from around the trunk of the tree. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just thought if you knew what I was you would run me off like everyone else.” She sounded sincere and Wonder’s anger lost some of its edge.

“I didn’t even know what a Rook was, why would I have cared?”

“Because everyone hates the Rook! If I had told you what my people did what would you have thought of me?”

Wonder considered that. “I don’t know, but it would have been nice to have gotten the chance to make up my mind. You were my only friend; I’m sure I would have taken your word over some old stories about what happened in the past.”

“You’re probably right, I was just so afraid of being left alone again. You were my only chance at having a real friend. The Rook kicked me out because I didn’t want to attack the Glitchen, but the Glitchen only ran or tried to attack me because I’m a Rook. I spent most of my life on my own, hiding and watching. I thought the Giants waking up would be the best thing that could happen. I would disappear and nothing would matter anymore, but then I was still here and everyone else was gone. I was more alone than ever! When I saw you just waking up I thought, ‘Here’s my chance. Maybe this is the start of something better.’”

Wonder was dumbfounded. Koro had always changed the subject when Wonder asked about her family. He just assumed Koro missed them and it was too sad to talk about. He had never considered that anyone might be happier in this new version of Ur. “Oh… wow. I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, Koro. I didn’t know.”

Koro dismissed it with a flap of her wing. “I know, I know. It’s not your fault. I should have told you. When you’re forced to live your life as an outcast I guess it makes you paranoid, but that’s no excuse. I just wish—“ but Koro never finished her sentence.

“Well, what do we have here?” Uncle Friendly stepped out from behind a large root near the end of the street looking very pleased with himself. “I heard voices and thought I would come investigate. I’m glad I did. Conspiring with the Rook? I expected more of you, Wonder.”

“No, Uncle Friendly, you don’t understand!” Wonder protested, but Uncle Friendly cut him off.

“I understand enough! The Rook are the enemies of this world and if you’re conspiring with them then that makes you the enemy as well.”

“But—“

“Now, I know you’re young. You’re still learning about this place, but you need to understand: the Rook are evil and they want nothing more than to see this world destroyed. Now, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Uncle Friendly was towering over Wonder staring into him with his gigantic eye. “What did you find in the tower? Did you learn how to call the Giants back?”

Wonder didn’t know what to do. He was feeling panicked and his brain wasn’t working. All he could squeak out was, “No, not exactly.”

“Not exactly? Well, what does that mean?”

And then it was over. Wonder was too scared to think straight and started recounting everything that had happened in Room 23 including Gwendolyn’s plan to wake the Giants. Luckily he was so frightened he jumbled most of it and forgot some key parts, like the Crystal Heart, but Uncle Friendly got enough to understand that he wasn’t going to put the Giants back to sleep; he was going to wake them up and end this world for good.

He stared down at Wonder for a long time in shock until his surprise turned into a self-satisfied smirk. He pulled something from his pocket. “I don’t blame you, Wonder. You’re too young to understand what’s going on and the Rook have twisted your mind. But I can’t let you destroy this world. I have to do what I can to protect it.” He pressed something into Wonder’s hand.

Wonder looked down and saw what looked like a piece of paper. “What is—“

Uncle Friendly squeezed Wonder's hand around the paper and with a pop he disappeared.

Koro squawked and flapped her wings in the tree, but Uncle Friendly just looked up at her and smiled. “Go back to your friends and let them know your plan failed. Uncle Friendly is defending Ur now, and he won’t go down without a fight.” With that he turned and walked back toward the front of the tower.

<< Chapter 10: Room 23 | NOTES | Chapter 12: The Forest at Night >>