Alot of them!”
Behind the pawn, fleet-footed Glass Eyes could be seen rampaging through the streets, overpowering one chessman and card soldier after another. “Unable to locate their point of entry!” the pawn shouted. “They seem to be coming from everywhere!” A Glass Eye was rocketing up fast behind him, getting closer and closer— “Look out!” the rook cried.
The transmission went dead.
The generals were already barking commands into their flip-screen, older model crystal communicators: “All available decks deploy to Obsidian Park!” “For White Imagination’s sake, get civilians off the streets!” But neither the generals nor the chessmen voiced what all knew to be true: They were not equipped to counter a major attack on the capital city, not with the continuum rendered useless, and the numerous decks that had been dispatched to military outposts stranded along the edges of the queendom. “The queen must be informed,” the knight said. “There’s no need.”
They all turned to see Alyss Heart, gifted with the most powerful imagination ever to legally occupy Wonderland’s throne, walking toward the middle of the square with scepter in hand. The sight of her, so matter-of-factly confident, might have been enough to give even the walrus-butler courage, but the chessmen and generals weren’t the walrus-butler. Their courage didn’t need bolstering. They would not whine about the Glass Eyes’ superior numbers. They would not disappoint their queen. The rook unholstered his AD52, checked the supply of projectile decks in its ammo bay. The knight unsheathed his sword and stood at the ready. Generals Doppel and Gänger each split in two, and the four generals each divided again, forming eight generals in all—four Doppels and four Gängers. The more bodies to aid in Wonderland’s defense, the better.
“There!” the knight said.
Alyss had already seen them: a contingent of Glass Eyes bearing down from Slithy Avenue, keeping close to the buildings, darting from vestibule to vestibule. The rook started forward, not one to wait for trouble if he could help it.
“No,” Alyss said. “Let them come.”
“It’ll be the last thing they ever do.”
Alyss spun to her left and—
There stood Dodge, sword in one hand, crystal shooter in the other. They held each other’s gaze. What’s he doing here? I told Bibwit—
“Shouldn’t you be guarding the palace?” the rook asked with a knowing smirk. Dodge shrugged, didn’t take his eyes off Alyss. “First they’re in Wondertropolis, next thing you know
Behind the pawn, fleet-footed Glass Eyes could be seen rampaging through the streets, overpowering one chessman and card soldier after another. “Unable to locate their point of entry!” the pawn shouted. “They seem to be coming from everywhere!” A Glass Eye was rocketing up fast behind him, getting closer and closer— “Look out!” the rook cried.
The transmission went dead.
The generals were already barking commands into their flip-screen, older model crystal communicators: “All available decks deploy to Obsidian Park!” “For White Imagination’s sake, get civilians off the streets!” But neither the generals nor the chessmen voiced what all knew to be true: They were not equipped to counter a major attack on the capital city, not with the continuum rendered useless, and the numerous decks that had been dispatched to military outposts stranded along the edges of the queendom. “The queen must be informed,” the knight said. “There’s no need.”
They all turned to see Alyss Heart, gifted with the most powerful imagination ever to legally occupy Wonderland’s throne, walking toward the middle of the square with scepter in hand. The sight of her, so matter-of-factly confident, might have been enough to give even the walrus-butler courage, but the chessmen and generals weren’t the walrus-butler. Their courage didn’t need bolstering. They would not whine about the Glass Eyes’ superior numbers. They would not disappoint their queen. The rook unholstered his AD52, checked the supply of projectile decks in its ammo bay. The knight unsheathed his sword and stood at the ready. Generals Doppel and Gänger each split in two, and the four generals each divided again, forming eight generals in all—four Doppels and four Gängers. The more bodies to aid in Wonderland’s defense, the better.
“There!” the knight said.
Alyss had already seen them: a contingent of Glass Eyes bearing down from Slithy Avenue, keeping close to the buildings, darting from vestibule to vestibule. The rook started forward, not one to wait for trouble if he could help it.
“No,” Alyss said. “Let them come.”
“It’ll be the last thing they ever do.”
Alyss spun to her left and—
There stood Dodge, sword in one hand, crystal shooter in the other. They held each other’s gaze. What’s he doing here? I told Bibwit—
“Shouldn’t you be guarding the palace?” the rook asked with a knowing smirk. Dodge shrugged, didn’t take his eyes off Alyss. “First they’re in Wondertropolis, next thing you know