Disclaimer: I own Nachtvogel, the Troll King and the Wood Fairies (well, actually I based them on some of the stories about fairies), so they are mine. All of the other characters belong to Disney and Carlos Collodi. Mr. Cherry is a character in the Collodi novel (according to the book he was the guy who sold Gepetto the wood that made Pinocchio). Mrs. Romano was a character in a children's book from the Disney Learner's Series, Pinocchio's Promise.

Note on some of the names: The town is neither named in the book, nor the Disney movie. I just gave it the name of it's author, Collodi and Gideon has no last name that I know of. Goodling just sounded right.

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      The stranger stepped out in the night. He looked over the hill at the small town. Friendly lights flickered in each building full of families either eating supper or tucking their children in, so unassuming of the disaster that lay ahead of them. From the other side of town, the man could hear the bawdy laughter and lewd drunkenness at the Red Lobster Inn, the usual place for drunken reprobates. The man reached into the pocket of his long black overcoat and pulled out the long silver whistle. He knew no child could resist the noise, or no lunatic for that matter. They would be drawn to him, as always.      He put his long gnarled fingers on the flute and began to blow. Revenge as usual will be mine, he thought, showing no emotion as he usually did, remaining cold methodical, and ready.

       Pinocchio Gepetto awoke in the middle of the night, startled at the strange noise he thought he heard. It sounded like the singing of a strange bird, or a whistle in the wind, or some haunting lullaby. Maybe it was a dream, the eleven-year-old boy thought sleepily. He glanced into his father's room. Gepetto was sound asleep, in his bed snoring with Figaro, the black and white kitten asleep at the foot of his bed. Pinocchio's best friend Jiminy Cricket was asleep in his matchbox bed, with his feet propped up on his little hat. Cleo, the gold fish was sound asleep in her little castle Bfishbowl. Pinocchio stayed awake for a few minutes to see if he could hear the sound again. He was about to give up and go back to sleep, when he heard it again.
The weird sound this time seemed to be a song, like a lullaby and also like a chant. "Come to me, " it sang. "Follow me. " Pinocchio swayed a little and felt dazed. More than anything he wanted to follow that voice.
"No, " he said, Remember what Mr. Jiminy said about resisting temptation. " He remembered that he became a real boy last year, because he had proven brave, truthful, and unselfish. He opened his eyes. Yet, the sound still called to him. He tried to block his ears, but still it sang through them. Pinocchio felt overpowered by the music and found himself walking towards it's source. His feet kept walking and walking as he left the house and shut the door.
       Jiminy woke up to the door shutting. First he turned to the direction of the door. "Oh, it's just Pinocchio leaving. " He said drowsily lifting his hat Then, the scene registered and he woke up. "Pinocchio, leaving! Where is he going at this hour? " Jiminy then put on his jacket and followed the little boy. "Maybe, I can catch him and send him home before his father wakes up. " He ran after the little boy into the night hoping he would catch up. "Pinocchio, Pinocchio! " He called, but the wooden boy didn't't answer. It was as if to him, Jiminy wasn't there. The cricket followed him outside in the night, He looked around the town. Other children were leaving their homes, as if sleepwalking. "What the blazes is going on?," Jiminy said.
Suddenly, he and Pinocchio came to a dark shape that swayed in the wind. Jiminy crept behind Pinocchio using his little body to push the boy away, but to no avail. Suddenly, Jiminy felt tired . "No, I gotta stay awake. ," he said slapping his little green face to avoid the tiredness. I can't let this thing get Pino -," but he collapsed on the ground falling asleep.

       J. Worthington Foulfellow and his partner Gideon Goodling, staggered out of the Red Lobster Inn, so intoxicated that they fell into each other while trying to keep their balance. "My friend," Foulfellow replied slapping his friend on the back. " That was one fine job we pulled. That noblewoman didn't't know what hit her. You did a good job imitating her pet cat from beyond the grave!!" He laughed again, as Gideon blushed and tried to offer up the same pathetic ghostly meow he did when fooling the woman, but all that came from his mouth was a tiny hiccup, brought on by the liquor he had doused in the inn.
"As usual, here's half for you, and here's half for me.," Foulfellow smiled giving the cat a bag of gold and keeping one for himself. Gideon clutched it and swung it around his arm, like a schoolchild. Foulfellow looked around at a small group of street children sleepwalking. "Hmm, I wonder where those kids are going. No, matter time to move on, Giddy. Giddy?" But Gideon didn't't hear Foulfellow. All he heard was a weird singing, like a lullaby. It filled what was left of his mind, (and who knew what was left, even he didn't't know.) that it deafened him to any other sound, even his friend calling. All he knew was that he wanted more than anything to follow it to see where it was going. Foulfellow was confused , he grabbed the hand of the retreating cat. "Gideon, where are you going? And why are you acting more dazed than usual? " Gideon moved not hearing his older friend. Foulfellow grew more concerned , but tried to cover it up with laughter. "All right, a joke. Gideon , you've had your fun, now it's over. Come back here!" He grabbed Gideon by the shoulders and held him down restraining him like he did whenever he had a nightmare. Unlike his nightmares, though, Gideon didn't't passively accept it. The cat's eyes widened and he yowled and scratched fighting him, but the taller and stronger fox held him down.
"Listen, I don't know what you're doing, but you're scaring me a little and if you don't come with me right now- ." But Foulfellow didn't finish his sentence, he felt an icy blast around him and a shadow cover them. Suddenly, he felt limped and rained of energy. Without another word, he collapsed in the ally sound asleep.

      The man, who once had a name, but now called himself Nachtvogel, Night Bird, anyway that's how the villagers knew him smiled thinly as the children from the town, and a small amount of lunatics gathered in front of the long black coach. Each of the children had a dazed dreamy expression on their faces as though they were still asleep and dreaming with their eyes open. Well, they shall soon be over it, he thought gleefully. He snapped his fingers as the door to the coach came open and the children lined up and gathered inside. The man towered open , grinning down at them with sharp fanged teeth and burning red eyes. Right now, they were too asleep to notice, but when they came to , he knew they would fear him ,just the way he liked it. He smiled at his catches as they walked in. There was the usual variety of children overweight ones, skinny ones, though little welps, innocent doe eyed ones with nary an evil thought in them, tall ones, short ones,      dark haired , fair haired. The lunatics were the usual too, an overweight man muttering to himself as he walked in, a skinny old woman with coarse gray hair, a young woman hilariously dressed like a princess, but her face revealed her to be a woman of the streets. Finally, the last two surprised him. The first was a boy who looked like any of the others small, about eleven, dark hair, red and yellow suit. But, there was a newness about him, like, it was impossible, but could it be, he was just made alive. Some other magic was definitely afoot, good powerful magic. Not powerful enough to stop him, but definitely could interfere. Proceed with caution, he thought. The last to enter was a cat. Nachtvogel almost shooed him away until he saw, the animal's gold overcoat and green suit. Though animal, this cat had human qualities and the absent look in his eyes revealed him to be clearly a lunatic. He'll pass, he thought as he waved for the cat to enter. Then the door shut with a bang. Nachtvogel stopped for a moment to hear the melodious wail of a woman who woke up to find her baby missing. The man snickered with delight then disappeared into the shadows as quickly as he came.

       Gepetto walked around the town of Collodi concerned, but hopeful that Pinocchio wasn't completely missing. "He didn't have school today ," he told himself "He might be at one of his friends house." He tried to reassure himself, but he wasn't as convinced as he felt. When he woke up to find Pinocchio missing, he hoped he was just out. The door was open slightly maybe he forgot to close it. The old woodcarver, then walked up to the home of his friend, Mr. Cherry, and knocked rapidly on the door hoping that Pinocchio was playing with Cherry's daughter, Therese. Gepetto then heard the sound of the door opening and saw the round chubby short man,. But his normally ruddy jovial face showed worry and concern. Cherry put on his coat while speaking, "Gepetto, I'm very sorry, but I'm in a hurry. An emergency has come up."
       Gepetto nodded . "Me too. Cherry is Pinocchio at your house? I woke up and found that he was gone."
The woodcutter shut the door in surprise. "I was headed out the door looking for Therese." The two men stared incomprehensively at each other, without speaking for a minute. "Both of them gone?" Gepetto asked. Suddenly, a warm motherly voice calling interrupted them. "Roberto, Angela!"
Cherry and Gepetto ran down to see a stout red haired woman calling for them. She then saw the two men. "Mr. Gepetto, Mr. Cherry, have either of you seen my children?" Both men quizzically shook their heads, as Cherry spoke. "No, ma'am. But Pinocchio and Therese are missing, too."
Mrs. Romano's face flushed with worry. "Oh no! What do we do? Where are they?"
Gepetto held the hysterical woman to restrain her. "There now, we'll find them.," He said as the three adults left to find them. Mrs. Romano was the first to speak. "What do you think happened to them?"
"I don't know, " Cherry said. "It seems so mysterious like the work of B" He couldn't't finish it, but he didn't have to . The thought hit all three at once . "-the devil." But nobody could continue it. Fearfully, the three adults crossed themselves against whatever demonic evil and began to search.

      "Sir Jiminy, Sir Jiminy," a soft warm voice broke through Jiminy's thoughts. The tiny cricket struggled a little as he awoke. He found himself staring at the lower hem of a long glowing blue dress. Startled, the cricket then traveled his gaze upward at the Blue Fairy's beautiful face. Jiminy at first blushed and stammered, but then he remembered. "Pinocchio!," the cricket darted around looking for him. "Oh no, he's gone. It's my fault, I'm sorry, ma'am."
"Jiminy, " the fairy reassured him, "It's all right. You were under a spell. Pinocchio's been kidnapped ."
The cricket's heart leapt and he gasped. "Oh no, where is he?"
The fairy shook her head sadly , " I cannot tell you. Something is blocking me from finding him myself, but you must rescue him."
The cricket nodded vigorously. "Don't have to tell me twice, I'll find him, I'll find him right now. You didn't make me Pinocchio's conscience for nothing." He opened his jacket to reveal the gold badge the fairy had made him a year ago.
"Sir Jiminy, you can not work alone.," The Fairy said. "Pinocchio has been kidnapped by a great evil. You must work with another no matter how unwilling. Alone you can't defeat him, but together maybe it's possible."
The cricket agreed. "Whatever it takes man.," The Fairy smiled and blew him a kiss. "I will return when you two meet each other. " She disappeared as Jiminy set out to find his young friend.
       Jiminy rushed through Collodi calling Pinocchio. Everywhere he went, people were either calling for their children, searching for them, or crying because they lost them. Well at least we're not alone, Jiminy thought, but that thought brought no comfort. The cricket felt a knot in his stomach realizing that this was more serious than he thought. "There hadn't been this many kids missing since-," suddenly a thought hit the cricket. "Pleasure Island!" He stomped his foot in irritation, knowing full well who was behind this. "Those degenerate low lifes just wait until I get my hands on them!" he declared, as he searched for a certain fox and cat.

      The stench of garbage was the first thing Foulfellow smelt as he woke up. He clutched his throbbing hung over forehead in agony. "You won't believe the dream I had, Giddy." But then he returned to consciousness, when he saw his little friend was gone. He looked around, fearfully as he recalled the events from last night. The money they got from the job was missing, probably stolen by someone taking advantage of an unconscious fox, but maybe Gideon had it. Foulfellow left the ally looking for his little friend.
       After a few hours Foulfellow felt his voice go hoarse from calling Gideon. The little cat couldn't have gotten far, sure he wandered off, but he always stayed close by because he was afraid of getting lost Foulfellow was half- tempted to leave and forget about him. "Who knows what trouble the little guy could get into on his own," The fox thought , a lump forming in his throat., but he covered it up with a cough. "Gideon, if you're not out here by the time I count five, I will, uh, leave and keep your share for myself," Foulfellow shouted figuring a lie wouldn't hurt anyone. "One, two, uh, seven , umm, four, eight , ten." As he counted , Foulfellow walked as he counted, unaware that someone had tripped into him, with a scream and a yowl , the two bodies fell over.
       Both Foulfellow and Jiminy got up from their tumble and stared straight at each other. "Honest John!," Jiminy declared.
       "Are you a lawman?," Foulfellow asked. Jiminy shook his head, and the fox laughed, :Then , yes, I am Honest John."
      "What have you done with Pinocchio?," the cricket yelled. The fox rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm, Pinocchio, Pinocchio. That name sounds familiar," The fox said, then it hit him, "Ah yes, he was that little stringless puppet got lots of money from him. Top dollar. Haven't seen him."
"You liar," Jiminy yelled. "You took him and the other kids to Pleasure Island!"
"Uh, no, I didn't," Foulfellow said sarcastically. "I've been here the whole time."
" I wonder why I don't believe you," the cricket said sarcastically.
"Believe what you want, I could reminisce with you about past misdeeds for seconds, but right now I'm rather busy looking for my partner who apparantly has gone AWOL, and I have no idea where he is. Though the fact that someone stole my idea infuriate me. Maybe, I should charge less."
       "You low life!," Jiminy yelled. "And another thing," Foulfellow said. "Who are you?"
"I'll have you know, I'm Pinocchio's conscience!", the cricket's face turned red from his anger.
"Oh," Foulfellow said gregariously, "I thought you'd be taller."
The cricket waved his umbrella in front of the fox's face, like a preacher delivering a sermon. "Listen here if men were measured by their kindness why you'd be no bigger than a speck of dust!"
Foulfellow laughed. "Well, that's a lovely sentiment , quite moving and charming. You know, maybe I've been looking at my life all wrong and it took your speech to inspire me. Then again,." He flicked him on the ground, "Maybe not."
Jiminy clenched his teeth. "Why you, fine!" Jiminy thought about what the fox said. He was obviously surprised by what he said about Pinocchio being missing, but then he could have been acting. On the other hand, the cat who usually hung around him was gone. Realizing he was chasing a dead end, Jiminy was about to turn on his heels. "Ah, let him look for his partner. He probably left, who'd be willing to work with him." Willing? Why did that word sound so familiar? Then suddenly Jiminy remembered the Blue Fairy's words, You must work with him no matter how unwilling. The cricket shook his head, "No, ma'am. Not him please anyone but him." He suddenly felt a burst of energy sting him. "All right, all right." Then he whistled for the fox.
"What do you want?," Foufellow asked.
"Listen there is a good chance that your partner may not have left. He may have been kidnapped and if it wasn't you, it may be the same thing that took Pinocchio and the kids. I have it from a higher authority that we have to work together to find them. " There was a short silence as Foulfellow doubled over in laughter. "Me work with you? That is probably the most hilarious thing I have ever heard and here I didn't think purists like you had a sense of humor!"
The cricket gasped in indignation. "Listen, this was not my idea-"
"Sir Jiminy, Mr. Foulfellow stop! ," a voice called. The two men stopped their fighting long enough to see a beautiful woman step between them. For once in his life, Foulfellow was speechless. But he quickly recovered. "My dear , this may come as a complete shock to you, but you're gorgeous. Have you ever thought of a career on the stage?"
"No," the Blue Fairy said sternly. " I will make this brief , Pinocchio, your friend, Mr. Foulfellow, and the children have been taken by an evil spirit. You must work together, if you are going to find them. Surely, your friendships are more important than your anger at each other." Both Foulfellow and Jiminy scuffled their feet embarrassed. Without speaking, they both agreed that yes finding Pinocchio and Gideon was more important. The fairy continued. "Like I told Sir Jiminy, I can not tell you where they are , but I can tell you this: trust each other, rely on each other, and you can defeat this evil together. Beware of glamour, that is the most important advice and don't lose your way or all will be lost. Good luck." She smiled and disappeared.
Foulfellow smiled maliciously as he watched her go. "Where was she when I needed a fairy godmother?"
"Yeah," Jiminy blushed, but then he returned to normal. "Look, this is serious. We're both missing someone , so we might as well work together. Temporary truce?" He stuck out his tiny hand.
Foulfellow hesitated, but then took out his finger and they shook. "Truce, but this changes nothing. I still don't like you."
"Same here," Jiminy said. He hopped down as they left. "One other thing," Foulfellow said," I'm warning you if you try to lecture me, I have a fly swatter and I'm not afraid to use it." The cricket glowered in disdain as they left in search of their missing friends.

       Pinocchio' woke to see only darkness. He blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he was in a cave that was barely lit with candles encased in the rocks. He was surrounded by people most of whom he didn't know, most of them kids , but some were older. Pinocchio wandered around the place scared. Where was he? He couldn't remember how he got there or why. He walked a little further and he heard screams of torture coming from another room. Pinocchio shivered in fear and stepped back. Suddenly, he bumped into a person. He turned around and saw a girl, a few years younger than him. She had dirty blond hair that hung around her shoulders, and was very skinny, so skinny in fact her face looked like death. Tears were streaming down her wide blue eyes. "I'm scared," she said. Pinocchio backed up a little further into an old woman, She knelt down to him ,her face lined and coarse. Her long nose and eerie voice reminded Pinocchio of a witch. "Don't be frightened son, Granny will take care of you.," she said and cackled loudly. The boy looked to the side and saw a dwarfish monster leering down at him with a big whip.
       Terrified, the former puppet ran to the other side of the cave in an attempt to get away from the screams, the frightening people, anything. He suddenly reached for the first hand he could. It didn't feel human, like his father's. It felt furry and there were claws at the end. The little boy jumped with fright and almost dropped the hand when the person looked down at him. Pinocchio smiled a little and calmed down a little.
"I know you, you're that cat who was with Honest John!," Pinocchio said, grateful at least that he was with someone he knew. The cat narrowed his eyebrows and then pursed his lips in concentration, as if Pinocchio had asked him a really hard algebra question. Then he looked up and nodded.
Pinocchio cowered remembering what Jiminy told him about Honest John being temptation. The cat kindly shook his head, and held onto Pinocchio's hand. He fixed Pinocchio a look, in his silent way, like he wouldn't hurt him. The boy relaxed a little and stood next to the cat. "DO you know where we are?"
The cat shrugged and shook his head, but he too looked around in fear. "What's your name?," Pinocchio asked. The cat looked down, and Pinocchio nodded remembering, "Oh, you can't talk." Some of the screams got louder and Pinocchio, Gideon, and the other people jumped in fright. Pinocchio leaned closer to Gideon and the cat wrapped his arms around the boy, just as much for his benefit as Pinocchio's.
       A tall thin man approached them, glaring down at his prisoners through his burning red eyes that narrowly shown above his pointed nose. He grinned showing his sharp carnivorous teeth.
"Welcome to the Under World or as you humans would call it, your Hell!," he said. Several small dark creatures laughed at this comment. Many of the prisoners cowered against each other. Some of the smaller children started crying. The man smiled, seeming to get a kick out of this. "You will work in the mines for me and my people until we no longer have use for you. Now, my dears, should you think of escaping. You are in my world, and every year that passes here will be like a hundred in your world. "
The little girl that Pinocchio ran from started sobbing. "I want to go home! I want my mummy and Daddy! Please mister my brother ran away last year."
The man tilted his head to look at the little girl. He trailed his black nailed gnarled fingers around her cheek and chin. The girl shivered. Pinocchio moved like he was about to interefere, But Gideon held him back with his hand and shook his head. They watched, terrified and silent. "Such a violent out burst, for a young lady.," the man said, with such a kind voice it sent chills down Pinocchio's spine. "What's your name child?," the man asked.
"Um, Sara, sir.," she said. "And you have a mummy and daddy, and you have a brother, had a brother. What was his name?"
"Alexander, sir.," Sara said, tears running down her innocent blue eyes.
The man smiled wickedly. "No, you don't have a family." So saying, he put his hand on the little girl's face and gave her body a slight push. As he held the girl, her body became more stooped and wizened and her pretty golden hair became coarse and gray. Finally, as he finished he sighed with delight and threw her lifeless body on the ground. Both Gideon and Pinocchio covered their eyes in fright to avoid the image of the girl staring through sightless eyes.
       The man then turned to the other prisoners . "Here you have no family! You have no name and you are no one! Do you understand?" The victims nodded and the creatures directed them to the mines to work. Gideon and Pinocchio stayed together as they went to one section.

       Foulfellow and Jiminy skipped through the rickety dockyard to the Red Lobster. "Are you sure we're going to find someone who will tell us where Pinocchio and Gideon went?," Jiminy asked for the hundredth time.
Foulfellow nodded. "Sure, if bigwigs want something done they come here and higher scum like me to take care of it. Wait that didn't come out right."
. "Tell me what do you think happened?" Jiminy asked.
The fox shrugged. "I really can't say, it could be anything. Miss Wings wasn't exactly direct with sort of evil it was. But it could be someone doing the Pleasure Island bit, but then what would they want with Gideon? He's scared to death of the place. It could also be a baron, or a count, or any noble. Sometimes they pay people like me to kidnap poor children and sell them to barren rich families for a profit."
Jinminy's mouth dropped open in shock. "That's horrible! Did you ever do that?"
Foulfellow nodded. "Tchah, they pay good money, so it pays the bills. But to be honest I don't like doing it. Kids are annoying and get pretty whiny when they are taken from their parents. Relax, I don't think it's that either. These guys only take one or two kids, not the whole town. Besides, again, why take Gideon? He couldn't be someone's kid and he's not bright enough to be servant. Also, whatever happened last night had to be magic. These blokes are professionals, but as far as I know they are not magical. Let's go in and find out what they know." He held open the door to the Inn as the cricket jumped in. "Little bit of advice, don't say the wrong thing to these people, don't say the right thing to these people. In fact don't you say anything at all."
Jiminy crossed his arms and spoke defiantly. "For your information, I can handle these people just fine. My daddy used to minister to criminals."
"Okay, your funeral," Foulfellow invited.

             The stench of alcohol and cigars made Jiminy gag as they entered the inn. The clientele consisted mostly of humans, but a few anthromorphic criminals. Jiminy looked around the room terrified but trying to hide it. For some reason these criminals looked a lot bigger and tougher than the ones his father ministered. He gulped but stayed behind Foulfellow without a comment. The two of them went up to the bar. Foulfellow smiled and waved at the large blond busty woman behind the bar. Her golden locks were pulled into a tight braid around her head and her green and red drindel showed her substantial bust line. Jiminy smiled at the woman. "Woah," he sighed.
"Evening Mitzi," Foulfellow called. "Hi, Johann," Mitzi said, "Here to finally pay your tab?"
"In your dreams," Foulfellow grinned. "Seen Tony?"
Mitzi shook her head. "Not that I know of, but he could be upstairs."
Foufellow smiled . " I know a way to get his attention. Meantime, I'll have a beer."
"And your little red friend?" Mitzi asked pointing to the cricket who realized he was still blushing. Jiminy cleared his throat. "None for me, ma'am."
As she served his beer, Foulfellow took a long sip. "Now what?," Jiminy asked impatiently.
"Watch and learn.," Foulfellow said, holding a small wad of money in the air and then rolling it with his thumb. After a few second, five thugs walked up. "Did I hear the sound of money in the air?" asked a tall broad man, with a bushy beard.
"Depends on what information you can give us, Tony," Foulfellow said.
The tall man, Tony nodded and smugly grinned at the other four men who sat down. "Information, yeah, I can do it."
"Okay," Foulfellow said, then he leaned over to Jiminy. "Warning Tony may not give you a real answer or he may give you none at all. Sometimes, he's a liar."
"Takes one to know one," Jiminy said.
"I don't see you having any ideas!," Foulfellow hissed. The cricket and the fox went back and forth in anger, until Tony stopped them. "Johnny, got a proposition or what?"
"Yeah, could you tell me if you've seen anything about any kids or my friend, you know the cat disappearing with somebody?"
The man pondered it for a few minutes before responding. "Yes, I saw a man, or was it a woman. No, it was a man definitely a man with five , or was it ten no a whole bunch of kids last night."
"What did he look like?," Jiminy asked.
"He was tall, no wait he was short. No, medium. Yes, he was definitely tall. And he had long stringy hair, no it was a crew cut. Maybe it was medium length."
Jiminy rolled his eyes and approached Foulfellow. "It's obvious this guy doesn't know anything. He's a complete moron."
Tony stood up to his full eight feet, enraged. His eyes flashed furiously. "Did I forget to mention that Tony is extremely sensitive?" Foulfellow asked.
Jiminy laughed grandly. "Of course moron is American Southern for really great, really swell guy. "
That was as far as he got when Tony grabbed them and picked them up by the lapels.
"Look this is all a big misunderstanding," Foulfellow yelled, as they were tossed out the door.
"Thanks a lot, that went over well, " Foulfellow said sarcastically to Jiminy.
"Johann," Mitzi whispered to them and pointed for them to join her. When the three of them went in the back of the inn, she spoke. "I did see something strange last night. A very strange looking man came to the bar last night. He was by himself and wore a long black over coat that covered his face. He had this eerie voice that sent chills down my spine. He ordered a lager, and when he paid for it, I noticed his hand was gnarled and hairy. He frightened me, he reminded me of a what is the creature?"
"A werewolf," Foulfellow asked. "A vampire, " Jiminy asked.
Mitzi nodded. "Ja, a vampire. Anyway, the man spoke to no one just drank his lager and left. He didn't even sleep at the inn. What was even stranger was later that night, I had trouble sleeping so I went for a walk and saw some street people like Senora Roselli, and Gideon go into this long black hearse.
I watched as it went up into the Alps. The next morning, I hear the kids were gone."
Jiminy and Foulfellow exchanged glances. "The Alps, that's where they went!"
"But, that is not the half of it," Mitzi said," Last week I got a letter from my sister Helga, who lives across the border in Switzerland and where she lives there is a lunatic asylum. Well, one morning she said that they discovered they were gone. One of the doctors said they got up and left like they were in a trance."
Foulfellow and Jiminy nodded as they got up to leave. "Thank you Mitzi," Jiminy said. Mitzi smiled then held out her hand. Foulfellow sighed and parted with the money, slowly. "Consider it your tab," Mitzi said as they left.
       The fox and cricket glanced up at the mountainous range. Foulfellow got up and headed for the opposite direction. "Well, I'm off. It was nice meeting you. I hope you find Pinocchio and good luck. Send me a postcard of your progress will you?"
"Where are you going?," Jiminy asked. "You're not afraid are you?"
Foulfellow was about to shake his head. "All right if you must know, I am a little afraid. With Mitzi's description , he doesn't sound like a wonderful guy. And judging by what both she and Angel Girl told us , he sounds magical. I'm not up to facing magic creatures, believe me they are trouble. And, also people are kind of looking for us in Switzerland."
"What about Gideon? Don't you care about him?," Jiminy asked.
Foulfellow stopped and sighed. "He knows the risk. Look it's not that I don't care about him. But, I've got to look after myself. He knows that."
"Does he? I can't believe you're being so selfish!," Jiminy said angrily. Foulfellow turned away deep in thought. Jiminy tried to bargain. "If we were get through this, and I'll do everything I can to get you off. Is that all right?"
"You would do that?," Foulfellow asked, interested.
"Sure," Jiminy said. Foulfellow nodded. "All right, let's go then." The two then went up the pathway into the dark mountains.

      Foulfellow and Jiminy stayed pretty close behind each other as they wandered up to the mountains. Along the way, Jiminy kept putting stone and birck markings together so they can remember where they came from. Apart from some minor cursing and warnings to watch where they were going. Neither had much to say to each other. Foulfellow stepped on what felt like the hundredth branch and cursed in pain. Do you have any idea where we might be going?," he complained and rubbed his sore foot.
Jiminy shook his head. "No and it doesn't really matter as long as I find Pinocchio."
Foulfellow sighed. "You're going through all of this just for some kid, who isn't related to you , has no ties to you, and all you ever do is tell him whether something is right or wrong more than likely the kid never listens. Why should you stick your neck out for him?"
"I'll tell ya why," Jiminy said . "He's my friend, and I could say the same thing about you! You don't seem to care that your partner's gone."
Foulfellow looked down at the cricket. "Hey, just because I make my living scamming stupid people out of money, just because I spend most of my dishonest earnings on booze and gambling, doesn't mean I don't care about someone! Gideon is my oldest friend. I've known the welp since he was born. We lost our families around the same time, so he's my only one."
Jiminy's eyes widened in slight surprise. "You don't have a family?"
Foulfellow nodded and shrugged. "Kind of pathetic, isn't it?"
Jiminy shook his head. "Not really, I guess we have that in common. Both my folks died when I was little, too. " Foulfellow looked around and didn't know what else to say. "Do you want to talk about it?" Jiminy asked.
"I don't think we're friends enough to tell each other, about our lives , just yet.," Foulfellow quipped. "Maybe some other time."
Jiminy nodded and the two walked a little further on. Foulfellow suddenly felt the ground go soft and give way under his feet. He screamed as he fell down. "Foulfellow!," Jimniny called down the hole. Hearing no answer, Jiminy opened his umbrella and sailed down the hole.

       The passage was dark, but lit by a slight iridescence. Jiminy sailed down gracefully, trying to hear any sign of the fox. "Foulfellow!," he called. "Are you all right?" the only answer Jiminy could hear was his voice echoing in the walls. "Yell once for yes and twice for no! Don't yell at all if you can't hear me." The cricket laughed slightly at his own joke. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Jiminy could see the jewels as he went down, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds. Even though he didn't care either way about riches. Jiminy couldn't help, but be impressed by the jewels around him. "What a place.," he whistled.
Around him, he thought he heard the sound of tinkly laughter. The cricket suddenly felt very frightened. "Foulfellow!," he called. Finally, he landed on the ground.
Jiminy looked around where he landed. He was in a green garden surrounded by the most fragrant of flowers. The sun warmed him with a cool breeaze. "Wasn't it night before?," Jiminy asked.
"Cricket!," Jiminy heard a familiar voice yell. The cricket looked up to see Foulfellow. Jiminy ran up to the fox. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're okay."
"Hmm, thanks," the fox smirked at the backhanded compliment. "Where are we?," the cricket asked.
"I have absolutely no idea., Foulfellow said. Suddenly, they heard more female laughter. The fox and the cricket jumped with surprise. "Call me crazy, but I think we're being watched.," the cricket said.
Suddenly, five beautiful women surrounded them and danced in a circle. "Okay Crazy, brilliant deduction," Foulfellow said.
Then a thought struck Jiminy. "They might know where our friends are." He then cleared his throat and called out. "Uh, hi ladies. We're looking for a hearse that might be carrying a bunch of kids and lunatics. It's our belief it went this way. Do you know of it?"
The five ladies surrounded the fox and cricket closer making sure they didn't escape. They nodded as they pointed the two men to a beautiful ivory colored castle. They were dressed in clear dresses that seemed to reveal quite a bit and flowers dotted their outfits. The women smiled at the men with glowing pink, gold, violet, green, and rainbow colored eyes. The women had white, black, silver, red, and pink colored hair that shone in the sun. To Foulfellow and Jiminy they were more beautiful than any other women they had ever seen.
"Foulfellow, I don't think these are human women.," Jiminy whispered.
"What was your first clue?," Foulfellow asked pointing at the wings on their backs. "They are fairies."
"Mother, " the pink headed fairy called to the back room. "We have visitors."
The curtain pulled open to reveal a tall woman, in a long flowing silvery dress with a cloak that trailed to the end. Her clear aquiline eyes showed a wide interest in the men. Her face was narrow and thin like her daughters. Her golden hair trailed all the way down to her ankles and was pulled in a braid. A small tiara covered the top of her head.
"My name is Llanore, Queen of the Wood Fairies, and welcome to my home and I see you met my daughters ," the girls lined up as she introduced them. Starting with the white haired one, "Isolde," the dark haired one, " Daphne," to the silver haired one, " Golaris," the red head, "Erin", and the pink haired one, "and Lorelei," she said in a soft clear voice. "We don't receive many visitors. What do we owe this honor?"
Foulfellow and Jiminy glanced at each other, until Foulfellow got up to meet her. It puzzled him, when he saw the Blue Fairy he wasn't afraid to make comments to her, but with this woman, he felt nervous like he was in the presence of the closest thing he could get to royalty.
"Miss, my friend, Gideon, his friend Pinocchio, and a whole town of kids were taken by this man and driven away by a hearse. Now surely a woman as beautiful as yourself, must know everything about the mountains and any going ons."
Llanore stood pensive. "Yes, I know what happened and who took them, but you had better come with me." She then pointed them to the direction of the back room. "This can't be good," Jiminy whispered.
"Who cares?," Foulfellow asked.
Llanore then led them to a dining room that had already been set with food and drink. Foulfellow casually grabbed one of the goblets and took a drink. "Before I explain to you what has happened, first let me request that you have dinner with us."
She invited them to sit down and the two did. They looked hesitantly at their meals, but Foulfellow's rumbling stomach got the better of him and he took a bite of the lobster. Jiminy shrugged and first nibbled on his food, but then decided to chow down on his fried chicken. As they ate and drank, Llanore spoke. "A terrible creature called Nachtvogel took your friends. He is a troll who every hundred years, in your time, appears to take children and those who are childlike, what you would call lunatics."
"Why does he take them?," Jiminy asked.
"Because the trolls rely on humans to work for them and they prefer those who can't fight them. Also, Nachtvogel was once human, himself, a musician in fact. And many years ago, he met the Troll King who gave him eternal life and the ability to lure anyone with his magic, in exchange for eternal servitude. So, in a split second he was human no more. ," the queen said.
"Where is this Nak vogy, person?", Foulfellow asked.
"Nachtvogel," Llanore corrected. "And he's in the mountainous regions to the North where we call the Forbidden Place."
"Can you take us there?," Jiminy asked.
Llanore shook her head. "My daughters and I are not allowed to leave this part of the wood.,"
She watched closely as Foulfellow and Jiminy finished the last of their food. The cricket was the first to stand up. Even though he felt a little dazed, he tried to be determined. "Well, then we'd better get going. Thank you Llanore for the food and the info. Coming Foulfellow?"
The fox stood up, but then he also felt dazed. "Yes, I guess we'd better leave."
The five daughters then appeared. "Must you go so soon?," the red head asked. "We were just going to show you our vault."
Foulfellow's eyes shone and Jiminy half expected to see dollar signs appear on them. "Your vault?"
He asked. Erin and Daphne opened a large door and gold and jewels spilled out and outshone the entire house. Foulfellow smiled like a child at Christmastime. "Thank you ladies." He whispered content.
"Now, who was it you were looking for?," Llanore asked slyly.
"I was looking for umm, uh, a cat I can't remember," Foulfellow said feeling his brain go foggy, puzzled why he couldn't remember, but then realized it didn't matter. He wandered off to the vaults to play in the treasure. He rolled the coins on his fingers, even tried to go swimming in the money, but found it didn't work. I guess that only applies to ducks, he thought. He then waved Erin and Daphne in.
Jiminy slapped his forehead. "Foulfellow, we have to keep looking for them.," he trailed off at the last word realizing he couldn't remember the kid's name, or his face.
Isolde, Golaris, and Lorelei shrunk themselves down to Jiminy's size. "Oh don't let it trouble you," Isolde said rubbing Jiminy's head.
"Yes, everything you want is right here," Golaris said.
"Stay with us," Lorelei begged.
Jiminy smiled, "Well maybe I can stay for a little while."
"Why don't you catch me?," Lorelei invited. Then without another word, she darted from the cricket. Jiminy blushed and ran after the fairy. Llanore smiled and looked on.

       Pinocchio took the small shovel and dug in the dirt. He rubbed his tired eyes in an attempt to stay awake. His back ached from the constant motion and he stopped whistling to try to get a hold of Jiminy. The cricket was nowhere to be found. He wasn't sure how long he had been there for hours it seemed, but it could have been days for all he knew. No light from the outside shone on them. Pinocchio felt his eyes fill, he was starting to forget his father's face, and the village. Everything was a blur. The screams still terrified him.
A small voice all of a sudden broke through his thoughts. Even though it was close by, the voice was very faint and hoarse like it hadn't bee used in awhile. It even sounded like it was singing. :
"Wrap me up in the oilskins and blankets
No more on the docks, I'll be seen
Just tell me old shipmates ,I'm taking a trip mates
"nd I'll see you someday in Fiddler's Green."
      Pinocchio looked around for the voice, until he turned next to him and saw Gideon cutting at a piece of rock with a pick. "Can you talk?" Gideon looked up in surprise realizing he had been caught. "Did you sing that song?"
"I can talk any time except when Mummy tells me too, she says that when she's with a bloke, she don't want to hear a word out of me, not a single word." Gideon said, with a dazed Cockney voice.
"I like that song," Pinocchio said. "It sounds like a lullaby."
Gideon nodded. "Mummy used to sing it to me when I was little, except when those men show up. They are mean to Mummy, and she's scared that they'd be mean to me. So I can't talk. Since the fire she don't sing anymore, she don't."
Privately, Pinocchio could understand why Gideon didn't talk much. He didn't seem to understand what he was saying, but still he continued. "Do you miss your mummy, uh I mean Mother?," the boy asked.
"DO you miss your Mother?," Gideon repeated.
"I don't have a mother," Pinocchio said. "I only have a father, but I miss him. I want to go home to him."
"There you are then," Gideon said. "You don't have a mother, only a father and you miss him. I don't have a father only a mother, and I miss her. Only trouble is, I can't go home to her. Do you have John? Johnnie takes care of me. He's like my brother. I make him mad sometimes, but he still looks after me."
"Mr. Jiminy looks after me too," Pinocchio said, "I miss him too."
      An ugly dwarfish man with an eyepatch appeared behind them. "What's your name?" he asked.
"No one," Gideon said softly.
"Are you talking? Get to work!," he exploded. Then he threw Gideon to the ground and hit him with the whip. The cat shivered and howled in pain.
This was too much for Pinocchio. He stood in front of the dwarf and kicked him in the shins. "You leave him alone!," he yelled.
The dwarf was taken aback at the obstinate child. Without another word, he hit Pinocchio in the stomach knocking the boy down. "I'm being generous so I won't torture you.," he said, "Consider me the nice one around here. Back to work then!" So saying , he walked away.
When he was gone, Pinocchio leaned over and helped Gideon to stand. The cat picked up the pick and got back to work. Silently, he and Pinocchio began to sing together.

       Jiminy and Lorelei sat in a swan that gave them both a ride along the small river. They both had some nectar in flower petals. They clinked petals and drank. For the first time in a long time, the cricket felt peaceful . Oh, he had a weakness for ladies, but not one of them ever returned his affections, except Lorelei. He finally knew what it was like to be in love with someone.
"What are you thinking of Jimmy?," Lorelei asked.
"Oh nothing, just wondering what led me to you, that's all.," He said slowly.
"Oh don't let that trouble you," the fairy said.
"I know.," Jiminy said. The cricket kissed her, then leaned over the swan to pick a water lily from the bank. As he did, he happened to glance in the water. He should have seen Lorelei's head next to him. Instead, he saw a hideous gray creature with large ears and sharp teeth. Jiminy gulped as he looked closer at the reflection. The lovely garden was really a thorny dry mess. What am I doing here?, the cricket thought. Then as with all the other memories another one reentered his head. Coming to Pinocchio's house, being declared his conscience, helping him through the Pleasure Island and Stormboli incidents, his elation when the puppet became a real boy. Then suddenly he remembered, the Blue Fairy's words. "Beware of glamour." He gulped remembering the stories of his childhood about fairies who trap people and send them to their kingdom to live forever. He turned to Lorelei, feeling very nervous, but not wanting to show it.
"Lorelei, how long have I been in your world?," Jiminy asked.
The pink headed fairy thought for a minute. "A couple of hours."
"I meant my time," Jiminy said.
Lorelei nodded. "Three weeks." A shock wore through the cricket. The swan stopped in the bank and the two stepped out. "Are you all right, Jiminy?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong," Jiminy gasped. "Would you excuse me for a minute?" He then stepped away to the castle and into the vault.
Foulfellow was still there, living the high life dancing with Erin and Daphne and wearing fancy clothes. Occasinally, he stopped and played with and counted his money. Jiminy called him to him. "Ahh, Cricket, thanks so much for leading me here. It's like my Paradise, I have money, beauties, and no cops breathing on my tail. "
Jiminy motioned him forward. "Foulfellow can I see you for a moment? Uh, Isolde and Golaris want to see you."
Foulfellow's eyes widened as he spoke to Erin and Daphne who pouted. "Now, don't worry ladies there's plenty for all" He followed Jiminy to the dining room. "Hey, Isolde and Golaris aren't here!"
"I need to talk to you. This is an illusion, none of this is real. It's just a trap to keep us here.", Jiminy said. "I was with Lorelei and I looked in the water and saw a hideous beast."
"Did you tell her that? You know she would probably beat the living daylights out of you.," the fox said.
"Look, you're lying to me."
"But," Jiminy began.
"No, I don't care!," Foulfellow said "So what if it isn't real? It doesn't matter, I want to stay! Go away. Just because you struck out with Lorelei, you are not going to rain on my parade! Good Bye."
Jiminy sighed and walked away. Foulfellow then went back to the vault and to the waiting arms of the girls.
Erin cuddled up closely to him and began to kiss him on the face towards the ear. Foulfellow laughed slyly , but his eyes moved to a gold plate and through the gold plate he could see he was not among money and gold, but rocks and paper. Erin, who was nibbling at his ear was no longer a beautiful woman, but a creature who was beginning to eat at him. "Gideon," he said remembering the name for the first time in days. He recalled each memory of his little cat friend, not wanting to forget anything about his friend ever again. "Wait!," he pulled Erin off him.
"What?," Erin asked.
Foulfellow laughed. "It's just this isn't complete without wine. I'll go find your mother and scare, uh, ask her for a nibble, uh I mean bottle. Bye!" He then dashed out of the vault calling Jiminy. "Cricket!,"
Jiminy ran to him. "Okay, you were right. I'm sorry."
"Oh Foulfellow," Jiminy smiled. Then they heard a loud clap of thunder. "Apologize later." The two sprinted out of the castle.
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed all through the land and the earth rumbled. "Something tells me that they know that we know." Jiminy said.
"But do we know that they know that we know?," Foulfellow asked. Suddenly six gray creatures appeared to them. "Looks like it."
They surrounded the two men, smacking their lips in anger their teeth showing blood stains. "I hope this doesn't mean we can't still be friends." Foulfellow joked weakly. Two of the gargoyle like creatures snarled at him. "I guess not."
Jiminy looked at a very tall tree that seemed to cover the forest. "Foulfellow grab the branch!" The cricket used his umbrella to fly to the top. Foulfellow then leaped up to the tree branch trying to push his full weight up the tree. "Keep climbing!," Jiminy said. The cricket and the fox climbed up the tree with the six beasts right under them. One of them grabbed Foulfellow's feet, and Jiminy poked at her eye with his umbrella. The beast winced and fell. Another grabbed at Jiminy and would have devoured him whole if Foulfellow hadn't kicked her down. The further up they went, the less frequent the Wood Fairies could catch them. Foulfellow and Jiminy held onto the branches for dear life, until they could see light in front of them. "We're almost to the top!," Foulfellow said.
The fox then put his hands across the opening and then hoisted himself up. Then he reached down and picked up Jiminy. The creatures tried to come out of the hole, but an invisible force seemed to forbid it.
Jiminy and Foulfellow waved at the Wood Fairies teasingly. "Next time, order take out ladies.," Foulfellow said. Then the cricket and the fox looked at each other. "Thanks, Cricket for helping me." Foulfellow said.
"Yeah, you too, for a reprobate you can be pretty nice."
Yeah, and I guess you're all right for a purist.," Foulfellow returned.

      Foulfellow and Jiminy ran from the Wood Fairies, and didn't stop until they were several miles from their place. When they were sure that they were far behind them, the two stopped and took a breath. Foulfellow sat down and felt like his chest would explode. Jiminy was panting so hard his green exo-skeleton looked pale. Foulfellow took out a small canteen and filled the top with water and handed it to the cricket. "Here," he said.
"Thanks," Jiminy said. "You sure come prepared." He sipped the water thirstily.
"Well, it comes in handy since we're on the road all the time. We also bring food, but not always enough. It keeps us going, until we come to the next tavern or unoccupied house. "
Jiminy put the water down and eyed the fox critically. He didn't want to be rude, but he was curious anyway. " But it must be a horrible way to live always on the run from the law, always looking over your shoulder. Why risk it?
Foulfellow shrugged. "It's a living, besides it's what I learned. My father taught me everything he knew."
"What happened to him?," Jiminy asked.
The fox sighed. "Is this a lecture or do you really want to know?"
"I really want to know," Jiminy said.
"He was hung, all right?," Foulfellow blurted out. " Okay, you can put your two cents in. The courts said it, the workhouse people said it when I came to them, you might as well say it too. >the devil got one of his own,' or >another scum gotten rid of' or just simply >he deserved it!' Gideon's mother died in a fire, some rich guy with a bad temper sets the fire and of course doesn't get caught for it. My father her best friend, normally a cool even- tempered chap who could charm anyone gets mad, takes a gun and shoots the guy. No plan, no forethought to it, just sees him in the streets and bang! Of course the police come and arrest my father, look up his record and discover he's a thief and a con artist and put him to trial. Before you can say bob's your uncle' he's found guilty. " Foulfellow winced and felt his eyes fill. It had been awhile since he thought of that time. He couldn't believe that he was telling Jiminy the truth something he hardly ever did. "I still remember him staring at me, as they took him. Have you ever had to look into someone's eyes right at the moment they know they are going to die? It's a horrible look that you never get out of your system. Of course why would you? Life has always been easy for you."
Jiminy shot up from his seat. "Where do you get off? I know exactly what it's like to lose someone I love very much! My father got real sick one winter. I thought he was going to get better, only he didn't. After he died, my mother had a real hard time with it. She couldn't get over him and died a few months later. It was God's will, they said, but we were living in a church, so I guess they would think that. I jumped from house to house, until I landed in Pinocchio's house. It was the first time, in a long time, that I felt like I belonged."
Jiminy lowered his head. Foulfellow leaned over and kindly placed his fingers on Jiminy's shoulder near his badge in comfort. The cricket responded by putting his hand on the fox's finger.
Jiminy jumped after a few minutes. "We'd better continue looking for them, we wasted enough time at the Wood Fairies."
"Right," Foulfellow agreed . "Let's go. Now, where do we go?"
"I don't know, keep looking. Lanore said it was North of here, so I guess we'd better head in that direction." Jiminy said.
"In lack of a better plan, I guess we'd better do that." Foulfellow said heading one way.
"Foulfellow," Jiminy called. "North is this side." The cricket said pointing in the opposite direction.
"Oh yeah, well then let's head that way," Foulfellow agreed.

      Nachtvogel stood on the cliffs and looked out into the bank, in fury. He knew the Wood Fairies weren't to be trusted. Llanore had tried to sway them from their path, but she also told them the truth about him and his location. He should never have trusted a fairy. Relations between fairies and trolls weren't exactly warm, especially Wood Fairies. He thought he had her when he promised if she kept any pursuers away, she would get to keep them in her Wood. But, of course she went back on that promise.
He cheered up knowing that the only pursuers so far were a cricket and a fox. Apparently, the townspeople are too afraid of me, he thought with delight, but still two pursuers are two too many. He looked down from the hill and saw the fox and the cricket. He grinned and played his flute. From far away he could tell that a bear and a wolf were summoned to his call. "Attack my pursuers.," he commanded as they arrived. Nachtvogel grinned as the fox and the cricket looked up to see him. After this I'll go to the cave to get a light snack, he thought as he disappeared .

       Jiminy looked and pointed up the hill. "Foulfellow, look! That guy look familiar?"
Foulfellow saw the man. "Knock Voltaire!"
"Nachtvogel," Jiminy corrected. "Remember, he flattened us last time. Let's be careful."
"Right approach with stealth." Foulfellow said. The two of them separated and ran up on opposite sides of the hill not seeing the troll disappear. Jiminy scurried up the hill. "Pinocchio," he said to himself, "I;m doing this for Pinocchio." Suddenly, a wolf appeared and snarled at the cricket. Jiminy tried to dart from him, but the wolf breathed down on him. The cricket could see himself reflected in the wolf's clear eyes. "I'm not afraid," he said. Suddenly , the wolf tried to bite him. Jiminy ducked to avoid it. Then he challenged the wolf with the blunt end of his umbrella. Holding the wolf at bay like a miniature Medieval knight The wolf reared back, but then attacked. He tried to paw the cricket twice. Jiminy wiggled out of his way, but lost his footing as he fell down to the river below.
Blind to what happened to his partner, Foulfellow ran up to a rock to get a closer look at the man. "No one gets my friend and gets away with it." Suddenly, a large black creature appeared. Foulfellow gulped realizing it was a large bear. The fox tried to move his terrified legs as the bear lumbered down at him. The bear picked up his big clawed hand and struck down. Foulfellow fell to the ground and rolled away from the bear's grasp. The bear attacked him again, this time causing Foulfellow to dart too closely to the edge of the hill and fall to the water below.

       Fellow felt the rapids drift him along the river. He tried to see where he was going, but the water kept pushing his head down. He tried to see but his eyes were blurred. His arms and legs felt helpless as he drifted along trying to fight the current. Finally, he pushed his arm out of the water and grabbed a branch. Using the branch, he tried to balance himself along the bank. Desperately he looked around for Jiminy. The tiny cricket was nowhere to be seen. Worse with his small body, he may not have been any match for the river. Foulfellow called frantically for the small insect. Finally, his eyes drifted to a log with a small green body. With all his might, Foulfellow swam to the log and grabbed the cricket's body and pushed himself to the shore with all his might. When they got to the shore, Foulfellow turned Jiminy on his back and pumped his stomach with his fingers. The cricket was alive, but barely. Foulfellow continuted pumping. "Come on Circket, you got to get through this. Who's going to annoy me? Come on, cricket. Who will I threaten with my flyswatter? Jiminy, come on!"
Jiminy started to breathe a little. "You know, I believe that's the first time you called me Jiminy."
Foulfellow rolled his eyes and pushed the cricket, slightly. "How much further do we have to go?"
Jiminy looked around at the place. "Not far I imagine. I think we're there. "
"How do you know?," Foulfellow grumbled.
"Look around," Jiminy invited. The fox and the cricket stared at the place. It was dead with no vegetation around. Dry brambles and dead wood filled the place. Two big frightening lion-like creatures guarded a dark cave. Foulfellow and Jiminy caught their breaths in fear.

Nachtvogel grabbed a small boy from the work detail to feed on. He let the succulent morsel fill him as the energy entered his body. One of his dwarf servants came up to them. "Yes, what is it?", Nachtvogel asked.
"The Troll King wants some of the work detail divided. He wants to feed off some and torture the others. There are too many workers."
"Well, never let it be said, I didn't do a good job." Nachtvogel said. He then went to the cave and pointed at workers at random. He then turned to the boy and the cat. "You and you. All of you, follow me."
"Where are we going?," a child asked.
"Wherever it is ,it's got to be better than here.," a boy said.
Gideon stammered. "I'm scared."
"Me too," Pinocchio said. Then he looked around, an idea starting to form in his head. "I have an idea." When the victims lined up and began to leave, Pinocchio grabbed Gideon's hand. "Come on!," he said. The two ran from the trolls. Nachtvogel turned around. "After them!," he commanded.
The trolls ran in the direction the boy and the cat ran, running to the door of the cave. Behind a large rock, Gideon and Pinocchio hid not wanting to move, speak, not even daring to breathe, for fear they would be found. When they were sure the coast was clear, the cat and the boy slowly crept up from their hiding place and tried to sneak out when they felt a long bony hand on them. They gasped and looked up. "Hello, " Nachtvogel sneered as he grabbed the two and pushed them to the end of the line.

       Foulfellow and Jiminy crept slowly up to the cave, hiding behind a rock to assess the situation. "What do you see?", Foulfellow asked Jiminy as the cricket leaped to the top of the rock, keeping himself hidden.
"Really ugly creatures coming in and out of the door, a black statue it looks like a panther with wings, oh and the cave."
"There has to be some kind of trick to it," Foulfellow said. " an alarm, a rabid dog, an old man with a barreled shotgun."
Jiminy nodded "Or a very large whale, look some guys trying to get in! " Jiminy said. As they looked they could see the dwarf standing under the creature. The imposing statue's eyes slowly started to open to reveal fire red pupils. After a few minutes, a deep voice sprang from the statue,
                                     "Flesh of stone
                                           Made from the bosom of Lillith
                                           Shall pass through the gates of bone."
Foulfellow and Jiminy kept their eyes open as the cave door slowly turned open and the dwarf walked in. Foufellow rose up and Jiminy called him down. "Wait a minute." The two of them sat as the door closed with a sharp bang.
"I think it only takes one at a time, also I think you need to disguise yourself." The cricket said.
"Me? Why me? Why can't you do it?," the fox demanded.
"Because I can fit in your pocket.," Jiminy reminded him. "Now do you have a black cloak."
Foulfellow snapped his fingers saracastically. "Damn, I must have left it in my hotel room."
"Hide," Jiminy said as he saw a man approaching dressed in a long black robe hiding his face. In his hands was a basket covered by a blanket. "You see that guy?," Jiminy asked.
"I hear you," Foulfellow agreed. Silently he snuck up behind the creature and clipped him on the back of his head with his fist. The man fell over in a dead faint. Foulfellow picked up the cloak and wrapped it around his body. He looked at the comatose man. He was small and skinny with gnarled claws and a face that looked smashed in. "Now that's a face only a mother could love. No wonder he disguised himself with this thing." Foulfellow quipped.
"Never mind that," Jiminy ordered. "Hide your face and walk hunched over , you're supposed to be a dwarf." Feeling hot under the robe, Foulfellow lowered his posture. "What about the basket?"
He pointed at the basket that had spilled over revealing four round pieces of hard bread and some pieces of red meat.
"Take it , I have a feeling we'll need it," the cricket pointed out. Foufellow gathered up the contents in the basket and walked hunched over to the statue. The hood was draped slightly over his eyes so it was difficult to see. He stood under the statue feeling his heart stop momentarily. Slowly the eyes opened. If anything they looked more frightening up close than they did from far away. Foulfellow stepped back in terror as the creature intoned:
                              "Flesh of earth, not of stone
                               Made from the bosom of Eve
                               Shall never pass the gates of bone." The panther-like creature then lunged at the fox. Foufellow then dodged out of the way. "What now?," Foulfellow asked.
"Toss him the meat!," Jiminy yelled. Foulfellow then tossed some of the meat pieces out of the basket and onto the cat's feet. The cat then took a few bites of the meat and then devoured it. Suddenly, the cave door opened. Foulfellow and Jiminy grinned as they went through the cave door as the door swallowed them up to the outside world.

            The two visitors blinked to adjust their eyes to the darkness. Foulfellow couldn't see in front of him and had to resort to putting his hands on the cave walls feeling his way around. The only good thing was under the hot robe , he actually felt cooler in the cave. "Can you see anything?," Foulfellow asked Jiminy.
The cricket poked his head out of Foufellow's pocket and looked around. "Yeah, I can see some things."
"Well, what do you see?," Foulfellow asked.
"Well there's nothing to see really. We are in a cave, that is the extent of my knowledge.," the cricket said. The two walked a little further in silence as they heard some faint sounds, the sounds of scraping and picking against metal and the sounds of a whip cracking and a voice yelling. The two wandered around the cave letting the noises, Jiminy's vision, and Foulfellow's hands on the walls be their guides.
"There's a passage where the sounds are coming from, head for that," Jiminy suggested.
They wandered a little further until they were besiged by an eerie green light. Foulfellow headed for it and the two came to a room where children and a few adults were working in a mine. A large gnomic creature cracked his whip demanding each one work. On each worker's face was a tired dejected expression like they knew they had long been given up for dead. A couple of children fell over from exhaustion. Occasionally they pulled out a jewel from the mine and toss it to the dwarf and he would put them in a bag.
Jiminy looked around compassionately." These poor kids we have to do something."
"Don't worry about them," Foulfellow whispered. "Don't blow your cover! Do you see Gideon and Pinocchio anywhere , I don't."
Jiminy was about to agree in the negative when the gnome called them over . "You there, take this bag to the king!" Foulfellow's mouth watered as he picked up the bag. "Don't blow you cover!," Jiminy warned as Foulfellow took the bag and carried it and the basket.
"Oh yes master," the fox said with a phony lisp. Then he stood for a few minutes uncertain. "Is there a problem?," the gnome asked. "You do know where he is do you?"
"Of course sir," Foulfellow laughed grandly. "Just tell me so you know." Jiminy slapped his forehead in embarrassment and anticipation of getting caught.
"That way and down," the gnome pointed through the doorway.
"Okay," Foulfellow said as he took the bag and the basket and went down the doorway.

       Foulfellow kept huffing and staggering as they moved further and further down the cave.. "Can't you go any faster?", Jiminy asked.
"No, " Foulfellow said. "I'm positively sweating under this robe, I'm carrying a bag with some of the heaviest elements in the world, plus a basket of food to feed every man eating creature in this cave and I have a loud mouthed cricket in my pocket! Now unless you would like to carry one of these, I suggest you shut your trap!"
"Sorry," Jiminy apologized. Suddenly, the darkness that was so prevalent earlier seemed to get brighter as they walked closer to another opening. This time when they went through they were in a large black room that was artificially brightened by a large jewel in the center over a fiery pit. The room was decked with black and red furnishing and wound down a narrow corridor. At the far end of the floor was a tall thin man sitting on a throne. The bald pale man was dressed in a long black robe and an ebony beard trailed to his feet. Nachtvogel stood to one side of him keeping an eye on the events. A large black hungry bird was perched on the throne. To his left several dwarves lined up carrying bags similar to the one Foulfellow was carrying. Each one dropped the jewels to the king's feet and bowed in great reverence. Then they heard a snarling from a room to their right.The king opened the bags judging each one. "hmm, love it. Hate it, has flaws. Yikes, yikes." For the ones that he hated , he tossed the dwarf into the pit with a scream and ordered the bags be tossed after him. "Better make sure he likes yours.," Jiminy said.
"No fooling," Foulfellow agreed getting behind the dwarf. He tensed as the king judged each gift mostly harshly. Foulfellow gulped feeling the pit spill around him. Finally, his turn came. He bowed deeply at the king's feet. The Troll King looked at his long fingernails bored. "What is your name and where do you hail from?," he asked.
"Oh sire, my name is uh… Rasputin and I hail from Engle…vania. That's is Englavania.", Foulfellow said feeling his throat go dry like it always did before he was caught. In the fox's pocket, Jiminy stood in rapt attention, in deep anticipation.
"I've never heard of Englavania.," the ruler said. From the corner of his eye, Foulfellow could see Nachtvogel stare at him quizzically and suspiciously.
"Oh it is from far away, but I bring you jewels the finest you could buy." Foulfellow said displaying the jewels like a street seller. The King inspected them pulling out each one and examining it closely. Foulfellow felt so tense that he felt slightly ill. Finally, the king looked up. "I… love them. Guards place them with the others!" Two gnomes then gathered the jewels and sent them to another room.
"Sire, I don't think that we should," Nachtvogel began.
"Oh come now Nachtvogel , relax, that's an order!" The king demanded. "Now present your gift while I'm still in a good mood."
Nachtvogel nodded. "OF course sire." You pompous overbearing blowhard, the musician thought as he took out his flute and began to play. One of his helpers appeared with a line of slaves. "These are to be used at your disposal, Sire." Nachtvogel invited.
"Ahh excellent," the Troll King said excitedly. He then watched as each slave was lined up. Foulfellow stood to the left and pulled Jiminy out of his pocket to get a better look. The two of them exchanged glances as the slaves lined up. The Troll King looked at each one. "Hmm, you will make a good meal for myself. You have a few good years left in you, you will return to the mines. Mines, food. Let's put you in prison for awhile. " Finally, he came up to Pinocchio and Gideon who were at the end of the line. Jiminy perched up to Foulfellow's ear when I give you the signal, I want you to head over there to free them. First give me the bread." Foulfellow then handed them to the cricket and slowly edged to the slaves.
The Troll King smiled at the two captives. They looked at their feet terrified, and completely dejected. For some reason this amused the king. "I recognize you. Nachtvogel told me that you two tired to eascape.such feisty things could only be useful for my pet. See he gets hungry, but the beauty is you are still alive when he eats you." He clapped his hands and the door opened to reveal a serpentine creature. It slithered up to the Gideon and Pinocchio and looked directly at them. The two were paralyzed with fear as it lunged to them.
Furious, Foulfellow snuck up behind the trolls. He saw Jiminy feed the bird with the bread and the bird allow it to perch on his back. Finally, the bird flew to the crystal and pecked at it. Foulfellow knew that this was the signal he was waiting for. He ran to the slaves as the room went dark. Seeing the opportunity Foulfellow leaned over and untied the slaves including, Pinocchio and Gideon. The creature lunged at Foulfellow but he grabbed the two and pulled them away. Once they were out of the creatures vision, the boy and the cat sprang to life. "Who is it?," Pinocchio asked.
"Only your favorite crook," Foulfellow said.
"Johnnie!," Gideon said, squeezing Foulfellow so tight that the fox had to gasp for air. Even though he was slightly embarrassed, Foulfellow actually was glad to see the little cat and he put his arms slightly around him.
"I'm sorry, I am not letting you leave," said a voice. The three stood as Nachtvogel blocked their path.

       Jiminy remounted the bird petting her on the head. "Thanks girl," he said. But then he felt a hand grab him and the bird so tightly he felt crushed. "Clever little man, but very stupid too.," said the Troll King a triumphant grin on his face. He then waved his hand on the crystal and the dim light came on. He grinned as he saw that Nachtvogel had three people in his grasp, the cat, the boy , and now a fox. He tossed the cricket to them. "Two slaves and two intruders. I must say you are getting very sloppy, Nachtvogel. Toss these four to my pet." Jiminy then fell at Pinocchio's feet. The boy picked up his friend . "I missed you Jiminy."
"I missed you too, Buddy." He said.
The four of them lined up in front of the creature. Nachtvogel stood in front of the beast, a smug expression on his face. This was too much for Foulfellow He clenched his fist and punched the troll on the face. Nachtvogel then floored the fox. The two wrestled on the ground for a while punching at each other when Foufellow could see Nachtvogel's flute sticking out from his jacket pocket. "Gideon grab the flute!," he yelled. Without waiting to be told twice, Giddy picked up the flute from the pocket and ran with it. He then tossed it to Pinocchio. Nachtvogel stood up and glowered at the boy. "Give me the flute boy!," he demanded. Pinocchio then threw it in the air at Jiminy who caught it and tossed it back to Gideon. Acting in his dazed way, Gideon accidentally knocked the flute over down the pit. "Nooo!," screamed Nachtvogel as a black mist swirled around the troll. When it was removed in his place stood a small black bird.
"Good job, Little Guy," Foulfellow said slapping his blushing friend on the back.
"You destroyed my closest ally, now I will never let you leave." The Troll King demanded.. He then clapped his hands ordering the beast. "Attack!," but the beast stayed where he was. "Didn't you hear me? I said attack! " Then he slapped his forehead in rememberence. He didn't control the creature. Nachtvogel did and he was gone! "No matter I am still your king you stupid beast, so I said attack!" This time the beast focused his attention on the King, hissing and swaying. The King was paralyzed with fear as the beast pinned him to the ground.
Gideon and Pinocchio turned away in sickness. "We'd better go, "Jiminy said. "We have a job to do."They left amidst the king's screams of agony.
The four then ran to the room that held the slaves and unchained them. As Pinocchio unchained Therese, she threw her arms around him kissing him. Pioncchio blushed and set Roberto and Angela free.
The other three ran from chainee to chainee freeing the former slaves. In one group they all ran out of the cave to their prospective homes.

       There was sadness in the town of Collodi, the townspeople searched for their children for several weeks but finally they gave them up for dead. Everyone moved as if a huge weight was on the town. No one smiled or laughed. Gepetto walked slowly through the town, as if in a funeral procession. He felt his eyes fill with tears when suddenly he heard laughter. He looked down, "I hear it so often in my dreams , it seems so real," he said sadly. Then he heard a familiar voice call out, "Father!" Gepetto looked in the direction of the voice and saw Pinocchio run out to him. Gepetto practically sprinted to his son. "Oh Pinocchio, I was so worried about you! What happened?" Other children ran down to the hills and hugged their overjoyed parents. Gepetto could see Mr. Cherry embrace Therese and Mrs. Romano practically hug the life out of Roberto and Angela.
Jiminy and Pinocchio waited until the excitement and the happiness to die down before they could talk about the events. They told their versions of the events when Pinocchio pointed across the garden at the two characters staring at them. "Mr. Jiminy look." Gideon and Foulfellow sat smiling at them. Pinocchio waved at Gideon and the cat waved back mouthing thanks. "I don't think we should tell anyone they were here." Jiminy said as he watched them sneak away. "I think they earned it."
Pinocchio nodded. "Hey, Mr. Jiminy where is your badge?"
Jiminy looked down at his coat pocket at the blank space that once held the badge. He sputtered, "Why those low lifes!," he declared but he smiled.

      Foulfellow held the tiny badge in his fingers admiring it's glow. Then, he stuck it in his bag and took Gideon's hand. "Come on, Giddy let's get out of here.," he said as the two left for the next town.


The End