Word count now at 36,815

It is hard to say what started many of the things that went on in Inklings. Wither it was ponds or turtles or villains in one way or another strange things kept happening in Inklings, and the next event, the one before the grand adventure that changed their lives, was by far the oddest.
It happened one rainy summer day when everyone was up in the attic. R.K. was sulking because everyone was behaving and he had no one to torment no matter how much he tried. However, he had his eyes on Laura, mainly because he was board stiff. He had threatened to throw her in the dungeon, so she was keeping as far away from him as possible.
Other then that fact everyone was loitering about doing nothing of great importance. At least that is what all outward appearance said. Deep down, trouble was brewing.
The trouble started that day when Justyne came in to the attic room; she was followed by Sybil who went to get some cookies. The moment she entered she tripped and would have dropped the plate had not Justyne turned and grabbed her. Looking down Sybil groaned when she realized she had tripped out Jules’s sword, which was lying in the doorway.
Jules denied having put it there, but no one would believe him.
It was only after everyone had grabbed a cookie that they noticed Justyne had a new character with her. He was a tall man, and rather handsome as far as characters go. His name was Jonathan, and he was Timothy’s older brother. He was one of those nice obedient characters who would chop off his right arm before revolting.
The whole ordeal came about more as a joke then anything else, but when one jokes in Inklings disaster strikes, more for the characters then the authors.
Sybil was sprawled out on the rug below the couch, busily typing away. She was only a few pages from the end of her book and Maddock was insisting she finished, not to mention the two other Fates. For a time she was lost to the world, until she heard Timothy wail in agony.
Looking up Sybil received a glare from Maddock, he being annoyed at the interruption that was causing more delays in the end being reached.
“What is wrong with him?” Sybil looked up at Justyne who was grinning almost evilly.
“I threatened to marry Jonathan so that I would be his sister-in-law!” Justyne grinned at her distraught character.
Sybil looked over at Timothy who was trembling in his chair. She grinned and with a laugh said, “Aw come on Timothy, don’t you want a sister?”
Timothy’s face paled and he moaned like he was going to die. Hanz rolled his eyes at him. “Come on, bear it like a man!”
Timothy moaned louder as Justyne grinned evilly, she was enjoying his distress, in fact she was so much enjoying in she decided to carry her threat through. It is kind of hard to plan a last minute wedding, but they somehow pulled it off.
Hanz grabbed a Bible that was sitting on one of the tables and before anyone could stop them the wedding was under way.
Timothy watched in horror as Alex, Mark, and Jules lined up on one side and a few of the girls on the other side. Hanz stood in front of Justyne and Jonathan as Sybil rose to her knees, she would have stood up but Maddock had drawn his sword and was standing over her. If she won’t write then he wasn’t about to let her up!
“We are gathered here today to join together this authoress, and her character…” Timothy groaned and begged, “Please no! Don’t do this to me!”
Hanz glared at him and continued, “In holy matrimony.”
“This can’t be happening!” Timothy wailed.
Maddock rolled his eyes. “Grow up Timothy!” he muttered. “It isn’t that bad!”
Timothy looked at him in agony and asked, “How would you like it if Sybil married one of your brothers, and became your sister!”
Maddock’s face drained all color and he looked over at the wedding. “I protest!” he cried as Timothy grinned in relief. At least someone was on his side.
“Can it!” Hanz growled. He then continued. “Do you Justyne take this man as your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?”
Justyne grinned evilly as Timothy wept, after all, all men are allowed to weep at least once in their lives and Timothy had a good cause. “I do,” she said with a glance at Timothy.
Jordaan moved to his friend’s side and patting his shoulder glared at Hanz, he may have stood up for him, but getting pinned to the roof had made him more wary.
“Do you Jonathan,” Timothy looked at his brother pleadingly. “Take Justyne as your lawfully wedded wife.” Sybil lost it. Unable to contain herself any longer she burst into a fit of giggles, and continued to laugh through the rest of the wedding until tears rolled down her face.
Hanz shook his head at her but continued. “To have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live.”
“Don’t Jonathan! Please!” Timothy wailed.
Jonathan did not heed him. “I do,” he said, and in one final cry of agony Timothy fell over the chair and lay there unmoving. Jordaan shook his shoulder as Maddock went over to help revive him.
Justyne and Jonathan grinned, and for the first time in history a fifteen-year-old girl married her character, having the ceremony preformed by a sixteen-year-old boy. Once this sank in the others could not help and join Sybil, who was still laughing uncontrollably on the floor.
Maddock glared at them all and whispered to Jordaan, “This is getting crazy, we should stop them.”
“How?” Jordaan asked.
Maddock’s blue eyes shone. “Trust me my friend, I have an idea!”
After the rain let up everyone moved out to the yard, Justyne and Jonathan sat on the swing and talked in low voices. Katie and Jane joined Sybil and watched as she finished the final scene in her book. They gave a sad sigh as Maddock and Carlyss danced under the moonlight having declared their love. All in all it was a good way to end the book and led up to the second, but they all three felt a twinge of sorrow as the realization sank in.
Suddenly Katie dropped her head in her hands and cried, Jane joined her followed by Sybil and they wept for a few moments, the others left them alone in their sorrow. And it only goes to show that one day authors can be dancing with glee and the next weeping.
***
Hanz did not get on the chat room until around ten that night. So for an hour Sybil had sat up arguing with Maddock. Needless to say she was delighted to talk to her brother.
“Well, is Maddock behaving now that the book is done?” Hanz asked.
“No!” Sybil glared at Maddock as she typed. “He is worse, he now wants to take over the second book!”
“You really do need to kill him,” Hanz said. “Kill him in the last book.” And those words sealed Maddock’s fate.
The last book! Of course! She could give him a heroic death at the end of the last book, she could have him dead, and no one could kill her because it would be in the last book! The thought grew until she decided she would do it. By then Hanz had left, but soon after Beth and Gabrielle got on.
Sybil was giggling and sad all at the same time, because deep down she was rather sad at the idea of killing Maddock. By then he had moved back and was watching her warily. 
“What are you doing up so late?” Beth asked.
“I am plotting Maddock’s death,” Sybil wrote, she was certain both girls would be thrilled.
“WHAT!” Gabrielle’s reaction was not quite what Sybil was hoping for. “How can you kill Maddock?”
“Well, it is in the last book. I am thinking he is going to die saving his daughters!”
“You can’t kill him!” Beth wrote.
“Why not?” Sybil asked.
“He is Maddock! You can’t kill him! It’s just not right!”
Gabrielle backed Beth up with hearty consent and Sybil began to panic. Beth and Gabrielle didn’t even like Maddock that much, if they reacted like this, Katie was going to have her head!
After a while Sybil typed, “Now I am sad! Poor Maddock! I am going to kill him!”
“Quick!” Beth urged. “Go write the scene while you are still in the mood.”
Sybil did not argue but opened her document and wrote quickly. And so by the time the clock hit midnight Maddock was a dead man. He read the scene as Sybil wrote it, the whole time he was scowling, but he said nothing.
The scene was rushed, as was to be expected. So the next morning Sybil sat down and redid it, making it even sadder, and knowing full well she was signing her death warrant.
Hanz was one of the first that arrived at the meeting. When Sybil saw him she walked over to him and announced, “I did it, I killed Maddock!”
Hanz smiled. “I am proud of you sister!”
Sybil shifted her feet and murmured, “Katie is going to kill me!”
“I will back you up,” Hanz promised.
By then the others were arriving and Sybil felt very nervous. Once everyone was there they divided up again, Sybil going off with Katie and Jane. They talked over their stories, Jane and Katie telling of the progress they had made. Then it was Sybil’s turn.
“Are you ready to cry?” she asked as her face turned nearly as red as her hair.
“Why?” Katie was already suspicious.
“First, promise we will always be friends, no matter what?”
Jane and Katie promised while casting each other worried glances.
Sybil lowered her eyes and then whispered, “I kill Maddock.”
Jane’s jaw dropped and Katie’s face went white. “What!” Jane suddenly yelled, the others all turned and looked at them, knowing full well Jane never yelled.
“It is in the last book,” Sybil tried to defend herself. “He dies saving his daughters.”
Jane shook her head. “How could you!” she cried. Katie said nothing, just looked ready to faint.
“It fits in the books very well,” Sybil said feebly.
“You can’t kill him!” Jane wailed. “You can’t! If you kill him I will kill Reamann!”
Sybil sat, frozen to the ground, she suddenly felt like a murderer before a judge, and it got worse when Katie dropped her head into her hands and broke into deep sobs. Jane continued to glare at Sybil until she too joined Katie crying.
By then the others had gathered around and heard the news. Jules rested his hand on his sword and looked ready to draw it. Sybil stood up and backed away from him. Hanz stood in between the two as Sarah moved to Sybil’s side. For a moment it looked as though she was joining to have sympathy on her friend and stand by her, until the realization sunk in.
“Jules had me your sword!” Sarah bellowed.
Sybil backed away until she ran into a tree. She was dead, even Hanz could not help her now, she was as dead as a door nail. Jules drew his sword though seemed uncertain as to what to do. Mariella was holding her turtle and looked ready to call down lightening bolts, even Christina was shaking her head and saying, “You can’t kill Maddock!” And the whole time Jane and Katie wept.
Sybil suddenly sighed. She was done for, so she might as well just die. And so she did something out of character, she fell to the ground. Everyone looked at her and then at each other. Sarah ran to her side, “Are you alright?” she asked.
“No,” Sybil did not lift her head. “I am dead.”
“Dead?” Laura asked.
“Yes, I died of sorrow, now you can all go away, because you can no longer kill me.”
“You are talking,” Jules said as he lifted his sword.
“I am a ghost,” Sybil sat up slowly and looked gravely at them all. “I am Sybil’s Ghost, and I am nicer then she was.”
Sarah shook her head. “You have lost it!”
Sybil grinned though she did not feel much like it. It is hard to grin while your friends weep, and when you know you caused it. That night the girls parted, looking like three of the saddest beings that had ever walked the earth.
Meanwhile Maddock started to sulk and as a means to get back at Sybil moved in with his sister were he lived in her basement for weeks with the rabbit she had named after him. They got along well, but for a week Sybil was unable to get anything written.
During that time it took a lot of work, both from characters and authors, to get Maddock to move back in with Sybil. When he finally did come back he seemed to be in better spirits, for the time being. Little did any of them know the disaster that was brewing right under their noses.
It started the day Jane, who was by then speaking to Sybil, who was still a ghost or so she clamed. They were arguing over whose villain would end up tormenting their hero the most.
“Mine is so evil!” Jane was saying. “He is so mean to Reamann!”
“Well I have a really nasty one! He is worse then Reid ever was!” Sybil threw in.
And so it continued until Jane said, “We should see who can torment their character the most!”
Sybil eyes lit up and Maddock scowled, until he remembered it was Theobald who would be tormented this time.
Sybil grinned evilly and said, “All right, you are on! I am certain I can torment Theobald ten times worse then you can torment Reamann!”
“We shall see!” Jane laughed as she rubbed her hands together.
It was never remembered afterward by either when this became a contest and when the others were drug in. All that is known is that by the end of the week Sybil and Jane had drug the other authors into their little contest of seeing who could torment their character most.
Maddock was not pleased to find out that for this contest Sybil would be using him and not Theobald. All he knew that was if this kept up he was going to have to do something, he was not about to take this sitting down! And if the others had any say in the matter, neither were they!
In fact, it was during the meeting in which the scenes were being written that Maddock called Jordaan to his side.
“What?” Jordaan asked as he stood beside the scowling man.
“Them,” Maddock motioned to the authors all bent over their work. “This is getting out of hand!”
“But what can we do?” Jordaan asked sulking.
Maddock grinned. “Gather the others, tonight we are going to have our own Inklings meeting!”
Jordaan smirked. Revolt was in the air!
***
 Maddock stood in the middle of the floor that night, the other characters gathered around him, all eyes on him. In one hand he was clenching a stack of papers. Once the room was quiet he looked every character in the eye and said as he waved the papers about, “Do you know what these are?”
A few nodded their heads. “These are our torment scenes!” Maddock exclaimed.
Scowls passed over every face. When Maddock and Jordaan had called the meeting together they had been sure to gather only the renegade characters. No point in asking the obedient ones.
“Now if you ask me, when an author starts tormenting characters for fun that is getting out of hand! We have been putting up with them for long enough, this is pushing it!”
“What should we do?” Thaddeus asked. “I mean, they are our authors.”
Others mumbled their agreements.
Maddock grinned. “I think it is time we revolted, and took over Inklings!”
Some gave hearty agreements while others seemed more reluctant, Timothy was one of them. “Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “I am all for a revolt. But if you ask me, we need more to go on then just being tortured.”
“What do you propose we do?” Maddock asked.
“What if we just talked to them?” Timothy suggested.
Maddock scowled and Jordaan scoffed, but Timothy held up his hands. “We have to give them a chance, we have to show them we can behave well.”
Maddock shook his head. “There is no hope for Sybil.”
“Same with Hanz!” Jordaan growled.
“Well, then show them we have the character to at least give them a chance, if that fails, then we can take over!”

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