What Once was Broken

Chapter 30.... Beyond The Stairs

"Look at these stairs! They're huge!" I said, pointing up to the grand staircases that led to balcony overlooks in a wide open room. The room was slightly clean apart from the litter that towered both sides of the stairwell. Trash piled like a hill, and a mountain of books smoldering with a few chairs overturned. "This look like study hall. Others use for playground and hideout." Barney explained, looking up the stairs with me. "I can see that. This place is by far the most wrecked room in the school!" I declared, waving dust particles out of the air around me. "Wait till see cafeteria. You be shocked! Just as dirty as rest of place." Barney exclaimed, crawling on all fours towards the door across from us. I followed him, and he began to pull on a padlock with unimaginable strength, only to fail. "Lock stuck good. Cannot break!" He grunted, shaking his hands to relieve them from pain. "Well, let's find a key or something to open it with, alright?" I suggested, looking back up the steps. Barney and I made our way up the steps, and we tried the balcony to our left. I approached the door, and jumped as far as I could to reach the knob, but I just wasn't tall enough. "Why does EVERYTHING have to be so big!" I pouted in defeat, sticking out my lower lip. Barney tapped my shoulder, and pointed behind me as he said, "Behind you." I turned behind me to find a wooden, table body like object, and a rigid circle lying next to it. I lifted up the circular peice, and held it up above the curved wooden body when it dawned on me that it was actually a Rook! "I didn't know you guys liked chess!" I exclaimed in awe. "Chess deadly game." Barney replied, shuddering. "Deadly? How bad does it get?" I asked, setting the top of the Rook onto it's body. "No want know...." Barney said, shuddering again. I clambered onto the table sized Rook, balancing the top so that it didn't flip. "Here goes nothing." I muttered, and I leapt off the top of the Rook, catching the knob in the process. "Succès! I got it!" I beamed as I swung along with the door. I dropped back to the floor just as Barney began to crawl his way into the room. The first thing I noticed was one of the porcelain children, a Benny doll, tied to the body of a black chess peice. He was still, and someone had put a makeshift crown atop his head, making me wonder if he was a stand in for either the queen, or the king. "Look! Map!" Barney exclaimed, bouncing to his feet and running over to the map. I joined him, and together, we studied the desecrated map with a large red eye scribbled across it's surface. I could still make out the continents behind the graffiti, which made me wonder if we were currently ON that continent. "What does the eye mean? I've seen it ALL over the Maw when I was escaping, but I don't quite know the solid meaning behind it!" I asked, looking over to Barney, who simply shrugged in response. I studied the map some more when a soft breeze swooshed in, slightly moving the map to reveal something hidden behind. "Barney, quick, pull the map back!" I said, and he grabbed a peice of dangling rope, and gave a slight tug, sending the map up to reveal a chalk like drawing on the decimated boards. "The black King is in the center," I began, studying the drawn chess board on the wall, "which is what I'm guessing that poor dear tied to it is supposed to represent. Then there's a white King one space away from the black king, a Rook center right, and a white Queen near center left!" Barney rushed back to the board, and said in defeat, "All broken, pieces missing!" "Then we find the missing pieces, and put them where they belong." I mumbled, thinking as to where they could be when an idea struck. "Let's reuse the top of the other Rook we used to open this room with!" I exclaimed. Barney nodded, and fetched the top of the other Rook, placing it on the floor in front of his feet. "Two down, two others to collect. Now, where is that Queen's head?" I asked, puzzled as I looked about the room. Barney and I searched the room diligently when Barney called, "Found!" I walked over to the crudely drawn chess board where he stood, and he pointed at the end of the short hall where a window shone dimly. There, in front of the window, was the Queen, illuminated by the beautiful light and basking with glory. I don't know why, but it only felt respectful to bow in the quiet radiance of the wooden peice before climbing the table, and claiming her head as the next puzzle piece. "So now that we've found our missing Queen's head," I began, walking back to the board to set it down next to the Rook's head, "Where is the lovely King?" I placed my hands on my hips, and grabbed my chin in thought when Barney tapped me. "Hm? What is it?" I asked, turning to face him. "Found King. Up on table!" Barney replied, pointing up to a table just beside the door we entered through. I studied the table, slumping my shoulders in defeat as I whined, "The table is too high up! How shall we EVER get the King's head?" "Rook?" Barney asked, turning my attention to the Rook's flattened head. A smile crept across my lips, and I kissed Barney on the cheek as I complemented happily, "Brillante! Good work Barney!" Barney was shocked for a minute before placing his hand softly over his cheek, and glubbed shyly. I took the Rook's head in my arms, and walked over to the far left of the board. Once I securely placed the Rook's head on the body, I hoisted myself on top of the piece, and leapt to the top of the table, claiming the King's glorious head. I leapt back down to the floor beneath me, and triumphantly carried the King's head over to Barney. "According to the chess puzzle," I began, running over to study the pattern for the last time, "The Queen goes on the far left where I placed the Rook's head, and the Rook's head goes on the right. That leaves the King's head in the front!" Following my lead, Barney began switching, and placing around the heads of the chess pieces, causing a wall lamp to flicker on immediately. Intrigued, I walked back to the board, and tilted my head as I tried to guess what significance the lamp held when Barney began tapping on the book case at the back of the room. "Hollow. Means room!" He concluded, and taking him on his word, I clambered up the Rook once more and onto the opposite table. "Here goes nothing." I murmured to myself, and leapt high in the air, catching the wall lamp in the process. With my weight alone, the lamp slid down with a clunk, causing the book case to slide apart to reveal a room with a singular chair. Barney climbed the chair, and waved a key triumphantly into the air as he cheered, "Found! Get through now!" Making me giggle. "Alright!" I replied happily, jumping back to the floor, and running into Barney's arms, excitedly embracing him. We ran back over to the door, flung it back, and was stopped by a sudden screeching noise. It was Jenna, and she was NOT happy at all! She pounced on me, knocking me to the floor as the strangled me, shouting, "No touch! He's mine! Stay away!" "Jenna, please!" I coughed, trying to fight off her grip, causing her to scratch me across the hand. I winced in pain as I coughed, and my heart raced as I sat defenseless against the girl. My vision started to fade when Barney came up from behind her, and yanked her off, yelling, "Jenna, STOP! She friend of Barney! She HUMAN! STOP!" Jenna tried to advance back towards me as I caught my breath, but Barney held her securely in his arms as he continued, "It okay, she friend! She like Barney as friend." Jenna began to calm down a bit, and asked in a quivering voice, "Just friend?" "Yes, Jenna." I assured, coughing. "She already like boy. She go to tower to find him!" Barney explained, letting Jenna go. Jenna shook her head in shock, then asked, "That Thin Man's tower. Why go?" "Because the boy I love is trapped there, and needs my help. I can feel him, like he's just a stone's throw away!" I responded, my chest beginning to glow, healing my injuries. Jenna hid behind Barney in terror, but Barney simply laughed and said, "She heal herself. She HUMAN with powers!" "Human?" Jenna asked, raising a porcelain brow. She came over to me, and began to study me as she asked, "Powers?" I laughed lightly, and held my hand up to her as she intriguingly grabbed it, and spread my fingers around. "And I use these powers to help guide me to my love locked away by the Thin Man." I calmly explained. Jenna looked from my hand to my face as she replied, "L-Love?" "Love is a feeling you get in your heart when you want protect someone, or console them when they're sad, someone you want to embrace always." I explained, facing her toward Barney, who was focused on a piece of dust fluttering around the room. "Love is the person who makes you happy no matter what. Makes you laugh when you're upset." I continued, and coincidentally, Jenna began to laugh as Barney swatted the dust from him, only to have it float back toward him. He looked over at us, and shyly hugged himself in embarrassment. "Love is your partner doing things that will make you feel warm, no matter how cold it is." I finished, and I could feel Jenna's porcelain begin to emmit a warm aura around us as they continued to stare at each other. Jenna let go of my hand, and approached Barney slowly. "Love.... Barney." She admitted timidly. Barney gasped, and replied, "R-Really? Jenna love me?" Jenna nodded, and Barney's face lit up as he pulled her into his embrace and jumped happily, making Jenna laugh brightly. My heart melted at the adorable pair, laughing and playing with each other, and a small, wistful feeling came to me as I wished that it was me and the boy, embracing each other, and sharing laughs. After the two were done, Jenna turned to me, and asked, "Can I be friend too?" I nodded, already forgiving her for her actions, and she replied, "Alright. Me help you get to tower in heart of Pale City!" "But first and foremost," I added, taking them both aside, "we find my friend." "More humans? Where?" Jenna asked in amazement. I shook my head as I replied worriedly, "I haven't the faintest idea. I hope he's okay!" "We find friend of Claire, then find boy!" Barney said, and Jenna nodded in agreement. "Okay, since we're all on board, let's get searching. We start by unlocking that door downstairs!" I said, which both nodded in agreement before racing out of the room, and back down the stairs. Barney raced ahead, and unlocked the door, making the lock fall with a thud on the misshapened planks. The door swung open, and we entered into some sort of kitchen backroom! "Guys?" I asked, coming behind Barney with Jenna close behind, "I think I know where it is we must go next." "And what must do." Jenna added, pointing to a hole up in the wall. "Let's get to it gang." I replied, and with a confident nod, we figured out a way through the hole to start our new goal: to find Leo.