Sweet Showdown

Let's go!

'There they stood, looking in amazement at the vast landscape. Zane and Didi looked at each other for a moment but were immediately distracted again by the impressive scenery around them.

'Here we are, your home planet. I do think we should walk through to your kingdom; we don't want any more trouble,' Carissa said as she picked a pear from a pear tree. Almost everything was made of pears or in the theme of pears. The flowers, the houses, the clothes; just almost everything. Zane and Didi said nothing and just looked around in fascination as they walked into the pear kingdom. Most of the streets were empty, with no traces of people to be seen.

Suddenly they heard someone talking in the distance; quickly, they walked toward it. They came out into the Market Square, where they heard someone talking; it was a boy. 'As you all know, the kingdom of Berrinia has already been taken over by Cody. Banterra will be his next target. If we do not act soon, we will also have to bear the consequences. I will go to Aphida and devise a plan there, together with a member of the royal family,' the boy said, stepping off the stage after his short speech.

Quickly Zane, Didi, and Carissa ran toward him, but Carissa stopped abruptly. 'I can't go with you,' she said with a sigh. 'You guys have to do this alone. I'm needed in other places first; I know you guys can do this! Take care and good luck!' Zane and Didi looked at Carissa in surprise and said a brief goodbye. They knew they had no time to waste now. They quickly ran on, but soon they were stopped by two guards. Slowly they watched the boy disappear into the distance as they tried to convince the guards that they needed to speak with him.

Suddenly the Berry Bear jumped out of Didi's hip bag, straight at the guards. Quickly they ran as fast as they could past the guards to the boy. After a long walk, and having already lost him once, they arrived at a library. 'Let's go in here; maybe we can find some info on who is in charge here,' Didi said, running into the library.

Zane ran after her; they found themselves in a giant room. It was like a maze full of books; with every corridor you walked down, there was a new one. 'Let's split up; maybe we'll find a book that has more info in it,' Didi said. And again, without saying anything more, she was gone.

There Zane stood, thinking about why he was standing there now. He grabbed a book and looked at the title, then another book, then another. But no success; he decided to walk on a bit. Continuing down the confusing corridors, suddenly he saw a bird that seemed to be made of a pear. The bird startled and flew away; immediately, Zane ran after it. Perhaps it was taking him to what he needed; the bird flew from side to side. Without stopping, it kept flying until suddenly it landed on a boy's shoulder.

The boy looked startled for a moment when Zane suddenly stood in front of him. Zane, looking up exhausted, saw that it was the boy they were looking for. 'Do you need anything?' the boy asked as he slowly climbed down from his ladder. 'I had heard you talking in the Market Square, and I heard you were going to talk to someone to come up with a plan. We'd like to help with that,' Zane said, looking determinedly at the boy.

'Are you royal?' the boy asked, looking at Zane disapprovingly. 'Uhm... I'll be right back!' said Zane. Quickly he searched for his sister in the maze of books. After a long search, he finally found her. Quickly he took Didi by her arm and brought her to the boy. 'Oh, I didn't know you'd be here; I'm Didi,' Didi said, holding out her hand to offer a handshake.

'Nio, that's my name; pleasant to meet you. So are you royal now?' asked Nio, still looking disapprovingly at them. 'Perhaps? We don't know; how can we be sure?' asked Didi, looking around her a little uncertainly. 'Find a book with your family genealogy; in it, you will surely find it,' said Nio as he crawled back up the ladder to better access the books.

Didi quickly walked around looking for a book but suddenly realized she didn't know which book she was looking for. 'Which kingdom are we from, anyway?' asked Didi, looking at Zane in confusion. 'Your jewel? Your jewel is the fruit you're looking for?' said Zane, staring at Didi confidently. 'Ah yes, you're right! How could I be so stupid?' said Didi, slapping her hand on her forehead.

'I wonder that too sometimes,' Zane said in a whisper, just quiet enough that Didi couldn't hear. They searched high and low until they found the book. 'Look, here's something!' said Zane, taking a book off the shelf. The title on the cover read 'The Family History of Peachara.' 'This must be it!' said Didi, quickly pulling the book out of Zane's hands and beginning to flip through it.

After turning about a hundred leaves, they finally found their family tree. It showed their real parents, and below them were the names 'Zane & Didi.' 'Look at those pictures! How did they get pictures of us? I don't remember taking this picture?' said Zane, looking at the book somewhat startled. 'Magic?' said Didi, putting the book into her waist bag and quickly running to Nio.

'Look!' cried Didi, holding the book enthusiastically. The unexpected arrival of Zane and Didi startled Nio so badly that he fell from his ladder. 'Goodness, you scared me!' said Nio, rubbing his head for a moment. 'Oh, sorry about that. We found that we are royalty! It's all in this book!' exclaimed Didi enthusiastically. Nio looked at it and immediately believed them. 'Well, the pictures look exactly like you; I'll let you come with me,' said Nio.

Zane and Didi were so excited that they accidentally knocked a few books off the shelf. Nio looked at them a little frustrated, but in the end, didn't mind too much. 'Let's leave for Aphida!' shouted Nio, stuffing a few books into his shoulder bag. The bird that seemed to be made of pears sat down on Nio's shoulder. 'Is that your bird?' asked Didi, looking fascinated at the bird on his shoulder.

'Yes, this is a Pearrot. His name is Pero,' said Nio. Didi looked fascinated at the bird and was just about to touch it when suddenly a bookshelf fell over. Didi and Nio looked behind them and saw that Zane had knocked over the bookshelf. 'I think you should stay away from everything,' Nio said. Zane nodded without saying more. They left the library and headed for Aphida.