The Lost Merman

Horrible Truths

Chris and the birds arrived back to the sky temple. They were tired and hungry, but because they found the orbs, they didn't want to rest until the mission was over.

They started to head to the dungeon when they turned around to see a herd of birds flying towards them.

"Oh, no!" cried Chris. "Jaco-Palo must have been spying on us."

"How?" asked Kevin.

"His goddaughters Ursula and Morgana; they both had some sort of magic bubble thing so they can see where we're going," answered Chris. "He must have something similar."

"Pssht!" Berry cried near a river in the nearby forest. "Down here!"

Chris and the birds joined him down by the river.

"If this river leads the temple, we can swim underneath and avoid the birds," Berry told him.

"He's absolutely right!" agreed Kevin.

"All right, let's go!" ordered Chris. And they got under just in time, before the herd swarm like bees above them. On and on they swam through the vast and fast river, until they arrived at the feet of the temple.

They got out and searched for a hole for the dungeon. Then they found it and entered it. "Lord Kabel! Lord Kabel!"

But Lord Kabel was nowhere to be seen. Then they heard a little familiar voice calling, "Chris! Over here!"

Chris and the birds flew quietly over the rocks and found – that they were taken hostage by Jaco-Palo's army. Lieutenant Cuckoo took the orbs off Chris and showed them to Captain Talon.

"Excellent work, Cuckoo," smiled Talon. "Now let's deliver everything to Jaco-Palo! Everyone wants good delivery service."

At the throne room, Chris and his friends were shocked to see Lord Kabel chained to a bird stand. "My lord? What happened?" asked Chris.

"I was worried about you so I tried to get out to help you and they caught me," sighed Lord Kabel. "Jaco-Palo's going to have my head cut off."

"Yeah! And of all this mess is thanks to you!" Chris recognized that voice and saw Clo-Yehn in chains, being held down by strong falcons.

"Hey, Captain!" Chris shouted angrily. "Where is Jaco-Palo?"

"That's a good question!" Talon and Cuckoo laughed.

"Nice try! Now tell me!"

Then the giant Toughclaw flew over the crowd and landed next to Captain Talon. "All the prisoners captured, Captain?"

"Yes, sir," reported Talon, saluting.

"Good!" smiled Toughclaw. "Make them comfortable, will you?"

Chris could not believe what he saw – Toughclaw spitting Princesses Ariel and Melody and their friends to the ground.

"Where are we?" asked Dash.

"This must be a tourist area," said Tip. Then he asked nearby bird. "Hey, pal, do you know where they serve refreshments?"

"Oh, no!" cried Sebastian. "This is the temple of Jaco-Palo."

"Oh, no!" cried Ariel.

"Oh, no! This cannot be true!" Melody looked around and saw a skyman called Chris, being held by birds. "Chris? Is that you?"

"Yes, your highness," Chris sighed.

"What are you doing here, Chris?" Ariel wanted to know.

"Well, your highness..." began Chris. And he told everyone the whole story.