Justin hoped to follow in Legolas' footsteps by leaping over the water and onto the stage. But instead, they fell straight into the water and proceeded to drown due to the vines around their waist loosening and re-wrapping around their arms. They thrashed about but the vines wrapped around them even tighter. Their stomach convulsed, begging them to breathe.

The vines felt as if they were growing and thickening around Justin's arms and waist. Panic overtook all their thoughts. The vines turned into arms and hands ripped the plants from around their chest. Justin shot to the surface, taking in deep gasping breaths. Niraj emerged from the water and guided Justin to the pool ladder.

"Thank you," said Justin, and they scrambled up and over the ladder.

"What just happened?" asked Bastian from the ship.

"Nitara?" Justin asked, looking about the stage. Neither she nor Erla was to be found.

"Here!" a voice from above shouted. Justin looked up to see Nitara and Erla sitting on the Catwalk next to the crystal heart.

"I have to stop my brother. Will you fly me?"

Nitara nodded. "Of course."

Removing her large feather wings first, she dove headfirst off the catwalk. At the last moment, she stopped midair above Justin's head. She held out her hand and Justin took it. In an instant, Justin's feet left the floor and Nitara flew them at breakneck speed toward the broken doorway. They soared over the balcony seats and shot through the beast-sized hole at the end of the theater. On the other side, they were greeted by more destruction. All the long wooden tables were smashed against the wall, the flags from all over the world lying limply on top of them. Broken stained glass littered the ground below circular holes in the wall that had once been windows.

Nitara flew Justin to the broken windows and paused, hovering in the air.

"Do you think they left the castle?" she asked.

Over the strange neighborhood, thick towering dark clouds formed and the wind rushed through the broken windows.

Then it hit them, the reason why Naldo would run from the castle.

"He's leading Simon straight to the trackers!"

The wind whipped at Nitara's face. "I don't think I can fly in that storm."

The first thunder boomed, shaking the walls around them. Justin frantically scanned the Great Hall.

"I need another way to get to Simon."

A yellow light flickered on and then off from the brick fireplace. Justin sprinted to the fireplace and dove headfirst into a back hole.

They regretted diving headfirst into the gigantic slide. It tossed them from side to side. They had no way of keeping themselves from bumping their head over and over again. As the slide arched into a loop, Justin bit their tongue. Eyes watering, they tasted iron.

Ahead, a pinprick of light grew and grew until Justin free fell to the earth. Face first. They quickly pulled themselves into a ball, hitting the ground on their back.

They moaned but didn't allow themselves to register the pain as they stood. The white and gold Indian palace towered above them. They raced past the white spires towards destruction. Only one black gate remained, swinging slowing from a single hinge.

A small smile crept across Justin's face as he peered through the hulking pine trees, dark shadows, and thick brambles. Naldo may have lured Simon towards the shadows but he also stepped into the wizard's own forest.

They ran through the broken gate and into their realm. The soft blue glow was gone from the tunnel, the dead trees pulled from the earth along with the vines. Above, the clouds grew thick blocking out almost all the light and turning the trees into shadowy giants with bony fingers.

The wizard stopped and listened.

A creature screeched in the bramble of berry bushes to their right. They followed the sound around the thorny bushes. Another creature whistled to the wizard's left and they spun in that direction, leaping over a small log. Something hissed to their right and they ducked under low pine branches that skirted the floor. From high in a tree, a crow cawed.

The wizard halted.

Lightning flashed bright above, threatening to bring its power to the ground but instead it flickered and went out.

A whimper to the wizard's right caught their attention. Moonlight poured in through a break in the black clouds, illuminating the white trunk of a large eucalyptus tree. Thick branches twice as wide as the wizard wound around and dipped to the ground before shooting back up again. No other tree grew around it.

When the wizard was just a scrawny pirate, they and their captain discovered this tree. They called it the Tarzan tree and spent the whole day climbing its large branches.

The wizard quietly stepped into the clearing under the wide canopy. Without thinking, they reached out and touched the cool smooth wood of the branch nearest them. Ahead the moonlight outlined a large black mass crumpled on the ground.

They stepped closer and the mass materialized into Simon. Thick netting wrapped around his entire body. His massive finger-like paws stuck through the holes in the net at odd angles. The netting lodged itself in Simon's throat and snagged on his long white fangs. His back legs tucked up under his body as the netting wrapped so tightly around him it constricted his breathing.

Simon's eyes locked on Justin and he whimpered.

"Simon," said Justin, falling to their knees in front of Simon's massive head. "I'm here, let me help."

They reached out and grabbed the netting around Simon's mouth. A jolt of electricity shot through Justin's hand.

They let go as a yelp escaped their lips.

They again tried to grab the netting but Simon growled and snarled causing Justin to jump back.

"Simon, it's me, Justin, I won't hurt you."

"Step away from the beast kid," said a voice from behind Justin. Simon growled even louder but then whimpered and curled in on himself. Justin glanced back. A woman stood in full army camo pointing a large gun at them.

"You're hurting him, please stop, that's my brother," pleaded Justin.

The woman shook her head. "That's not your brother, that's a beast. Now step aside or I will put you in your own net."

Another woman stepped around the beast wearing identical army camo as the first. "I would do as she says and if you cooperate you may eventually have a place on our team instead of ending up like this poor thing here."

The wizard shook their head. "You are in my forest, you do what I tell you to do." They raised both hands into the air.

The second woman rolled her eyes and pulled from her jacket a tiny black gun the size of those cheap plastic water guns sold at grocery stores.

"Then a net it is," she said.

Snap!

A branch above the woman's head whipped down slapping the woman's hand. She dropped the gun, wincing. "What the..." Another larger branch swooped down, slamming into her stomach and knocking her to the ground. She moaned and curled into a ball.

The first woman pulled an ivory slingshot and a red ruby from her jacket. She quickly strung the ruby in the sling and aimed it at Justin.

"Put your arms down now!" she shouted. "I don't want to use this on you, but I will."

She kept glancing behind her and up in the air, ducking phantom branches that were not there.

"Let my brother go," said the wizard, arms still raised in the air.

The woman pulled the sling even tighter, Justin closed their eyes, but nothing happened.

A scream pierced the air.

They opened their eyes. Vines snaked their way up the woman's camo pants. She struggled to move but the vines wrapped too tightly about her ankles. She leaned down and ripped chunks of the vines away but for every vine she ripped there were four more to take their place. One vine wrapped around one wrist and another wrapped around her other.

She screamed again.

"Okay!" she yelled. "I will release your brother. Please stop."

Justin lowered their arms but although they were the wizard of this forest, they did not have complete control over their subjects. This was a forest, after all, full of wild things with wild minds of their own.

The vines pulled the woman to the ground. She tried to scream again but vines wrapped around her face covering her mouth. In seconds she no longer looked like a human but only a vine-covered mound. Another vine-covered mound rose next to the first, the other woman nowhere to be found.

Justin returned to Simon's side. Their brother tucked his head under his front leg. Every few seconds he whimpered.

"Simon," said Justin, "I'm here to help you."

They reached out, touching the rope, and quickly pulled their hand away as electricity jolted through their arm. Simon growled but did not move this time.

A branch snapped from somewhere beyond Simon. Simon flinched but raised his head. He bared his teeth as he gazed into the thicket of brambles beyond the eucalyptus branches. He seemed suddenly unaware of the pain the ropes caused.

Justin stepped around Simon and placed themselves between their brother and the brambles. This caused Simon to let out an earth-rumbling roar, forcing Justin to his knees. Naldo crawled out of the brambles. The white feather was missing from his hat, his velvet jacket had several large rips and oddly, he only wore one converse sneaker.

"Eww," he said, looking at his hands. He slowly picked out several large thorns from his skin and dusted off his breeches. Twirling in a circle, Naldo came back around with his wand pointed directly at Justin.

Behind Justin, Simon struggled furiously against his bindings. He shook his head side to side, yanked his paws back and forth, and arched his back, but the ropes did not budge.

"Move away from the beast Justin," ordered Naldo.

"Simon," Justin corrected, pointing at Simon. "It's Simon, not a beast."

Naldo frowned, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, it is not. There is nothing left but a beast."

Justin's breath quickened. "But you said. You said we could save my brother."

"I had hoped. I really had, but you saw what it was doing to you and your friends. It was going to suck the life out of all of you."

Justin gasped for air. They placed their hands on their knees and then vomited up the little food they ate before the play. A hand rested gently on Justin's back.

"I'm so so sorry," Naldo whispered.

Justin stood back up and narrowed his eyes. "What are you going to do with him?"

Naldo sighed as he returned Justin's gaze. "Remember it is no longer your brother."

"What are you going to do with Simon?"

"Give its magic to the castle. My first priority is the safety of wizards everywhere. To fulfill my brother's dream. To make a safe place for children to be children. The castle is broken and it needs a lot of magic to restore it. Simon's magic can do that. Your brother would want this. It will protect you."

Lightning struck the ground outside the eucalyptus branches, lighting a pine tree on fire and momentarily blinding Justin. When their vision returned, Naldo lay huddled on the ground, his hands covering his face.

Slowly Naldo removed his hands and blinked. He looked past Justin, his eyes widening. "No! Stop!" he shouted, jumping to his feet.

Large wings flapped directly over Simon. Justin watched in surprise as one sharp talon sliced through a rope holding Simon down.

"No!" Naldo yelled.

Naldo pushed Justin to the side as he ran at the bird. He pointed his wand at the knight of the night and swished it in the air. Yellow light shot from the tip. The knight flapped its wings and the light soared beneath the knight, bursting into a firework of light against the eucalyptus trunk. The knight hooted and dove at Naldo's face. The magician ducked, covering his face with both hands. The knight pulled up with Naldo's wand grasped firmly in its talons.

Simon's front paws broke free from the rope and he pulled and clawed the rest of the rope from his back. Finally free, he stood and growled at Naldo.

The magician stood tall, smiling at Simon. "My apprentice not happy with his part in saving all the wizards? There's always sacrifices Simon!"

Simon opened his mouth wide. Wide enough to swallow a man whole. He took two giant steps and then lunged at Naldo, mist swirling from his mouth. Naldo reached down and picked up the tiny gun that belonged to the second camo woman.

"No!" Justin shouted. He ran at Naldo, hoping to stop him.

Naldo pointed the gun at Simon's expanding black mouth that was seconds from swallowing him whole and pulled the trigger.

Later, Justin would remember pulling the dagger from the belt at their waist, but at that moment it felt as if the dagger suddenly appeared in their hand. As rope crackling with a yellow light shot from the gun into Simon's mouth, Justin sank the knife into Naldo's shoulder.

Naldo screamed and black fog exploded around them. A surge of wind knocked Justin and Naldo onto their backs. Blackness engulfed Justin's senses. They heard a loud roar and then everything went dark and silent.