Luigi fidgeted in his seat. He had been sitting for nearly an entire hour in the Toadstool Castle throne room, where the princess was arguing with her toad advisors about what to do to rectify Mario's absence. When Luigi had returned to the castle with the news of his brother's disappearance, Peach had been all for charging into the pipe after him, fire flowers blazing. Her advisors, on the other hand, were more prudent and hesitant than she, and they were trying to convince her to send a troop of toads to rescue Mario instead. Luigi had waveringly offered to lead the troop, but he was with Peach's advisors on this one. She didn't need to go with them. She needed to stay where she was; her kingdom needed her leadership.

"Princess, it's just good sense," he urged her, his voice somewhat drowned out by the frenzied quarreling. "There's no denying that you're strong enough to hold your own, but you're needed here too. If both Mario and I are gone, you're all that's left to keep the kingdom safe."

"Toadsworth could handle things while I was away," she snapped at him, feeling betrayed by the fact that he wasn't taking her side. "You know I can't just sit here and wait while Mario could be anywhere, in any kind of danger. It was bad enough when Bowser or some other reprobate had me locked up, and I had to wait for Mario to come after me. The fear I felt, knowing that by doing so, he was putting his own life at risk, just to save mine – it's not something I want to feel again. But this - this sense of dread I have - this is much worse than that. Mario needs our help, and if I don't see that he gets it, I'll go crazy here!"

Luigi felt a surge of sympathy for her. Of course he could see her point; it couldn't be easy, having to stay locked up in a castle while everyone else was trying his hardest. But what could they do? She couldn't come with them. She just couldn't.

In the end, her advisors won, and she was forced to accept their decision. Even as their ruler, she was still bound by their good sense and concern for the welfare of her country, after all. She agreed to leave it to Luigi and the toads, although the accusing look in her eyes made Luigi feel like a villain. Oh well. She'd feel better once they brought Mario back. Luigi suppressed an inward shudder. He tried not to wonder just what kind of peril he'd gotten himself into.

The next hour was spent gathering able-bodied troops and supplies. Luigi would take no chances. If they had to stay wherever that pipe led them, he was going to be ready for any contingency. He had everyone shoulder a backpack containing his own pup tent, camping gear, and enough food and power items to last for several serious skirmishes. They were limited in what they could carry, but he figured that wherever they'd wind up, there was bound to be something to eat. The food aspect didn't really concern him as much as it would his portly brother.

He noticed that one of the toads was surprisingly tall and graceful, and he was dressed in a kind of Bedouin garb, complete with covered face and turban. Luigi made a move to ask him who he was, but he was distracted by one of the other toads, whose pup tent had inflated itself prematurely and had knocked over a handful of the other toads, who were already rather unbalanced from all the supplies they had to carry. Luigi helped to re-pack the pup tent, and he promptly forgot all about the tall stranger. He had seen many strange people in this land, and another one didn't really arouse his interest all that much anymore anyway.

After they had all packed and were assembled, Luigi led them to Warp Zone Two. As they approached their destination, he was becoming more and more nervous. He wondered what kinds of terror lay in wait for him at the other end of that pipe. Very soon now he would find out. He wasn't exactly looking forward to it; in fact, he was nearly scared spitless. However, his brother could be in trouble, and as much as he loved his own skin, he was willing to risk it for his bro, no matter how much of a dunderhead he'd been. Luigi set his jaw and tried to keep his knees from quivering so noticeably as they emerged from one of the transport pipes and found themselves in Warp Zone Two.

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King Suethor made a tsk sound as he daintily picked his way through the shredded corpses and bloodied mud at his feet. He hadn't intended to come and inspect Lieutenant Fyrestorm's handiwork personally, but his mention of Mario, or "the rogue OC," as he had been called by Suethor and his men, had attracted the clever king's interest. He'd had reports lately of one of his OC's turning traitor, but until now he'd never heard a description of him before. Fyrestorm's description had been very unusual indeed – black hair, black mustache, pinkish skin, and a rather squat, wholly unattractive physicality. All these things didn't seem to lend themselves to the description of an OC at all. On the contrary, they reminded Suethor of an exotic kind of paragraph. He was going to have to investigate further.

Suethor was similar in appearance to the other OC's, in that he had green skin and light purple hair, and a fair face to match. However, he was built much more attractively than any of his people, and he was more intelligent than they were as well, making him an obvious candidate for their ruler. His physique was masculine, lean, and powerful. He was tall, handsome, and as was more than apparent, he knew it. His good looks were surpassed only by his vanity and treachery, and that was indeed an accomplishment on both accounts.

He tsked again as he stepped over the decapitated head of a semicolon. These people had had every opportunity to return to the side of righteousness. Unfortunately, they had preferred to revert to savagery and treason. They'd only brought this on themselves. Suethor picked his way to the row of OCs neatly assembled and waiting for him, and he nodded politely at Lieutenant Fyrestorm, the Illiterati he'd placed in charge of this mission.

"All defectors punished, kingness, sir!" he chirruped, saluting gallantly. "All except nasty brats and pink man, I mean."

"Very good, Fyrestorm," Suethor acknowledged him, nodding gravely. "I expect a full report on this strange new enemy of ours, and on the punctuites he took with him. I need to know what kind of connections this man might have. Could he be some kind of paragraph, do you think?"

"I not knowing, but he not look like paragraph," Fyrestorm replied doubtfully. "I no see any like him. Not like punctuite, word, sentence, or paragraph. He something new."

"Really?" the king replied eagerly, his interest aroused even further now. He glanced at the row of obedient OC's still in salute, and he cleared his throat. "You have all done well, men. I give you all a week's worth of vacation leave. You are free to do whatever you want with it, but it might be profitable to investigate the houses and shops of these defectors and see if you can find yourselves anything of value. You'll keep whatever you find, naturally, in addition to your pay."

The OCs' faces lit up with delight, and they all saluted king Suethor a second time before calling their pet fragments and heading off down the street, each one imagining what kinds of riches he might find, and whether he'd be able to outdo his squad mates. Suethor and Fyrestorm watched the men leave, and when they were out of earshot, they continued their conversation.

"Yes, king," Firestorm continued. "This man not look like Grammar man. He may be like weird mushroom heads."

"You read my mind, Fyrestorm," Suethor laughed, clapping him on the back. "I knew it was a good decision to put you in charge of this mission! Now, if only you had actually managed to capture the brute, we'd be able to know for sure."

There was a trace of malice in the king's voice, but Fyrestorm didn't notice it. "I sorry about that, your kingness," he apologized, laughing good-naturedly. "He surprise us. He change shape; he grow tail and fly away. We not have time to secure him."

"I suppose you told him who had ordered this operation, didn't you?" Suethor continued. His voice had become dangerously soft, and this time Fyrestorm realized something was wrong.

"Er... yes, King," he replied. "He not know, so I tell him. I thought he stop hurting fragments if I tell."

King Suethor's back was to him, but he appeared to be fiddling with something while he listened. Fyrestorm was really beginning to feel uneasy. Something didn't seem right; the conversation wasn't as jovial as it was supposed to be.

"You disappoint me, Fyrestorm," Suethor sighed, shaking his head. He turned around, and he was holding a scepter in his hand. It was an ornate object, encrusted with glittering jewels and precious metals, with its surface burnished to a mirror like shine. Fyrestorm gasped.

"Please, your mercyness! I never mean it! I... I do good next time, I swear!" he babbled, backing away from the king with a wide-eyed look of terror on his face.

"You don't even know what you did, do you?" Suethor chuckled. "Let me spell it out for you. You informed an outsider of my identity, and you then allowed him to escape. For that terrible deed, you must be punished. However, since your report was useful, I will show you more mercy than I would under normal circumstances." He waved the scepter in a wide arc in front of him, and a beam of pink plasma leapt at Fyrestorm, knocking him flat on his back. The stricken Illiterati squeaked and contorted his face in pain, but he hardly moved at all. Finally, after a full minute, he pulled himself off the ground and stood unsteadily on his feet. He stared around stupidly for a few moments, but then his eyes fell on Suethor and his face lit up as though he'd just seen the most beautiful sight on the planet.

"My king!" he exclaimed, kneeling and bowing his head. "Oh, my king!" He appeared as though he was in complete ecstasy at the very idea of being in Suethor's presence. Suethor smiled and gave him leave to stand.

"To your feet, my worthy subject," he said sweetly. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, O king!" came Fyrestorm's reply. He gazed at Suethor adoringly.

"I need you to hunt down and capture a fearsome creature that has invaded our kingdom. He looks something like an OC, but he has pink skin, black hair, and an ugly, black mustache. He has two defector punctuites with him, and he intends to kill me. I need you to find him."

"The villain!" Fyrestorm roared, leaping to his feet. "I not let him! I find him and kill him first!"

"Try not to kill him if you can avoid it," Suethor cried, grasping Fyrestorm's arm to hold him back. Fyrestorm looked as though he had died and gone to heaven. "I want you to try and capture him – and his companions – alive. Go back to the palace guard and gather three squads of OC foot soldiers to help you. You'll have to work together to bring him in, because he's very powerful."

"You count on Fyrestorm, king wonderfulness!" the gilded knight replied, kneeling again. "I not fail my king! I go!" he grabbed the reins of an aviary sentence fragment and leapt onto its back. He dug in his heels, and the grotesque creature gave a squawk of annoyance before darting into the air. Before long, both were out of sight.

Chuckling, Suethor tucked his scepter safely inside his robes. So much for that. He glanced around once more before turning to board his blimp and head for home. He paused, however, when he heard cries of surprise and disgust break out behind him. He whirled around to see Luigi and the toads exit the alley where the pipe had led them, only to find a land of strange corpses and gore around them. Suethor gaped at the strangers, and after they realized he was there, they gaped back – all except one. The tall, oddly dressed toad let out a feminine scream, causing everyone present to jump. He wobbled unsteadily for a few moments before crumpling to the ground in dead faint.

"Please tell me that isn't who I think it is," Luigi groaned, realizing that he recognized the voice of that toad. "Take off her turban, would you?" he whispered to one of the toads, eying Suethor with distrust. "I believe the princess has stowed away in our group. Get that thing off of her so that she can breathe. Then see if you can smuggle her back through the pipe without being seen. I don't like the look of this guy."

Suethor reached into his pocket and pressed the button on a small remote – an alert to all the OC's in the vicinity that he was in danger. He'd never had to use the device before, but for the first time in his life, he was genuinely frightened. That man fit the description of the stranger remarkably well. To make matters worse, he'd even brought a large band of the mushroom-headed weirdoes with him. That cinched it. They were definitely from the same place that his prisoners in the dungeon had originated.

"Halt where you are if you value your lives," he commanded, glaring at them sternly. "I am the great King Suethor, and you are in my domain. Anything you do without my leave will be considered an act of treason."

Luigi gulped. This didn't look good. "I beg your pardon, sir," he replied. "We don't mean you any harm. You see, my brother is missing, and we thought he came here. We've come to try and rescue him." He figured he'd stall Suethor as long as he could, and was both relieved and frightened to notice that the king's attention seemed mostly on him for some reason, rather than on his companions.

"Silence," Suethor barked. "Guards! Restrain those invaders!" As though he had summoned them out of thin air, OC's came dashing out of the town, brandishing spears and racing to come to their king's aid. They were soon joined by a group of OC's from the king's blimp, and before long, Luigi and company had been roughly grabbed and held by the strong arms of the OC soldiers. Though the toads in charge of retreating with the princess had struggled vigorously, the OCs were stronger, and they easily wrenched her away from them. Each member of the company was held tightly, arms pulled behind his or her back, and standing stiffly at attention for the king to see.

Smiling confidently, Suethor strolled down the line of toads, delighted to see the looks of indignation and fear on their faces. He studied each one carefully, noting the way they all stared at him unabashedly, defiantly, and with no small degree of disgust. Apparently they didn't approve of his methods. Well, they'd soon sing a different tune.

When he came to the princess, he snorted slightly. "Why is this one bowing his head?" he chuckled. "Make him stand upright, soldier!"

"It not easy," the OC replied, apparently very frustrated. "This one knocked out."

However, eager to win favor with his king, he ripped the turban off of Peach's head, and he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked it toward him, raising her head so that her face was visible. The sharp action jolted her awake, and she cried aloud in pain.

"Help!" she cried, beginning to struggle. "What are you doing? Who are you? Let go of my hair!" Tears stung in her eyes from the sharp pain caused by the rough handling of her hair, and she desperately kicked backwards to try to get her assailant to loosen his hold.

"Get your filthy mitts off our princess!" the toad nearest to Luigi hollered. "Lay a finger on her, and I'll pulverize you, you big green jerk!"

"Keep quiet!" Luigi whispered fiercely, giving the toad a light kick. "He doesn't need to know who she is!"

Peach realized that they had all been taken prisoner. "What is the meaning of this?" she gasped at Suethor, realizing all at once that he was there. She stopped struggling to stare at him. "Who are you, and why have you attacked us?" She then remembered what she had seen that had caused her to faint earlier. Her knees quailed, and she turned several shades paler. Nevertheless, she boldly held her eyes level with Suethor's and managed to maintain an air of dignity. She would have to worry about the ghastly surroundings later. At the present, it seemed the situation of her and her companions was her first priority.

Suethor was dumbstruck. Never before had he ever laid eyes on such an angelic creature – save himself, that is. She was beautiful, and she was unlike anyone he'd ever met in his world. He had to find out more about her.

"Release her, if you please," he instructed her OC captor, who obediently – and rather thankfully, considering the painful kicks she'd delivered to his shins – dropped her arms and took a step back. Peach stumbled for a moment, having suddenly found all her weight upon her feet again, and she struggled to ignore the frightening images below eye level. She glared at Suethor accusingly, but he only bowed and flashed her a brilliant smile.

"My name is Martelius Suethor," he began, grasping her hand and kissing it affectionately. "You are in the Grammar World, in which I rule as king. Forgive my harsh treatment of you, fair lady," he apologized. "My kingdom has been besieged by miscreants lately, and I mistook you for one of them."

"Miscreants?" Peach returned, snatching her hand back and eying him warily. "Are these miscreants the ones who've caused all this carnage before us? I can scarcely breathe among such deathly sights. It chills me to the core."

"No, I'm afraid that these people were defectors – traitors to the crown," he replied sadly, shaking his head. "I had no choice but to eradicate them. Ah! The trials of a king are harsh indeed!"

Peach stared at him for a moment as though she thought he was joking. When she realized he was serious, her face flushed with color, and she balled her hands into fists. "How... how dare you!" she cried. "You dare call yourself a king, yet you treat your people with such cruelty? Never would I allow such injustice in my kingdom. Never! As princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, I would do anything to protect the welfare of all of my citizens, whether they supported me or not! But this," she snarled, waving her arm around her to address the multitude of broken bodies, "this is inexcusable! Even if they were defectors, that's no reason to slaughter them! Are your subjects no more than beasts? Do you think so little of them?" She gaped at him incredulously, and Suethor laughed gaily, as though her words were those of a joke.

"But of course they are!" he chuckled. "This was a village of punctuites – very common, witless folk. Their lives hold little merit even as subjects of my kingdom, so the defectors are practically swine. You are an outsider; you don't realize the humor of your words. But fear not. If you would do me the honor of returning home to my palace with me, I would gladly teach you more about our land. May I take you there, fair princess, er… Forgive me, but what name may I use to address you?" he asked, offering his hand to take hers, and beaming at her expectantly.

Peach recoiled from him in disgust. "I am Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom, and I'm not going anywhere with you," she replied coldly. "I would never consort with a murderer like you. Perhaps I don't know everything about this world, but I've seen enough to know that I don't like the way you treat your 'inferiors.' Now then," she began, planting her fists on her hips and sending him an icy stare, "I am looking for a man named Mario. He entered your kingdom yesterday, and he has not returned to us since. He is similar in appearance to his brother, Luigi," she continued, gesturing toward Luigi, who had been doing his best to keep a low profile throughout the entire exchange, and silently cursed to himself as he realized that his identity had been compromised as well. "He is a valued subject of my kingdom, and I want him returned to me, along with six others of my subjects, for whom he came here to rescue. Those six look very much like the toadstool members of our party." She motioned toward the toads, who were eying Suethor distrustfully. "Have you seen any of the people I've mentioned? And choose your words carefully, your highness," she added, making a face as she said it, as though the word tasted foul in her mouth. "Let me assure you; it would be a grave mistake indeed to wage war on the Mushroom Kingdom over such a trifle."

King Suethor was more than just a little annoyed. How dare she spurn his generous offer like that? Just who did she think she was? Perhaps in her place of origin she was royalty, but here she was little more than his prisoner. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to let her ignore his charms. She only needed a little persuasion, after all. He smiled mysteriously at her, and he withdrew his scepter from within his robes. The OCs holding them fast let out a collective gasp of fear, and some of them began to shake. Luigi could smell fear from a mile away, as familiar with it as he was himself. He knew at once that whatever this guy was planning to do with the scepter wasn't good. It was time to act.

"Forget it, Peach!" he cried, crouching and leaping with such force that the OC holding him was unable to keep his grip on Luigi's arms. "He's up to something! Make a break for it!" He leapt in the air and kicked viciously at the OCs who swarmed in on him. "It's time to blow this pizza parlor, paisanos!"

Peach needed no further instruction. Like a flash, she was off, fleeing on foot down the cluttered cobblestone street. As for Luigi, he had done a good job of catching his captors off guard. He'd managed to knock down a good number of the OCs holding the toads, and both he and his mushroom partners-in-arms all began activating their fire flowers. Before long the air was thick with fireballs and the smell of burning cloth and flesh.

"You two! After that one!" Suethor roared, motioning for two of his OCs to pursue the princess. "Take her alive and unharmed! I'll handle these nuisances myself!" As his soldiers obediently took off after Peach, Suethor whirled his scepter high in the air. A brilliant flash of pink energy filled the street, and the melee of toads, Luigi, and OCs alike fell to the ground and lay still as stone, their faces contorted in pain.

Peach tried her best to ignore the fact that she was stepping on dead people as she raced to keep ahead of her pursuers. She fumbled through her pockets until she found the fire flower she'd put there when they were back home. She activated it, and she whirled around to attack. Immediately, she shot two fireballs directly behind her, only to find that there was no longer anyone there. Tensing, she darted her eyes back and forth, expecting to be attacked at any moment. When, after a few moments, nothing had happened, she decided to continue onward and escape the town. She only hoped that Luigi and the others had fared as well as she had. She didn't have long to hold onto that thought, however. The moment she turned to flee, she was struck hard on the back of the head. The blow knocked her senseless, and she never got to see the sentence fragment that had swooped down at her on its master's orders. Immediately, her fire flower's power faded, and she fell to the ground. That was the end of her attempt to escape. The two OCs emerged from the alley in which they'd hidden, and one of them quickly scooped Peach up and laid her across the sentence fragment's back. They then trotted off to return to their king, eager to show him their success.

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Mario and the punctuite children had enjoyed a very uneventful ride to Crossover City. The road was remarkably devoid of guards and suspicious characters. It was almost as though all the king's men were collected elsewhere. Minutio was puzzled by it, but as he told Mario, he was all too happy to take advantage of it. After several days with stops only to sleep at night, they reached the brilliant metropolis known as Crossover City.

"It... it's huge!" Mario gasped, gaping at the high walls enclosing a bustling grouping of brick buildings, stables, and many other dwellings. The city was built inside a valley, and it almost completely blanketed the valley walls. Down at the bottom, there was a wide lake that was bounded on all sides by the city. As they entered, Mario noticed that there were patches of the city that appeared noticeably different from the others.

"Why are there so many divisions in there?" he asked Minutio quietly from his place under the buckboard. He was hiding there so that he wouldn't be seen. A place like this was bound to be on the alert for the king's proclaimed enemies.

"Those are different quarters of the city that house the various races of our land. That one over there is the Punctuite quarter," he explained, pointing to a colorful, lively chunk of the valley to their right. "And over there are the clause and sentence liveries of the city. In that area," he continued, pointing to the section directly across the valley from them, "you'll find different types of markets for all kinds of goods. This is a grand trading post for everyone. What we're in now is the paragraph quarter, and it is here where I hope to make contact with a friend of mine who will give us valuable information."

"What about the kids?" Mario asked. "We shouldn't get them any more involved than we need to. The less they know about what's going on, the better."

"Why can't we help?" Commie protested. "Semmy and I owe Suethor big time for what he did to our parents and our village. We want to help!"

"Oh, but you will, boys," Minutio assured him. "You two are going to be our contacts with the punctuites. If we have any hope of bringing Suethor down, it's going to take everyone working together to do it. The punctuites are fierce warriors when they need to be. I'll need you two to explain to the council of punctuite elders just what happened to your village, and how Mario intends to bring down the king. They won't want to agree to anything at first, naturally, because Suethor has everyone doubting everyone else, and no one knows who may be a spy. It will be dangerous, but you'll have a better chance at convincing them than I will."

Semmy and Commie stared at each other in solemn satisfaction. It sounded terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Each was willing to do his part to avenge his family's deaths, so they both nodded in agreement.

"What about the other races?" Mario asked him. "Do you think you can convince the paragraphs?"

"They won't need convincing," Minutio chuckled. "We're all of the same mind, really. When we discovered what Suethor did to the goddess, we all knew he had to go."

"Goddess?" Mario asked. "You people worship a goddess?"

"Yeah," Semmy replied. "I forgot to tell you, Mario. The one who used to govern our world has been taken captive by King Suethor. Her name is Fanfiction, and she used to be the one who ruled us all as queen, and gave the entire world legibility and peace. She is an immortal, and she has a great power over everyone in the world. Until king Suethor came along, she was loving and understanding. But somehow, through his twisted influence, she has been transformed into a maddened, bloodthirsty demon. No one can go near her without being ripped to pieces. She's worse than a sentence fragment; at least they can follow orders. Suethor keeps her locked up in his dungeon, and he tosses his most bitter enemies in there with her. They never last very long."

"King Suethor claims that he has brought out her true nature, and that he is taking her place for the good of the kingdom. However, there isn't a person alive in our world who isn't aware that he's the one who did it to her – that is, everyone who hasn't been influenced by his MS scepter," Minutio continued. "The Mary Sue scepter – or MS scepter for short – is the source of Suethor's power. It causes everyone he touches with its magic to become deeply attracted to him. Women swoon for him, and men would throw themselves into hurtled spears just for his acknowledgement. It's a treacherous, evil device, and simply seeing it strikes fear into the heart of every Grammar World citizen – even the OC's whom he commands. To be hit with the device makes you lose all your sense of self, and forget everything you knew before he hit you with it. The only emotion it leaves behind is mindless adoration of its wielder."

"That's hideous!" Mario gasped. "It's like he's brainwashed them!"

"It's been the key to his power since the very beginning," Minutio sighed. "That Mary Sue scepter is the one thing that keeps his kingdom from crashing down around himself. But its power is so strong that until now, not a one of us would dare oppose him – not even the most powerful paragraph warrior. To die in battle is one matter, but to be threatened with losing all of your goodness and purity only to become the king's sniveling lapdog... that's a fate worse than death." Minutio ground his teeth and clutched the reins tightly. "I will never forgive him. Ever."

Mario had the feeling that Minutio had more of a history with King Suethor than he had told them. However, he didn't think he ought to pry into the paragraph's private affairs, and all he really wanted right now was to set things straight so that he could go home. For now, he contented himself with peering through the little cracks in the side of the cart and viewing the sights of the city. He gasped when he saw a couple of beautiful women walk by – women who bore a striking resemblance to the OCs and Illiterati.

"What are those women?" he asked Minutio.

"Those are OC females," came his reply. "I forget that there is so much you haven't seen. OC women do not normally join the guard. They are powerful creatures, but not as much so as their male counterparts. It is customary for them to become wives or concubines and leave the fighting to the males. This is not the case with paragraph women," he added proudly. "Our people can all fight from a very early age. None of us are strong enough to outmatch a fully grown male OC, but beyond that, we are unrivalled."

"Punctuite women are scary sometimes," Semmy laughed. "Our people don't usually fight at all, but we have gone to war in the past. The women fought then too, but they were far more vicious and deadly than the men. That's what our parents said, at least," he added, with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

"We have arrived," Minutio said at last. "Now, here's what we're going to do. I want you to wrap yourself in this, Mario," he ordered, shoving a bundle of cloth into the compartment when no one was looking. "I'm going to carry you inside as though you're a clause I've killed while hunting. Whatever happens, after I sling you over my shoulder, do not move or make a sound until I tell you."

"I don't know if I like this much," Mario grumbled as he struggled to wriggle into the coarse material while inside his cramped compartment. "Don't go tossing me onto any floors or anything." When he had wound himself up in the cloth as completely as he could, Minutio opened the compartment and dragged him out. Semmy and Commie helped him pull Mario to the edge of the cart, and then he hoisted the wrapped plumber heavily over his shoulder.

"Oof," Minutio grunted. "You're more solid than you look! Okay you two, just follow me, and don't make a sound. It's not a common thing to have punctuites inside the paragraph underground, but when I explain matters to them, they'll treat you with respect and kindness. Brutus," he added, addressing the sentence, who had been remarkably complacent and silent throughout the trip into town. "Why don't you go visit the livery and take a nap? I'll come and get you before we set out. We'll fill you in on the details later."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Brutus yawned in an agreeable tone. "I know, I know. No sentences allowed. Big deal. Lemme know when you need me, then. I'm pretty tired just the same."

"I like Brutus," Commie declared as they parted ways. "He reminds me of an uncle we had who used to curse a lot when he drunk. He told great stories, too."

"Brutus is a very loyal friend," Minutio said with a smile back at them. "I'd trust him with my life, and I have, on several occasions. There's no one better to have around. Now keep silent, you two. Let me do the talking."

They had arrived at a very small, modest hovel made of unimpressively brown bricks. There was a stout paragraph man guarding the door, and he held up a thick paw when they came near.

"This tavern has been closed for renovation," he growled. "Turn around and find another."

"The bricks are awfully shabby here," Minutio said affably. "Seems like they need some mortar."

The man at the door nodded, and as unbelievable as it seemed, he stepped aside and let them in. Semmy and Commie stared curiously at him as they went inside, but the burly paragraph pretended as though he didn't see any of them. When they entered, they found themselves in an empty tavern filled with cobwebs and darkness. Minutio checked to make sure the sentry had closed the door behind them before he lifted one of the tables in the far corner of the room. A square section of the floor swung upward along with it. It was a hidden passageway! Minutio motioned for the kids to follow him, and they climbed down into a steep stairwell, pulling the door closed behind them. They went down a couple flights of stairs before halting again. The stairs were made of cold, damp stone, and lanterns hung at every thirty-foot interval to light their way down.

"Come along then," Minutio instructed, setting Mario down on his feet and unwrapping him. "You're free to walk about now. None of the people you meet in here will turn you in for any reward. You're an enemy of Suethor's, so you're amongst friends."

Mario was glad to be rid of the restrictive wrappings so quickly, but he worried nonetheless. "I've heard some disturbing things about King Suethor's ability to detect foul play," he commented. "Are you sure we'll be out of his view in here?"

"Yes, and we'll explain why below. Now keep close and follow me. I'm going to take you to meet my leaders. You'll soon understand that the paragraphs are not simply the mindless sheep Suethor would believe us to be."