Okay. It’s really been awhile since I updated this story, but here goes nothing. Sorry for keeping you all, BTW.

And as for the content in the previous chapter, I will have to edit it, because I did not ask one of my old friends for permission to use their character in the story. And…… yeah.

Without much further ado, let’s get on with it. By the way, instead of Haley Joel Osment as Toon Link, I’ve decided to go with Jesse McCartney instead.


Chapter 5
In the Lair of the Skeleton King

When we last left Link and Po, they had fallen into a brief little and dangerous encounter with a bloodthirsty crocodile. However, before the crocodile could even eat them, the two friends had met up with the God-Generals, whom had arrested the crocodile, though one of the God-Generals had quit, due to being fed up with his work. But that is not important. Onto the real story now…

Many minutes after their encounter, Link and Po climbed up the steep wall. Along the climb, they had faced the challenges of falling rocks and practically falling.  Speaking of falling, the blond boy in question lost his grip on the wall, but luckily was saved by his panda friend. Soon, they had found a hole in the wall, and successfully climbed through. Inside the wall, they soon found out that they were in the castle’s hallway. They made it! The walls were covered with broken plaster and lined with mounted and dimly-lit torches. Looking up and down the hall, Link went down the left passageway.

“C’mon. This way.” The boy called quietly to his panda friend.

Po nodded hesitantly, following his young green-clad friend. The two tiptoed down the hallway, hoping not to be caught. They knew that the best hidden they kept, the less their chance of being caught would be. Suddenly, Link and Po heard the sound of someone snoring, and it was enough to make them lean against the wall. The former poked his head around the corner to see a fat anthro cat named Pete snoring as he slept with his head leaning on a table.

Link pulled back as he whispered, “There’s a henchman around the corner. If we’re really quiet, he won’t notice us.”

Po poked his head around the corner to see Pete there, and then looked at the green-clad boy with a nod. With that being done, the duo quickly but quietly tiptoed past the entry to that room, and into another entryway. Accomplishing their little task, Link and Po let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Made it. Now, all we gotta do is-.“ The latter began to whisper.

Before the giant panda could finish his sentence, a wolf named Giro came from out of nowhere, barking viciously at the two friends. This was enough to make Link and Po scream in alarm, as this startled them out of their poor minds. They had not been expecting that to happen. Giro’s loud barking was also enough to stir Pete awake from his slumber. Grumbling as he woke up, the large cat walked in Giro, Link and Po’s direction.

Link, spotting Pete coming their way, whispered in panic to Giro, “Shut up! You’re gonna get us caught! And by ‘us’, I mean Po and me!!”

Feeling freaked out, both the blond boy and his large friend squeezed up against the wall as best as they could. All of a sudden, Giro felt a yanking on his chain, which was attached to a collar around his neck. It turns out that Pete had yanked on the wolf’s chain, making him stop, as the former spoke.

“Aww, shadup, ya mangy mutt. Why do ya always gotta bark at somethin’ that ain’t there?” grumbled the large cat as he walked down the hall with a reluctant Giro following. “C’mon. Might as well go for a walk.”

As soon as the cat and the wolf were out of sight, Po peeked out, and looked up and down the hall. Seeing the coast was clear, the giant panda let out a huge sigh of relief. It was a really good thing that Pete hadn’t spotted the two. Otherwise, Po and Link would be in serious trouble.

“Damn, that was way too close.” the panda said, before looking at Link. “Okay. The coast is clear.”

Hearing that was enough to make the blond boy sigh in relief. As he did that, he unknowingly leaned against the wooden wall behind him. Just then, as he leaned against the wooden wall, it opened up like a door. Deciding not to ask any questions, the two walked through the passageway, and found themselves in the rafters of a huge room.

What got their attention next was the sound of a band playing music down in the room. A large table sat before a throne, while a group of men and women dined on wine and meat. From the look of things, the two realized that they have found their way to the dining hall.

“Here’s to everybody!” exclaimed a king koopa soldier named Diablor victoriously. “More wine and meat for my men!”

Out of all the men, women and creatures in the dining hall, one particular creature came up to the table with a grin. In fact, that was what the creature had on its face normally- a Chesire Cat-like grin. He was a short dark purple being with glowing red eyes, spikes that went down his back and pointy short ears.

This must have been the Skeleton King’s right hand man, or more likely creature, Gengar. Despite the fact that he was the Skeleton King’s right hand servant, he was treated by the others like dirt. In fact, just as he was about to eat a large steak, Bowser slapped him on the back, making the Pokémon fall in front of a henchman named Draco Malfoy.

The Death Eater grabbed Gengar, shaking him as he said, “And more women!”

Then, the ghost pokemon yelled out of alarm as a dancing barbarian grabbed him and spun him around. Meanwhile, a young woman named Azula danced for a few men, including Darth Maul, who was looking love struck.

“How about a kiss, my dear?” The red-and-black-tattooed Sith Lord asked with a smitten grin as Azula rubbed his chin seductively.

As he and Po witnessed this, Link whispered to the panda, “Call me crazy, and I don’t know why, but somehow I think those two look like they could make a great couple.”

“That’s funny, because I was thinking the same.” Po whispered back.

Back below, a huge muscular Mobian dog named Dingo was eating a huge piece of meat. He then tossed the scraps to two familiar yet evil dragons. Once the bone had reached the two, they both started to have a little tug of war over the bone. Meanwhile, a familiar Pokémon came over to a table and picked up a steak with a fork that he picked up. Before he could take the steak, however…

“Keep your hands OFF, ya little creeper!”  yelled a man named Shredder, slicing the steak in half.

Gengar frowned, seeing that the warrior sliced his steak in half, leaving him with a small fraction of meat. Scowling, the ghostly creature stormed off with his dish. This was so unfair that everyone got to eat whatever they desired, and he only got a small bit of it all.

“Going somewhere, Gengar?”

Before Gengar could do or say anything, a ninja named Deidara held his leg out. The result? Gengar ended up tripping and falling head over heels until rolling into a pile of barrels. Ironically, he could have ended up walking through it on command, but since he didn’t see it coming, he didn’t. As the ghost Pokémon got up, everyone just laughed cruelly, making him scowl.

All of a sudden, a howl came through the halls, making everyone stop with the celebrating, even the music. The howling noise was even enough to make a dog named Alpha drop his bone out of fear and the candles to blow out. What got everyone’s attention was the sight of a blue wind blew through the hall, and lightning struck one end of the hall, causing a big explosion. This was enough to startle Link and Po, and enough to almost make the latter fall backwards before he caught himself.

Following the explosion was a cloud of smoke as everyone braced themselves. Soon enough, the smoke cleared to reveal a dark figure standing there. Everyone looked on fearfully to see their ruler standing there with a cold stare. The Skeleton King had arrived to the party! Everyone, including two certain party crashers, gasped in fear upon seeing the powerful tyrant in the room.

As the cybernetic king walked to his throne, Gengar quickly dusted it for him as the latter spoke, “Welcome, Your Majesty! We were just celebrating our- I mean, your success!”

With that being said, the ghostly pokemon went over to a nearby tray. On the tray was a glass goblet with jewels encrusted in the cup, along with a wine-filled bottle. Immediately, Gengar began to pour the wine, not realizing that the goblet was upside down. Realizing his little mistake, he turned the goblet over, pouring the wine into it. Once he had poured the wine into the goblet, Gengar brought it to his master as the former spoke.

“I can assure you that this time, there were no mistakes.” the ghostly creature said with his Chesire Cat grin, before he turned around with a glare. “Bring in the prisoner!”

As if on cue, a barbarian carried in a bird cage. Link and Po narrowed their eyes to see that inside the birdcage was a glum-looking Cheese. Both the boy and panda looked very worried by now. It seemed that the baddies were planning on using the poor Chao to locate the Black Cauldron.

Of course, Gengar grinned at this, looking at the Skeleton King, “There, Sire. This is the Chao that creates visions.” His Chesire Cat grin faded into a toothy scowl as a barbarian placed a bowl of water next to Cheese. “Okay, Chao boy! You know what you were brought here for; show the location of the Black Cauldron! You hear me?!”

Cheese just looked at the ghost Pokémon with an unsure look. But the Chao just simply frowned, then turned away with his arms crossed. Watching this, Link smiled hopefully as Po pumped his fist in victory. There was no way that Cheese was going to do something for a bad guy.  As he saw this, Gengar nervously smiled, getting down from on the arm of the Skeleton King’s throne.

“Stubborn, isn’t he?” said the ghostly creature, trying to get away.

Before the purple being could get away, the Skeleton King’s hand glowed an eerie green. Just then, the robotic figure grabbed Gengar by the throat with his glowing hand and started choking him. After two seconds of strangling him, the Skeleton King finally released his grip on Gengar, dropping the latter to the floor.

“Wh- why, of course, Sire. I’ll take care of it at once!” Gengar said nervously, walking over to Cheese, before speaking to him angrily, “The Black Cauldron! Show it to us! Now!”

At “Show”, Gengar shoved Cheese’s face into the water-filled bowl. Once the ghost being let go of the poor chao, the latter sat up, standing for breath. But all of a sudden, he looked fearful when he saw Gengar pick up a hot coal with a pair of tongs as he approached Cheese with them. They were gonna get a vision, one way or another.

“I’m warning you. You don’t want to keep the King impatient.”

Link and Po looked horrified at what was going on; Gengar was going to burn poor Cheese! Before they could say anything, Link began to lose his footing. He started flailing his arms around like a windmill. The green-clad boy grabbed Po by the scruff of his arm in an attempt to keep his balance, but the two ended up falling into the Grand Hall with screams. The first to land was Po, but he ended up landing on his derriere, and Link ended up landing on the monochrome-colored bear’s huge belly.

“Huh. I guess being fat has its advantages.” Said Po with a smile.

Their relief had quickly disappeared when they saw a few of the Skeleton King’s minions running at them. Both friends quickly got up and ran towards a wall. Once there, Po got into a Kung Fu battle ready stance while Link picked up something, and held it up, pointing it at one of the Skeleton King’s minions, Sweeney Todd.

“Stand back! Or else I’ll cut you to ribbons!” snapped the blond boy as he glared at the Demon Barber as he held… a broom.

Of course, Todd rolled his eyes, then opened up a barber’s razor and slashed at the broom. As this happened, Link closed his eyes, and opened them again to see the broom cut in half, leaving him with just a stick. Link gulped with fear at this before he found himself gripped by the shirt by Sweeney. Meanwhile, Po glared at a metallic ghost named Skullker.

“You think you’re tough? Well, get ready to feel the thunder!” Po said as he did a little exercise, puzzling Skullker. “Whatcha gonna do about crazy feet? I’m a blur, I’m a blur! You’ve never seen bear style of Kung fu!”

“Just hit him, Po!” Link shouted.

Nodding, the panda threw a punch at Skullker in the chest. But his punch didn’t do much except for hurt his own hand. Po yelped as he held his hand in pain. That punch really hurt. Then, Skullker gave off an evil looking smile.

“That tickled. My turn.” said the hunter ghost.

Before Po could see it coming, Skullker punched him really hard in the gut. If the attempt to punch the metallic ghost hurt, then this hurt even more. Po simply cried out in pain, holding his gut with his arms.

“Good punch…” said the poor bear painfully.

Link just sweatdropped at this, then looked nervously at Sweeney Todd before saying, “Look, man! I don’t want any trouble! I don’t even shave yet!”

“Nonsense. Everyone needs a good shave.” Said the barber with a scary looking smile.

With that being said, Todd pulled his arm back, as if ready to slice the boy across the neck. Link simply closed his eyes tightly with fear. This was it; he was going to die. But before the barber could do his deed…

“Release those two! Bring them over here!”

Sweeney looked at Gengar- the one who spoke- with surprise. Link opened his eyes upon hearing that. With a scowl, the barber glared at the boy, then shoved him over next to Cheese. Skullker did pretty much the same to Po, except the former just kicked the latter in the behind, causing him to scurry over next to Link and Cheese. The green clad boy looked at the Chao and the two smiled before the former hugged the latter while petting him, while the panda looked up at the Skeleton King’s throne with fear.

“It’s okay, Cheese. I’m here.” Said Link, comforting the scared Cheese.

“Uhh…. Link?” Po said nervously, tapping the boy on the shoulder.

Just as Link looked up at the Skeleton King, the robotic monarch said to them, “I can assume that you are the Chao’s Keeper, Link. And you must be Panda Po. Am I right?”

The boy, bear and creature looked nervously at one another, before Link spoke up with fear in his voice, “Y- yes, Sir.”

“Wait. How do you know our names?” Po asked the King.

“I know all that there is to know, Po,” answered the Skeleton King with a sinister smile as he picked up his wine-filled goblet, “Now, if you don’t mind, I would be happy if you would instruct your little friend to show me the whereabouts of the Black Cauldron.”

Upon hearing that, Link looked fearful before looking defiant. “No way, you creep! I made a promise not to reveal it, and I’m not planning to break it anytime soon!

Everyone- save for the Skeleton King and Link- looked shocked at this. No one had ever spoke defiantly to the monarch. A few of the henchmen exchanged murmurs among each other. All of a sudden, the Skeleton King’s smile turned into a nasty look as he started to grip his goblet tightly.

“If that is what you wish, then I guess the Chao has no use to me.” He said calmly but angrily before gripping his goblet so tight that it shattered in his hands.

That didn’t seem too good! Link, Po and Cheese looked horrified for they feared they knew what that meant. And then Gengar grabbed the Chao, and dragged him to a chopping block, placing his neck on it as the latter squealed in terror. Link and Po tried to go forward to stop this, but found themselves held back.  Their eyes widened in horror to see a large masked being known as the Executioner standing by the block as it rose a huge dull axe that he held in his hands. When Cheese looked up at the axe, he squeaked in fear, and covered his head, bracing himself for the worst, when all of a sudden…

“STOP!!!” Link shouted, making the Executioner drop the axe, saving Cheese’s life. The boy then looked at the Skeleton King with a look of defeat and he spoke, “You win. I’ll make him tell you. Just don’t kill him, please.”

“Link, what are you doing?! We promised Shifu we wouldn’t reveal the secret!” Po whispered to the boy in shock and disbelief.

“We don’t have any other options.”  

The Skeleton King grinned at hearing what Link told him. “Much better. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”  

After that, Gengar dragged Cheese back over to the boy and the panda, saying, “Now, then, get on with the vision, Chao!”  

And on “Chao”, the ghost Pokémon shoved the poor butterfly-winged creature at the two friends, just as they had been released. Link looked to Cheese, then Po, who nodded nervously. With a nervous nod, the boy looked back at Cheese before putting a finger in the water-filled bowl.  

“Cheese… from you, I do beseech… Knowledge that lies… Beyond my reach…” Link recited as he stirred the water with his finger, remembering exactly the same incantation Shifu had used earlier that day.    

The stirring once again made Cheese dizzy, and he finally let his mouth rest in the water. As that happened, his eyes started glowing an eerie yellow once again like earlier in the day. Plus, the water itself started to glow as Link and Po looked over the bowl in awe, still wowed by his powers.

As he looked on, Gengar laughed giddily, “Look, Sire! It’s working!”   

Soon, the images in the water began to form a familiar giant kettle. “The Black Cauldron! So it does exist!” exclaimed the Skeleton King as he looked on before getting up, slowly approaching the unaware Link. “Yes, where is it? Show me. Show me.”             

The only one to notice the robotic tyrant slowly approaching was Po. It was then that the panda yelled out, “LINK!! LOOK OUT!!”

Puzzled, the boy looked up behind himself immediately. What he saw when he spun around was a certain evil king reaching down as if to grab him! Link screamed in fright, and scrambled up and away from the Skeleton King, accidentally stepping on the bowl and causing the water to splash in the latter’s face. The cybernetic skeleton screamed in agony, holding his face where he was splashed. Seeing this as their chance, Link picked Cheese up and began running with Po following them.

“C’mon, guys! Let’s get out of here!” the green-clad boy cried.

“Right behind ya!” Po shouted as he ran with Link.

Spotting them running away, Gengar pointed towards them as he screamed, “AFTER THEM!!! DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!”

As if on cue, all of the Skeleton King’s minions followed after Link, Po and Cheese. One particular minion, a Death Eater named Bellatrix LeStrange, pulled out her wand and shouted, “AVADA KEDAVRA!!”

Upon shouting those words, a green blast fired out of the witch’s wand towards the three. Luckily, Link- still holding onto Cheese- and Po jumped up, narrowly dodging the Killing Curse. Snarling, Evil Shelby and Evil Jose flew in their direction, with their strength enough to break their perch from its base. As the two dragons flew after the trio, they knocked over a pot of burning coals, unintentionally starting a fire that stopped the henchmen.

While the henchmen had been cut off from catching up with Link, Po and Cheese, the trio still found themselves being chased by Evil Shelby and Evil Jose. Unluckily for Po, Evil Jose had managed to lunge his head forward, biting the panda on the butt.

“YEOWCH!” Po yelled in pain, before he glared at the male dragon and karate-chopped him on the nose.

The karate chop from the panda was enough to make Evil Jose roar in pain and let go of Po. But the dragons kept up with the chase on the trio, following them into a corridor. However, just as the two dragons had managed to catch up to them, their perch got stuck in the narrow entryway to the corridor, causing both Evil Shelby and Evil Jose to fall to the ground with grunts.

“I frickin’ hate pandas.” Evil Jose growled.

“Be thankful it wasn’t the real Jose or Shelby.” Evil Shelby added.

Meanwhile, Link, Po and Cheese had gotten farther down the corridor and stopped briefly to catch their breath. They took advantage of this moment to look behind them to see it the two evil dragons had followed them down the corridor. Confirming that they weren’t being followed, the three let out a hefty sigh of relief, before Po rubbed his sore bottom where Evil Jose had bitten him.

“Ouch. That bite really hurt.” Said the giant panda before taking out an ointment, and rubbing it where he had been bitten.

Just then, Link spotted a door across from them.

“Quick! In here!” he exclaimed, opening the door and running inside with Po following him.

Just as they entered the doorway, the three paused as they found themselves in some type of kitchen. The butcher in the kitchen, a Nobody named Lexaeus, spotted them right there. Looking nervous, Link, Po and Cheese – still held by Link-, began to go back out the door, but they stopped short when they saw a familiar ghost Pokémon flying at them as he laughed. Lexaeus took his huge butcher’s knife and chucked it at the trio, just as they ducked in time.

“Gotcha, Chao Boy!” The purple creature cried with his wicked smile, lunging at the trio, only for the latter to duck.

This had caused Gengar to go flying into a barrel, which Po kicked towards Lexaeus. As the barrel rolled in the Nobody’s direction, Gengar let out a scream before the barrel collided with Lexaeus, knocking the man and the Pokémon down to the floor.

Meanwhile, Link, Po and Cheese continued to run down the corridor for a way out. They soon came to an outdoor balcony, with Po propping the door shut with a thick wooden board. It probably wouldn’t hold the barbarians/henchmen for too long, but hopefully it would be there long enough to allow the trio to escape.

Just then, Link looked over the side of the balcony to see the moat. This in turn gave him an idea as he looked at the others. “Guys, we’ve gotta jump into the moat! It’s our only motive of escape!”

Po came over to the side and looked down, then back at the blond boy, “Are you crazy?! We could-!”

Before the large bear could even finish his sentence, he heard the sound of wood starting to break. He, Link and Cheese turned to the door to see it was starting to break a little. Looking panicked, Po looked at Link with a look of fear.

“Then again, your idea’s the best!”

While the door was being broken down by the Skeleton King’s henchmen, Link managed to toss Cheese upward, causing him to plummet towards the moat. However, before he could touch the water, the raindrop-shape headed creature flew off into the sky. He had made it; he was free! As soon as that was done, Link and Po jumped up onto the wall, ready to jump.

“Okay, on the count of three! One, two-!” The boy in green began.

Before they could even jump, however, the two found themselves surrounded by a dark purple aura. All of a sudden, they felt themselves being pulled back as if by magic. It was then that they saw a familiar ghost creature holding out his hand as it glowed purple while a few barbarians/henchmen stood there.

“Gotcha, Shorty and Fatty!” Gengar exclaimed, smiling his Chesire Cat grin.

Just then, walking through the broken door was none other than the Skeleton King, as Gengar came up to him, “I caught them, Your Majesty! I caught the boy and the panda!”

“Yes, but you let the Chao go. You imbecile.” Said the Skeleton King, gripping the Pokémon by the throat as the former’s hand glowed green again and the latter was choking.

“But- but- it wasn’t my fault! It was the brat!” Gengar managed to say as he was choked.

The mechanical monarch dropped the ghostly creature, and then fixed his angry glare on Link and Po. He slowly started to approach the two as his staff glowed a dark red. If you think he was going to allow these two to let Cheese escape, then you’d have another thing coming to you. As the Skeleton King raised his staff, Link and Po braced themselves for the worst. But before the king could even strike them, the green-clad boy’s Star of Light gave off a very bright glow. This was enough to make the Skeleton King scream in pain, causing him to back off.

As the boy looked over the charm, he smiled, “Wow. Shifu wasn’t kidding when he said it’d protect me.”

“Yeah. That is some charm.” Po agreed.

The Skeleton King, on the other hand, growled as he glared in the two’s direction, “If I can’t kill them, I can keep them imprisoned.

“Throw those fools into the dungeon!!” he ordered angrily, pointing at the boy and the panda.

Upon hearing that, Link and Po looked shocked and horrified all at once. It seemed that the Skeleton King had given them a life sentence in jail. As the barbarians/henchmen surrounded the duo, they both pressed themselves against the wall behind them. Although they had freed Cheese, the boy and panda knew that the trouble was only beginning for them…

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Whew! Finally, this chapter is done! XD However, things are looking bleak for both Link and Po. Will they ever save Narnia, or will the Skeleton King find the Black Cauldron? Stay tuned for the next chapter, though it’ll be part one of a two-part chapter. Till then, R&R, but no flames.

As for those who don’t know Giro, Diablor or Alpha are from, well, Giro comes from an anime movie called Arashi No Yoru Ni, Diablor is my friend, Neros Urameshi’s, original character and made-up brother to Bowser and Alpha is a Doberman Pinscher from Disney and Pixar’s Up.

Second, the bit where Po was getting ready to hit Skullker is a reference to the original Kung Fu Panda movie, also suggested by a reviewer, which I can’t remember his name. X(

Plus, the Executioner comes from the video game, Resident Evil 5.