<meta name="LineWrap" content="true"><TITLE>SR_Bk1 0171</TITLE><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0172.txt">Next (Page 172)</A><BR><P><P>His time in vacuum seemed neverending, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before it began to warm and an atmosphere once again embraced him. The emergency superstrength eased back a little, enough for him to open his eyes a little and see where he was headed. And it was straight down.<P><P>He saw trees, rocks, and ocean for a split second before he crashed. He must have been going near the speed of sound. The emergency superstrength was back, and again he felt like he was being crushed.<P><P>Back in the dark.<P><P>But this time, Ferrajalt shot him arms forward, and light showered down upon him. He scrambled upward, and collapsed on the edge of the crater his biplane had created. The strain of the superstrength was too much for him. He lost consciousness just as he saw a lovely pine tree. But he was alive. His heart was still beating.<P><P>--------------------------<P>CHAPTER 43<P>--------------------------<P><P>"Monarch Friendly Times," Fry Friend said weakly, "my fries are so cold and soggy... you know what this means... I need new fries... I have so few left."<P><P>Fry Friend was so exhausted that he couldn't even stand up straight--he was kneeling forward on the marble floor of the Monarch's throne room. His body was a cardboard french fry container, with wide vertical stripes, light blue and white. Arms and legs extended from the box, and his eyes and mouth were on the box itself. Inside of him were eight old and ruined french fries.<P><P>"Fry Friend, these are difficult times indeed," said Monarch Friendly Times. His light blue and white striped royal garb was tattered and dirty, and he stared at Fry Friend with emptiness in his eyes. "We are all suffering. Yet you come to me... as if you believe I don't know the pain you're in..."<P><P>Monarch Friendly Times was an old man, his hair long and white, but with a few wisps of blond. His beard was likewise colored and unkempt. The crown on his head was cracked and held together with masking tape.<P><P>"Monarch... I have always strived to follow and obey you...and I've always trusted you... but it's been so long since I've had fresh fries... the past two years are like a blur..."<P><P>"You think I'm not aware of this?"<P><P>"No... but I have to tell you... please, I need new fries... we all know you have... your magic powers... that you're saving them..."<P><P>"For myself? Is that what you think?"<P><P>Fry Friend paused--so this was it--he was finally going to be able to bring himself to challenge the Monarch openly.<P><P>"That is what I think--what we all think!" Fry Friend yelled, followed by a wave of dizziness. So weak...<P><P>"After all I've done for you..." the Monarch said after a long pause. "You take and take and take from me--with little gratitude--and now, that times are bad, you turn on me."<P><P>"I never wanted it to get to this point," Fry Friend whispered, hoping the Monarch could hear him. "But I'm afraid... that I just can't go on."<P><P>"What alternative is there, Fry Friend?"<P><P>"Just give me new... new fries..."<P><P>"That is not going to happen."<P><P>The two were silent for several minutes. It was a terrible silence, a silence which Fry Friend could feel bearing down on him like a dead weight.<P><P>"If you can't help me..." Fry Friend finally said, "I'm going to follow Onion Ring Friend down the Exit Escalator."<P><P>The Monarch narrowed his eyes.<P><P>"I thought you had more sense than that poor idiot Onion Ring Friend."<P><P>"He knew... he had theories... he thought... that his onion rings were just holding him back from his true potential..."<P><P>"Onion Ring Friend is dead! He left all his onion rings behind! Do you want to end up like him? Don't kill yourself... I'll get you some new fries... it's just a matter of time."<P><P>"I... don't believe you. There is no magic in the kingdom anymore. You have the only magic that's left. Maybe you...<BR><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0172.txt">Next (Page 172)</A>