Imagination Crossing, the Epilogue

Theresa shivered. She couldn't help it: all the bones surrounding her made her picture her own messy demise. She glanced at her brothers for comfort, but John looked just as horrified as Theresa felt. It was Zander, the unimaginative one, who looked totally calm despite the situation. This was the meeting place that Agent Lead had told them to come to. Where was she anyway? Theresa glanced at her watch. It was almost eight. Agent Lead was going to be late if she didn't arrive soon. Theresa heard a buzzing sound, growing louder. She swerved her head to the right and a dart whizzed right past her ear, hitting a boulder a few feet away. She approached it cautiously and saw a note attached to it. She loosed the note and read it in her head, her eyes skimming over the words,

Dear Agents,

Hello agents! I'm afraid Agent Lead will not be able to come to your appointment. She's a little tied up at the moment. Ha, ha! I trust you three are well? I hope not, I hope my agent was able to give this message to you as painfully as possible. I told her to give it by dart, she'd better hope she got one of you with it. Anyway agents, just look at me babbling on about useless garbage such as my agent. Back to the matter at hand, I have your precious leader, Agent Lead. Come and get her, if you dare!

From, Tribulation Tiberius.

Theresa made a growl sound and passed the note to John, who read it thoroughly and passed it to Zander with a scowl on his face. Zander gazed at it in confusion and finally said, “I give up. What is this?”
Theresa sighed and explained what was happening. Zander's eyes filled with rage, and he snarled, “That man! He can't do that!”
Theresa nodded with approval and said, “Come on, let's see if we can track Tiberius's agent back to his lair.”
Theresa sneaked through the cave in the direction the dart had come from. The agent was already gone, but there were scuffs in the hard earth floor to show a quick, sloppy departure. Theresa gestured for the boys to join her and showed them the tracks. She followed the tracks with the boys on her tail until she reached a deep pit full of molten lava. She stopped abruptly and held out her arms to keep the boys away from the edge. She heard a stifled laugh and spun around. Behind the boys was a tall woman with an ugly scar across her cheek. Long hair flowed down her shoulders down to the ground, where the flow of hair stopped abruptly. The woman shoved John ever so slightly and he fell against Zander, who fell against Theresa, who fell towards the lava. But teamwork prevailed as Theresa grabbed Zander's foot and Zander grabbed John's. John reached out and grabbed the woman's long hair. She staggered under their weight as John pulled the three of them back up. When they were back at the same ground level with the woman, they narrowed their eyes at her. She started backing away, but John and Theresa leaped at her, knocking her down to the ground. Zander joined in, not sure where to put his hands. Theresa took out the rope and bound the woman's arms to her sides. Together, they heaved the woman to her feet and started interrogating her, “What's your name?” Theresa asked.
The woman scowled and said, “I'm Matilda. I anticipate your next question and I will answer it; yes. I am the agent of Tribulation Tiberius.”
John scowled and said, “Okay, whatever. Now, you will lead us to where he is keeping Agent Lead. Got that?”
Matilda nodded and said, “Yeah. Got that. I'll do anything you want. I know how dangerous it can be to refuse what your captor wants.”
Theresa glanced at John and asked warningly, “John...are you doing your thing again?”
Every now and again, John tried to do his Trying to Imagine Imaginations to Do what He Wants trick. John held up his hands innocently and responded, “Not that I can tell, sis. But even if I am and don't know it, where's the harm? It's not like I'm going back to being Destructor again, right?"
Theresa snorted, crossed her arms, and turned her attention back to Matilda.
“Lead on, Matilda.”
Matilda led them through the cave. Through twists and turns, they went. They were led through the cave and finally, through a dark tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a stool with someone sitting on it, staring at a figure on the other side of metal bars. Theresa let out a growl, “Tribulation Tiberius. There you are. And I'm guessing that in the cage is Agent Lead.”
And, sure enough, the figure in the cage came closer to reveal herself as the missing agent.
“Well done, agents!” she congratulated them. Tribulation Tiberius turned to them and growled, “Matilda! I told you to lead them to the lava pit and shove them in! What are you doing here, bound and prisoner to these children?”
Matilda shrugged, “Three imaginative children are stronger than one imaginary woman, I guess.”
Theresa swooped in on Tribulation Tiberius and bound him as she had done with Matilda. Matilda laughed, “Ha! I guess one imaginative girl is stronger than one imaginary man, too!”
Tribulation Tiberius squirmed on the floor and protested, “She caught me off guard is all! I could take her if she hadn't sprung so suddenly!”
“Yeah, right! You're just a weak imagination, Tribulation Tiberius!” John exclaimed, hooting in laughter.
Theresa glared at him and warned, “Careful, John. You never know when your thing will kick in again.”
John stopped laughing.
“Noted,” he said. Theresa took Tribulation Tiberius's keys and unlocked the dungeon door. Agent Lead walked out and helped the kids take the two criminals back to the agents' hideout, where they were locked up for life. The scene faded, and the children were left in Theresa's room, grinning at their victory. They turned away from the wall in which they had been facing. John and Theresa jumped when they saw Rick standing there. He cleared his throat and announced, “We are in need of your assistance once again, Theresa. The World of Imaginary is in grave danger, and you are the only one who can help.”
Theresa grinned and John announced, “I'm in. I'm just as imaginative as Theresa. I can help massively.”
Zander stepped up and added, “I may not have a very strong imagination, but I'm going, too. I need to keep my brother and sister out of danger.”
Rick looked them over and said, “Alright. We need your help, Imaginative Trio.”
The children grinned.
“I like that,” Zander said.
“I think it'll stick,” John agreed.
“The Imaginative Trio,” Theresa repeated the name in satisfaction. Yes. They were the Imaginative Trio, guardians of the World of the Imaginary. They got on the bed together and started jumping.