#mattsly

Several minutes later, Matthew and the pig (whom he named Sherman) arrived at a train station, ready to travel to France. Matthew went to the ticket booth and said, “One ticket to Paris, please?”

“Exit visa?” asked the ticket salesman.

“Exit visa?” Matthew repeated with a raised brow.

“No exit visa?” the ticket salesman frowned before yelling, “NO TICKET!!” He then furiously shut the window of the booth, and Matthew slumped in defeat.

Just then, Little Red Riding Hood, a young woman with a red hood and periwinkle hair, who was next to Matthew in line, tapped the boy’s shoulder and whispered, “Psst! See Slider. He can help!”

“Where can I find him?” Matthew whispered back.

“At the old cyber grand tower,” Little Red answered, “But you didn’t hear it from me! Now go!”

“Oh,” Matthew thought, “Hmmm, Slider?”

Meanwhile, at an old theater, Slider, Inez, Jackie, and Digit were sitting at a desk in front of a dilapidated stage. All day long, they had been busy trying to find the perfect young boy to play the part of Matt; all across the city, and from other cybersites like Radopolis, Factoria, Tikiville, and Mount Olympus, boys had arrived with copies of their resumes and photographs. Slider, Jackie, Inez, and Digit’s desk was littered with many resumes and pictures, and Slider had a long list of names; he read the names and crossed them off when he didn’t find the right boy. “Nice, nice,” Slider commented as he crossed yet another name off his list, “Very nice, yes.”

“I look like a prince,” a boy read from his lines as he was onstage, “And I dance like a feather!” read from his lines as he was onstage, “And I dance like a feather!”

“Okay, er, thank you,” said Slider, “Thank you. Next, please!”

The next actor was a boy with short red hair that usually covers his right eye and wearing a large green jacket. The actor thrust off his jacket, and revealed himself wearing a green sweater, a red backpack, blue jeans, and a pair of red sneakers. “Grammy, Motherboard, it’s me!” he said.

“Matt.” The actor moved his hips a little bit, but Slider, Inez, Jackie, and Digit weren’t impressed.

Jackie groaned and put her head on the desk, knowing that actor obviously wasn’t right for playing the role of the prince. “Oh, brother!” Jackie grumbled as she stared at the actor with a bored, frozen expression.

They eventually decided to call it quits for a day, and left the theater, feeling defeated. All of the boys they interviewed just didn’t quite fit the role for playing the Grand Duke Matt. “That’s it, Slider,” mumbled Jackie, “Game over! Our last kopek gone for that old theater. And we still don’t have a boy to pretend to be Matt!”

She then began to moan in frustration under her breath.

Slider, however, still had a little bit of hope left as he assured Jackie, “We’ll find him. He’s here, somewhere right under our noses!” Then he reached inside his coat pocket to pull out an old but good-looking gold and green bejeweled object. “Don’t forget,” he said as he showed Jackie, Inez, and Digit the box, “One look at this jewelry box, and the Empress will think we have the real Matt!”

As the four con people walked on, Matthew and Sherman were making their way to find the Cyber Grand Tower. “Excuse me,” Matthew was about to say, “I’m looking for the Cyber Grand Tower…” His sentence was cut off when he accidentally bumped into Slider, who just happened to be walking in the opposite direction as he was. “Oh! Excuse me,” Matthew muttered before continuing on his way.

As the boy walked away, Slider pretended he didn’t know who he was. “And before she catches on,” he continued saying to Jackie, Inez, and Digit, “We’ll be spending off those ten million Snelfus!”

Matthew, meanwhile, kept walking along, hoping to find the tower. He approached the Town Crier and asked him, “Excuse me, sir, but do you know where the Cyber Grand Tower is?”

The Town Crier shook his head and said, “There is nothing there. No, no. There’s no one living there. Move along.”

Matthew just shrugged and kept on walking with Sherman in his arms.

----------------------------

In this chapter, Matthew tries to seek help into finding a way to go to Paris. Meanwhile, Slider, Inez, Jackie, and Digit are trying desperately to find a Matt imposter in order to win money from the Empress.

Cast:

Matt as Anastasia

Slider as Dimitri

Jackie, Inez, and Digit as Vladimir

6 years later, the Cyberspace Revolution had made people in Cyberspace much more miserable than ever as they were under communist rule.

Parallelogram: Cyberspace is gloomy!

Radster: Cyberspace is bleak!

PJ: My legs got frozen from standing here all week!

Across various cybersites, people were singing about how hard life is, but how a certain rumor was keeping their spirits up.

Citizens: And since the revolution, our lives have been so gray!

Thank goodness for the gossip that gets us through the day!

Hey!

In the streets, many people were happily dancing and singing about some gossip that was going around.

Have you heard?

There’s a rumor in Cyberspace!

Have you heard?

What they’re saying on the streets?

At a newspaper stand, Erica Ram was selling some newspapers while telling everyone what the rumor was.

Erica Ram: Although the queen did not survive

One son may be still alive!

Citizens: The Prince Matt!

The rumor was that the Grand Duke Matt may have escaped his family’s siege and execution, and was still living and breathing today. When the citizens mentioned the Prince’s name, the chief looked at them with a glare, and Erica Ram cried, "But please do not repeat!"

Even though the new government was not keen on Matt surviving, people still kept on talking about him and singing about a reward that the Dowager Empress (who now lived in Paris, France) would pay to anyone who found the Grand Duke

Citizens: It’s a rumor, a legend, a mystery

Something whispered in an alleyway

Or through a crack!

It’s a rumor that’s part of our history!

The Fortune Teller: (holding a snow globe) They say his royal Grandmama

Will pay a royal sum!

Citizens: To someone who can bring the prince back!

Jackie, Inez, and Digit were at the black market waiting for Slider. Slider whistled and called them over as they followed him. Together, they maneuvered through many vendors selling their wares.

Happily Ever After citizen: (holds up a royal painting) A ruble for this painting! It’s Quinlan, I swear!

Poddle: (shows some pajamas on a mannequin) Count Yusupov’s pajama! Comrades, buy the pair!

Penguia resident: (holding up an old fur hat) I got this from the tower! It’s lined with real fur!

Jackie, Inez, Digit, and Slider: It could be worth a fortune if it belonged to him!

Slider then led Jackie, Inez, and Digit upstairs to a crowded, messy office. As he looked over a desk covered in open letters and flyers, the Radopolis citizen smiled. “Well, Slider, we got us a theater!” Digit said.

Slider grinned, because he knew that something was going his way. “Everything’s going according to plan,” he said, “Now all we need is the boy.” He turned to the girls and the cyborg bird and said,

“Just think, guys! No more forging papers, no more stolen goods!” He stared out a window with pride as he continued, “We’ll have five tickets out of here – one for me, three for you, and one for Matt!” Then Slider began to sing:

It’s a rumor, a legend, a mystery

It’s the Prince Matt that will help us fly

You and I, friend, will go down in history!

We’ll find a boy to play the part and teach him what to say

Dress him up and take him to Paris

Just imagine the reward his dear old grandmama will pay!

Who else could pull it off but you and me?

The four of them climbed out the window and onto a roof; they filled their hearts and minds with destiny to win a reward!

Slider: We’ll be rich!

Jackie: We’ll be rich!

Slider: We’ll be out!

Inez: We’ll be out!

Slider, Jackie, Inez, and Digit: And Cyberspace will have something to talk about!

Slider, Jackie, and Inez then pretended to snowboard as the slid down the snowy roof as Digit flew down, laughing as they landed safely onto a balcony; they then climbed down the balcony while people in the street danced and sang softly:

Shh! Have you heard?

There’s a rumor in Cyberspace!

Have you heard?

What they’re saying on the streets?

HEY!

A group of citizens started dancing ecstatically while others went about their business. “HEY!” a few people called out as they danced and kicked their legs up; others continued gossiping among one another. Then, everybody sang out loud:

HEY! Have you heard?

There’s a rumor in Cyberspace!

Have you heard?

Comrade, what do you suppose?

All: A fascinating mystery!

Slider: (catching a trolley with Jackie, Inez, and Digit) The biggest con in history!

All: The Prince Matt!

Alive or dead?

Up in a clock tower, Professor Stumblesnore was polishing the clock face when he asked the readers, “Who knows?” But then he immediately shushed them as pigeons flew away.

Cast:

Matt as Anastasia

Slider as Dimitri

Jackie, Inez, and Digit as Vladimir

Grammy and Motherboard (As an extra) as Dowager Empress Marie

Cyberspace 1916

Our story begins as we are given a view of an elegant music box. The opening had two figures dancing together while a little melody played. Then, the music box’s lid closed and the figurines disappeared. A hand picked up the music box, and placed it in a purse; the hand belonged to an elderly woman, who had gray hair and brown eyes. The old woman, who was the Dowager Empress of Cyberspace, walked down a staircase to meet a ship. Two guys helped the old woman into her ship and closed the door. As the ship travelled into the galaxy of Cyberspace, we hear Grammy narrating the story:

There was a time, not very long ago, when we lived in an enchanted world of elegant palaces and grand parties. The year was Nineteen Hundred and Sixteen, and my daughter, Amara, was the queen of Cyberspace.

The Dowager Empress’s ship arrived at the Cyberspace Grand Tower of the Cyberspace Royal family, the Quinlans. Upon arriving, a man opened the door and helped Grammy out of the ship; two other men removed the Empress’s coat as she stepped through the main doors of the tower.

Inside the tower, a royal ball was taking place in honor of the Tricentennial mark of the Quinlan family rule. The vast intro of the tower was filled by the highest of aristocracy across cybersites from Radopolis to Penguia, waltzing in the grand ballroom as the orchestra played. Motherboard, the godmother of Amara, was displayed on a large screen, watching them dance. As Grammy made her way to her throne, she saw someone and happily waved, “Hello, darling!” The person she was waving to was a little boy, the Grand Duke Matt. He smiled and waved to Grammy (who was his grandmother), and danced with his parents, King John and Queen Amara. John had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Amara had short red hair, and brown eyes.

Amara picked up Matt and spun him around while the young boy called out, “Oh, mama!”

“We were celebrating the three-hundredth anniversary of our family’s rule. And that night, no star burned brighter than that of our sweet Matt, my youngest grandson.”

After they danced for several minutes the royal family took their seats in their thrones. Matt sat in front of his parents, along with his four siblings–the beast and the three Fate sisters, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

Matt ran up to Grammy while carrying a drawing he did of the royal chef and a tutor he didn’t care for. When he got to his grandmother, Matt showed her the picture, and Grammy laughed. Meanwhile, a little brown-haired boy with light tan skin named Slider snuck out from the kitchen while eating an apple; he wanted to see some of the fun in the tower, too!

He begged me not to return to Paris, so I gave him a special gift to make the separation easier for both of us.

Grammy took out the music box from her pocket and showed it to her grandson

Matt gasped. “For me? Is it a jewelry box?”

Just then, a kitchen servant caught the boy spying on the two. “Slider! You belong in the kitchen!” He berated the young boy, and grabbed him to drag him back in the kitchen

The boy, Slider, dropped his apple and struggled to get out of the servant’s grip on him.

As the mischievous servant boy went away, Grammy demonstrated how the music box worked.

“Look,” Grammy took out a key, which was a golden wreath on a pendant on a neck chain. He put it in the back of the music box, and winded it.

Matt watched in awe as the music box opened up, playing the song as the figures, who resembled John and Amara, danced with each other.

His blue eyes widened as the song played. “It plays our lullaby!” He whispered happily.

Grammy smiled. “You can play it at night before you go to sleep. And pretend that it's me singing.”

As the figures danced in the box, Grammy sang the lullaby.

“On the wind,

Cross the sea,

Hear this song,

And remember,”

She and Matt danced a little bit as they both finished.

“Soon you’ll be,

Home with me,

Once upon a December.”

As the music box closed, Grammy and her grandson giggled, and then she gave Matt the key. “Read what it says.”

The young boy squinted as he read the small words written on the music box key. “‘Together in Paris’. Really?!”

“But, we would never be together in Paris. For a dark shadow had descended upon the house of the Quinlans.”

Suddenly, the ballroom went dark and the room went silent. Gasps came from the crowd, as they parted before a dark figure. A glass of champagne even dropped.

The dark figure was revealed to be a tall, young man with green skin, a pointy chin and dark black hair. Although he was nice looking, he did have a very evil grin on his face. He stalked through the crowd, stepping on the broken glass and crushing it underfoot as if nothing happened.

He was also accompanied by his droid henchmen, Buzz and Delete.

“His name was Hacker. We thought he was a Holy Man, but he was a fraud, power-mad and dangerous.”

Hacker reached the queen, who stood alone firmly.

“How dare you return to the palace!” Amara confronted him.

Hacker removed his hood off his head. “But I am your confidante,” He bitterly insisted.

“Confidante?!” Amara scoffed. “HA! You are a traitor! GET OUT!!”

But Hacker refused. “You think you can banish the Hacker?” He then held up his prized possession, which was a demonic glowing green reliquary with a skull on top of it. “By the unholy powers vested in me. I banish you with a curse!”

Matt stood beside his grammy and Motherboard, and gasped in horror as Hacker pointed at the queen and her family, causing everyone in the room to gasp in shock and fright.

So did Slider, who stood aside the three.

“Mark my words…” Hacker warned Amara. “You and your family will die within the fortnight! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL I SEE THE END OF THE QUINLAN LINE FOREVER!”

With the power of the reliquary, it sent out a bolt of lightning to the chandelier, shooting it down to the floor and making it explode.

The guests all screamed and panicked, and then, Hacker was gone.

“Consumed by his hatred for Amara and her family, Hacker sold his soul for the power to destroy them.”

In a flashback, Hacker was in another part of Cyberspace is lair where he knelt down before an oracle to sell his soul for dark magic. He cowered down as a huge, shadowy figure appeared above him, and raised his arms in supplication.

A shadow-like smoke in a windstorm left Hacker sucking towards the terrible figure. He morphed into a skeleton as his soul left him. Then from the oracle, the green reliquary materialized in midair before the man's skeleton. The magic device restored Hacker when he grasped onto it, giving him full control of dark magic.

Back in the present, Hacker was hiding beside the palace as he summoned some green bat demons from the reliquary.

“Go…” He evilly whispered to the demons. “Fulfill your dark purpose. Steal the fate of the queen and her family once and for all.”

The demons growled as they left the reliquary, making their way to the palace gates.

“From that moment on, the spark of unhappiness in our country was fanned into a flame that would soon destroy our lives forever.”

Outside the palace, a crowd of guards were being held back by the locked gates, shouting and demanding to get in. The bat demons attacked the chain holding the gate shut, until it broke, allowing the soldiers to pour into the palace grounds with rifles, and execute the royal family.

The Cyberspace Revolution had begun!

They even tied some rope around a statue of the queen, and then pulled it down to the ground, breaking it!

Inside the palace, the Quinlan family ran down a hallway, wearing coats over their nightclothes, and running as fast as they could to escape the tower!

“Help! Mom! Help!” the beast cried after someone from outside threw a rock at the window, breaking it in the process.

“Hurry, children!” Amara warned the children with urgency and fright.

It was at that moment when Matt suddenly stopped in his tracks. “My music box!” He ran back down the hallway to retrieve his grandmother's gift.

“Matt!” Amara tried to stop him, but he was too fast. She ran after him. “Come back! Come back!”

Matt ran back into his bedroom to get his music box.

But just then, Grammy rushed into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Matt!”

Suddenly, the sound of rifle shots came out of nowhere, frightening both Matt and Grammy. Screens were shattered to cut off contact with Motherboard.

“Please, hurry!” Grammy tried to lead her grandson to safety.

From the wall panel, a secret door opened up, revealing Slider. He bursted out towards Matt and his grandmother. “Come this way! Out the servants quarters!” He gestured them towards the secret doorway, unintentionally causing Matt to drop his music box!

“Hurry, Matt!” Grammy pleaded as Slider shoved the two into the secret doorway.

Unbeknownst to them, Buzz and Delete were outside the bedroom window, alarmed that Matt was escaping. “Master! He's getting away!”

“My music box!” Matt tried to run back inside to fetch his music box.

But Slider stopped him, and forced him back through the doorway. “Go! Go!” He demanded before slamming the panel shut.

At that same moment, voices came from outside the door. “Comrades, in here!”

Slider put his body in front of the panel to give Matt and Grammy enough time to get away.

The doors then bursted open, revealing the angry revolutionaries holding guns in their hands.

“Where are they, boy?” One of them demanded to know.

But Slider responded by throwing something at them and tried to fight them back.

In return, the guard smacked the young boy with the end of his rifle, knocking him out completely! His left hand now reached unnoticed for Matt's music box.

Once they escaped the palace, Grammy ran with Matt across the ice.

It was freezing cold, outside, and the two shivered, not being dressed appropriately for the temperature outside.

“Grammy!” Matt cried.

“Keep up with me!” Grammy assured him.

The two passed under a bridge, unaware that Hacker was standing atop. The evil man leapt down upon them, landing hard on the ice, and grabbed a tight hold on Matt's ankle.

Matt screamed as he tripped forward!

Grammy turned around in horror upon seeing the evil Holy Man. “Hacker!” Shee struggled with him, trying to free her grandson.

“Lemme go, please!” Matt begged.

But Hacker wouldn't let go of him. “You'll never escape me, child! Never!” He grinned maniacally, and snickered evilly.

But suddenly, the ice beneath him began to break apart. Hacker noticed as he began to fall through into the cold river.

This gave Matt time to wrench himself free. “Let go!” He watched as Hacker thrashed about in the water.

As he was going down, the two locked eyes for a moment. Hacker's eyes were glowing, full of rage and fury. “Buzz! Delete!” The man cried out to his henchmen, who had just arrived at the scene.

“Boss!” They responded.

Hacker's fingers dug into the ice, unknowingly releasing the reliquary he had with him. But he couldn't stop himself, as he kept getting slowly dragged under. He took one last desperate reach out of the water, and then Hacker was sucked under by the current, drowning and freezing to death because of hypothermia.

This broke Matt's gaze with Hacker, and he continued to run with his grandma into the cold night.

Buzz and Delete stared in shock at what had just happened. With their master gone, all that was left of him was the reliquary.

After a while of running, Grammy and Matt made it to a crowded station, where other people were desperately trying to climb onto moving ships to escape the revolution.

They fought their way past the other people, trying to catch up to the ship that was leaving.

“Matt, hurry! Hurry!!” Grammy urged him.

When they caught up to the ship, two passengers managed to pull Grammy on board. But then, he looked in horror to see Matt still running on the boarding dock in order to catch up.

“Grammy!” He cried as he held out his hands.

“Here! Take my hand!” Grammy reached her hand out to her grandson.

Matt reached out and grabbed his grandma’s hand, desperate and frightened.

“Hold on to my hand!”

“Don't let go!” Matt pleaded.

The two tried to keep hold of each other's hand.

But then, Matt's hand suddenly slipped away from Grammy's grasp, and he screamed as he fell!

“Matt!” Grammy watched as the young boy stumbled down.

Matt hit the ground hard, and lost consciousness.

“MATT!!!” Grammy cried. She tried to jump off the ship, but the other passengers held her back to protect her. Grammy could do nothing but watch as the view of her grandson was obscured by a sea of other people, and disappeared in the distance.

“So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever.”

As onlookers came over to help the fallen prince, we cut away to a close-up of a painting of the royal family. The “camera” zoomed into a better detail at Matt.

“And my Matt, my beloved grandson…I never saw him again.”

Cast:

Matt as Anastasia

Slider as Dimitri

Grammy and Motherboard (As an extra) as Dowager Empress Marie

Matt's mom (Named Amara in the fic) as Czar Nicholas

Matt's dad (Named John in the fic) as Alexandra

The Fate Sisters and the Beast as Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Alexi

Hacker as Rasputin