y a remarkable stroke of luck, the next wormhole out of Neverland was going to appear a short walk from the Hideaway.

My friends and I got up with plenty of time and had breakfast with the Lost Boys and Girls. AP talked with Daniel about some sword fighting moves that he favored. Jason continued to pour over the Oz map with Blue at his side. SJ gave some of the campers a demonstration of what her portable potions could do. As the kids cheered the eruption of an ice potion she’d just fired, I spotted her smiling at their reaction. It was good to see. The kids were impressed because she was impressive.

SJ based so much of her self-esteem on her former “perfect princess” persona, which she believed a lack of a protagonist book robbed her of. But she was missing the big picture. Although being exceptional at the traditional aspects of our archetype had earned her top marks and respect at school for many years, her ability to sing, curtsy, and communicate with animals had never been what I’d admired her for. My friend was brilliant. She was smart and creative in a way that was beyond reproach. I knew for certain that the antagonists would have beaten us long ago if it weren’t for her. I would have died long ago if it weren’t for her.

I only hoped that one day she would move past her disappointment about not being chosen as a protagonist and accept how wonderful she was. I also hoped she would come to realize that blaming me for what she’d lost wasn’t the answer.

I didn’t want to keep being the object of her bitterness. I hated it. I felt bad that she was going through a rough situation, but every time I replayed that first fight in our room or saw a resentful look in her eyes whenever I got any attention, it made me mad. Like I didn’t have enough problems. I didn’t need her trying to fill me with guilt or saddle me with blame for her problems too. Plus . . . I needed her. Not just because she made our team stronger but also because she was my friend. And I missed her as much as I resented her for pushing me away.

“You ready to go?” Blue asked, trotting up next to me. “It’s almost wormhole time.”

“Yeah. We just need to get SJ.”

“No problem.” Blue pivoted. “SJ!” she hollered.

Startled, SJ misfired and launched a jade potion toward an unsuspecting Mitchell as he was heading through the forest. It exploded against a tree behind him and the slime it emitted caught his back leg. He tripped and stumbled forward. The children laughed. Blue and I rushed over; SJ reached him first. She stowed her slingshot and bent down to take a look at his trapped leg.

Mitchell struggled against the slime. “Nice shot, mini Snow White,” he said. “Can you get me out of this?”

SJ put her hands on her hips and stood up. “Sorry, Mitchell. Why not ask a more innovative protagonist to help you?” she said with a feigned smile. “Oh look, here comes one now. Crisa, care to give him a hand?”

SJ trotted off without another glance back.

“What’s with your friend?” Mitchell asked.

“She’s going through something,” I explained, trying to yank his leg out of the slime.

“And she has to take it out on me?”

“What did you expect?” Blue said as she drew her hunting knife and started cutting away the gunk. “You seriously insulted her last night on Hook’s ship. You basically called her boring.”

I used my wand in the form of a knife to help Blue slice away at Mitchell’s ensnarement. When the writer was free, he leapt up and tried to wipe the slime off his blazer.

“Good luck on your quest,” he told us, ignoring Blue’s comment. “I’ll probably be heading home soon myself, but I have a few follow up questions for these guys’ Honorary Mother.” He stuck out his hand. “It was nice meeting you both. Maybe someday I’ll write a story that’ll put your names on the big screen.”

“Big screen of what?” Blue asked, shaking his hand.

Mitchell smiled. “Never mind. Just good luck.” He shook my hand too and continued on his journey into the woods.

“I don’t like that guy,” Blue said decidedly.

I shrugged. “I’m undecided. Writers can be tricky.”

My friends and I bid our farewells to the Lost Boys and Girls and the fairies before meeting up with Peter, AP, and Tinkerbell, who led us through the forest to the spot where my Hole Tracker indicated the next wormhole would appear. Jason mentioned that we were lucky the coordinates fell where they did; according to our map, a bit further south and we might come upon any number of dangers. Wild animals, booby-trapped ancient tribal ruins, and certain-death sinkholes could be found on the island. The Neverwood wasn’t all fairies and feasts.

When we arrived at the right spot, it was several minutes past ten o’clock. My Hole Tracker beamed excitedly. I pulled up the holographic map to double check our position. The silvery wormhole glistened upon it.

Out of curiosity, I scrolled through the time settings and learned that two other holes would be opening in the next few hours on different parts of the island. Unlike the silver wormhole that was going to open up any second in front of us, my Hole Tracker displayed one of these future holes as orange and the other as red.

It made me wonder again about the difference. Did the color somehow correspond to where the wormhole’s portal would take you? I supposed this would be as good a test as any. If our oncoming silver wormhole took us back to that weird crossroads of doors leading to other realms, then it would certainly appear that way.

“Knock ’em dead,” Peter said. Tinkerbell seconded the sentiment with bright wing flashes. “Come back and visit us sometime. It’s been fun fighting alongside you.”

“Be careful in Oz,” AP warned. “That place is more dangerous than Neverland. The landscape is diverse with obstacles and monstrous creatures at every turn. I know you weren’t able to meet the Hideaway’s Honorary Mother, but she’s spent a great deal of time in Oz and has told us of her many harrowing adventures there.”

“Any specific advice?” Blue asked.

“Be wary of the witch in the North Mountains. She is trapped there, but has vicious winged minions doing her bidding across the land.”

My friends and I exchanged a look.

Which witch was he talking about? I thought the Wicked Witch of Oz had been defeated long ago. And she was from the west.

“Oh, and mind the Poppies,” AP added. “They grow in abundance there.”

Like a knife being shoved through the dimension, a jagged silver slit suddenly appeared in the air twenty feet above us. The tear widened to form a sparkling circular wormhole five feet in diameter.

“Time to go,” Peter said. “I’ll give you guys a lift.”

One by one, Peter flew us up to the hole. I watched each of my friends vanish into its depths. Peter came for me last. He took me by the hand and we zipped into the air, pausing for a moment to float over the wormhole.

“Crisanta Knight,” AP called.

I twisted around to see him better.

“Watch out for your blind spots.”

I nodded solemnly then glanced at Peter. “See you next time, kid.”

“See you next time, bigger kid.” He winked.

Peter Pan let go of my hand and I fell into the abyss once more.

Like the portal we’d entered via the looking glass in Century City, this one dropped into a dark, dingy plummet. As I tumbled, I touched roots and dirt until the abyss abruptly opened up and spit me out in the same way as before.

I landed on the springy, thick mattress. After I sat up and blew the hair out of my face, I looked around the massive room with the fourteen doors. My friends and I weren’t alone. There was a White Rabbit in the room. The others were talking to him. My focus narrowed in on the rabbit’s black vest and alert ears. His back was turned to me, but I recognized him instantly.

“Harry!”

Upon hearing his name, Harry the White Rabbit pivoted around. His ears perked up and he immediately hopped over.

“Crisa!”

The amicable Harry grinned broadly. I hadn’t seen him since that night we met in the Forbidden Forest all those months ago. His jeans were dark blue and he wore a mock tuxedo t-shirt under his vest. He also wore a Hole Tracker like the one he’d given me, though his looked shiny and new.

“Making good use of the gift I gave you, I see,” he said, nodding to my watch. “Your friend Jacob over here was just explaining that you’re trying to get to Oz.”

“That’s right. But his name is Jason,” I corrected, hopping off the bed and going over to properly introduce my friends. “And this is Blue, Daniel, and SJ.” I gestured to each of them. “Guys, this is Harry. I told you about him last semester.”

“Hey,” Harry said. Then he turned his attention back to me. “You’re lucky you didn’t run into any other White Rabbits while you were passing through this intersection. If any of my coworkers had caught you here crossing worlds without a storyteller visa, they would have gone ballistic.”

“Where is here, exactly?” Daniel asked. “When we went through wormholes last semester, we went straight into another realm. The ones we’ve taken over the last couple of days keep leading us here.”

“Oh, sorry,” Harry said. “I probably should’ve warned you before I gave you the Hole Tracker, Crisa. There are two types of holes. One kind creates a temporary tear in a realm’s outer In and Out Spell, thus opening a portal that leads directly from one land to the next. Those only stay open for a few minutes and are usually in super random, hard-to-reach places.”

“Like the black hole we took in the middle of the ocean to Earth last semester,” Blue commented. “We never would have found that wormhole without the help of a mermaid and the magic taffy we used to breathe underwater.”

Harry didn’t know what she was talking about, but he agreed with the gist of her point. “Yeah. So anyway, since the short opening time and unsavory locations of these Pop-Up Portals deter people from using them, we White Rabbits don’t usually monitor them. The holes we try to keep track of are the ones that lead directly to the Portalscape. That’s this place.” He gestured around the room. “A Wonderland in its own right.

“Basically, when a Portalscape Portal appears, it stays open for ten to fifteen minutes. People who go through end up here with access to doors that lead to all the Wonderlands. That’s why White Rabbits try to guard Portalscape Portals, because having unfettered access to all fourteen core magic realms is dangerous and could have consequences on any number of worlds.”

“How bad could it be?” Jason said.

“Have you ever seen the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas?”

“Is Bruce Willis in it?” Blue asked.

“The actor?” Harry replied. “Definitely not.”

“Then no.”

“Well, rent it at a video store if you’re ever on Earth looking to kill some time. Dude who came up with the story, Tim Burton, traveled through here a while back on a storyteller visa, and let’s just say the protagonist in his movie demonstrates the bad juju that can go down if characters wander out of their worlds and into someone else’s without being checked.”

“But this is the second time we’ve accessed a Portalscape Portal and we didn’t run into a White Rabbit either time,” Daniel interceded. “Are you guys sleeping on the job?”

Harry’s hair bristled. “No,” he said indignantly. “First off, that wormhole you just came through was mine; I was running late to it is all. And second, these last few days have been hard on my kind. Not all White Rabbits have the ability to guard holes. There are only up to a dozen of us on duty at a time. And with the approach of the Vicennalia Aurora, more holes than usual have been opening up. The magic instability of the Vicennalia Aurora makes the walls between worlds a lot weaker, so more wormholes form. Unfortunately, we’re not able to cover them all. Though like I said, that’s a lucky break for you because trying to get past a White Rabbit without the proper visa is dangerous. You do not want to mess with us. On that note . . .”

Harry opened his vest and pulled out a zip-up wallet from an inner pocket. I spotted two things inside the wallet—a beautiful golden stamp and a little black stick that looked like a miniature wand. “It was my bad for not thinking to do this when I gave you the Hole Tracker in the first place, Crisa,” he said as he drew the stamp. “I was uh . . . distracted, I guess. I’m just glad that one of my co-workers didn’t catch you portal-hopping and tear you to shreds.” He motioned for me to extend my hand.

When I did, he placed the face of the stamp against the back of it. “All access,” he said. “No expiration.”

The stamp glowed and then flashed a myriad of different colors. When I pulled my hand away, I saw a sparkling crest marked on my skin. It faded a moment later.

“Now if you ever run into a White Rabbit while portal-hopping, you can show him your hand and he’ll use his scanner wand to see that you have an all-access storyteller visa stamp.” Harry waved for the rest of my friends to come forward. “Let me get the rest of you guys squared away too.”

My friends formed a line and Harry repeated the stamping process as he went on talking. “This is actually kind of exciting for me. I’ve never given an all-access storyteller visa to anyone before. It’s very rare that we do. The whole point of this system is that White Rabbits only allow reputable storytellers from other lands through. They bring technology and innovations from other worlds and we provide them with literary material, which they use to turn a profit back home. The last guy we gave all-access to was this awesome dude named Walt Disney. He was about as reputable as they come, so we let him have at it.”

“On a related topic,” SJ said as she received her stamp. “Harry, why do portals show up in different colors on the Hole Tracker?”

“Simple,” Harry said. “The colors indicate what type of portal you’re dealing with and where it will take you. Portalscape Portals are silver and will always bring you right here to the Portalscape. Pop-Up Portals, which we don’t typically guard because, like I said, they tend to turn up in really obscure and dangerous places, are either red or orange—red for counterclockwise jumps and orange for clockwise jumps.”

“What do you mean clockwise and counterclockwise?” Jason asked Harry.

The White Rabbit had finished stamping my friends’ hands and began to put his supplies back in his vest pocket. “The Pop-Up Portals aren’t random,” he explained. “When you’re using them within the boundaries of the Wonderlands, they take you in a circular pattern that matches the layout of the Portalscape. Take this door, for example,” Harry said as he hopped over to a bright yellow door. “It takes you to Oz. The next Wonderland in the sequence is Limbo.” Harry pointed at a glittery, red wooden door to his right. Then he stood in front of the following door in the sequence—a rounded, silver one. “After Limbo is the Portalscape.”

Harry continued to hop around the room like a tour guide, pointing to the different doors. “Following that we have Xanadu, then the Super Dome, Atlantis, the North Pole, your Book, my Wonderland, Toyland, The Giants’ Keep, Neverland, Camelot, Cloud Nine, and then it’s back to Oz again. See? Full circle.”

“So all Wonderland holes move in this cycle?” SJ clarified. “The wormholes that form Pop-Up Portals in Book will always lead to Wonderland, holes in Oz will always lead to Limbo, and so on?”

“No, see that’s what I was trying to explain with the orange and red portals,” Harry said. “The holes can move clockwise and counterclockwise. So a hole in Camelot, for instance, could take you forward to Cloud Nine or backward to Neverland.”

“Orange for clockwise jumps in the cycle, red for counterclockwise ones,” I said, finally getting it. “Noted. Anything else we should know before we get going?”

“Well, there are a bunch of really specific functions on your Hole Tracker, but since you’re probably not planning on becoming a hole guardian like us White Rabbits, there’s no need to overwhelm you. I should just warn you that Portalscape Portals will always appear silver on the Tracker, but sometimes they blend in with the environment around them, like mirrors, tree stumps, deep puddles, and the occasional wardrobe. Also, a word to the wise on those black holes your friend mentioned—”

Suddenly we heard a terrible roar from up above. It came from the chasm we’d dropped out of.

“What was that?” Blue asked.

“Someone without a storyteller visa is trying to get past a White Rabbit guarding a Portalscape Portal.” Harry shrugged. “I told you not to mess with us.”

The roars continued and I also heard the distant sounds of yelling and fighting. They set my friends and I on edge, but Harry seemed undisturbed by it.

“Like I was saying,” he continued. “The black holes lead to non-Wonderland realms. Since those realms don’t exist in a sequence like these do,” he gestured around the massive room, “they’re a more erratic form of travel.”

Harry took my wrist and twisted two knobs on my Hole Tracker. A series of holographic user settings popped up and he made a few rapid selections that were too fast for me to keep track of. When he was done, he twisted the two knobs again.

“There,” he said. “Now when a black hole shows up on your Tracker, you can find out what non-Wonderland realm it leads to by clicking on it.”

The whole room shook with another roar. This one was louder and angrier. Dirt and sediment began to fall from the ceiling.

“Will do, Harry,” I said. “Thanks for the help.”

“For you, any time,” Harry said.

He nervously thumped the ground with his foot and looked away. It might have just been my eyes playing tricks on me, but for a second I thought I saw the area beneath his whiskers grow slightly pink.

Was he blushing?

Harry cleared his throat. “Best of luck. And don’t lose that Hole Tracker. When you’re not using it for tracking down missing persons, use it to come visit me in Wonderland, okay? You still owe me that rain check.”

“Definitely,” I said.

ROAR!!!!!

This time, Harry looked up. We all did. When no other sound followed, we assumed that the fight was over. Then the bed in the middle of the Portalscape flashed with a bright white light.

“Oh no . . .” Harry said.

The bed flashed fourteen more times in quick succession.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Someone must’ve killed a White Rabbit,” he said in shock, his eyes full of panic. “That’s never happened before! By the count of those flashes, fifteen unauthorized users are on their way down here.”

Now it was my turn to say “Oh, no.”

I spun to face my friends. “Alex made contact with me through my Mark Two last night,” I said quickly. “He told me that he and Mauvrey are headed to Camelot and Arian is going to Oz. I think this could be them.”

“Crisa! Why didn’t you tell us that before?” Blue angrily punched me in the arm. “We’ve been chatting in here like we had all the time in the world!”

“I’m sorry!” I said. “But we gotta go now.” I bolted for the yellow door that led to Oz, my friends behind me. “Harry,” I said, glancing back. “Watch out for the people headed down here. They’re—”

That’s when I saw her. Falling through the chasm in the roof was Mauvrey—her blonde hair rippling around her. Our eyes met.

I yanked open the door to Oz. In front of me was a lot of rubble and what looked like the ruins of an old building.

“Go!” I ushered my friends through, holding the door open for them.

Mauvrey landed on the mattress with a rough thud. Another two bodies were ejected from the chasm in the roof after her—Alex and Arian. Mauvrey opened her mouth to say something, but rolled off the far side of the mattress so she wouldn’t get squashed. I started to step through the door.

“Crisa!” Harry called after me. “To find your way in Oz, make sure to follow the Y—”

“The Yellow Brick Road, I got it!” I said.

“No, Crisa. The YUR!”

His confusing statement caused me to hesitate. But I immediately came to my senses when Arian landed. Unlike everyone else I’d seen arrive, he was not fazed by the abrupt plummet. When his feet touched the mattress, he bounced off it like a trampoline and landed in a crouched position on the floor of the Portalscape.

He rose and locked eyes with me. He drew his sword.

Aw, crud.