Vinnie and Barney looked at each other as the scabbard was placed at their throats. Koko stood to the side of them her dark eyes shifting between the boys and the guard. Vinnie pulled out his tight collar, but a sly look in Koko's eyes reassured him to not give up hope.

"Oh thank you!" Koko bellowed in a grateful tone.

"For what?!" the guard asked, skeptically raising his eyebrows.

"For saving me of course!" Koko said, narrowing her eyes and tilting her head. "You're my hero!"

The guard chuckled and his face turned red. "Well, little girl. I was just doing my job hehe."

Koko clasped her hands together and gushed, "Its time to reward you for doing such a good job. Come here!"

The guard stammered nervously. "Wait what?" he exclaimed. "Kid, you're only twelve!"

"Of course!" Koko said, and she ran to him. "Platonic hug time!"

Koko gave the guard a big embrace before grabbing the hand with his scabbard. "Thank you!" she said with a wink and handed the sword to Barney.

Barney immediately took the sabre and slammed the guard with his hilt. Dazed, he fell backwards onto the floor, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

Koko wiped the imaginary dirt off her hands as Vinnie cheered. "Dats my goil!"

Barney's non covered eye widened. "Are you really giving this sword to me?" he asked Koko.

"Of course," the tan skinned girl replied. "Feminine wiles are my only weapon."

Vinnie chuckled in his deep voice.

"And imagine how good she'll look in ten years!"

Koko grabbed him by the collar. "Boy, I already look good. Now let's blow this joint once and for all!"

Vinnie and Barney both nodded. "You got it!"

Koko lead the two boys down the hallway into room full of dark blue pipes and a passage of water. The room reeked of raw sewage and an enormous pipe traveled down the waterway. "Dis is da secret passage?!" Vinnie asked in disbelief.

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"Well technically," Koko remarked. "If you wanna be precise, it's how the waste escapes from the building."

Vinnie shook his head again. "So we're traveling with da poo poo and da pee pee!"

Koko laughed in a cruel but matter-of-fact manner. "To them, we are nothing but waste. At least there won't be any guards if we follow through this waterway.

"Well then," Vinnie remarked looking at his allies. "Time to fece the truth!"

Barney shrugged his shoulders. "On my Island, there is a hidden art to removing this smell."

Vinnie and Koko raised their eyes.

"It's called cologne."

"Well I'm gonna need a whole tub o' cologne the day when we're through with this adventure!" Vinnie exclaimed. "Now hold your nose. It's time to go below the waste!"

The three of them dove into the oily water, holding their breathes for dear life. Having forced to have done swim class by the Navy, all three of them had mastered the front stroke and they propelled themselves through the water. Vinnie squinted his eyes hard as the water stung them badly. He only had to allow enough vision to follow through the waterway.

The waterway began to narrow as it followed the pipeline. The swimmers went single file through it. Even having scrubbed Miss O'Lini's toilet did not prepare Vinnie for the overwhelming bile that surrounded him. It began to fog up his eyes and then he went to rub them. Suddenly, water went up his nose and he began to thrash. He had accidentally inhaled the water.

He cried for help but the water gagged his throat too. He was blinded and drowning in waste.

It's time to give up hope, a voice said in Vinnie's head. Dis was a foolish plan all along.

Everything started to fade in front of him and only his consciousness allowed him to know he was still alive.

But...he felt a tug. And it wasn't just any tug. He felt the tug of two hands. Two people had grabbed ahold of his thrashing body and pulled him towards a bright light.

Angels, he thought. Angels are guiding me to the Everworld. Maybe dere even my parents. Da ones I never got to meet.

The bright light drew closer and closer and suddenly he emerged from the water. Vinnie was whacked on the back and he spit out a bunch of water. When he wiped his eyes, he found himself floating in the sunlit ocean with Barney and Koko holding him tight.

"You guys..." he gasped. "You saved me!"

Barney managed a slight twitch of his lips. It resembled a smile.

"We couldn't let the master of this hairbrained scheme die. I'd still be in confinement if it wasn't for you!

"You'd make a handsome corpse," Koko said punching him on the shoulder. "But you're much better alive."

"Ey!" Vinnie cheered. "You guys make a really great crew! There's this elusive thing dey speak of on the high seas called friendship and I think we have it!"

His eyes scanned the docks of Orphanage Island. There were numerous boats they could make off with. They just had to get there.

Together, they paddled to the docks. Vinnie was so glad to be alive...until he reached the docks. A gorilla like hand pulled them one by one out of the water. It took Vinnie one second to realize the behemoth towering over them...was the head mistress herself, Miss O'Lini.