Chapter 22: "The Isle of Misplaced Ideas (And Extremely Misplaced Villains)"
The road to the Isle was weirdly well-paved. Which was suspicious.
> "Did anyone else expect more... existential fog?" Petunia asked.
> "Or ghosts made of unfinished thoughts?" Arcanos added.
We followed the binder's vague vibrations until the road ended abruptly at a dock held together by glue, glitter, and probably regret. A ferry waited. It honked.
Not the horn. The boat itself.
> "It has eyes," Kevin muttered.
> "Don't look directly at them," Lyria warned.
We boarded. The ferry sang sea shanties in a minor key. Across a sea of spilled ink and bad metaphors, the Isle of Misplaced Ideas rose like a forgotten outline: jagged cliffs, glowing thought bubbles, and a vending machine selling only half-baked plots.
As we stepped onto the shore, everything shimmered. The air felt like someone was trying to explain a dream they couldn't quite remember.
> "Alright, gang. Let's find this next prophecy and try not to get erased by a rejected character arc," I said.
We hadn't walked far when we stumbled into a massive crater. In the center?
The Villain. Again.
Except now he was... better dressed. Still sad. Still holding the ferret.
> "HOW DID YOU GET HERE FIRST?!" I yelled.
> "I took an Uber of Despair," he replied, sipping what was hopefully tea. "Also, I live here now."
> "You live on the Isle of Misplaced Ideas?" Lyria asked.
> "Every villain has a summer home," he said. "Mine just happens to be next to the Cave of Abandoned Catchphrases."
He gestured vaguely toward a glowing door marked "NO PLOT ALLOWED".
> "So... what now?" Petunia asked.
> "Now?" The Villain stood dramatically. "Now I help you. Because honestly, if the world ends, who will I monologue to?"
> "...Is this a redemption arc?" Arcanos whispered.
> "It's a vacation arc," the Villain corrected. "And I brought scones."
So yeah. We added him to the party.
Because when you're knee-deep in rejected concepts and floating existential dread, adding one emotionally damaged villain with a supportive ferret... really doesn't make things weirder.
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End of Chapter 22 (Isle explored. Villain included. Chaos? Pending.)
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