Group+3

The Prologue is very confusing. I think it would be better if you left it out altogether. Cheers, Mr Lim **
 * Mr Lim's Comments:

By Joshua Ong, Ngee Jhin and Songtao **
 * The Adventures of Mark and the Markopolians

__**A Sudden Call of Events**__

"Mark, your aunt is here!" Mark's mother called out. The blazing hot sun was beating down on the ground furiously. Luckily, the cotton candy clouds covered it and that made the day better. Mark was in the comforts of his home. As the word 'Aunt' echoed up the stairs, Mark's spirits lightened up. The first and only thing he thought was 'computer game'. Mark darted out of his room immediately to meet his favourite and loving Aunt Beatrice. "Aunt Beatrice! It is so good to see you!" Aunt Beatrice smiled sweetly and handed over a toy castle tied with a ribbon on top. "Happy Birthday, Mark!" exclaimed Aunt Beatrice. Mark's heart sank. That was not what he wanted! He was speechless and did not know what to say. Turning over, Aunt Beatrice and his mother was already chatting. Mark lowered his head, dragged his feet and walked away sadly. This was not what he wanted....

Mark lay down. He looked at the brown-coloured castle. It was old-fashioned and it seemed nothing much to Mark. "How could Aunt Beatrice give me this lousy birthday present? I thought she knew that I wanted a computer game badly!" He went deep, deep into sorrow. As Mark was about to close his eyes, rays of light came out of the castle. All of a sudden, he found himself in a place he had never been.

"What has happened to me????!!!!!" Mark screamed at the top of his voice. However, he realised that his voice level soft and squeaky and to make it worse, he also found out that his size changed too. He became as tiny as an ant. He scanned through the surroundings. It looked real. The castle, the river, everything was realistic, as if he was in the real world. Mark trembled in fear. His mind was flooded with questions. Where am I? Why am I so small? The answers were not revealed. Then, there was a squeak from behind. "Hi, my friend! Salutations!" Standing there was a small child, about the same height as Mark.

"Who are you?" Mark asked in shock. "I am Cornelius Turnstile. You may call me C.T. This is Markopolis Town. I had asked you to come, as my friends and I need your help. Why don't I bring you into the castle now." C.T. spoke in his squeaky voice. Mark was speechless. He could not make things out of it. He stood there, like a deer caught in headlights. He blinked. Ah! He was in the castle! It seemed magical. One second they were outside, the other second there were here! It was shocking to Mark ! Standing in front of him, stood a humongous group of boys. Mark was shy. It seemed that his attitude has changed, from good to better. C.T. started to introduce his friends. Finally, C.T. finished and he continued, "If you forget, look at their backs, their initials are there!" Real it was, there were initials on their backs.

Then, everyone said, "You will be our leader, Mark." Before Mark could even reply, they continued, "We trust you, we have faith in you, so do not hesitate!" "Alright, but how will I go home? Won't my mother know?" Mark asked curiously. "No, of course. Time won't have passed in the real world, not even a second! Just jump into the castle and to come out, we will send you home!" C.T. explained. Mark was relieved as he could come and go any time he wanted without anyone noticing. As he said farewell to the Markopolians, C.T. said, "Bye! Remember that the next time we meet is tomorrow after your school!" The Markopolians' sound went fainter and fainter. Mark wanted to reply but the next thing he knew, he was already at home. "Mark! Your aunt is going!" At the call, Mark ran down the stairs, with his smile still on his face.

__**The Missing One**__

The next day, when the school bell rang, Mark darted home for the adventure. Mark was too excited that he dashed into the room immediately and placed his bag at one side. Mark took out the model castle from his cupboard. The thumping footsteps of his mother was getting closer and closer. Without further ado, Mark jumped and he started to shrink...

"Hi, my friends!" Mark exclaimed in joy. There was absolute silence. "Guys, what has happened?" Mark asked at the sight of the Markopolians' sad faces. "Don't you see..." one of the Markopolians whom initial is J.C. said in a sad, low voice. As Mark looked and think for a while, the answer got to his head. "C.T. is missing!" Mark exclaimed. The Markopolians nodded. "What exactly happened?!" Mark screamed, as if he was going to cry. "He only gave one clue, which is this letter." J.C. explained clearly. "Hand me the letter immediately!" Mark demanded. On the letter, it wrote:

//Dear Mark,

I know you will be shocked. I, your true friend, was captured by the evil Ice Devil. He lives in Ice Land. I had already predicted that this will happen, as I am the Predictor of Markopolis Town. I cannot avoid it as this is the truth. No one can change it. It is up to you now, Mark. I hope you can lead the group of Markopolians and save me. Till we meet again!//

//Your friend,

C.T.//

"No! This can't be happening!" Mark said in his confident voice. "I must save C.T. no matter what! Let's go!" "You forgot something." J.C. said, still deep in sorrow. As Mark thinking progressed, his cheeks became redder,"Where is Ice Land?" The Markopolians laughed.

__**Arrival of the Ice Castle**__

Mark clutched C.T.'s letter in his hand. They were on the way to Ice Land, which was located at the Northern Markopolis, which is something like the North Pole. J.C. had used his airplane to chauffeur Mark to Ice Land. As the airplane could only chauffeur 5 people (the size of J.C. of course), J.C. and Mark and some other Markopolians came along. Before they were in the plane, things happened. J.C., Mark and the others took winter wear with them, they prepared the weapons and most importantly, their confidence. Zooming past many places, they were reaching Ice Land. Mark was so tired that his eyes were heavy and they slowly closed.

"Wake up, Mark!" J.C. boomed into Mark's ear. Mark opened his eyes. The ice glittered in the late morning sun. Shiny and gorgeous. Everything there was beautiful, the icy trees, igloos and even walking snowmen! "Wow..." Mark was shocked by the soothing scenic. The cold breeze danced in the air like ballerinas. "Brzzz" Mark said as the cool breeze went by. "Here, your winter clothes." J.C. handed over the winter clothes to Mark as Mark took it immediately and wore it. "Let us go!" Mark exclaimed in a confident mood. They tiptoed out of the plane while J.C started giving instructions,"Guys, stay close together. Mark, you take the lead as you are the leader, okay?" Mark nodded. J.C. continued,"Prepare for fights, Mark. The Ice Devil can freeze people and its size is twice of us. "Ready?" Marked asked. Everyone nodded and they were off to the Ice Devil's kingdom.

Creep! The door opened. The 5 saviours went in. The castle was spacious, very spacious. The ice glistened like jewels. Boom. An echo reverberated. "Everyone, follow me closely." whispered Mark in a soft but confident way. No one dared to speak as if they talk loudly, they would disturb the Ice Devil. Tap, tap, tap. Their shoes tapped on the icy ground as they climbed up the stairs. Statues stood beside them, as though they were staring at them. "Where is the Ice Devil?" asked Mark as he slowly walked up ahead. "His room is right up ahead." J.C. replied softly. Mark slowly walked towards the room. In front of the door stood a skeleton, a scary one. It was frozen. Mark reached out his hands and was ready to face the challenge.

Mark pushed open the door with his trembling hands. He could not believe his eyes. The Ice Devil looked like a dragon and it had blue, evil eyes. A shiver went down Mark's spine. He saw C.T. frozen with his hands cuffed. As the Ice Devil turned his head, he saw the brave saviours. "You have finally come. I have caught the Predictor of Markopolis. You better give up your area now or I will take it by force!" Ice Devil said, with his threatening eyes looking at Mark. Everyone froze. Suddenly, the image of the Ice Devil faded.

__**Leadership**__

Mark blinked his eyes. Then, he noticed something. He was not in the castle! Instead, he was in a garden, where flowers bloomed. Out of the blue, a silhouette of a child appeared. "Who are you?" Mark asked curiously. The person did not reply. Mark asked again. As the person looked up, Mark finally saw who was he. "Ah! You look exactly the same as me!" Mark screamed aloud. "Yes. I do. I am here to explain to you what is Leadership." The person said politely. "Leadership? What for?" The person continued," To save your friend, C.T. In order to save him, you must have leadership. Leadership means a lot. It means that someone has the right to be a leader because he is kind, respectful and helpful. There are a lot of aspects, but I have no time to say all to you. You, my friend, is chosen to be a leader. Do not miss this chance, it will not come back again. I trust you can do it, even if you cannot, I am sure you will treasure friendship, confidence and most importantly, the chance to be a leader. Goodbye."

Mark wanted to say goodbye, but the person had already gone, as fast as lightning. Finally, Mark knew that all along, from the start, everyone trusted him that he could do it. He had the power, confidence and justice to do all the things. It was only that he cannot use actions to explain this fact. Mark was happy. "It is time for me to save C.T.!" He shouted in confidence. Then, there was a flash of light...

Mark looked around. He was back in the castle again. However, now, he had a confident look on his face, and the Ice Devil was surprised. Not even a single second passed. It may be a dream, Mark thought, but as long as I have leadership qualities, I am elated. Pzzz. Mark turned around. J.C. and the others were frozen! He went over, touched their icy bodies and exclaimed,"How dare you!" It's time, Mark thought, to show my qualities. "Mark, be careful!" There was a scream from C.T. Then, as he looked up, he was face to face with the Ice Devil's powers and Mark started to freeze...

Frozen. Mark was frozen like a statue. "No!" C.T. screamed. "How can you do this?" "I, the Ice Devil can, do more atrocious things than this. Ha ha..." the Ice Devil praised himself. "Finally, I can take control of Markopolis!" he exclaimed. Then, light came from Mark...


 * __The Final Battle__**

"Mark!" C.T. shouted. The Ice Devil turned. "How could all of you..." the Ice Devil said by the sight if Mark and the others standing in front of him. "My leadership qualities have been released and it melted the ice. Time for our revenge. Charge!"

//to be continued...//