Earl was finally going to bed. Brianna was in a little cage next to him. She sat there, scowling, until she heard a noise. "Mason?"

Sure enough, Templar was huffing and puffing and made it to the nightstand where Brianna's cage was standing. "Oh great, you're here to rescue me, right?"

"Eh, lass, normally I would be, but I just wanted to tell you to lay low for a while. I'm off on a mission -- sort of a secret, really." Mason saw Brianna's mouth drop. The smile was gone. "It's man business, you see. Too dangerous for a lady. You'd be better off here."

If Mason was trying to make Brianna feel better, he failed miserably. "Mason!" she hissed. "Let me out now!"

But Templar was already crawling back down the string of Earl's toy bow. "Just...lay low! Mu-hahaha! Onward, to save the day!"

***

The cage was more ornamental that practical, so Brianna had no problem getting out after all. "Finally! Danny's probably waiting for his Giant Army! And all I have is a nine year-old!" She sat down. "Think, Brianna, think. These giants aren't all that violent. They have no reason to help us. We're like little toy soldiers to them. Cowboys and Indians. Who cares what little tin men --" Brianna stopped herself, as if afraid to let the idea out.

She looked at Earl. He was sleeping with his slingshot. All around the room, his toys were scattered about the floor. There was a yo-yo and some rope and a huge club twice as wide as Templar. "This is so wrong...Danny going to kill me when I bring him a kid."

Brianna flew over to Earl and stood next to his ear. "Eaaaaaaaaaaaarl!" she said slowly. "This is...your...subconscious!"

Earl mumbled softly. "Subcue..."

Great, now what? "Listen, George's friends are in big, big, big danger. You've got to help her friends, okay? You can fight all the bad guys like you do when you play. It will be fun! Oh --" she said, before rushing back to the cage. "Her name is Brianna. B-R-I-N-N-A! Call her Bree-ON-nah!"

Earl mumbled some more. "Bree-bree..."

Brianna grinned and went back to her age. "Right, now to wake him up! Skreeeee!"

Earl jumped out of bed. "Stop making that rackett, Geor -- wait, your name is Bri, isn't it?"

"Yes! Yes!" And to herself, "It worked!"

Earl grabbed Brianna's cage and shook it from the excitement. Brianna rattled around inside it, bumping into the walls. "Earl -- umph -- I neeeeeeeeeeed you to s-s-s-s-stop shaking the cage -- ow!"

The door opened, and Brianna fell on the bed. "Can I really help you fight the baddies?"

"Sure thing, Earl."

"Will it be like playing 'Giants and Trolls'? I love playing that!"

Brianna scratched her head. "Well...I suppose. You can even use your slingshot."

"Yeah!" shouted Earl.

"Quiet! We can't wake your parents!"

"Yeah," said Earl, much softer. He gathered up his toys. There was his slingshot and some marbles for ammo. He also grabbed his 'lasso' he used while rounding up 'Trolls and Oxes'. His big 'Troll-Huntin' Club' was in one hand and his yellow Yo-yo in the other.

To top it off, he even wore a red hat. "Can Blue come too, Bri?"

"Blue? Who's Blue? A friend of yours?"

"My dad's dog had puppies. He said I can keep Blue, since he's the runt!"

As if on cue, a four-ton blue-gray floppy-eared beagle-mix came thundering in the room. Brianna shrugged. "The Runt? Sure. The more, the merrier, right? Say, any of your tin soldiers have weapons I could borrow?"

***

It was three in the morning when Earl lead Blue out of the house. He was dressed in his 'Troll Beatin'' clothing. Brianna was riding on Blue, which was not to different from riding on top of a train. "Alright, let me do the talking. I'll tell you who's friend and who's foe! Now let's go!"