Pushing Through Commentary

May 28th Update The epilogue will be up within 24 hours, and the author's note should be up within 48. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX May 22 Update Just a reminder that the epilogue to Pushing Through will be online by Thursday night, along with the final author's note chapter. The first chapter in The Lost Chapters should be up no later than a week after that. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX May 20th Update It's...over. At least, it almost is. The last main chapter of Pushing Through was just uploaded. It resolves the storyline, but there is still the epilogue left, along with the final chapter that will be an author's note. The epilogue may be split into two chapters, it depends on how long it is. If it is two chapters, I'll upload them both at the same time, along with the author's note. So only one more update for this story. There's no commentary on this chapter, my thoughts on these last chapters will be covered in the author's note. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy the ending and epilogue. I'll be posting more information on The Lost Chapters soon. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX May 18th Update Eleven Minutes. This chapter is all about putting Jimmy's desperate plan into action, as well as fully realizing the consequences of his plan. I enjoyed showing the group acting as a single unit once again as they discussed Jimmy's plan in the beginning of the chapter. Just the idea of these eight characters around a table working together brings a smile to my face. In spite of this unity, it was necessary to split the group up yet again. I like the groupings this time around, and I tried to mix it up from when they were on Yolkus. Jimmy and Cindy finally got to work together, but Libby was separated from Sheen once more. I think it's interesting that Nick and Betty are the only "couple" on the ship who haven't gotten upset about being on different teams. They're not a complete couple, but they're very close to each other. In spite of this closeness, they recognize the necessity of splitting up and can handle it better than J/C and S/L can. Now, one thing I absolutely wanted to be sure of this chapter is to at least try to make this scientifically accurate. I didnt' want to just write that Jimmy turns the reactors into a nuclear bomb without explaining it at all. I'll be the first to admit that I'm no GaDS2000. Besides being an amazing author, he seems to have an unlimited pool of scientific knowledge. While I consider myself a smart guy, my specialty is in veterinary science, not

nuclear physics. I've been trying to do as much research on nuclear reactors as possible in preparation for this chapter, so I hope that my descriptions of them and how they might recreate a nuclear bomb are somewhat accurate. As for ships producing a heat signature and Jimmy wanting to minimize that, Mass Effect taught me that. In spite of this being another action chapter, there a lot of character moments that I just truly loved. Here are some of them: - Cindy asking Jimmy if he's ever going to just leave her hanging, and Jimmy responding that that will never happen. These two mean so much to each other, and I wanted them to verbally acknowledge that once more. - Cindy harshly telling Betty that she can handle setting the autopilot. I've loved writing the evolution of their friendship over the course of this book. Cindy finally respects Betty at this point and is the first to help her. But of course, she does it in her own angry way. - Nick saying that Jimmy has to hurry and blow up the engines, and Jimmy correcting him by saying they're sabotaging the reactors. I can't express how much I love that there was a pause before Jimmy said this. Jimmy knows that they are in a life or death situation and that every second counts, but he still stopped to ponder whether or not it was necessary to correct Nick. He decided that it was. - Cindy and Jimmy working together to sabotage the first reactor. This short scene, to me, shows exactly how much they've changed since fifth grade. Here, they are working in perfect harmony with each other. Jimmy has more technical knowledge, but Cindy's smart enough to keep up and is a more creative thinker. I absolutely loved how after Jimmy complained that he was having trouble breaking the safety protocols, Cindy suggested switching gears and accessing the self-destruct mechanism. It didn't end up working, but it was a really great idea. She knew they were having trouble and immediately came up with an alternative way to accomplish their goal. It was an out of the box solution, and Jimmy immediately acknowledged it was a good idea and tried it. - Libby attempting to understand how to sabotage the reactors. Just her saying, "Okay," in defeat before Jimmy and Cindy quickly nod before returning to work. -Cindy immediately jumping to Libby's aid and calling Libby her sister. I love how fearless and skilled she was and how the Yolkians were momentarily paralyzed with fear and awe. - Libby's remark about the alarm. I laughed when I thought that up. Sheen's actions at the end of this chapter deserve a section all their own. Even though he understands the necessity of blowing up Animus, he still can't reconcile doing this with the fact that he and his friends are supposed to be the good guys. Even though Jimmy wanted to let the Yolkians go, he was willing to sacrifice them to save his friends. Sheen wasn't willing to do this. Sheen and Carl are the moral centers of the group, and I'm glad he stood up for what he thought was right. Well, that's about all for this chapter. A week from now this story should be done. I can't wait to see what you all think of the ending. Thanks for reading.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX May 16th Update Just a quick update again. Here's my writing schedule for the near future. These are all the latest dates possible so I won't disappoint you by being late. -Commentary for Chapter 21 will be up by Monday night at the latest (The next few days are very busy for me.) -Chapter 22 will also be up by Monday night. -The epilogue(s?) for Pushing Through along with the Author's Note chapter will be up by Thursday night. -The first chapter of The Lost Chapters will be up by next Thursday night (May 31st). XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX May 14th Update Sorry for it taking so long to get chapter 21 up. I've written about half of the first draft, but I'm having trouble getting the rest of it right. I'm going to take today off and try to get a the rough draft finished tomorrow after work. Hopefully I can get this thing posted on Wednesday or Thursday. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX May 11th Update Well, Chapter Twenty, Cherenkov's Gun, is online. I have a lot to say about this chapter, and I'll start with its title. Cherenkov's Gun is a portmanteau of the phrases Cherenkov radiation and Chekhov's Gun. Chekhov's Gun is a literary device that says don't put a gun in the first act if it's not going to go off in a third. It basically means turning a small detail from earlier in a story into a major plot point later on. In this case, that detail was the cruiser The Flaming Justice in chapter 14. Cherenkov radiation is the type of radiation released from a nuclear weapon, such as the Yolkian cruiser once Jimmy sabotages its fusion reactors. As I've been saying since the beginning, I've known the general plot of this story ever since I first started writing. This chapter, however, is where things take a dramatic turn from what I had planned. Originally, I mentioned a large nuclear power plant in Animus in chapter 14, not a repair station and damaged cruiser. Jimmy would have wanted to sabotage the large nuclear reactor and blow it up. I assumed this would cause an explosion akin to a nuclear bomb, but my research showed me that that is physically impossible. Even the worst case scenario of a nuclear power plant being sabotaged would be nothing

compared to a nuclear weapon. So I decided to have the group turn a Yolkian cruiser into a weapon instead. I won't lie, I was inspired in this regard by the video game Halo. Once the story is done, I'll try to type up the outline I had for this original idea. This chapter ended up being pretty different from its first draft. Orignally, Jimmy became pretty much catatonic with grief over losing Barak and Miranda. Cindy took charge of the ship for a short time until he snapped out of it. I got rid of this idea because having Jimmy be depressed over their deaths but able to keep functioning seemed more realistic. Also, Jimmy originally used the phrase "Cherenkov's Gun" in the chapter himself. When Nick asked how he could destroy Animus, Jimmy would have looked out the window and muttered, "We use Cherenkov's Gun," with a grim smile. Even though I liked the idea, it had its problems. Jimmy was in no mood to make jokes, even a very clever one. ANd it insinuated that he had had the plan ready for some time, and I wanted to show that he was just coming up with the idea while explaining it to his friends. Lastly, I'd intended for the chapter to end with the group boarding The Flaming Justice. This means that a lot of what would have been in this chapter will actually be in Chapter 21. I didn't want to undercut the group's important discussion, so I let the chapter end with them agreeing to follow Jimmy's plan. My favorite aspect of this chapter was the group sitting down and discussing amongst themselves whether Jimmy's plan was ethical. That last part of this chapter says so many things. It shows how different these kids are from their enemies, how they refuse to let themselves be defined by hatred and revenge. Even Jimmy and Ike, who have lost the most and are in favor of the bomb, still end up agreeing to the plan for the right reasons. They do it to protect Earth, not to get revenge. It also shows how mature these kids all are. They are all 12 - 14 years old, but they understand that their actions will determine the fate of two worlds. They're not just going to drop a nuclear bomb without considering all of its ramifications. And lastly, it shows how much they've changed since the first chapters of The Final Battle. When I realized that I wanted the group to have a long discussion about the ethics of using a nuclear bomb, I immediately cursed myself for writing them so differently in The Final Battle. In that book, no one posed any arguments against an asteroid strike, which would cause far more damage than The Flaming Justice ever could. That is a mistake I made, and I tried to retcon it by having Jimmy explain how they felt it needed to be done to save their parents, but more importantly, they had never taken a life. They'd never really understood the consequences of death. I hope that's a good explanation for thier actions back then, but the truth is I think it was just a mistake on my part. I don't think Jimmy Neutron would have decided to destroy a planet and be proud of that decision, as he was when he explained it to Nick and Cindy. I enjoyed writing the different characters' opinions on Jimmy's plan, as well as the reasons for those opinions. Even though they all agreed to drop the bomb at the end of the chapter, the group was initially evenly split on the best course of action. Carl didn't want to drop the bomb because he simply doesn't want to kill innocent people. Sheen still felt guilty for killing Dopsil and didn't think the good guys would do what Jimmy was suggesting. Betty didn't want to hurt innocent Yolkians like Barak. Both Betty and Libby felt dropping the bomb might exacerbate the conflict. Ike wanted revenge for Miranda's death. Nick has never liked the Yolkians and thus backed Jimmy's idea, at least until he was reminded of the alien children. Jimmy, at first, was merely thinking about Earth's survivial without considering the true damage his decision would cause. Cindy supported Jimmy and reluctantly agreed that it needed to be done. Everyone eventually changed their decision or the motivation for their

decision, but that's what they all thought at first. And I like how Jimmy still shows he's a team player by requiring the vote to be unanimous. One reviewer mentioned that he envisioned American leaders having a similar conversation during World War II. I definitely had the same thought while I was writing this chapter. I was trying to really understand how hard it must have been to decide to drop the bombs on Japan, how insanely difficult it must be to put the philosophy of "the many over the few" into practice. It's easy to say those words, but when it actually comes time to kill people, it's a lot harder to back them up with actions. One final thing I really wanted to do with this chapter relates to this. I wanted to have Jimmy truly understand for the first time what it was like for Barak to have to choose between the lives of his friends or the entiretey of humanity. I think that's about everything I have to say about this chapter. What exactly does the rest of this book hold in store? There are only three chapters left. The next chapter will consist of the group putting Jimmy's plan in action. I can't say anything about the chapter after that, I think it's best to leave it completely unspoiled. The final chapter will be an epilogue, which will be split into two distinct portions in one chapter. Also, I'll be posting an author's note as a chapter by itself for the first time. I'll put that up as chapter 24 once the story is done. I have so much that I want to say when I've finished writing this story. One last thing to discuss, and that's The Lost Chapters. That is the tentative title of my new project, which I'll begin working on as soon as I'm done with Pushing Through. This will be unlike anything else I've ever put on the site. It will take place in the same universe as The Final Battle and Pushing Through, although it is not a sequel or a prequel. Instead, it will be a collection of eleven independent chapters that take place in various points in time. Each chapter will focus on one of the ten major characters of Pushing Through and The Final Battle, with the exception of the eleventh chapter. That last chapter will focus on the group as a whole. The ten characters are Barak, Miranda, Jimmy, Cindy, Carl, Sheen, Libby, Betty, Ike, and Nick. Some chapters will take place before The Final Battle, some will take place after Pushing Through, some will take place in between the books, and others will take place during them. One of the chapters, which I am extremely excited to write about, will serve as an extra epilogue of sorts. I'm really pumped to write this, and I hope you all enjoy it. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX May 8th Update Well, it's time for commentary yet again. Chapter nineteen is titled Redemption, in obvious reference to Barak Neroma's actions throughout this chapter. There was an alternate title to this chapter that almost made the cut, but I'll get to that at the end of this commentary. For now, I'll start with my thoughts on the beginning of the chapter and work my way through it. The first section of this chapter deals with Barak seizing control of the control tower. This was a big moment for his character, because we see how he has completely abandoned his people to protect the humans. He killed Yolkian soldiers before in chapter 15 (how long ago does that battle seem?) to directly save Libby and Carl's lives but now he just mows Yolkians down without clear provocation. Even though he's no soldier, he still knows how to fight. I tried to show that Barak and Karab, being twins, share each other's skills to some extent. Barak is smarter, but Karab still showed his intelligence by rapidly reprogamming

the dead soldier's shell. And while Karab is undoubtedly the stronger warrior, Barak has learned a few things from him and can hold his own in a fight. The name Sagittarii is given to the gunships in this chapter. Sagittarii is the Latin word for roman soldiers who specialized in archery. I thought this was a fitting name for a ranged gunship. In the original plan for this chapter, I did not intend to mention Barak spotting the gunships. I originally planned on having Barak break off from the group during Miranda's death last chapter. He would have done this because he would have realized that he could sneak to the gunship repository and provide air support for his allies. He would have sneaked away because he didn't feel that the humans would trust him to break off on his own. He wouldn't have been mentioned again until he appeared outside Veras' chambers. I decided against this route because I made the humans more trusting of Barak than I originally planned, so it didn't make sense for him to just leave without telling them. Instead, I had him remember the gunships after denying air support to the Yolkian soldiers. My major concern with the final draft was that by showing Barak notice the gunships, the audience wouldn't be as shocked when it turned out that the gunship at the end of the chapter was friendly. I want to talk about having the kids take part in another huge battle. While I greatly enjoy writing action scenes, I'm a little concerned that I've been laying it on a little thick for the past few chapters. I've tried to incorporate as many critical character interactions as I can, and I really like the moments I've shown the kids have mid-battle. My favorite from this chapter has to be Sheen shoving Jimmy down and risking his own life to see if the elevator is online. I never planned on writing that; it was a spur of the moment thing. As soon as the idea popped in my head, I knew it was exactly something Sheen would do. He's brave and somewhat reckless with his own life. Another great moment was just picturing the elevator ride to Veras' chambers. These kids have just been fighting for their lives, and once that elevator stops ascending they know they'll be doing it again. They have four minutes of quiet to ponder all that they've been through and the girl they've lost. I loved everyone realizing that they never knew Miranda's last name. It's Candor, in case you're curious. Her name was Miranda Candor. One thing I was really happy to write was the line "For Jimmy, anger had taken a backseat to the only emotion powerful enough to rival it; love." The exact opposite line was used in chapter 43 of the Final Battle, before Jimmy and Cindy boarded Goobot's shuttle. Back then, I wrote, "Love had taken backseat to the only emotion powerful enough to rival it, anger." I believe anger and love are the two most powerful emotions out there. I truly think that after watching Cindy nearly die on Goobot's vessel, seeing her get cut and bleed in Veras' chamber would make him nearly hysterical with fear. Of course, other than Cindy, Libby was the only one who could snap him out of it. I figured it would be pretty shocking for most readers to have Ike, who is not a member of Jimmy's main group, kill King Veras. He was the one to have suffered the most pain from Miranda's loss, although Jimmy isn't far behind in that regard. And even though Jimmy was trying to kill as many soldiers as possible on the battlefield, it's important to note that it was self-defense at that point. Those soldiers were shooting back at him. You shouldn't forget how hard it was for him to move past his guilt for killing Eustace and Goobot. I don't want to spoil anything, but just know that those feelings are going to play an absolutely huge role in the final chapters.

I really tried to tug at your heartstrings while writing the goodbyes between the characters at the end of this chapter. This wasn't like their goodbyes before. Everyone in that room truly believed that they were going to die. At that point, no one had any hope for survival. Even when Jimmy and Cindy undertook their suicide mission in The Final Battle, they still had a little hope that they would pull through. In this chapter, everyone truly believed that those were the last words they would share with their friends. I tried to include every meaningful character interaction I could possibly think of. You'll notice that Ike is the only one who didn't say goodbye to anybody. He spoke to the group as a whole, but didn't directly address any individual. If he hadn't seen Miranda die, he would have spoken to her and Carl. But he was too heartbroken to even say goodbye to Carl. I love how goodbyes between the characters have been a recurring event in these two books. They said goodbye before leaving Earth in The Final Battle, before Jimmy and Cindy's suicide mission, before setting down on Yolkus in Pushing Through, and now once more in this chapter. My favorite goodbye in this chapter has to be between Nick and Jimmy. I know I keep saying pretty much everything about these stories was my favorite, but showing the evolution of the friendship between these two characters really has been one of my favorite aspects. When Nick attacked Jimmy back in the beginning of The Final Battle, the two of them weren't even friends, just classmates. Now they're practically brothers. I love how Nick didn't just initiate the handshake, but pulled Jimmy into a hug. Even though they've butted heads occasionally during this adventure, mostly in regards to Barak, Jimmy is still Nick's best friend. And as he so wisely stated, working together with Jimmy has been "more than an honor." And of course, there was Barak's death. I (somewhat sadistically, I suppose) enjoyed creating a false sense of security once the gunship mowed down those soldiers. I tried my hardest to really rack up the suspence by cutting back and forth between the injured soldier and the kids boarding the gunship. I actually considered on ending the chapter with the soldier firing his gun and confirming that it hit its target, without identifying who that target was. That would have been an awesome cliffhanger, but I felt it was a little too cruel since you can't just turn the page to find out who died. I didn't want to make you wait a few days to find out Barak had been killed. And I have to admit, I love the ending I chose, with Jimmy being in complete shock and Nick screaming for Betty to get them out of there. Well, I think that covers pretty much everything in this chapter. Only four chapters remain, with the last being an epilogue. What could these chapters possibly be about now that Veras is dead, you may ask? I'll give you all two hints. The alternate name for this chapter was "A Job Half Done," and next chapter will be titled "Cherenkov's Gun." I'm hoping to get Chapter Twenty up by Thursday or Friday night. Thanks again for reading, and a special thanks to all who have been reviewing and sharing your thoughts on this story. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX May 7th Update Chapter Eighteen, Pressing On, has been uploaded. I've been dreading this chapter for a long time, because I was forced to say goodbye to my favorite character, Miranda. She's been slated to die ever since I began this story, although I've recently been debating whether or not to go through with this plan. I ultimately decided to stick with my original design and kill her off. It wasn't an easy decision, but I couldn't change her destiny just

because I liked her so much. I'll go through the major points in this chapter by order, so I'll discuss her demise in more detail at the end. This chapter had an alternate first draft that was significantly different from the version posted on the site. In this version, Barak became violent with his brother, who was much less eager to help him save humanity. The guards were alerted to the humans' escape right away, which made this chapter much more chaotic and action-packed. I got about 2,000 words through this draft before I realized I wasn't liking the direction it was taking. I wanted a lot more stealth involved in the first half of the chapter, and plus I didn't like the way I was characterizing Karab. So I threw that draft out and rewrote it. I like this version a lot better, and I like how Karab turned out. I was glad to get in Miranda's catchphrase one last time. This time it was Ike who corrected another character by saying ,"It's a kukri." I felt it was a nice little moment between him and Miranda. I also liked her telling him to stay alive because he's not done annoying her yet. That's pretty much the most emotional she could get with him. While not as action-packed as Chapter 15, I was glad to incorporate another battle scene. I loved the kids getting tired of being screwed over and agreeing to just blow every alien they saw away. Jimmy, Carl, Sheen, and the other more moral characters of the group only agreed to this because they didn't face any kids or civilians. If they'd been fighting in the more residential park, they would have disputed Nick's idea. I really like how at the end, everyone was fighting as a single unit and winning for a short time. Like I've said before, not all of these characters were friends when this journey started, but they've become more than that now. Again, Barak had cause to split up from the group. I was worried that Nick agreed to him leaving a little too easily, but I felt Jimmy made a strong point when he said that Barak could have just left them in prison if he wasn't truly on their side. One moment I really enjoyed writing was Nick asking Jimmy to have his back when he said they shouldn't let Barak leave. Even though Jimmy didn't agree with him, Nick still trusts Jimmy enough to follow his lead. Another huge shift in this chapter was Barak deciding to use the humans' names. Up until this point, he's only used called Neutron by name, except for when he repeated Eustace's name in chapter 8. Barak did this as a way to distance himself from his allies so that he wouldn't feel as bad about betraying them. That obviously didnt' work, and he is now fully on the humans' side, so he's decided to use their names. I liked him noting how strange the names are to him, just as how the Yolkians' names seem odd to us. Now on to Miranda's death. This is arguably the biggest moment in the story so far. Up until this point, every adventure Jimmy and his friends has ever had has resulted in everyone making it back home safe. Sheen and Cindy were injured severely in The Final Battle, but they both ultimately made it home alive. For the first time, these kids are facing the death of one of their own. This is going to have drastic ramifications in how they think and act in the last chapters. And now the question swimming through their minds, especially in Ike's and Jimmy's, is are they killing Veras to save their planet, or out of revenge? One reason I really hated killing MIranda is because I loved showing the growing bond between her and Jimmy. While I debated having her survive the story, I realized that if she did live, Jimmy would offer to have her leave her father behind and live with him as a sort of adopted sister. Jimmy's parents would surely have agreed to this, and Miranda could

have truly had a family again. Once I came up with this idea, it became even harder to kill her off. But ultimately I knew that her death was too integral to the remainder of this story, and it wouldn't be realistic for everyone in this tale to make it home alive. Just because Miranda's dead doesn't mean you won't feel her presence in the final chapters. The gang is going to take her loss hard and will never forget the sacrifice she made to help save their planet. There will also be a chapter in The Lost Chapters devoted to her past. One last thing to mention is the name of this chapter. I've mention before that "We'll press on," is one of my favorite moments from The Final Battle, so I was excited to finally use it again in this story. I was hoping that as soon as you saw this chapter's title, you'd know that something horrible was going to happen to this team. Only five chapters remain in this story: four main chapters and an epilogue. Everything these kids have fought and died for is going to come to an explosive head. I can't reveal much about the next chapter without saying major spoilers, but I will say that one theme of the final chapters of this story is choice. Barak isn't the only one who's going to make a hard decision by the time this book is over. As always, thanks for reading this story and this commentary. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxXXXXX XXXX May 5th Update I just wanted to let everyone know that I 've made a facebook page. I had a real facebook page a while back, but I never really got into it. (I'm kind of backwards when it comes to social media. I've sent like two text messages in my life.) Anyway, this facebook page is just a way to discuss JN fanficiton and connect with my fans. The name is Quiet Thinker, so please feel free to check it out and use it as a means to discuss anything about me or JN fanfiction (It doesn't have to be about my stories!). XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXxX May 4th Update Chapter 17, Forgiveness, is split into three major sections. These sections deal with the group's confrontation with Barak, Ike and Miranda's discussion, and Karab's breaking Barak out of prison. I'll start with Barak's story. I love Barak Neroma. He is a truly good character who was forced to do a horrendous thing. Although Miranda is still my favorite character of the story, Barak isn't far behind her. I just find it so sad that by trying to do the right thing and save humanity at the cost of his friends, he ended up ensuring Earth's destruction. Understandably, Jimmy and his friends all feel betrayed by his actions, but after talking to him most can understand his reasoning. Nick debating whether or not to kill Barak was one of my favorite scenes to write. Of all the children, he has been the one who's had the least faith in Barak. I loved having him

completely flip out and attack the force field, but I loved him realizing that he doesn't want to be like his enemies even more. I also loved how other than Jimmy and Ike, he is the one who cares most for Miranda. I've tried to subtlely show that he respects her abilities and cares for her. I tried to incorporate a little callback to The Final Battle with the Yolkian guards laughing and Sheen clutching his ears. During his assault on the aliens' mining vessel, he noted that the Yolkians' laughter sounded like nails on a chalkboard to him. I also really liked writing the conversation between Jimmy and Barak. Jimmy truly thought of Barak as his friend and had a hard time believing that Barak betrayed him. I liked having him start to break down at the betrayal before realizing that Barak couldn't be held accountable for his actions. And of course, his speech to Barak about not being the bad guy was a near reflection of the speech Cindy gave to him back in chapter five. Onto Ike and Miranda. The subplot of Ike's crush on her has been one of my favorites of this story. Whereas Miranda has easily come to accept Jimmy as a friend and a brother of sorts, she's having a harder time letting Ike in. I thought the moment between them was sweet without being out of character. I absolutely did not want them to kiss, because Miranda has not even begun to deal with the issues of her past. I can't imagine her being able to kiss anyone without thinking of her father. I felt her flatly refusing Ike's request to be kissed was realistic, and it was one of my favorite moments of the chapter. But I still wanted them to get a little closer, so I felt having them hold hands would be nice. This relationship doesn't really have any romantic potential, at least not for a long time. Miranda has too many issues, not to mention that Ike is more than two years younger than her. But it was still a nice moment. Lastly, after being mentioned in chapters eleven and fourteen, Karab Neroma finally makes an appearance. As I briefly explained in chapter eleven, Karab and Barak have identical names. Barak is Karab spelled backwards, and vice versa. In order to truly sever their fraternal bond, Karab changed his name to Yujup. Why Yujup? Because Karab wished to be the exact opposite of his brother, who was a human sympathizer. There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet. Yujup is the opposite of Barak. B is the second letter, and Y is the twenty-fifth. Both are one away from their repective side of the alphabet. A is the first vowel, and U is the last. R is the eighteenth letter from the beginning of the alphabet, and J is the seventeenth from the end of the alphabet. I couldn't do the eighteenth, because that would have been I, which is a vowel. And K is the eleventh letter from the front of the alphabet, whereas P is the eleventh from the back. So Yujup is the exact opposite of Barak. Now I know I haven't gone into too much detail about Karab's character. Pretty much all you know is that he is a Royal Soldier who detests humanity. Barak once saved his life, but he already repaid that debt by not turning him in for heresy. So why did he choose to save his brother? That questions will be answered right away next chapter. There are only six chapters left in Pushing Through. Five are main story chapters, and the last will be an epilogue. There is still a huge amount of stuff that I have planned, which means the rest of this story is going to be nonstop chaos. The fact remains that Veras needs to die if Earth is to live. Everyone is going to have to pull out all the stops and be the best they can be to reach Veras once more. I can't say much about next chapter without spoiling anything, but just know it's going to be a very eventful chapter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX May 3rd Update Alright everybody, commentaries are back. Sorry for the long wait, but here's my thoughts on chapters 15 and 16. Let's start with fifteen first. Chapter 15 is called Mission Accomplished. I was hoping you all would open up the chapter and go, "Oh good. Jimmy and his friends succeed and kill Veras!" In actuality, the title refers to the success of Barak's secret mission: to bring Jimmy and his friends to Yolkus for public execution. There is obviously much to say about Barak, but we'll save that for a little bit. Undoubtedly the hardest part about writing Chapter 15 was conveying a clear sense of the battlefield. This was a long chapters, and there were battles in over a half dozen different locations. I have it easy since I created them and have clear pictures in my mind (not to mention my trusty blueprint hanging nearby), but I didn't want you all to be confused about the battlefield's layout. That's why I tried to describe each new location in full once the kids moved into it. I felt it kind of broke up the flow of action, but it was worth it if you could actually picture what was going on. I have a lot of moments that I really love in this chapter. The first was Jimmy tackling Miranda and saving the lives of the Yolkian kids. King Veras and his soldiers have no qualms with fighting and killing human children, but Jimmy is nothing like them. Even Miranda, whose led a life tougher than most of us can imagine, won't kill a Yolkian child in cold blood. I felt this quick scene really did a great job in showing the differences between these two races. Another favorite moment also involved Jimmy and Miranda. It takes place in the shopping plaza after the park. Nick is taking cover behind a row of chairs, and Jimmy and Miranda are stuck ten meters away from him. The moment is when Jimmy taps Miranda's shoulder and motions at a new piece of cover. She nods and they both jump towards the wall of plants. I didn't think anything of this moment when I wrote it, but while I was editing the chapter it really struck a chord with me. It reminded me of how Jimmy and Cindy shared a silent conversation about whether or not to kill Barak back in chapter 7 by glancing at a pipe and each other. Jimmy and Miranda didn't need any words to communicate with each other. It struck me as a very siblingesque move. I hadn't intended for this to happen, but I feel that Jimmy and Miranda are beginning to feel like brother and sister a little. I also loved the entire confrontation between Cindy, Betty, and the four Yolkians after the security station. It was a fierce fight, and it really brought a nice end to the whole Cindy / Betty plotline. Their scenes were my favorite to write overall, and I love how as soon as Betty was in trouble Cindy didn't hesitate to help. She's grown up a lot since she screamed

at Betty for saying hi to Jimmy three days ago. Plus it gave Sheen a real chance to shine. Once again, he's saved Cindy's life. I loved having the opportunity to get him to say "I do so relish these times of peril". This was a great line of his in the original movie, and he said it again in The Final Battle. I really wanted to get that line in this story as well. My last favorite moment has to be Libby, Carl, and Barak bursting onto the scene while their friends wait for the elevator to arrive. Libby's been so eager to help out on this mission, and I loved picturing her flying into the fight and saving everyone's asses. Lastly, I loved Jimmy assuring Barak that they are both friends. Barak responds by using Jimmy's first name for the first time. Overall I loved writing this chapter and have been looking forward to writing it since I first conceived of the story. I felt I may have cheated my fans a little bit with The Final Battle by lacking a huge battle scene between the Yolkians and all of the kids. You got to see Sheen fight a small ship full of aliens, and Jimmy and Cindy had some good fights on their hands, but it was nothing compared to the confrontation they had been preparing for. So I didn't want to hold back in this chapter, I wanted it to be a really chaotic and long battle. On to Chapter 16. The title Betrayal refers to King Veras' lie to Barak about preserving humanity. He never intended to leave Earth in peace once Neutron was secured. Rather, humanity's greatest weapon is now in his clutches leaving the planet completely defenseless. So now you all know exactly what Barak's plan was this entire time. The plot to kill Veras was but a ruse to bring the humans to him. I love Barak. He's such a tragic character. He is one of the only Yolkians who wishes for peace between Earth and Yolkus, and he deeply respects humanity. He may have lied to Jimmy and his friends, but he did it so save their planet. He was given a terrible choice. Help murder a handful of children, or condemn an entire planet to death? Barak is not evil; he did not take the choice lightly. But in the end he made the only decision he thought he could. Even if you don't agree with his actions, I hope you all at least understand where he came from. Now it's time to discuss Barak's role in past chapters. Ever since he first appeared in Jimmy's lab, I've tried to write him so that many of his words and actions could be interpreted in multiple ways. I'm going to go over some of these instances and discuss them. In chapter 7, Barak hesitates a lot during his discussion with the children. This is the first time he has met his victims face to face. He tries to lie about his plan and focus on the bigger picture of saving humanity, but it's hard for him to look into the humans' eyes and lie. In addition, he starts to use a line that will be repeated with slight variations over the coming chapters. He assures the humans that "Humanity must be saved." Barak says this as a way to comfort himself and remind him of what is at stake, as well as telling the humans a truth amidst all of the lies. Barak does indeed plan to help save humanity. It is just at the cost of Jimmy's and his friends' lives. Also in chapter 7, Barak protests Libby coming along. He says it's because everyone coming should have experience fighting Yolkians, but really it's because Veras requested that only those humans involved in Goobot's death should be brought. In chapter 9, Barak yells at Miranda that if she kills Jimmy, she kills their entire planet. This references the fact that Veras specifically requested that Jimmy must survive the journey to

the royal chambers. If Barak cannot uphold this end of the bargain, humanity will not be spared. A short while later, Barak appears despondend in the grocery store and goes off by himself to cry. Jimmy says that Barak is probably upset about betraying his people, but Barak couldn't care less about that. Barak is overcome with guilt about murdering the children he has begun to get to know. After taking time alone, he assures Jimmy that he will focus on the mission from here on out. He also says that "Humanity will be saved." This is Barak realizing that he has to move past his guilt and pain in order to save humanity. No matter what he thinks of the children, he must be prepared to sacrifice them. In chapter ten, Barak looks out over the humans as they go to sleep and wishes them a good night. This places him in a very parental role, what with sending the children off to bed. There was no ulterior motive in Barak's words. He likes the humans and wishes he could save them, but he knows he can't. In chapter eleven, Barak and Jimmy share a conversation at the end of the chapter. Barak is at first friendly and calm, having promised himself he would avoid acting suspiciously. Yet after opening up to Jimmy about his brother and hearing Jimmy try to comfort him, it's hard for him to continue the lies. He begins to talk and move slowly as he struggles to avoid breaking down. He tells Jimmy that he wishes that their mission wasn't so dangerous for the humans. This is is indeed the truth and as close as Barak can get to apologizing for his actions. He follows this up with his old adage. "I shall do all I can to preserve humanity." He doesn't say he'll do all he can to keep Jimmy and his friends safe, because that is a lie. Instead he promises to keep humanity as a whole safe. Chapter 13 begins with Nick holding Barak at gunpoint and admitting his distrust in the Yolkian. Barak tells Nick that the human must believe his intentions are true. When Nick asks why he wants to help them, Barak again says that he will not let humanity as a whole die out. When Nick asks what makes Barak special, Barak feels ashamed. He says he's not special but merely wishes to do the right thing. Barak wants no praise for his actions. The cost of saving humanity is killing him. But he believes sacrificing the children is the right thing to do. Chapter 14 thrusts Barak's true motivations front and center. He wishes to keep the humans together because it makes them easier to keep track of and he believes it gives Neutron the best chance of survival. Barak lies and says that Jimmy must be kept alive to make the planet-wide threat because the Yolkians fear him, but of course he must really remain alive to be executed. He asks the humans to avoid killing Yolkians not out of fear for his brother Karab, but becaues the king will not approve of the deaths of his warriors. If too many soldiers are killed, Barak fears that the king will renege on their deal. And of course, the package Barak refers to at the end of the chapter is the human children, not data on Earth's defenses. Barak was never sent to Earth to perform reconnaisance. And there it all is. Barak has been lying the whole time to do what he feels is right. Though he has come to care deeply for all nine of the children he brought to Yolkus, he views them as a necessary sacrifice to preserve billions of other lives. But of course, Veras never intended to leave Earth in peace. Barak has been betrayed, just as he betrayed Jimmy and his friends. Barak has stolen Jimmy Neutron from Earth, thus removing their best chance at stopping the Yolkian assault. He has practically assured Earth's total destruction. Only seven chapters remain in Pushing Through. Thank you all for reading so far, and I hope you enjoy what I have planned for this story's endgame.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXx May 1st Update I just wanted to let everyone know I've been taking a couple of days off from writing, mostly to play Mass Effect. Chapter 16 will be up either tomorrow or Thursday. It will be a relatively short chapter and will consist of a talk between Barak and King Veras. I also wanted to officially announce that The Final Battle / Pushing Through saga will not end when this book is done. There are 8 chapters remaining in Pushing Through. After that, I will be publishing The Lost Chapters. This is not a sequel, but rather a short collection of independent chapters that take place in various points throughout these two stories. Each chapter will focus on a different character and give you new insight into these stories. I hope to start writing this immediately after I finish Pushing Through. I'll talk about this project more as we draw closer to the end of Pushing Through. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX April 29th Update Sorry for lack of commentary updates. I'll be combining commentary on chapters 15 and 16 into one super-long commentary when 16 is put up. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X April 26th Update Faith. Faith in their abilities. Faith that they'll have each other's backs. Faith that they will survive the journey. Faith that humanity will be saved. Faith that Barak is their ally. Chapter 14 is up, and its central concept is faith. The time for preparations is over. There's no more time for fighting amongst each other or doubting each other. These kids have landed on Yolkus, and the fight of their lives is mere seconds away. The events of chapter 15 will decide the fate of Earth. Coming up with the design of the battlefield was easily the most difficult part of writing this chapter. I'm no artist or architect, but I knew I would have to have an actual blueprint of the battlefield for reference. I knew I wanted these ten fighters split into four groups, and I've known all along that one of these groups would head to a control tower while the other three headed towards the elevator. But that's all I knew. I had to try to figure out exactly what this docking bay looks like and what all of these kids will encounter on their separate paths. Their will be fighting in stores, warehouses, security buildings, and a park, among other things. The next chapter will consists almost entirely of the Battle for Earth. When this story is done, I'll have to try to find a way to take a picture of the blueprint and post it on the site (it's currenlty on a posterboard that's hanging beside my computer for quick reference).

Splitting up the kids into four teams is something I've been really excited about. I figured it was a good opportunity to throw these ten characters into groups that they wouldn't normally be in, such as Cindy and Betty and Sheen and Ike. I tried to make the teams as interesting as I could for you all to read while keeping them strategically viable. I tried to mix and match melee fighters with shooters, for instance. One thing I find sad is that the kids are leaving Barak's shuttle behind. I really liked coming up with the design for the Inquisitor, and I actually became kind of attached to this imaginary vessel. I can visualize every inch of it so easily, and it was a great storytelling device that helped make all of these characters grow closer due to the close quarters. I initially wanted the ship to remain unnamed, but I figured that if Barak was going to request clearance to land, he'd need to say the name of his ship. I feel the Inquisitor is an appropriate name for a research vessel. I really liked naming different parts of Yolkus. Bastion and Coronus hold no true meaning (at least none that I meant), but Animus is the Latin word for soul, which is fitting for a capital city. Writing the goodbyes between various friends and lovers was my favorite part of the chapter. I tried to give as many pairs of characters as possible some time together. My favorite was the goodbye between Jimmy and Libby. It was one of the shortest, but I think you really get a feel of how much they mean to each other. My second favorite would have to be Sheen and Barak's conversation. Sheen is a highly skilled fighter, but he's still a kid at heart and wishes to do the right thing. He just couldn't pass up the opportunity to apologize for killing Dopsil. One last thing I wish to mention about this chapter is the final few paragraphs. I really was trying to create a sense of dread and despair on the Inquisitor as it barreled towards Yolkus. I actually felt my own stomach tying in knots the closer they got. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up by tomorrow, although who knows if that will actually happen. I think it's going to be one of the best chapters yet, and I'm pumped to write it. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX April 24th Update Chapter 13, Unity, is now up. The title refers to how all the members of this group are coming together before the assault on Yolkus. Nick is moving past his distrust of Barak. Jimmy and Cindy were finally able to have some time together. Cindy and Betty took another step in closing the distance between them. Miranda took a huge first step in attempting to become part of the group. And lastly, everyone bonded over watching Jimmy and Cindy's trivia game. Not all of these ten characters were friends before boarding this shuttle, but they are going to have to work together completely if they want any hope of surviving. This chapter, along with chapters 3 and 8, was very difficult to write. I've known for some time that I wanted to have a "trivia" chapter onboard Barak's shuttle, and writing the J/C dialogue was pretty easy. The toughest parts to write were the beginning and ending to the

chapter. There are about a half dozen different versions of both of these, all of which were at least partly written and then scrapped. For the beginning, I'd initially planned on everyone having breakfast together again. I then would have had Miranda attempt to join in in some way. The trivia game would have taken place afterwards. This was scrapped because I just couldn't figure out a reasonable way to introduce Miranda to the group by having her at breakfast. And it presented the challenge of how do I get Jimmy and Cindy to sneak into a closet when everyone's awake? Several variations on this theme were tried out before I ultimately switched gears and started the chapter with Nick waking up. Once I went in this direction, writing the opening came easier. In the first draft, Nick and Barak's conversation was much, much shorter. He basically only asked where Jimmy and Cindy were and then apologized, still being unsure of Barak's intentions. Then I realized this was the perfect opportunity to have another important conversation between a pair of characters, and since I love writing for Nick I jumped write into it. As for the ending, that was even more difficult. I went through several long, LONG ideas and ending up throwing away a lot of written work. I had Ike and Miranda share a long conversation in the supply chamber. I had Ike wake up Miranda and get attacked by her as a reflex. I tried the same thing with Jimmy waking Miranda and her breaking down from guilt. There were more failed options, but none of them seemed to fit. They were getting more and more complex, so I finally just decided to have Miranda have a few quick words with the group and the same for Jimmy and Cindy leaving the closet. Now that I've vented about how difficult the chapter was to write, let me delve in a little more about the final content. I like the idea that Barak has begun to form relationships with his human allies. From the beginning, he's admired Neutron and still considers him his favorite. But spending time with Betty inside the cockpit has made them grow a bit closer, and I like the short conversation the two of them had. I love the idea of Jimmy and Cindy being alone in a closet and they decide to play a trivia game. But of course this would only lead to a serious J/C moment between the two. I'll take any chance I can get to describe the evolution of their feelings for each other, so I enjoyed Cindy really thinking of whether Jimmy was more important to her than Libby. There was originally a lot more humor with the kids watching Jimmy and Cindy, but I toned it down because I didn't want a really funny chapter after the serious one before it. My favorite line has to be Sheen shouting "Commercial!" as the story switches viewpoints from the cockpit to the closet. I thought this was hilarious, but I almost got rid of it because I felt it was breaking the fourth wall too severely. I compromised by showing that he shouted this out because Jimmy and Cindy were taking a brief respite from their game while Cindy pondered her next category. The last thing I have to say about this chapter is that I really enjoyed giving Carl and Ike a moment together. I've probably spent too much of Ike's time having him fawn over Miranda, so I wanted to do something regarding his friendship with Carl. I love that the most badass guy in seventh grade loves hanging out with Carl for some reason no one understands. I think that pretty much sums up everything about this chapter. The next two chapters may take longer to update than usual. That's because they are both extremely important to the plot and require a lot of specific planning. They're also going to be some of the longest

chapters yet. I need to make sure I take my time and get them done right. The next chapter's going to start with the gang discussing the plan for the assault and is going to be a really emotional, dramatic chapter. And after that, the fight begins.

April 20th Update Chapter twelve is now up. I have wanted to write this chapter badly ever since I started outlining this story. Where do I even start in discussing it? Some readers may have noticed that having nightmares is a recurring even in this book. Jimmy had one in chapter 5 and Nick admitted he had them in chapter 6. And of course, this chapter began with Miranda waking from one. I did this because nightmares played a huge role in my real life novel Paranoia, and I wanted to pay a little homage to it. In addition, I find the technique very effective at highlighting a character's fears. This chapter also served as a bit of a callback to The Final Battle. Chapter 25 of that book was the halfway point, and the chapter was dedicated to Nick, who was not a member of Jimmy's group of close friends. While I don't know what the exact chapter count will be at the end of this book, I'm expecting it to be about 21 - 24 chapters, so chapter twelve also falls about halfway through. And once again, I've expanded on a character outside Jimmy's circle of friends. Miranda is my favorite of all the characters I've created over the years. It was really difficult to write the first seven chapters of this book without her in them. And it was equally hard to relegate her to a minor role in chapters 8 - 11. I only wanted you to have bits and pieces of her so that you would start to get mad at me for including a seemingly one-dimensional original character. Then I wanted to knock your socks off with the revelation that she is the way she is because her father raped her. This chapter was the easiest to write. I hammered it out in less than three hours, which is a few hours less than I usually spend on a chapter. I'd already been working through Miranda and Jimmy's conversation in my mind for a while, so it was easy to write it down and let it flow naturally. The hardest part was figuring out exactly how to go from Miranda being furious at Jimmy to her being willing to reveal her darkest secret to him. But Jimmy is unwaveringly good, so this quality naturally makes people willing to share their pain with him. First Nick, then Barak, and now Miranda. Very little was changed from my original ideas for this chapter. I originally wanted it to end on a lighter note with Miranda telling Jimmy that if he wasn't so young, she'd have a romantic interest in him. Jimmy then would have responded that one girl was more than enough for him to handle. I scrapped this because humor didn't fit in after Miranda's revelation, and I don't want her to have a romantic interest in Jimmy. She views him as the first friend she's had in over half a decade. This means that she is unwaveringly loyal to him now, and you'll see that in the next few chapters. Miranda is not going to forget what James did for her.

So what exactly does the future hold for Miranda? She went to bed hopeful, but six years of pain cannot vanish overnight. Jimmy's pushed her on the right track and she'll begin to try to let her guard down, but she's not going to change into a completely different person. Starting next chapter she's going to try to become a true member of the group and become more involved with the others, although it's going to be a challenge for her. Only two chapters remain on Barak's shuttle. The next chapter is going to be considerably less dramatic. The majority of the chapter is going to involve a furious trivia game between Jimmy and Cindy that spirals out of control, much to the amusement of everyone else onboard. The chatper after that is going to probably be pretty lengthy and consist of everyone preparing for their attack on Yolkus. And chapter 15, let's just say I'm hoping it's going to be an experience you won't ever forget. Thank you again for all of your support in this story. I hope to get the next update up within three days. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX April 19th Update Chapter Eleven, "New Perspectives" is now up, as well as a poll about these commentaries. Please take a second to pick one of the five responses and let me know how you feel about reading these commentaries. First thing's first. I'm really enjoying coming up with names for these chapters. Some of the chapter names in The Final Battle were humorous, and some were very long. I wanted to avoid both of these aspects in coming up with chapter names for Pushing Through. I want them to be short, sweet, and to the point, and I want them to reflect the darker tone of this story. "New Perspectives" refers to how in this chapter you get a look at the kids from Nick and Betty's point of view, as well as learning more information about Barak's character. I think that of the five chapters that will take place onboard Barak's shuttle, this is the weakest one. I knew that going in. I am very excited about writing the three remaining chapters in this part of the story, and I tried to make this chapter as interesting as possible, but I knew I had to have a chapter depicting the kids training, which limits the space I can give to other things such as plot and character development. I'm actually pleased with how this chapter came out, but I think the next three chapters will be better. My favorite aspect of this chapter is exploring Nick and Betty's characters and relationship. While not a large presence in the show, I've always liked Nick's character and it felt natural to have him join Jimmy's gang in The Final Battle. I've really enjoyed writing him, and he's easily one of my favorite characters in this story. I like how he's become very close friends with Jimmy and has come to really respect him. At the end of The Final Battle it was a big moment between these two when they shook hands. By this point in Pushing Through, Nick thinks of Jimmy as his best friend. I've also enjoyed fleshing out Betty's character and having her aspire to become a pilot after taking control of one of Jimmy's ships in The Final Battle. I tried to show that Nick and Betty have a close friendship and that they briefly tried dating, although it didn't work out. They began to date after they got back to Earth, but their relationship only lasted a couple of weeks. But as Betty put it, there's no hard feelings. I began to like this chapter once I started to write their conversation in the main chamber, and I really liked writing their brief checkers game later.

On to Miranda. In this chapter you get another glimpse at how skilled she is in battle and how cold she is to everyone. Again, there is a reason for both of these aspects of her personality. I will confirm that what she said to Ike about her necklace was a joke. She may be a badass, but she does not hunt sharks. She just doesn't do well with humor. One aspect I really like about these shuttle chapters is how cramped the quarters are. There's only four rooms on this ship: the cockpit, the main chamber, the barracks, and the supply room. The only other spaces are the two small closets, and one of those was turned into a bathroom. This space is only about the size of the first floor of an average house, so it's not much room for ten people. I like the idea of everyone having to sleep in the same room and for it to be virtually impossible to get any privacy. For example, the only reason Jimmy and Barak were able to talk alone was because everyone else was in bed. During the middle of the day when everyone's eating and training, it's impossible to be alone. Unless you're Miranda, who wisely staked a claim to the supply chamber. And I think at this point everyone's too scared of her to be in there with her. On to Barak and Jimmy's conversation. I think this is very important for a number of reasons. It shows how much Jimmy's character has grown since he was abducted from the League of Villains. Back then, Jimmy would never have trusted a Yolkian. But Sheen has taught him to be more trusting, and Cindy taught him in Win, Lose, and Kaboom to be a team player. Both Sheen and Cindy have really helped Jimmy grow. This conversation also shows how caring Jimmy can be. Originally, I had Barak interrupt Jimmy and Cindy's chess match and ask to speak with him, but I felt it was a better choice to have Jimmy decide to talk to Barak on his own. He knew Barak was sad and he is grateful for Barak's help. Lastly, we learned a bit more about Barak's past and how hard it is for him to try to save humanity. I also want to add something. The first reviewer for chapter 11 said that Barak's shuttle reminded him of the ship in Mass Effect, as did Jimmy's conversation with Barak. Mass Effect 2 was a big influence on this story, as well as being my favorite video game. I'm glad someone mentioned it. I will tell all of you right now that you are either going to love or hate the next chapter. It is going to basically be one long conversation between Jimmy and Miranda, and I promise you will understand why she is the way she is after reading it. I hope you all love it, but I know those of you who are vehemently against original characters might not like it. I just hope you come to love the character of Miranda as much as I do. I'm hoping to get this next chapter up either tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you're all enjoying the book so far. I'm really enjoying writing it, almost to an insane degree. I was almost trembling when I came home from work last night because I wanted to write so bad. I am so excited to continue writing this story. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX April 17th Update Chapter 10 is now up. "A New Home" is the first of five chapters that will take place onboard Barak's shuttle. I'm really pumped to write these chapters because they are going to be filled with training, strategizing, and a lot of really important conversations and interactions between characters. So let's just jump right into things, shall we?

This chapter was filled with quite a bit of humor. I really loved writing it, and I'm going to be sad to have to stop soon. As these kids get closer and closer to Yolkus, things are going to get more and more serious. Not to say there won't be a funny line here and there, but even Sheen is going to have to stop slapping people once the battle starts. I really love the running gag in this book that Sheen is obsessed with slapping. And I love bringing back the diner lingo from The Final Battle even more. Every term is an actual real piece of diner lingo, just so you all know. And once I found out that salt and pepper shakers are called Mike and Ike, well, you should have seen the smile on my face. Aside from the humor, two important points were addressed in this chapter. The first is Sheen and how he's dealing with the horrors he faced in the last book. He may be a kid at heart and obsessed with Ultralord, but the bottom line is he nearly died a dozen times over. Having him reminisce about his time onboard the Yolkian mining shuttle was one of my favorite parts of the chapter. And I really love how he kept a bottle of the nutrient paste as a souvenir. The other important plot point is the continuation of Cindy and Betty's feud. I wanted to be really sure to write Betty as a three-dimensional character in this story. She's not just a pretty face, but a young woman who wishes to be a pilot one day and just wants to be respected. Both Cindy and Betty see something in the other that they wish to be. Betty wants to be respected like Cindy is, whereas Cindy wishes she could have the same effect on Jimmy that Betty did. Cindy took a big step by apologizing to Betty in this chapter, and I really loved ending "A New Home" on a quiet note. I doubt that these two characters are ever going to be best friends, but they've shown that they're capable of moving past their issues to save their planet. Now on to Miranda. I haven't really explored her character yet. Right now, she's still a semistable teenager who appears to be obsessed with knives. Rest assured that by the time these kids reach Yolkus you'll understand exactly why she is the way she is, and I really think that most of you are going to like her. And her weapon of choice, a kukri, is one of the coolest looking weapons I have ever seen. It's basically a machete with the top half of the blade bent at an angle. If anyone has ever played Halo Reach, it is the knife that Emile used. A theme of this book is friendship. I've been trying to have as many meaningful interactions and conversations between pairs of characters as possible. We've already seen really long and important discussions between Jimmy/Nick, Jimmy/Cindy, Jimmy/Libby, and Betty/Cindy. I've also tried to show shorter but still important moments between other pairs of characters, such as when Nick mentions Ultralord to Sheen and tosses him the plasma pistol. Another example is Barak teaching Betty how to pilot his ship. This theme will continue to be explored in the coming chapters. On to deleted content. I've fallen into this basic pattern of writing. Day one: no actual writing, just figuring out how chapter will flow. Day two: Write rough draft. Day three: Edit and write final draft. This means that a lot of stuff is cut between the rough and final draft. In this chapter Sheen orignally drank the nutrient paste again and immediatley threw up. I decided to shelve this because not only was it not as funny as I hoped, I thought it was more important to get a serious look into Sheen's mind. There was also a much longer description of the kids putting the supplies away. Lastly, there was a huge altercation between Miranda and Ike that was completely cut because it didn't seem in character for Miranda. (Again, you will learn more about her character soon.)

One thing I want to mention is that this book is now almost halfway done. I'm expecting 11 - 13 more chapters, with four of those taking place on the shuttle. One thing I'm looking forward to writing when this book is over is a top ten list of my favorite moments from both The Final Battle and Pushing Through. I've already started listing them out, and it's going to be really hard to narrow it down to a mere 10. Lastly, here's the basic outlines for the chapters 5 - 8 so you can see how certain things have changed from my original story design. Chapter 5 was split into two chapters so that the J/C conversation could be a chapter all by iteself. As you can see, Jimmy's issues were not originally resolved in chapter 5 by a discussion with Cindy. I decided to do this later on in order to bring Jimmy closer to the way he was before. Again, there are slight edits to prevent spoiling you guys. 5. Family The next day before school, Jimmy is hurrying through breakfast to get into his lab. He is interrupted outside by Cindy, who says that it was sweet that he helped Sheen make Libby those flowers, although she cant help but wonder why she didnt get anything. Jimmy goes on for a short time on how he and Libby have grown closer since The Final Battle, but then pulls out his hypercube and reveals that hes made Cindy a present as well. She says that she thought that the hypercube was destroyed, but Jimmy says he made another one. She is about to kiss him when Carl interrupts them. Sheen and Libby are right behind him. They head the short distance to the bus stop just in time to catch their ride. Carl wants to talk to Jimmy. Carl says that he has to read a book a month for his English class, and wants to know how Jimmy feels about him reading self-help books to gain confidence. Jimmy tells Carl that hes fine the way he is, but Carl says he doesnt want to stay the same coward while everyone else is changing and going off having adventures. Jimmy says hell help Carl pick some books out in homeroom. After first period, Jimmy and Libby walk to their next class, which they share. Libby thanks Jimmy for helping Sheen with the flowers, and Jimmy says he probably shouldnt bother lying and saying that Sheen made them himself. Jimmy hears a meow, but Libby says its nothing. They continue talking, but Jimmy says he definitely heard something. He realizes that Libby is carrying around Chowder in her backpack. He tells her that this is horrible, but Libby says that hes had a fever and that she needs to be near him. She admonishes him for abandoning his cat, and Jimmy shouts that he has never had a cat. The day goes on, and Jimmy eventually meets up with Nick, who is still as shook-up as ever. Jimmy says hes been working on something that might help him and tells Nick to come to his lab after school. The gang meets up at Jimmys lab after school. Jimmy invites them in and are shocked to see Barak waiting in his lab holding what appears to be a plasma pistol. 6. Answers (This became chapter 7) Nick immediately shoves Jimmy aside, whips out a pistol, and shoots Barak in the control panel. Everyone is shocked. Nick cant believe what hes done, and Jimmy heavily berates him for bringing a gun to school. He tells Nick that it wont matter if he saved the town if the principal ever finds out about that. Nick yells that he knew this wasnt over. Barak comes to and interrupts their argument. Cindy snatches the gun from Nicks hand. She and Jimmy approach the fallen alien. Barak asks if hes wounded, and Jimmy coldly tells him only his shell is broken. He

picks up the pistol and realizes its some sort of scanner. Barak explains that he was only examining his lab while he waited for Jimmy to return. Everyones confused, and Barak explains that he has come because the humans are in grave danger. He explains that the new king wishes to destroy Earth once and for all, and that the humans only hope is to hurry to Yolkus, kill King Verez, and show the Council that the only safe course for both worlds is for the Yolkians to leave them alone. The humans are skeptical of Barak, especially Nick. Jimmy ultimately decides to trust Barak, and Barak tells them they must leave now. Jimmy says he needs the night to prepare, and Barak agrees. Jimmy and the gang discuss who should come, and Nick recommends Ike, Betty, and Butch. Cindy and Jimmy refuse to bring Butch along, believing he could pose too severe a risk to the mission. Nick agrees to gather Ike and Betty for morning. 7. Reunion (This became chapter 8) Jimmy wakes well before first light. He gives a heartfelt goodbye to Goddard and tells him to monitor the city for anything strange and to watch over his parents. He tells Goddard to run holograms of himself and the other kids and to try to fool the parents until theyre out of the solar system. Goddard starts to follow Jimmy out of the house, and Jimmy agrees that the dog can see him and his friends off. Barak, Cindy, Nick, Betty, and Ike are already outside his lab. Cindy and Betty exchange words, and Cindy says theyll get along fine as long as Betty admits Neutron is still hers. Betty sarcastically asks why Neutron fell for the girl who made his life hell, but admits shes more interested in Nick. For the moment. Jimmy welcomes Ike back into the fold as Ike lights up a cigarette. Ike says he wouldnt miss it for the world. Jimmy says his backpack seems light, and Ike says all he needs are his smokes and his bible. Jimmy gives a half smile as he sees Sheen, Libby, and Carl stroll up. Libby has one of the flowers that Sheen have her in her hair. Jimmy notices that Sheens posture and attitude seem different. Sheen says he wont let Jimmy come as close to death as last time, and he hopes to atone for killing Dopsil by bringing peace between the two worlds. As Sheen mentions atonement, Jimmy remembers Eustace and Goobot. He spots the gun holstered on Nick and shivers, terrified of killing once more. He starts to say goodbye to Libby and Carl, but Libby says shes not sitting this fight out. Jimmy starts to protest, but Libby says theres no control team this time and theres no crutches either. She wants to be in the fight with them and wants to avenge the pain that the Yolkians put Sheen through. Jimmy says hes glad to have her aboard. He goes to say goodbye to Carl, but he quickly says hes coming too. Everyone looks his way. Barak notices this and humorously turns as well. Carl says his self-help book says he should find someone he admires and do what they would do in various situations. Carl tells Jimmy hes looking up to him and doesnt want to be afraid anymore. Jimmy ultimately agrees to let him come, and Ike and Carl have a short conversation. Ike mentions they havent hung out since Cindy stole Jimmys heart. Carl is confused, but Ike reminds him of how they hung out in sixth grade when Cindy stole Jimmys heart sculpture for art class. Carl admits he hasnt thought of that in a while. Barak nervously says that Libby and Carl shouldnt come since they didnt kill any Yolkians before. Jimmy is confused, and Barak says they should only be bringing people with experience. Jimmy fights with Barak and says that they will be assets to the team. Barak sadly concedes and asks if they are ready. Jimmy agrees that everyone is assembled and they need only gather supplies. Suddenly, a girl jumps out of a tree and unsheaths a knife.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX April 14th Update Well, it's been exactly one month since I posted the first chapter of Pushing Through. Chapter 9 was just put up, and the gang is finally leaving Earth behind. This is the end of the first section of the book, which has served to introduce the characters and plot. If you've read The Final Battle, you already know what to expect next. A few chapters will be spent detailing the three-day journey from Earth to Yolkus. Now, I think I went a little overboard with describing the kids' training on Little Boy last time, although overall I did like that section of the book. I'm expecting roughly 5 chapters to be spent onboard the shuttle. I'm really excited about writing two of those chapters. After that, well, you'll all just have to read and find out. Once again, this chapter got away from me. The major sections of this chapter were all originally supposed to be in there: Miranda's explanation of her actions, the 3 teams searching for supplies, and the final boarding of Barak's shuttle. I just didn't expect each section to last as long as it did. And believe it or not, there was stuff I had to get rid of while writing, which means this chapter was originally even longer. I started to write a conversation between Cindy and Nick that somewhat mirrored Jimmy and Libby's conversation. It would have dealt with Nick discussing how much Jimmy loved Cindy and how he wished he had love like that. I discarded it after writing half of it because it didn't really seem to fit either character. Nick's never really opened up to anyone besides Jimmy, and I couldn't write Cindy as a good listener to anyone except Libby or Jimmy. On to what I'm sure will be the most controversial aspect of this chapter: Jimmy and Libby's conversation. As I've said before, I believe that Jimmy and Libby share a certain degree of chemistry. Libby always struck me as someone who is intelligent and is interested in Jimmy's intellect. While she may not be as good a mental match for Jimmy as Cindy, she's much kinder. And ever since The Final Battle, they've gotten even closer than they were before. I think it's completely natural that these two pre-teens have an attraction towards each other, although they have greater feelings for Sheen and Cindy. I really think the final part of their conversation, when Jimmy realizes that Libby can't compare to Cindy, was extremely important. It shows that although LIbby is a great friend who could possibly be more, he loves Cindy much more and knows she's the one for him. I've really enjoyed writing Libby and Jimmy as extremely good friends, and that's how I intend them to stay throughout this story. That paragraph in Jimmy's mind was a way of telling you all that incase you didn't read this commentary. I'm glad you got to see some more of Miranda in this chapter. She's clearly rough around the edges, although not as insane as she may have initially appeared. You're all going to learn a lot more about her on the Yolkian shuttle, although there will still be plenty of stuff dedicated to all of the other characters. Obviously Jimmy, Cindy, and Nick are the major players in this story, but I'm trying to give every single other character as much focus as I can. Some people may be asking: Quietthinker, why don't you just skip over the 3-day journey and get right to the action? I would respond by saying that although I'm pumped about writing what happens on Yolkus, I'm equally excited about writing interactions and conversations between the main characters. We all watched Jimmy Neutron because we

love the characters and their relationships with each other. Writing these characters talking to one another and hanging out comes very naturally to me and I really enjoy doing it. Chapter six of this story, Family, was one of my favorites and one of the easiest to write for this reason. I have a lot of fun stuff prepared for the coming chapters. But of course, the characters can't just be chilling out on this vessel. I'll also need to show you all exactly what supplies they'll be carrying, what their battle plan is, and how they are training. Maybe that isn't important to every reader, but when I read a story I always want to know every detail of the preparations that come before a battle. Maybe that's just me, but I can't help it. I think it's important to show the logical progression from plan to battle. Thanks again to all who have been reading and especially to those who have been reviewing. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, but I'm hoping for sometime this coming week.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXx April 12th Update Just want to apologize for jumping the gun yesterday. Chapter 9 of Pushing Through will likely be up on Saturday, not today. Sorry about that. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX April 11th Update How the heck do I start discussing this chapter? There's about a million things to talk about. Let's start with the basics. More than any other, this chapter was both a joy and an utter pain to write. A while back I wrote that chapter 3 was the most difficult chapter I have written. That was nothing. I nearly lost my mind two days ago writing the rough draft for this. This chapter has more deleted ideas and actual written content than anything I have ever written. In the original draft, Jimmy and Cindy shared a much longer moment before she left the lab in the beginning. In addition, Barak and Jimmy's conversation was nearly twice as long. Lastly, Barak was brought to near hysterics by how advanced Goddard was. I decided to tone down his excitement in the final version. It took four hours just to get to the halfway mark where Jimmy wakes up in his room. I was so exhausted and drained that I couldn't even get past that point. I'm glad I took yesterday off from writing to clear my head and come up with a more cohesive plan for the chapter. This chapter is unique in not just its length, but in the sheer amount of ground it covers. Jimmy and Barak had a long conversation, Jimmy bode farewell to his loving canine, all of the kids were reunited, Cindy and Betty shared a moment that will have lasting repercussions in coming chapters, and of course Miranda was finally revealed. In the

original draft of this chapter, there was no Jimmy/Barak conversation and no Cindy/Betty interaction beyond a quick "stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours." But once I finished chapter 7, I knew that it was unfair to skip the conversation that Jimmy and Barak would surely have while repairing the Yolkian's shell. In addition, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to have a real look into Cindy's mind with her conversation with Betty. I believe that this chapter was even more important to Cindy's character than chapter 5. In the beginning, I really wanted to show how much Jimmy means to her. It's no secret among JN fans that Cindy's home life is less than ideal at best and possibly abusive at worst. Up until the end of The Final Battle, Libby was her only true family. Over the past month, Jimmy has become an equally important part of her family, as evidenced in last chapter when it was he, not Libby, who persuaded CIndy to trust Barak. Cindy now has to deal with conflicting motives: on the one hand, she still feels the need to prove that she is independent and capable, which is shown when she growls at Jimmy that she could have defended herself against Barak. On the other hand, she's no longer afraid to let Jimmy know how important he is to her, evidenced by her comment about how sweet he is. Betty's arrival showed a different side of Cindy. I've always believed that Cindy's temper was her greatest weakness, and now that she's open in her love for JImmy, she can't control her jealousy of Betty. After all, Betty was Jimmy's first kiss, not Cindy. That fact alone eats Cindy up inside. Seeing Betty brings back all of her old insecurities and the thought of losing Jimmy terrifies her. I was not trying to write her as a girl whose only concern is her boyfriend and is jealous to an immature degree. I merely wanted to display how important Jimmy was to her and how her temper can get away from her. I initially wanted Cindy and Betty to agree to be friends at the end of their talk, but it just didn't seem to fit Cindy's state of mind. She had just broken down in front of her arch-enemy. She was nowhere near ready to listen to reason. Rest assured that Betty and Cindy will have more interactions in this book, though. And the fact that Cindy couldn't get angry at her in the end should hint at how their relationship will progress. In spite of her temper, Cindy followed her usual pattern of jumping to Jimmy's aid when he needed it. When Miranda began her charge, she was there to help him. It didn't work, but the thought is what counts. Now, about Miranda's entrance. I want to assure everyone that there was a logical reason for her being in that tree. It was not merely to create an awesomely dramatic moment. Next chapter will reveal why she attacked Jimmy and why she was in that tree. In addition, there are logical reasons for her having a knife and being such an awesome fighter. As I've said before, she is a real character, not just a dramatic prop. Over the coming chapters you'll learn a lot about her and hopefully come to like her. Ike is finally back as well. Obviously, his conversation with Carl was a reference to my old story, Stealing My Heart. I will absolutely confirm that the two universes are not linked. In this book, Stealing My Heart never happened, although Ike is still the same character and he has a friendship with Carl. In this book, the two became friends while trying to retrieve a literal paper machet heart of Jimmy's that Cindy stole. I also wish to apologise for giving him the wrong last name in Stealing My Heart. I checked online, and his last name is Burke, not Brown. Again, my bad. In addition, Ike was not joking about his middle name. In my book, he really is called Ike Danger Burke. That is how badass he is. One thing I've wanted to mention is the Yolkian language. As stated before, there are subtle differences between humanity's English and Yolkian English. In addition to unique terms like

magnar and cycle, Yolkians also speak in a more proper manner. A key example of this is that Yolkians never use contractions. For example, they'll say "Do not" instead of "don't." I might have screwed up a couple of times in this regard in chapter 3, but I have taken special care since not to mess up this detail since. I've really enjoyed writing Goddard in this story, and it hurts to leave him behind. If I'm being honest, I almost teared up writing his goodbye with Jimmy. A huge part of that was the fact that I wrote it while listening to Joshua Radin's song "Closer", which I really recommend listening to. It's a real heartbreaking song and I often listen to it while writing sad scenes. One thing I've loved about writing Goddard is that he and Jimmy are able to communicate so easily. In the show, I know he would sometimes pop open his screen and type words to Jimmy. I feel that since they've had the rest of fifth grade and the entirety of sixth grade together since the show ended, they no longer need that tool. Jimmy can completely understand Goddard just from his barks and head movements. I hope to write chapter 9 tomorrow and get it up by the end of the night. It shouldn't be anywhere near as long as this chapter, but who the heck knows anymore. I've pretty much lost the ability to keep my writing from spiraling out of control. It does what it wants at this point. One last thing. I really want to thank everyone who's been reading this story and these commentaries. I know that this is not your usual JN fic. I know it's long and has a much darker tone than most stuff on this site. But I'm really loving writing it, even though I've been thinking about it so much I feel like I'm starting to lose my grip on reality. Writing for five hours straight has a way of doing that. But I'm truly grateful to everyone giving this story a chance. I love this book and I'm glad you guys do too. So thank you. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX April 10th Update I'm feeling much better today. As I previously said, I spent nearly four hours yesterday trying to write up chapter 8 to this story. It ballooned out of control and ended up being a pile of junk. I took the night off and spent my free time at work figuring out how to reorganize the chapter. I have a much better idea of how to write it now, and it should be up by 5 pm (EST) tomorrow. I'll discuss the chapter tomorrow after I finish writing it. I was looking through the first few chapters of The Final Battle last night and it's amazing how things have changed. Remember when Nick woke up from the knockout gas and immediately tried to kill Jimmy? Remember how Jimmy and Cindy hadn't even shared their kiss on Little Boy? These characters were so different then. My writing has changed so much as well. Ever since about the 3/4 mark of The Final Battle I seem to have lost the ability to write short chapters. I can't imagine writing any chapter under 3,000 words now. (The exception of course is the chapter A+ of Pushing Through, but that was meant to be a short chapter since Jimmy and Cindy's essay only needed to be 1,000 words.) This goes with my novel Paranoia as well. I also want to clarify something that I wrote in the very first chapter of The Final Battle. At the end of their battle on the moon, Jimmy told an unconscious Eustace Strych that Cindy was his girlfriend. I shoud have clarified this years ago, but better late than never. This was

merely wishful thinking on Jimmy's part. He knew he had feelings for Cindy and was angry at Eustace for trying to kill her, but they were not a couple at that point. Only after their kiss on Little Boy did they begin to think that they might be together. Once they got back on Earth they made it official. I still think it's crazy that I wrote an entire novel about Jimmy Neutron. It's even crazier that I'm writing another. I'll repeat what I said a few updates ago: I am absolutely viewing this story as a novel. I am taking the task of writing it very seriously and am actually spending way more time planning it out and thinking about it than I should. On a similar note, if anyone would like to hear about my novel Paranoia, just private message or email me. I'd be happy to send you a one chapter preview. I'm going to get back to finishing up editing it as soon as I'm done Pushing Through. If I stay focused, I'll be able to finish the edits and send out book queries to book agents by the time I leave for vet school in August! Anyways, back to some JN stuff. I posted a few updates on my profile page during my five year absence, and I always made sure to mention how this site had never left the back of my mind. Over the course of that half decade, I came up with several ideas for stories, but always persuaded myself to keep from writing them. I doubt any of them will ever get written, but who knows? I never thought I would be writing Pushing Through. These are some of the ideas I've pondered over the past five years. - One story would involve all the kids in fifth grade lying to their parents that they were going to camp. In actuality, Jimmy led them on a summer-long vacation to an uncharted deserted island. The island actually ended up being very similar to the island from the show Lost, and Jimmy and Cindy would have had to uncover the mysteries of the island while trying to get themselves and their friends home. This is one of the stories I came closest to writing. - Another story involved Eustace kidnapping Jimmy. Cindy would have led the gang in trying to get Jimmy back. I actually wrote one chapter for this story along with an outline, but it never got past that point. - This idea actually came to me a few weeks before I started to plan and write Pushing Through. I was seriously considering writing another JN fic and came up with a story where the fabric of reality was tearing apart, allowing Jimmy to catch glimpses of alternate universes. The alternate universes would actually have been many of the other stories that I had written. The Final Battle's universe would have been been very prominent, as would Stealing My Heart's and Hooky's. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX April 9th Update AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!Today has been a complete failure. I've spent about three and a half hours trying to write chapter 8, and I've ended up with about 4,000 words of crap. I was hoping to get this chapter updated today, but no way that's going to happen. My head is pounding and I feel like crap. I'm taking a break. Looks

like tomorrow night and Wednesday (my next times off work) will be spent doing rewrites and seeing if I can salvage anything from the dredge I've written today. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx April 7th Update So know you all know exactly what the stakes are in Pushing Through. Earth is a week away from total destruction. Jimmy and his friends have but one slim hope: return to Yolkus and kill King Veras in order to make the Yolkians fear humanity. Should they fail, six billion lives will be lost. Two worlds are about to go to war, and their fates lie in the palms of Jimmy Neutron's hands. This chapter was a blast to write. THis is where the story really begins. In most of my stories (both fanfiction and true fiction), the first few chapters serve as an introduction to the characters and their relations to each other. Pushing Through is no exception. We know who all they key players are, save for one very special young woman. We know what they mean to each other. And now we're about to find out what they're willing to do to save each other and their planet. I love writing humor in my stories, and Pushing Through is obviously about to take a very serious turn (although it was pretty dark to begin with). I wouldn't say I'm cramming the humor in while I've got the chance, but I'm definitely enjoying writing funny stuff. The past two chapters have been a goldmine for comedic opportunity. My personal favorites are Sheen saying "I'm everywhere. All the time" and him slapping Carl senseless. I'm also enjoying truly using Carl in a story for the first time. After rewatching several key episodes of the show, I've come to really appreciate his character. One thing I've made sure to focus on is Cindy's attitude and how it's changed since she and Jimmy got together. It's no longer a secret to anyone that she's in love with Jimmy. But being his girlfriend is not going to change the fact that she's a fighter and a leader. I've made sure to write her in a very proactive light. I really enjoyed making her be the one to grab a weapon and confront Barak after he was shot. On the flip side, she also has more respect for Jimmy than ever before. When she learns that the Earth is in danger of being destroyed, she immediately agrees to help Jimmy in any way she can. The old Cindy would never have been that quick to work with Jimmy. I'm glad that Barak has come back into the story after a three chapter absence. From here on out he'll be an integral part of the kids' adventure. Miranda is still my favorite OC of the story (and that includes Ike, so that should say something), but I still enjoy writing for Barak. I want to also make it clear that his name is not pronounced the same as President Obama. It is pronounced with a slight hesitation between "Ba" and "Rak". So it goes like Bah-rahk. I made up that name about a month ago and realized that it sounded familiar. No duh, quietthinker. I wish to amend my old statement that this book will be about 17 chapters and less than 80,000 words. I've pretty much finished planning the story and I'd be surprised if it was under a 100,000 words and 25 chapters. Most novels run somewhere between 65.000 and 90,000 words, so this is the real deal, guys. I'm taking writing this as seriously as I took writing my real novel. And I think I love it even more.

One last thing to touch on. What exactly can you all expect from the rest of the book? First off, I consider The Final Battle to be split in 3 parts: learning of the kidnappings and preparing for the journey, traveling towards Yolkus, and the final battle scenes. I view Pushing Through as having four parts to it. The first part is nearly over and is the same as before, learning about their mission and preparing to execute it. The other three parts, well...I'll let you know about those when we get to them. So what will happen in the rest of the book? Here's some vague, non-spoilery details. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that there are going to be some absolutely incredible action scenes (sorry if I sound immodest, but I AM very excited to write them). There will be romance, and not just J/C and S/L. This story is basically The Final Battle on steroids. The fights will be bigger. The risks will be higher. The consequences will be more dire. Every character is going to learn exactly who they are and what they're made of. And it all starts now. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX April 5th Updates Chapter 6 is up, I love it, blah blah blah. You're probably tired of hearing me say that stuff, so I'll cut right to the most important thing. This chapter saw the return of Chowder. Everyone's favorite black and white kitten is back. I've been waiting to write him back into the story for weeks now. He plays two important roles in this story. First, he is yet another reminder of The Final Battle and the fact that this sequel is completely connected to the original story. Secondly, he rounds out the kids' emotional issues by thrusting Libby into the role of mother. Exploring the psychological aspect of these kids was a major goal of mine in this story and one of the reasons I actually decided to write it. I thought that the plot was very interesting (unfortunately none of you really know what that is yet), but having the opportunity to explore the consequences of the events in The Final Battle is what really made me realize that this book would be special. Of the six main kids thus far introduced in the story (Nick, Carl, Libby, Sheen, Jimmy, and Cindy), three of them have severe issues relating to their past adventure. Jimmy was racked with guilt over putting his friends lives in danger and killing Goobot and Eustace. Nick is having trouble readjusting to life on Earth and has some pretty severe posttraumatic stress. Carl feels bad about staying behind on Earth and yearns to become a man. Libby also has a bit of growth in that she has taken the job of raising Chowder seriously, although it's not as serious as the boys' issues. Sheen and Cindy haven't forgotten the trials they faced in space, but they don't have any crippling problems either. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because as I've said before, just writing Jimmy and the gang hanging out is one of my favorite things to do. And since this book takes place in seventh and not fifth grade, they've had a couple of unseen years to become even closer to each other. I believe the title of chapter 6 really sums up what these five kids are to each other. And of course, the final paragraph serves to really get the wheels of the story's plot in motion.

I also want to discuss the issue of original characters. Ever since I began writing this story, I was excited to introduce the three new characters I've come up with. You've already met two of them, King Veras and Barak Neroma. In a review someone mentioned how they don't usually like original characters but liked King Veras. This comment made me remember how when I used to read fanfiction I hated it whenever an original character was added. I'm sorry if anyone reading this story really detests the idea of introducing original characters (and I suppose Ike should be included in that group since he had like three lines in the show.) It's just that I've spent the last couple of years working on a novel, where everything from the setting to the characters has to be made up from scratch. It's hard to switch gears from that and jump back into fanfiction, where the characters are all already fleshed out. I loved making up the characters for my novel and feel like they're all a part of me. I just had to do the same with this book. I can't take them out since I already introduced two of them and the third, Miranda, is already one of the favorite characters I've ever created. I can only promise that these are all 3-dimensional characters and not just props and that I will write them as well as I can. I hope you enjoy reading about them, but I understand if you don't. The next couple of chapters are going to be very important to this story. Chapter 7 will deal with the kids figuring out what is going on with the Yolkian, and chapter 8 will introduce Miranda and begin the kids' newest adventure in earnest. As always, thanks for reading and feel free to private message me and/or review. Seriously. I want to talk to you guys. In addition, here's a little treat if anyone is obsessed with this story. As I've already stated, I have a general outline for this story planned through chapter 12. Everything after that is in my head for now. If anyone out there is reading this story and hasn't written one of their own, it can be crazy how much a chapter can deviate from your original design. Here's the outline I had for the first four chapters (edited to avoid revealing spoilers. I hope some of you are interested in seeing how this story came to be and seeing how much it's changed since my original design. A+ This chapter will be a summation of The Final Battle. It is a copy of the essay that Jimmy and Cindy wrote at the end of The Final Battle. It will also include the teachers comments and grade. Recollections This chapter begins with Nick and Jimmy landing on the moon. It is after school and Cindy is seeing a doctor to check if she can leave her wheelchair behind. Nick immediately hands Jimmy a gun, and Jimmy admonishes him for bringing them and asks how he even got them. They go for a walk through the battlefield and Jimmy explains that this is where he fought Eustace the night of the kidnappings. Nick explains to Jimmy that he is freaking out because he cant adjust to life back on Earth. He also is worried that the Yolkians will avenge their king. Jimmy is surprised that Nick has thought of this, not even Cindy has. Jimmy admits that this is a very real possibility and he is also scared. He warns Nick not to mention their fears to anyone else for fear of causing a panic. Although Jimmy was initially overjoyed when they got back to Earth, he has been worried about a Yolkian attack ever since writing the essay with Cindy and thinking over Goobots murder. Nick tells Jimmy that no matter what happens, hell stand by his side.

A Call to Arms This chapter takes place in the Council chamber on Yolkus. The council applauds the newly instated King Verez and is eager to hear his first official pronouncement. He angrily explains that Goobot was an idiot who deserved his death. This is a shock to the council, although many of them feel the same way. They accuse him of heresy, and Verez states that heresy holds no weight against the dead. He rallies the council and says that it is time to prove to both Yolkians and Earthlings the power of their empire. Verez calls for the fleet to be mobilized and for Earth to be destroyed. Finally, Barak can no longer restrain himself and he disputes the kings remarks. Verez halts his guards and pompously asks to hear Baraks concerns. Barak explains to the council that he has been studying the humans since there were first encountered and believes it is wrong to kill them. He explains that they only fought in self defense and can be reasoned with, but Verez plays footage of Sheen and Jimmy mercilessly dispatching aliens. He asks the council if the humans appear civilized and reasonable. Barak begs for there to be a way to spare the planet. The king ponders this and says that perhaps there is. Childhood Simplicity On Earth, Jimmy works in his lab later that night. He is working on an herbal concoction to help relieve some of Nicks stress. He briefly tweaks the monitor that keeps watch to let him know if anything strange is approaching Earth. Cindy unexpectedly walks in, and Jimmy is ecstatic to see that she is out of her wheelchair. They kiss, and she says its nice to be able to look down at him again. Jimmy tells her what hes working on, and she says she never thought Nick and Jimmy would ever be friends. Jimmy then says that no one ever thought they would be together. Sheen suddenly walks out of the labs bathroom and says that everyone was taking bets on their relationship for years. Jimmy reprimands him for being in his lab, and Sheen brings up that he saved the planet. Jimmy says that he cant keep using that excuse forever. Cindy leaves the boys alone, and Sheen asks if Jimmys done what he promised. Jimmy shows him his newest invention, some sort of musical flower. He explains how they work to Sheen, but Sheen says Jimmy should come to help him tell Libby how to work them. Jimmy agrees and they walk out of the lab just as the monitor comes to life.

April 3rd 2012 Update I've just uploaded Chapter 5 of Pushing Through, and I feel great. I'm really pleased with how the chapter turned out, and I even expect to get chapter six up within two days since I have a little time off work. My only regret is how it's taken so long to post what I have so far. I really love writing this story, and I wish I had more time to do it. Chapter five was a huge step in Pushing Through. It was originally supposed to be much longer and include a lot more stuff. I'm being vague about the stuff because it's being split into its own chapter (chapter 6). This chapter is where I really confirm how Jimmy and Cindy are completely together and Jimmy pulls out of his depression. Now, it's not as if I've waved a magic wand and he's going to go completely back to the way before. He still

regrets killing Goobot and Eustace, and he is going to carry that with him throughout this novel. But now he knows how to deal with it and has stepped out of his funk. I'm really enjoying writing Jimmy and Cindy as a couple. At the end of The Final Battle, they seemed like your typical couple in love. As I started writing this story, I realized that things will never be that simple for Jimmy and Cindy. Now that the initial shock of being a couple has worn off, they've fallen somewhat back into their old routine. I don't think they'll ever be able to stop arguing or throwing light-hearted jabs at each other. More importantly, I don't think they want to. What's changed is that they've admitted they love each other and respect each other a lot more. I've been thinking a lot about the final 1/3 of this story. I honestly think it's going to be the most incredible thing I've ever written. I wish I could just explain to everyone reading what my plans are for the book, but that would definitely ruin everything. I'll just have to keep writing as fast as I can to get to that point. That isn't to say that the rest of the book isn't going to be awesome, I just really am looking forward to writing the final portions of it. In fact, the next few chapters are going to have some major revelations and surprises. I won't spoil anything now, but just now that the end of chapter 6 is going to definitely get the ball rolling plot-wise. That's all for now. Hope everyone enjoys chapter five, and I can't wait to write chapter 6. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX March 28th 2012 Update Alright, my fellow JN readers. Chapter 4 of Pushing Through will be up within seven hours. I'm in the midst of writing it right now, and I just wanted to take a break to post some thoughts on here. I figured I should post something about the length of Pushing Through. I should have done this when I first posted the book, and for that I apologize. You all should know what you're getting into before you start reading something. I'm expecting this story to be about 17 chapters long. I have everything meticulously planned out through chapter 11, have a very good plan through chapter 13, and after that I have a basic outline for how the story will end. This is only about 1/3 as long as The Final Battle chapter-wise, but each chapter will be substantially longer than most chapters in The Final Battle. This is a very rough estimate, but I'm guessing this book will be between 60,000 and 80,000 words, or about as long as a short novel. I also want to let you all know how excited I am to write this thing. I know I've said that before, but I'm just getting more and more pumped as the story goes on. Chapters 1 - 5 are mostly about laying the groundwork for the story and really showing the characters' relationships with each other. Chapter 6 is where the plot is really going to get started. I love writing both plot and relationship stuff. It's a lot of fun to just sit down and try to writie conversations between the characters as though I were a writer for the TV show. But it's also a real joy of mine to write action scenes. At any rate, I can't wait to continue writing this story. Once I get to around chapter 12... let's just say that I am completely pumped to write the last third of this book.

One last thing I want to note is that I've watched a few episodes of Jimmy Neutron online for the first time in a long time, and I'd forgotten just how funny and clever the cartoon was. I wish they had the whole series on DVD. That's about all for now. As always, feel free to Private message and review. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX March 23rd 2012 Updates Just a quick little update right now. I wanted to let everyone know that I probably won't be updating more than a chapter or two over the next week. I'm spending the week with some family, so my time for writing will be limited. I do have a few hours on hand right now, but I'm spending it doing research. That means watching Jimmy Neutron clips and the episode STRANDED online so that I can get a better feel for how the characters act. I don't want to write them out of character like I did sometimes in The Final Battle. I also want to get a sense of how the Yolkians move and act. One last thing. I did a tiny bit of research and wish to completely clarify the kids' ages in Pushing Through. Sheen is 15 years-old. The other kids are twelve years old. Since seventh grade has just started for them, I think this sounds about right. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX March 22nd 2012 Update Alright fellow JN fans. I've decided to keep a journal of sorts on my profile page while writing Pushing Through. I'll try to update it around every time that I publish a chapter. I think this will be a good way to share the writing process and my thoughts about creating this book. I hope at least some of you find this stuff interesting. And as always, feel absolutely free to private message me with any questions or comments I have. I love talking with my audience. Jeez. Finishing Chapter 3 for Pushing Through was an ordeal. In addition to being the single longest chapter that I have ever published on this site, it was also the most difficult to write. There are plenty of reasons for this. First and foremost, I'm used to writing for humans, not Yolkians. While the species share the same language, I have tried to make their styles of speaking very distinct from each other. The Yolkians speak in a more formal and complicated way. In addition, their unique anatomy makes describing gestures and other actions very difficult. How exactly can a Yolkian nod without a head? They fly and hover instead of walking and standing. These are just a couple of the things that I have to try to keep straight in my head as I'm writing. It was also difficult to come up with a precise characterization for King Veras. At first, I had him be very scornful of Goobot's rule. I tried making him emotionless, tried making him incredibly angry, along with several other options. In addition, there was originally a much larger backstory for the ARC and Barak's homelife. In summation, this chapter was incredibly difficult to structure and started about ten times as complicated as the final

product. I'm so happy to finally put it on the site and get back to writing about Jimmy and his friends, at least for a short time. On a more personal note, I'm finding it a little difficult to get used to the fact that my audience is much, much smaller than it was in the past. I knew going into this that I would only be reaching a fraction of the people I met when I wrote my previous works. After all, Jimmy Neutron has been off the air for around half a decade. On the one hand, I'm pleased that some of old fans have remembered me and that there is still an audience for my work. On the other hand, I really miss checking my hit counter every few hours to find a huge jump in the numbers. I also miss getting tons of reviews for every chapter. I guess I'll just have to savor every review that I get and be happy that I still have dozens of people reading this story. On the same vein, I just want to stress one last time that I love talking with my audience. If you have any comments or questions about me, my stories, my writing process, or anything else, I'd love to speak with you. Just leave a review or private message. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it really is my favorite part of writing. Well, that's it for now. I hope that everybody likes chapter three, and I hope to have chapter four uploaded within a few days. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX March 14th 2012 Update Wow. I cant believe its been nearly six years since I finished up The Final Battle. This site for so long was a source of escape and a place to work on my writing skills. Though I havent posted a story here in over half a decade, it was always in the back of my mind and I never forget the work I did or the people Id met. I want to share with all my readers a little bit about myself first, and then some information about my work. About Me My name is Ryan. Im 21 years-old in live in New England in the U.S. I recently graduated from college with a bachelors degree in animal science and am moving to Michigan in August to attend vet school. Ive always loved animals and cant wait to learn how to be a vet. Ive got an absolutely amazing girlfriend named Louise, and it was her idea to write another Jimmy Neutron story. I love her more than anything. About My Work I started writing on this site because I was obsessed with Jimmy Neutron in ninth grade. I had never had a social childhood, and I saw in this show the life which I wished I had. Not going into space and fighting aliens, but walking around town with friends and having adventures. I also loved how Jimmy and Cindy clearly loved each other but were too young and immature to realize it. Lastly, I greatly respected how there was an evolving relationship between the characters in the show. Each episode didnt end by hitting the reset button, but instead everyone gradually became closer. I began to read fan fiction and eventually tried writing my own. My earliest stuff was crap, but I began to become proud of my work and loved every second of writing my stories.

Ive been reading a lot of my old work lately, and I hate looking at the oldest stuff. I see a lot of cool ideas in stories such as the Visions series and Hooky, but there is so much room for improvement. If I had all the time in the world, Id go back and write those stories over. My biggest regret in my stories is how I dealt with death. I firmly believe that there needs to be real danger in stories and that occasionally, good characters must die in order for it to be real. Yet I went overboard with this, especially in Hooky. That story would have been much better if it wasnt for the fact that I killed nearly the entire school. That was a little ridiculous. When I wrote On the Run, I thought it would be my masterpiece. There is so much that I would do differently now. It definitely spun way out of control and should not have been nearly as long as it was. In addition, I shouldnt have killed Jimmy and Cindy. Death has its place in stories, as Ive already said, but I dont feel it belonged in that story. Stealing My Heart and The Final Battle are easily my favorite pieces of work. Even though I have finished writing my first real novel (Paranoia) and will finish editing it after I am done writing this new JN story, The Final Battle is still my favorite story Ive written. There were way too many typos and it could have used a little trimming around the edges, but I still love reading it. About Pushing Through I have a lot I want to say about this new book, and I wish to say it in the same way I discussed The Final Battle when I first released it. Back then, I discussed the book via an FAQ, although I didnt actually have any questions sent in. I merely answered questions I thought some people might ask. Ill do the same thing here except call it a PAQ, for possibly asked questions. I think thats funny, just so you know. PAQ for Pushing Through Why are you writing this story now? Why did you take such a long absence from writing? After finishing The Final Battle I contemplated a few more pieces of work, but in a way I felt done with Jimmy Neutron. Id written dozens of stories and explored the show from a myriad of angles. Id sharpened my writing skills and felt like I was outgrowing cartoons. Plus, I was so proud of The Final Battle that I wanted to end my career on this site on a high note. For the past couple of years I have been working on a novel called Paranoia, so that became my new focus. I still need to finish editing it, but I havent worked on it for a few months, so my writing is a little rusty. Since Ive had a rough idea for a sequel to The Final Battle in my head for years, I decided that writing it would be a good way to get my writing back in shape, as well as reconnect with my old fans. I am really looking forward to writing this book and hope you all like it. So is this a direct sequel to The Final Battle? This is 100% a direct sequel. The story takes place roughly two weeks after the epilogue of The Final Battle, which means its been about a month since Jimmy and his crew returned to Earth. So does that mean that Jimmy and Cindy are still a couple? And Cindy is still in a wheelchair?

Everyones relationship is as it was at the end of The Final Battle. Their wounds are almost healed, though, and that will be discussed early on in the story. Will all of the old characters from The Final Battle return? Yes. Jimmy, Cindy, Sheen, and Nick will all return and have major roles. Betty, Carl, and Libby will also be in this new story and will have a much larger focus this time around. Ike will also return and plays a large role in the story. Both Eustace and Goobot are dead, so they will not return, although they will be mentioned. Who is Ike, anyway? Ike is the African American child who wears sunglasses in the Jimmy Neutron cartoon. Hes only had a handful of lines in the show, but I used him as a template to make a brand new character for Stealing My Heart. He was a fan favorite and creating him is one of my favorite accomplishments. Hes a chain-smoking thirteen year-old whos deeply religious and has a painful past. Will any other new characters be in this book? Yes, four major new characters will play large roles in this book. I will only mention one of them right now, though. Miranda is the same age as Sheen and fought with the kids in The Final Battle, although no one really remembers her. She is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and is very angry and rough around the edges. I absolutely cannot wait to introduce her, lets just say that shell make a big first impression. How old are these kids, anyway? Jimmy was eleven years-old and in the fifth grade in the cartoon. The Final Battle took place when the kids should have begun seventh grade. This means that they are all twelve yearsold. The exception of course is Sheen, who was thirteen in the show. This puts him at fifteen in The Final Battle. Since this book picks up only two weeks after The Final Battle, everyone is the same age as before. What are you looking forward to most about writing this book? I am a huge fan of continuity, and I am really looking forward to putting plenty of little details throughout the book to remind you of The Final Battle. That's one reason why I really love the first recap chapter. I didn't plan it when I finished The Final Battle, but having Jimmy and Cindy writing an essay about their summer left a perfect way to recap the first book. I'm also really looking forward to introducing the new characters and showing the relationships between all of these kids. What does the title pushing through mean? Its another way of saying pressing on, which is one of my favorite lines from The Final Battle. Jimmy sadly said Well press on in regards to leaving Sheen behind in the asteroid belt. It refers to how all of these kids were damaged by their fight against the Yolkians and have to push through their pain to save their planet. Damaged? You mean their how Sheens in crutches and Cindy was shot?

These kids definitely went through some physical abuse, but I was referring to their emotional struggle. Things may have seemed happy-go-lucky in The Final Battles epilogue, but this was mostly due to the excitement of starting school and seeing each other again after a couple weeks of hospital visits and coddling by parents. Now that the initial rush of coming home has worn off, everyone of these characters has had time to ponder what theyve been through and suffer. Could you give us some examples? I wont ruin everyones story, but I will say that everyone has experienced this pain in a different way. For example, Jimmy is wracked with guilt over killing Eustace and Goobot. Nearly everyone has some substantial emotional baggage that I will describe in this book. Many of your previous books featured main characters dying, yet not one of the good kids died in The Final Battle. Will the same hold true for Pushing Through? Obviously, I cannot answer this question directly. I will say that it was a change of pace to have all of Jimmys friends survive their journey in The Final Battle. In order for an action and adventure story to work, the audience truly needs to believe that anyone can die at any moment. I wont say who, if anyone, dies, but everyone reading this should know that this book is filled with danger and not everyone may make it out alive. The kids themselves realize this. These kids are challenging death, and they know it. Last question. Why did a Yolkian ship have stairs in The Final Battle if Yolkians fly through the air? No comment.