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THE INVASION OF TIKI VILLAGE, PART 4
Two Days Earlier
The aged floorboard of the Community House snapped apart with a noisy CRACK, reverberating with greater emphasis off the walls of the nearly empty building.
"Gently!" Bazu admonished in a low voice.
Lansha, the round and stout warrior whom Bazu was addressing, nodded meekly, discarding the jagged chunk of wood off to his side.
"The wood is old. Doesn't break softly," Lansha explained. Bazu looked around him for something to muffle the sound. He walked over to the ornately carved podium a few feet from their position by the rear of the hall and roughly pulled off the dyed linen covering the wood, returning to offer it to the other man. Lansha simply stared at the thing, hesitant to desecrate the hall even further.
Bazu sighed. "We do not have time to worry about blasphemy. You know what's at stake. We cannot afford to have one of Woo's flying things hear anything unsual." Lansha took the sheet, a tinge of guilt on his expression. Wrapping the material around the remaining half-plank of floorboard, he pulled upward gently, the sounds of breaking wood now dulled.
The men worked quickly in near complete darkness with only the light of a single candle to guide their work. In short time Lansha had cleared away an area of the floor nearly five feet wide and half as long. Bazu crouched down beside the man, inspecting the dark soil underneath.
"You sure this the right spot?" Lansha asked.
Bazu brushed the top layer of the soil aside with his good hand. It moved apart easily, revealing dark, older wood just an inch beneath. Lansha sighed heavily at the prospect of further work.
"No," Bazu assured. "There should be..." he ran his hand across the width of the wood, his fingers locking onto a slight indentation connected to a metal latch at one end of the square. "Help me with this." Together the two men strained their weight, pulling the up upon its rusted hinge with a low groan. The thing locked into place in a vertical position as a whoosh of dank, musty air blew out from the newly uncovered hole beneath. Both men turned away, hands to their faces, fighting off stifled coughs.
"How long's it been since anyone's been down there?" Lansha wondered.
"Over a century, so the history books say," Bazu replied. He positioned himself into a sitting position by the lip of the hole, his legs dangling into the darkness below.
"Wait a minute, we don't even know how deep it goes," Lansha warned.
"Only one way to find out." With that, Bazu slid himself over the edge, his whole body immediately enveloped in black. A half-second later Lansha heard the sound of feet hitting earth, and the small grunt of his companion.
"Well?" Lansha asked.
A hand shot up from the darkness, startling the Tikian. "Hand me the candle," Bazu ordered. Once received, Bazu surveyed his subterranean surroundings: A single tunnel stretched away from his position, wide enough for three men to walk side by side. Could have been much worse, the young warrior thought. Although we'll see how cramped it gets with an entire village at my back.
"Lansha, stay there and keep watch. I'm going to follow this tunnel to its end and then head back." Before the warrior had taken three steps, another pair of feet fell onto the dirt beside him. Bazu whirled around to face his new companion.
"Lansha, I told you to-Muskwa!" The old man's scruffy face was half-covered in streaks of shadow, but Bazu recognized the esteemed Tiki elder immediately. "What are you doing here?"
"Appraising the situation," Muskwa replied. "The Chief informed me of his plan." Muskwa pressed his hand against the wall and slid himself out, arms outstretched across the width of the tunnel, mentally taking its measure. He looked back up towards the hole they had just dropped from. The older man stood there, pondering a moment.
"What is it?" Bazu asked.
Muskwa sighed. "It's going to be quite a tight fit," he replied.
"Tight? That hole's twice as wide as any man, and it's quite spacious down here. The villagers shouldn't have any problem-"
"That is the problem," Muskwa interrupted. "It's only twice as wide as a man." He ignored the confused expression on the young man's face. "C'mon. You said you still needed to see where this tunnel leads. We better get to it before daylight."
Muskwa ventured forth at a quickened pace, with Bazu in tow. "I don't understand, why did The Chief involve you in this?" he asked.
"I have a certain expertise that he thinks will prove useful in the coming battle."
"And what is that?"
"Communication skills." Muskwa chuckled at his own remark. "I'll explain on the way. First tell me where we plan to put everyone once they reach the end of this."
Bazu hesitated. "Well, we needed a place far enough away from the village that was safe and defendable, but also a place guaranteed to be friendly to our people. There was really only one option..."
Muskwa halted in his tracks to give Bazu a quizzical look. "Ha! And she agreed to that?"
"I don't think it was a request."
"Ha!" Muskwa repeated again, and Bazu could almost feel the grin on his face. "This is certainly the craziest plan I've ever had a part in."
They walked further in silence. "What happens if this tunnel dead-ends?" Bazu asked.
"You already know the answer to that."
The two figures continued deeper into the tunnel extending out of Tiki Village, neither man sure of where the path journey would lead them.
* * *
Now
"Hold!" The Chief kept his spear pointed ahead even as he and his men backed themselves closer towards the front of the Community House. The Woobots surrounding them were close now, perhaps a scant few hundred feet away.
"Chief," the voice of the young warrior that stood beside the village leader was full of nerves. "We should charge them! We cannot let them reach the building."
"They won't."
"But sir, my family is in there!"
"You will hold until I say otherwise!"
The walls of the Community House began to shake.
In unison, the Woobots broke into a sprint. Some of the men recoiled in fear at the ferocious speed with which the large metal figures began to close the distance between them. At almost the same moment, the walls of the Community House began to shake. A wave of panic began to spread across the group of warriors as they continued to hold their ground, caught between an imminent threat from the front and an unknown one from behind.
The Woobots were seconds away from reaching the Community House.
"Split formation! Split formation!" The Chief roared. The men obeyed on instinct, reforming themselves into two groups which left an open path between the enemy and the front of the building. As the Woobots zeroed in on their target, the Chief closed his eyes, praying to the gods that the others had done their part.
The front doors of the Community House burst open. Standing inside the entrance, surveying the scene, stood Muskwa. The Chief allowed himself the slightest of moments to exhale a sigh of relief before-
"CHARGE!" Muskwa's voice was a battle cry of strength, and the Chief heard in it the man who had bested him in the Kurun-kai all those years ago. The old man's yell became drowned in a deafening inhuman roar which emanated from within the building behind him.
A wave of Boxens poured forth from the Community House, a sea of red rage broken loose from whatever dam the Tikian had placed upon them. They charged forth in loping gallops on either side of Muskwa, the ground rumbling from the force of their fury.
The first Woobot had nearly reached the Chief, its large clamped hand extending outward to grasp his head. It was interrupted inches from its prize, however, as a Boxen dug its sharp horns into the metal mass that was the machine's body at full speed, the force of which sent the automaton rolling across the ground, a twisted heap of broken parts.
All around the Chief, Woobots practically exploded as Boxens collided with their targets, popping metal limbs from their sockets, making cavities of their torsos. Some of the machines caught flame, their internal gadgetry short-circuiting at deadly temperatures. The Woobots had neither anticipated nor calculated for this newfound Spirit threat, and they paid for it in numbers.
The Chief noticed that many of the Tiki warriors stood staring at the scene, spears by their side, mouths agape. He spotted a nearby Woobot rounding behind a Boxen who had gotten its horns lodged inside another metal victim. With a roar of his own to match that of the large crimson Spirits, the Chief leapt onto the back of the attacking Woobot. Steadying himself with his free arm, he used the other to ram the fist-sized tip of his spear into the "neck" of the machine. It fell to the ground in a shower of electric sparks. The men who witnessed this were shaken from their momentary stupor.
"FIGHT! FIGHT FOR YOUR PEOPLE!" It was not an order but a prayer.
A hundred Tiki warriors joined the battle, and amidst the chaos that ensued, their screams and yells continued to echo across the field as declarations of their identity.
They were Tiki. And now the Woobots knew it.
* * *
Kaia could sense something was wrong even before the thick metal doors had slid open. Her pulse had quickened as they approached the far wall of the immense facility, spurred on by some invisible sense of dread. She perceived a faint humming in her ears, one that only grew in intensity as they got closer, leaving a tinge of nausea in each breath. Staring at the faint glow of blue light that pooled out from beneath the doors leading to the room beyond, she was suddenly reminded of the lifeless, white haze of the Foggy Coast.
"Wait," she warned, as they paused before the entranceway.
"What is it?"
"There's...there's something..." She shook her head, trying to focus some kind of coherent meaning in her feelings.
"Kaia, what's wrong?"
Kaia could see the worry in confusion in Codi's expression, but she knew it was one of concern for her, rather than the boy sharing her strange premonition. "I don't know exactly. But there is something wrong. In there."
"Let's turn back then. There's probably nothing over here anyways."
"No. Whatever it is, we have to see it." Kaia reached out, finding Codi's hand and putting it in her own. Together, they walked through the threshold and into the room beyond.
* * *
Luzu held Myanna's arm gently, ushering her into the harsh daylight of the forest as they emerged from the dark tunnel leading out from the Community House. He was greeted by a hand patting his back.
"Are you alright? Any difficulty or...complications from the journey?" came the familiar voice of Bazu.
"We're fine," Myanna replied with a soft smile, "but where are we?" It was clear from their surroundings that they had exited in some undetermined portion of the forest. The tunnel behind them was mostly obscured by overgrown vines, carved into the side of a rock wall.
"A little north of the village," Bazu answered. "Not too far."
"What now?" Luzu asked.
"Follow the other villagers." Bazu indicated the procession of people moving off a little ways from where they stood. "Keep moving. We're trying to get everyone to safer ground."
"Safer ground?"
"Please, just keep moving. Right now time is critical."
"We saw the line of Boxens passing by us in the tunnel. Will they be enough to defeat the invaders?" Luzu asked.
Bazu met the man's eyes, trying to mask his worry under a façade of reassurance. "They'll be enough to keep everyone in the village safe. For now."
* * *
There was not much that could be seen upon first entering the room. Kaia and Codi could only make out the shapes of things, the outlines of various forms whose details remained half-cloaked in shadow. The room itself was large yet cluttered, full boxes and shelves and lined on either side of them with tables, upon which sat a plethora of incomprehensible devices. The kids stood upon a single walkway, the only clear path in an otherwise overstuffed space, extending down the entire center of the room. The source of the blue pulse of light they had seen earlier emanated from the far end of the walkway.
"What is this place?" Kaia asked, as they moved further inward.
"No idea," Codi replied. "Reminds me of Copernicus' place." He indicated the various tables of strange gadgetry. Kaia shot him a look of displeasure at the comparison. "But way more evil," he quickly emphasized.
"None of these things seem to be...active," Kaia observed.
Codi nodded. "You're right. We're looking for whatever's controlling Woo's machines. If it's in here, it would be something that looked... 'active'. Turned on."
"Like that." Kaia motioned toward the blue light.
"Maybe," Codi agreed.
"That light, it looks so familiar. I swear I know it from somewhere." Her expression slowly transformed from one of confusion to shock as realization dawned upon her. She broke free of Codi's as she raced down the walkway ahead of him.
"Kaia! Kaia, wait!" Codi ran to catch up to his companion. He found her collapsed on her knees, her hand over her mouth as she stared in horror at the source of the light.
Arrayed in neat rows upon a giant shelf of dark metal were several dozen orbs of glass. Trapped within each one was a single Salamangler, alive and conscious. Although the confines of their prison were so small, each Spirit noticeably struggled nonetheless, expressions of fear and pain filling their soft faces.
Kaia reached out her hand, slowly, the tips of her fingers brushing gently against the glass surface of one of the orbs before her. The Salamangler inside recoiled in fear, shaking its head violently away from the sight of human hands. Small bolts of electric current shot forth from the tips of its antennae, enveloping the entire orb in a pulse of blue light.
"They all do it," Codi observed. "They keep shooting out electricity."
"Instinct. Fear," Kaia explained. "They can't help it." The flash of blue from inside the orb she had touched dimmed slightly, once again revealing the form of the trapped Salamangler. It was shaking uncontrollably, patches of its green skin singed black with heat. "They're killing themselves."
"Kaia, over here." She looked over to see Codi standing a little ways away, looking at something pressed against the back wall. She stood, walking over to join him.
Another Salamangler, separated from the rest, sat placed within the confines of a rectangular glass box about four feet long and half as high. The box was illuminated in florescent lights.
"They kept this one apart from the others," Codi said, as he leaned forward to peer at the Spirit through the glass. The Salamangler appeared sluggish, its eyes half-closed as it moved its head about lethargically. A moment later it stood up and began to turn away from the human watchers. Both Kaia and Codi gasped at the sight that befell them.
"What!?" Codi muttered in shock as he caught a glance of the left side of the Spirit's body. A cross-section of tiny metal gears and rods had been embedded into the surface of its skin. The metal pieces spun and turned as if controlled by some invisible source, independent from the Spirit itself.
Kaia's mind went back to that fateful night in the forest outside Tiki Village, to the abduction of those Spirits by one of Woo's machines, the event that set in motion all that had followed in her life. "This is what Woo was doing to them all along. Why he took them." Her voice was hoarse, barely able to choke the words out.
"This is horrible...." Codi's words were soft and full of sympathy, yet they couldn't convey the pain-the horror-that Kaia felt at that moment.
"He's trying to turn them into his machines." The very thought of it sickened her. She turned and stepped away, unable to look.
The shape of something concealed in the shadows caught her attention. She could see the outline of a tall mound of things haphazardly piled into the corner of the room. Kaia took a step closer, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She felt it again then, that ominous sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. She approached the mound and reached out her hand into the darkness. Her hand touched something familiar. She quickly stepped back, recoiling from what sat before her. Wood, she thought. Totems.
"Codi! Codi, we have to-" A hand pressed over her mouth as a large arm wrapped itself around her waist, lifting her from the ground. She struggled to kick free and scream, but her efforts proved futile under the strength of her assailant. She turned her head and spotted Codi struggling with another figure clothed entirely in black.
They had been caught.
* * *
"Hurry up, people! This isn't the time to drag your feet!" La Croix yelled in annoyance from the far end of the wooden bridge that served as the only entrance leading towards her hut. She looked out upon a long line of Tiki villagers making their way towards her. They moved apprehensively across the old, decrepit-looking bridge, which creaked and groaned under the weight of so many travelers.
"Do I have to send Mageni over to carry some of you across?!? Because I swear I will! If one of those metal things gets me because I had to wait on a single one of you, I'll make you pay for it in another life!" The voodoo lady stamped her feet in irritation. La Croix's staunch Boxen sat nearby on the grass, silently scanning the skies above.
La Croix looked up, hearing the hum of the Woo Scout's approach before its appearance. A moment later and it was upon them, rising up over the tree-line from amidst the forest and swooping down low, mere feet above the heads of the frightened villagers on the bridge, who instinctively crouched in fear. The ropes of the bridge swayed dangerously from the sudden panic.
"Okay, double-time people! Move! Move!" La Croix commanded. The villagers hurried their pace across the bridge, urged forward by the frightened screams of women and the cries of young children.
La Croix burrowed her hands into the sack by her side, combing through the vials of potions within for one in particular. She finally removed her hand from the sack, delicately balancing an inch-long vial of black liquid between her thumb and index finger. It seems as if the time of last resort has come, she thought to herself. The Chief better build me a new bridge.
* * *
"This whole campaign has been nothing short of a disaster thus far, Pendleton, and I want you to fix it." Woo spoke in a menacing calm that did little to mask the rage that bubbled underneath.
"We've suffered...minor setbacks, to be sure...b-but I'm confident-"
"Confident of what!?! Overconfidence is what got us in this situation to begin with." Woo took a deep breath, his forehead drenched with sweat. He wiped his spectacles with his handkerchief, a gesture Pendleton recognized as nervousness. "What is the status of our forces?"
"Nearly fifty units are currently engaging the Tiki warriors at the village. Another twenty remain in reserve in the forest. More than enough to f-f-finish this."
"Barring any more surprises, perhaps."
"It would s-seem that they had a g-greater comprehension of our plans than anticipated." Various monitors displayed the battle of Tiki Village from a variety of angles. Woo Scouts circling above captured images of broken and flaming metal strewn across the ground as the battle continued on in chaotic fashion.
"But although the natives managed temporary advantage with their s-surprise tactics, my b-b-babies have adapted ac-cordingly. Our units have subdued nearly half of their f-forces." Other images flickered on-screen. Woobots firing long cables of black wire from the palms of their claw-like hands, binding Tiki warriors and constraining Spirits to the ground. The victims lay helplessly immobilized on the ground as the battle raged on around them.
"Good. We've nearly reached the end of this. Where are the rest of the villagers?"
A blinking marker appeared on one of the displays, catching Pendleton's attention. "We've found them." The display monitor switched to an eye-view of a Woo Scout, looking down upon a long procession of Tikians scrambling across a long canyon bridge.
"Where does that bridge lead?"
"To another lone hut f-further north. The bridge appears to be the only m-means of access."
"Deploy the remaining Woobots in the forest to that location. We'll take them all down at once."
* * *
"Everyone off! Here they come!" La Croix pushed the last of the villagers behind her as they stepped off of the bridge, directing them to continue ahead up the path.
The first of the Woobots emerged from the trees at the bridge's opposite end, eliciting cries of panic from the villagers at the tail-end of the procession.
"Don't look back! Keep moving!" La Croix urged.
The Woobots stepped onto the bridge in linear formation, the red beams of their "eyes" focused intently on the stout old woman who waited for them at the other end. They moved with efficient speed, the line of Woobots crossing the mid-point of the bridge in seconds.
"All brawn and no brains." La Croix focused her vision upon the lead Woobot, advancing upon her in brutal fashion. She narrowed her eyes upon the Woo insignia that adorned the thing's chest. A nice, big target, she thought.
Winding her arm back, La Croix threw the vial in her hand with all of her might. She turned and leapt to the ground just as the vial made contact with the Woobot, the force of the impact resulting in a massive explosion. La Croix could feel the force of the shockwave blowing through her body as she pressed her hands firmly against her ears, the world around her suddenly covered in a flash of yellow and orange.
The center of the bridge was instantly incinerated in the blast, the wood breaking apart and sending what remaining intact Woobots plummeting into the canyon depths below.
Somewhat dazed from the blast, Lady La Croix felt the strong, gentle arms of Mageni wrap around her as the faithful Boxen hoisted her from the ground and onto its back, moving onward to join the rest of the villagers as they ascended to her hut.
* * *
The spear's deadly tip tore through the Woobot's chest with ease, the machine's internal parts instantly shattered and rendered inert. The Chief roared with the bloodlust of battle despite knowing that his enemies were deaf to his cries. His muscles strained as he removed the spear once again, stealing a moment to assess the situation before him.
Many Woobots, or the parts that used to be Woobots, littered the streets of Tiki Village square. Peppered among the scraps of metal and plastic, however, were the village's own fallen warriors, roughly bound in black metal ropes that kept them writhing helplessly against the ground. The Chief found a small comfort in the notion that his men would not lose their lives this day, yet whatever dark plans Woo may have had in mind for his captured prisoners brought a lump to the Tiki leader's throat.
They were losing. For each Woobot felled, another five Tiki warriors paid the cost with their own capture. Nor were the Spirits immune to being ensnared in the clutches of the enemy, strong as they were. The air was filled with the whimpering bellows of Boxen anguish as the cables dug painfully into their hides.
Did I bring this upon my people? The Chief thought. Was this my doing? Looking out upon the charred and battered earth of Tiki Island, its inhabitants crying out in agony, the Chief suddenly felt both very young and very old.
The large, looming shadow of what could only have been a Woobot suddenly darkened the ground before him. The Chief turned around just in time to see his attacker rammed in the side by a Boxen, hurtled several feet away.
"You're welcome!" Muskwa's voice found him from a ways away. The elderly Tikian brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled in two shrill, loud bursts. The Boxens within earshot immediately began to rally together, consolidating themselves into a makeshift force against the heaviest clusters of Woobots. Muskwa shot the Chief one final look, an expression the Tiki leader had seen from the old man several times in the years they had known each other. Faith.
With a slight nod, the Chief rejoined the battle once more.
* * *
The metal lift clanged to a stop and opened to reveal the muffled screams of the struggling children within.
"What is this?" Woo asked, his surprise at the sight overriding his impatience for the interruption.
"We found them looking around downstairs," said the taller of the black-clothed figures, his voice coolly dripping with menace. One hand was wrapped around Codi's neck as he held the boy before him like a reclaimed prize. "They were in the back room."
Kaia recognized these men now, attired in the same garb as the one who confronted her and the Chief on the night of their first visit into Wootropolis, although both were much taller. Dangerous men, Kaia thought.
Woo stepped forward, regarding the new arrivals as one appraising pieces of furniture. Kaia and Codi exchanged glances, both aware of Pendleton sitting behind him, engrossed in the tall columns of monitors displaying various shots of Tiki Village in the midst of battle.
Woo took a step toward Codi, the boy pushed to his knees so that the smaller man could look down upon him. "So. You go through all the trouble of rejecting my hospitality, fleeing from the safety of my protection, only to sneak back in. Why?"
"I, uh...I changed my mind."
The blow was swift and unexpected, the back of Woo's hand landing hard across the boy's cheek. Codi let out a small cry of shock and pain. Woo's face was devoid of expression as he casually examined his fingernails.
"Why are you here?" he asked again, his tone perfectly neutral.
"I really want to be evil. It seems like fun. Plus you guys dress so nicely."
Woo hit him again. The corner of Codi's lip bloomed a dark crimson.
"Why are you here."
Kaia cut Codi off before he could answer again. "What are you doing to them?!?" She spoke to draw Woo's attention away from her companion, although none of the pain in her voice was fake.
"And you are?"
"Kaia. Of Tiki Village. We've seen them. The Spirits."
"The Spirits? Ah...you're referring to this island's natural fauna." He took a step in her direction. "We are merely trying to...get a better understanding of them."
"You're a monster." The tears fell from Kaia's eyes. "Torturing them. Trying to turn them into your...things."
Woo's eyebrows raised at her last remark. "Turning them...? Pendleton, what is she talking about?"
"A product of the research," the scientist dismissed, nervously. "N-nothing more."
"I'm not trying to turn them into anything," Woo answered. "These...Spirits, as you call them, have remarkable abilities. I want to know how to go from them to him." Woo jabbed a finger into Codi's chest.
Kaia and Codi looked at each other in confusion.
"The time for feigning ignorance is passed. I know what he can do." He leaned forward, his face no more than an inch from her own. She saw herself reflected in the lens of his spectacles. "And what about you? What can you do? What can your people do? Your people are from this island, no? Can you do what the Spirits do?"
Kaia stared back at him wordlessly.
Woo leaned back, seemingly regaining his composure. "No need to answer, Kaia of Tiki Village. Plenty of time to learn the truth after I burn that village to the ground."
He turned, stepping back to stand behind the taller man seated behind the monitors. "Pendleton, can the Woobots reach the villagers?"
"They're surrounded on all sides b-by c-canyon."
"So they're trapped. Order the Woo Scouts in. End this now."
* * *
"All children in the hut! Women next! The rest of you try to press yourselves against the walls!" La Croix's voice rang out from atop Mageni's back as the Boxen circled anxiously around an invisible perimeter. "Bazu!"
The warrior nodded, hurrying to shepherd the villagers together near the hut.
An ominous hum filled the air as the Woo Scouts descended from the sky, metallic tendrils undulating behind in menacing rhythm. They flew with predatory precision, hungry monsters set loose upon a cowering prey.
"Get back! Get back!" La Croix yelled.
Mageni raised itself on its hind legs, greeting the new attackers with a dominant roar. The first Woo Scout swooped down upon them like the tip of an arrow. La Croix reached into her bag and threw a vial wildly into the sky. The Woo Scout deftly parried away from it at the last moment, the vial exploding in the air in a blaze of blue flame.
Another Woo Scout moved in towards the hut. Villagers pressed their bodies to the ground in fear as Bazu and a few of the men chucked thin spears harmlessly at the thing's approach. The Scout grazed the side of the hut at an angle, the force of its momentum breaking off a portion of the roof. The screams of terrified children rang out from within. The Woo Scout circled around, moving in for another attack.
"Get down!" Bazu shouted. He grabbed a nearby female villager and shielded his arm over her head, pulling them both to the ground. The Scout closed in on them at full speed.
There was a loud twang followed by the rush of blown air as the Woo Scout was suddenly enveloped in a giant net of rope. Unable to guide itself, the thing passed harmlessly over the crouched villagers before dropping like a stone over the edge of the cliff ahead.
Bazu looked back around and was greeted with the sight of Copernicus gliding gracefully through the air, the long wings of his plane shining white against the midday sun. The bearded man wore an expression of crazed glee even as his arms worked furiously at the plane's controls.
Whatever small moment of celebration afforded the pilot's arrival was short-lived, however, as the plane banked sharply to the right with three Woo Scouts pursuing furiously on its tail.
* * *
Kaia let out an unintentional cry of joy as she watched the events unfold on the monitors in front of them. "Copernicus!"
Woo leaned in close to the monitors. "What an interesting contraption. It's almost a shame we'll have to watch my Scouts tear it from the sky."
"Aaahhhh!" Codi turned his head, jaws clenched in pain. All eyes immediately turned toward him.
"What is it?" Woo asked, suspiciously.
"My arm! It hurts, my arm!" The boy hung his head low, beginning to shake uncontrollably.
Woo took an involuntary step backwards, his face filled with genuine fear.
"Aaaahhhhh!!" Codi cried again, his voice deeper this time.
"Just...just hold him!" Woo stammered, taking another step backwards. The dark warriors standing over the children exchanged nervous glances. Kaia felt the grip of her captor loosen somewhat. She stared at Codi with concern.
"Stop looking! Don't look at me!" Codi yelled as he faced her. "I get very angry when you look at me!" Their eyes locked for an instant and she understood his ruse.
"Wait!" Woo shouted, realization dawning on him.
Kaia turned away, eyes shut, just as Codi managed to wring one hand free: the hand which clutched at the vial he had stolen from La Croix. He threw the thing down with all his might, smashing it on the ground.
The world was instantly bathed in a flash of blinding purple light. Woo brought his arms to his eyes, stumbling to the ground. His glasses fell from his face. Pendleton shrieked in surprise and fear at the sudden illumination of his surroundings. Woo's masked men were better trained, but even they were caught off guard by the brightness, and Kaia heard a grunt of pain followed by the clanging of footsteps on the metal walkway.
Kaia dug her elbow with all her strength into the midsection of the man holding her, pulling herself away from his grasp. She reached her arms forward as she ran ahead, eyes still firmly closed. Her hands latched onto the cold metal of the upper railing, and she used that to guide herself away from the group.
"Cover it! Cover it up!" came Woo's angry voice from somewhere nearby.
Kaia tripped over herself in her frantic hurry, hanging on to the railing to keep from collapsing completely. From somewhere behind her, she heard the sound of metal against metal followed by the whirring of gears that could only have signaled the use of the lift. She continued moving against the rail, feeling the intensity of the light around her even behind closed eyelids.
She felt a hand grab onto her ankle. She kicked furiously at where she guessed her assailant's head to be, finally connecting with something soft. The hand let go. A moment later and Kaia could feel the world dim once again, La Croix's concoction somehow temporarily snuffed out.
Kaia opened her eyes. Woo stood facing her a dozen feet away, his face twisted with fury, his two guards flanking him on either side. Pendleton was rising slowly from the ground, trying to regain his composure. Codi was nowhere to be seen.
"It seems you have a coward for a friend," Woo spat. "Leaving a girl helpless and alone to save himself. Not that there's anywhere for him to go. In the meantime, I'll have to take my displeasure out on you. Grab her!"
"Wait!" Kaia pleaded. "I can tell you things. About the Spirits! I-I have a vast knowledge of them."
"Do you." His men advanced on her.
"They're a hobby of mine," Kaia continued. "I know that Salamanglers glow in the moonlight when you scratch their bellies." She took another step back. "I know that Mozos are attracted to body heat. I know that Junaguppies can be caught using wild berries as bait." She felt her back press against a rocky, cavernous surface. Nowhere left to run, she thought.
"Anything else?" Woo asked sarcastically.
Kaia's looked him in the eye, the fear in her face melting away, leaving only resolve. "I know that Flumpers never abandon their companions."
Woo heard the hum of the Scout's approach a moment too late as it rammed its backside straight into the center of Pendleton's control panel. All of the men dived for safety as the area burst into a shower of sparks and shattered, falling debris. The ferocious tendrils of the Woo Scout waved about with reckless abandon, long mechanical whips that instantly shredded all that they came in contact with. The Scout's central torso pressed against the walkway, smashing it inwards. The columns of monitors collapsed upon themselves in heavy stacks, the central panel of buttons and knobs at their base transformed into a ruin of pieces.
* * *
Bazu watched in awe as the Woo Scouts slowed to a halt in the air, whatever kind of life they possessed a moment earlier suddenly sucked from their bodies. One by one, they began to fall, their dead tentacles fluttering serenely in the wind as if grasping desperately for a one last piece of sky. One Scout landed nearby La Croix, her Boxen raising its arms to shield her from the impact. The Scout shattered apart as it hit the ground, no more threatening than a cracked egg.
As the last of the Scouts disappeared from view beneath the canyon's edge, a solemn silence followed. The villagers, dazed and exhausted, appraised one another wordlessly, unsure of what to do next.
The rhythmic flapping of wings gradually filled their ears.
Copernicus set his course for Lady La Croix's hut.
* * *
The Woobots all stopped at once. They froze, some with arms extended behind their heads in mid-swing, others as they towered over beaten opponents who sat quivering and defenseless on the ground. Their bodies gleamed brightly against the sun, casting a cold white light over the battlefield.
The Chief twisted and turned as his muscles flexed against the cables that ensnared him to the ground. Not realizing what had happened, he screamed out in fury, straining with all his strength to break free from his bindings. He felt the pangs of a sharp pain in his chest. He calmed himself, taking short deep breaths.
A gentle hand pressed against his shoulder. The Chief turned his head and saw Muskwa beside him, the old man's other hand working quickly to unfasten the ropes from the ground.
"Muskwa..."
"It's over, old friend. It's done."
They sat together in silence as the cheers of a hundred Tiki warriors swelled up around them.
* * *
The rear section of the Scout's main body opened outward, and Kaia spotted Codi, crouched just inside its mouth.
"Get in!" he cried.
Kaia steadied herself with a short breath and leaped across the chasm separating them, landing clumsily into the boy's arms. He banged the side of his fist against a large button by their heads, closing the door behind them.
"We should leave. Now." Codi knelt down on his knees, the cramped confines of the space forcing him to crawl to the other side of the compartment. He pressed another button and both kids braced themselves as the Scout stirred to life once again, dislodging itself from the upper walkway with a loud squeal of metal scraping against metal and gliding towards the large exit doors at the other end of the facility.
"How did you do that?" Kaia yelled in the boy's ear amidst the churning of internal gears and pistons and the crashing of metal parts outside.
"I told you it pays to press random buttons!" Codi grinned at her with an expression of disbelief that matched her own. "I may have also turned a dial or two!"
Kaia's smile faltered as another thought entered her mind. "We have to go back!" she cried frantically.
"What?" Kaia tried to crawl past him to the control panel but the boy held her back. "Kaia, what's wrong!"
"The Spirits! The Spirits are still trapped in there! We have to go back for them!" She struggled desperately against the boy's frame. They could feel the Scout tilting at an angle, signaling the beginning of its ascent skyward.
"We can't, Kaia. There's no time."
"No! You don't understand! You don't know what it means!" She was sobbing now, uncontrollably. He held her tightly, allowing her this moment of release.
Eventually she calmed, her head still buried in his arms.
"We'll come back for them, Kaia. Later. We'll come back with the Chief and Muskwa and the others and we'll save them." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Right now we have to go home."
* * *
"C'mon, don't be shy, there's plenty of room in the back." Sitting at the front of his plane, Copernicus did his best to flash the small Tiki children a reassuring smile, but still they continued to regard him suspiciously. As the tenth child was hoisted into the last available space in the plane's cargo hold, the pilot brought the plane's steam engine grumbling to life. "I'll have you kiddies back home in no time!"
He adjusted the straps on his goggles, tapping the plastic lenses twice for good luck. He looked over to see Lady La Croix ambling up the path on her stout legs towards him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked pointedly, not a trace of thankfulness in her voice.
"Came to save your hide. No need to thank me...but you're welcome anyways!"
"Not here to thank you. Here to ask why you were flying around over here instead of doing the job you had been given?"
The pilot looked away, contrite. "Someone else offered to take my place. I thought my help would be needed here."
"Who?" La Croix asked, suspecting the answer before he gave it.
"Someones else," he said quietly.
Lady La Croix nodded, turning away to rejoin the remaining villagers recovering around the hut as the plane ascended into the clear sky.
* * *
Muskwa moved among the warriors, helping to free those still trapped in their tangle of wires. The herd of Boxens milled about a little ways away, docile. Around him, groups of Tiki warriors worked quickly, cleaning the wreckages of metal parts from the streets, dousing out the small patches of fire the still burned here and there. Others tended to the wounded, huddled together in a makeshift section just inside the Community House. Still others walked about the battlefield, spears in hand, striking at the heart of each Woobot still standing, making sure they would never again awaken from their frozen slumber.
He spotted Poompla, shovel in hand, digging up a large patch of dirt from the ground to smother out a nearby flame.
"Have you seen the Chief?" Muskwa asked.
Poompla nodded, pointing westward with the tip of his spade. "I saw him heading to the beach."
Muskwa spotted the leader of Tiki Village sitting alone in the sand, legs outstretched, facing the ocean as the water slid up around him.
"The battle may be over, but your work isn't finished yet!" Muskwa cried from the edge of the sand. The Chief sat unmoved, making no acknowledgement of Muskwa's presence. "The men are waiting on their orders!"
Still, the Chief kept his back to the old Tikian. Muskwa began to walk over to his leader.
"Sir!"
The Chief did not stir. Muskwa noticed his head hung low between his shoulders.
"Hey, Murambi!"
The water lapped at the Chief's skin, darkening the sand around him.
Muskwa began to run.
As he reached the Chief he circled around to face him from the front. He stood there for several moments, looking down at the man slumped over before him. He leaned in close, placing a hand gently on his leader's cheek. Muskwa fell to his knees, stricken with anguish.
* * *
Kaia and Codi sat silently in the body of the Woo Scout as it continued the trek home from Wootropolis, both of them too exhausted to speak. Kaia's eyes wandered about the small compartment, a small part of her still bristling with unbridled curiosity. She wondered how the thing worked, at what small and large feats of constructive genius it must have taken to create something like this. She felt a little guilty for even thinking such thoughts. Then another realization crossed her mind.
"Open the door, Codi."
The boy gave her a confused look, unsure if he had heard her correctly. "Kaia, we're in the middle of the air. Flying high up. What-"
"Just for a little bit. Just for a minute. Open the door. Please."
Codi looked at her for a second longer before nodding. He leaned over and pressed the button to open the rear hatch of the Scout.
All sounds became drowned in the vicious gusts of wind that blew at them from the back opening of the compartment. Kaia's hair wrapped around her face in a hundred different directions. They became bathed in the soft blue of the island sky.
Kaia kept her hands firmly grasped on the metal beam bolted to the inside of the Scout. She arched her body back, leaning her head out into the daytime air. Her eyes remained closed as she concentrated on every sensation, every caress of wind, every warm touch of sun, every subtle drift of movement.
She smiled. Not a fear in the world.
END OF VOLUME 1
I hope everyone enjoyed the story! We'll return after a short hiatus with the continuing adventures of Mr. Tiki! - Kinh (and the rest of the Tiki Staff)
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I FOUND A BUG!
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