Chapter 3: Fluffery Kerfuffle

Ya know, perhaps I should pick a different day besides Saturday to post on during the summer. All those other days when I barely had anything important to do and now all this stuff comes up today and I'm once again scrambling to edit this next chunk. Thursday, maybe? Friday? Eh, we'll see! And wow, I can hear the fireworks already! God bless America! Is there a way to type confetti? Uh, .-.-.=-=.=.-=-.-=.=-.=…=-.=-=.=-=-.=-=. What am I doing? XD Better go to reviews before this author's note gets any weirder.

Guest: Aw, thanks, partner! I'm sure you're a pretty awesome writer as well…XD Fosizzle!

Guest (Anonymous7 I think): Sensei's stories can get pretty crazy, that's for sure! Nothing ever seems to go as planned in Ninjago, does it? XD Well, technically this isn't Ninjago I guess… it's the western version of Ninjago. :D There's certainly more to come!

Natalie walked through the market, looking at the booths for anything worthwhile. Rickety wooden carts were pushed down the street stirring up dust. Natalie shielded her eyes as a group of shrieking children ran by. The square was filled with people, both prim and proper in little carriages and hunched figures in ratty outfits alike. She couldn't help but wonder at how people who mingled everyday could still be so divided.

Well, wasn't she one to talk! Natalie felt a pang of guilt thinking about the confrontation with her older brother. Was she a little harsh? After all, it's been ten years. He might've changed. But when they started talking, he still seemed like the same stubborn hothead he had always been. That was enough to set off Natalie's temper, and then the words just came tumbling out. If there was anything she had in common with Kyle, it was a short temper. Though, she didn't think hers was as short.

Her train of thought immediately halted when she spotted a booth filled with quality metal tools. Now that is what I'm looking for! she thought with excitement.

She raced towards it, getting a concerned look from the man behind it. She knew it surprised many people that she was an inventor. After all, no one thought that a polite, proper young lady's life dream was to work with rusty metal machines. She always felt a bit of satisfaction seeing the astonished faces.

She nodded a greeting to the man, and scanned the row of tools. She picked up a hammer, checking the quality. The smooth metal and stable wooden handle said all she needed to know. She settled on a new hammer, a box of nails, a wrench, and a huge box of gears.

"How much for these items?" she asked the man kindly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Thirty dollars, miss. Are you buying this for your husband, or a friend...?"

"Good heavens, no," Natalie said with a laugh. "My name is Natalie Smithereens, the inventor. And I'm not married."

The man's face lit up in recognition. "Oh yes, I heard about you, miss. Is it true you're working on a horseless carriage?" he asked eagerly, leaning forwards slightly.

Natalie smiled. "So that secret slipped out, did it? Well, yes, I am. These tools are actually for that project." She handed him a stack of money.

The man took it, and nodded. "Thanks. Well, good luck with your project, miss. If you ever require more tools, my booth is right here, Monday through Saturday."

Natalie took the box with her equipment in both hands. "Thank you." She walked away down the street, pleased with her purchase. There's lots to be done tonight, that's for sure.

Jason Grant looked around the market for another steal. He was leaning up against an old building, partly hidden in the shade. He had already made good progress today, having stolen tons of cash, an expensive watch, and a gold bracelet. Tessa is SO goin' down today!

He watched in interest as he saw a pretty dark-haired young woman walking through the crowds of people, hefting a large box in her arms and slipping between the huddles of people and horses. There's gotta be something good in that box for a rich person like her to have it, he thought. That'll be just what I need to beat Tessa!

With all the smooth stealth of a fox, Jason slipped through the crowd towards her, pick-pocketing a well-dressed older man and getting a pouch of money in reward on the way. He continued to follow the young woman though the market. Once they were a fair distance from the commotion, Jason circled around and stopped right in front of her. She immediately skid to a stop, looking at him suspiciously.

"My, my, miss," Jason said casually. "That is one large box y'all carryin'. Do ya need any assistance?" He took a step forward, resting an arm on top of the box.

The young woman looked him up and down, untrusting, then took a step back. "No, thank you," she said simply, and tried walking around him.

He stepped in front of her again, blocking the path. "Come on, I'll just bring it to your house for y'all," he said gently.

She shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't trust low-lives like you." There was a bitter twang in her voice as she pushed right past him.

Jason abruptly grabbed the box and pulled, thinking he could just take it and run. But the women had a grip like iron, and refused to let go. And so the game of Tug of War: Box Edition was invented.

"Release it before I yell for the sheriff!" she ordered, digging her heels in the ground and pulling the box back towards herself. A little bit of an accent crept into her voice, but Jason was too focused on getting the box before anyone noticed him to really pay attention.

"Oo, I'm so scared!" Jason mocked, hiding his concern at the unexpected struggle. With a final tug, he ripped the box from the woman's grasp. He peeked inside and saw-

"Tools?!" he sputtered, seeing the contents. "Just tools?!"

The young woman looked like she was about to dive and latch onto it again, but, glancing up and then back to Jason, just crossed her arms.

"Let me guess; you expected me to be carrying a bunch of jewels and fancy fabrics in that box, didn't you?"

"Uh, yaaah…." Jason said slowly, still looking at the tools. "I think these tools are much more useful, to be honest y'all, but I don't think Robert would think the same way."

The woman tilted her head in interest, the whole theft ordeal forgotten for a second.

"You mean like… Robert Shadow? The crime king? You—" She suddenly cut off, and looked behind Jason. "Oh, good morning, Sheriff!"

She's bluffin', she has to be! Jason thought desperately, slowly turning around, heart pounding. But to his horror, he turned around to found himself face to face with the town's sheriff, Caleb Brown. He towered over Jason by half a foot, grey eyes piercing into him and sheriff badge glinting even in the dim light.

"Is Mr. Grant here causing you trouble, ma'am?" he asked the woman, eyes never leaving Jason.

Jason gulped.

"Yes, actually," she replied, taking the box out of the startled thief's hands and brushing it off casually. "He tried stealing my supplies."

"W-what?" Jason sputtered. "I-I didn't mean to...I didn't actually…I-I wasn't r-really going to-"

He tried dashing away, but Caleb caught his arm and shoved him to the ground. Jason reached for his pistol, but Caleb neatly pulled it out of his holster with the toe of his boot and kicked it out of reach where the young woman gingerly picked it up. Caleb cuffed him, and quickly tied a rope from him to where his jet black horse stood nearby, waiting patiently.

"It's such a pleasure to have finally caught you, Mr. Grant," he said. "That's one less thief to terrorize this town. And one less poster to keep printing out!" He jumped onto his horse. "Have a nice evening, ma'am," he said to the woman with the tip of his hat, and he flicked the reigns and began to move.

Jason stumbled behind, almost falling down. Wow, Jason, you really screwed up this time, he thought to himself as he was practically dragged to the town jail.

Clara let out a quiet moan as she started to regain consciousness. Her head throbbed terribly, and she felt the cold hard-wooden floor though the thin blanket she was lying on top of. The memory of what had happened in the schoolhouse went rushing through her head, and she quickly sat up, causing a wave of nausea. She brought a shaky hand to her forehead, and looked around at her surroundings.

It was pretty nice for a prison, but not exactly cozy. It was a medium sized room, lit by two small lanterns. The walls made of the same dense wood as the floor, and two windows were on the right side of the room. They would have been normal if it weren't for the iron bars in front of the windows' glass and the not exactly scenic view of a brick wall beyond. The door was also thick wood, with a small barred window.

Clara spotted John lying on the floor a few feet away. She crawled over to him, and gently shook his shoulder. "John? Are you okay?"

John slowly say up, and looked around. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that they were imprisoned. "I'm fine. And you?"

Clara rubbed her head. "Besides an awful headache, I'm okay."

John nodded, and continued to look around. He stood up and walked over the windows, looking out.

"See anything helpful?" Clara asked.

"There's a building right up against this one; an extremely tight-fitting alleyway separates these two buildings. So I can safely assume we are still in town," concluded John. "Probably in the poorer section, looking at the condition of the neighboring building and the trash in the alleyway."

Clara sighed, and started to fiddle with her brown curls. "My father is really going to lose it. Lawrence too."

John walked back over and sat next to her. "I sense he will find us soon. He already was starting to get leads on where the resistance hideout is. I'm pretty sure that's where we are."

"Oh, I know he'll find us eventually. It's just that he never exactly approved of me being a teacher, and he might use this as an excuse to pull me out of teaching."

John looked over at her. "He would do that?"

"Yeah. He always wanted me to be like Lawrence and work in the government. But I rather help people than count money." She hugged her knees. "It was really hard to convince him to let me teach."

John nodded thoughtfully.

Sudden chatter came from the direction of the door. John and Clara both turned to look. They saw a little light shine from around the corner, and heard voices talking in excited tones. Even the occasional owl call.

"The resistance leaders must have returned from whatever mission they were out completing," John observed. "Perhaps we'll have the pleasure of meeting them soon."

A few hours before the two teachers had regained consciousness, Jason was thrown in a stuffy wooden cell which had another guy sitting in the corner. He fell ungracefully onto the ground, not able to catch himself with his hands still bound. Caleb slammed the cell door shut and turned the key to lock it with a loud click.

"Enjoy your stay for the next ten years!" Caleb said smirking through the bars. Then he briskly walked away, off to hunt down more criminals, no doubt, as Jason thought.

"Yes! I have a-someone to talk to!" The other man in the cell exclaimed, jumping out of his corner with surprising liveliness. He was wearing an old uniform for the resistance, and his dark brown hair fell slightly into his bright eyes. "So, why are y'all in here? Oh, name's Mongwau!" He held out a bound hand.

Jason looked up at him from where he was still flat on the ground, blinking. "Jason," he said slowly. "I got here 'cause I stole stuff."

"Ah, the ol' fashioned way! Here, let me help y'all up!" Mongwau shifted his chained hands and grabbing each of Jason's wrists, helping him to his feet. "Wow, they must really hate ya! Those look like some tight cuffs! Anyways, I was put in here 'cause me and other resistance fighters were tryin' to get in Mayor Green's office to try and overthrow him and the rest of the government. Sadly, we were a-caught and I slowed down 'em, so I was caught, but everyone else made it out, y'all."

"Uh-huh, shame," Jason said, not really listening. He sat down on a squeaky bunk and tried to loosen up the hand cuffs by twisting them to no avail.

"The worst thang y'all has to be how I was separated from my very best companion, Fluffers. You should've met him! He knew the answer to every question, I swear!"

A couple hours passed, Mongwau was still rambling on about how owls should be normal pets like cats, dogs, and horses.

Jason was trying to fall asleep and starting to think Caleb put him in here with this guy on purpose to torture him when a loud BANG came from the front of the prison. It was obviously a gun, but why? And, how? A scuffle could be heard from a distance outside the cell.

"Weeelll, doesn't that sound interesting, y'all!" Mongwau exclaimed, taking a break from his owl rant. "Maybe we're about to be rescued! Fingers crossed, it's good ole Fluffers!"

After several minutes, a sound of clinking keys came from the cell door. Jason immediately sat up, and Mongwau froze in his chatting. The door then was swung open wildly, and in the door stood a girl with blazing red hair and amber eyes, wearing a simple brown dress with a silver belt and holding a pistol in one hand and a ring of keys in the other.

"Well, if it ain't Stephanie Stormer?" Mongwau said. He jumped up and went over to her. "Took ya long enough. I've been here by myself for a week!"

"Yes, tragic, I'm sure," Stephanie replied with an eye roll. "Now, we need to get out of here! Cam is making sure those guards don't wake up before leave, but one still got away and is probably finding backup as we speak. Anyways, spread out your hands."

Mongwau did as she said, pulling the chain binding his hands taut. Stephanie raised her pistol and fired, breaking the chain apart.

"So, you're the resistance?" Jason asked curiously.

"It's not just me. There's a good handful of us. But, we're always looking for new recruits if you want to join," she said, pointing the pistol at him. "Or we can just silence you and leave. Your choice."

Blasphemy! They certainly know how convince people to join, He thought. He said cautiously with his hands raised above his head, "I guess I have no choice."

She nodded, then gestured to his bound hands with her gun. Jason spread them as he saw Mongwau do, and partially closed his eyes as Stephanie raised her pistol and shot the chain apart. He gingerly rubbed at the metal cuffs. Stephanie put her gun down.

"Try anything, and I'll silence you in a heartbeat," she warned sternly, giving Jason a meaningful look as she put the pistol in its holster. Then she turned and began to lead them out the cell. Jason stood up and followed Stephanie and Mongwau out of the hallway of cells. In the front of the building where the sheriff's empty desk sat, three guards sat slumped on the ground, bound and gagged, leaning up against the desk. A young man with messy black hair stood nearby, arms crossed. He looked up when they approached.

"Are those the last ones?" he asked boredly.

"Yep," Stephanie replied. She looked over at the unconscious guards. "What do you think we should do with them, Cam?"

"Eh, just leave 'em. They're already nice and wrapped up just for the sheriff." Cam laughed a little as his own joke. "Anyways, all the others are already down in the tunnels. Let's go!"

Mongwau let out a weird, triumphant noise, which Jason then realized was an owl call. Stephanie and Cam shared a look, but otherwise didn't comment on it. They were used to it by now.

As Jason walked by the unconscious guards and towards these "tunnels", he shivered at the thought What have I gotten myself into...?

"Finally, some action!" Cole cut in.

"Young sausage, what did I say about interrupting the story?" Sensei Wu gave him a cool glare.

"Right. Sorry!"

Kyle Smithereens was, once again, waiting for someone to come to purchase some hay. Why do these people not want hay?! He thought. It's the definition of useful in these parts…isn't it?

Suddenly, a piece of wood hit the wall right behind him with violent force. What in tarnation? He looked around the marketplace, but no one seemed to notice. He walked over to the piece of wood and picked it up, looking it over. Somethin' strange is goin' on...

He went back to his stand and saw that his wheelbarrow had disappeared! Kyle whipped around wildly, but didn't see anyone nearby. What in Ninjago? He dropped the wood and scanned the market for any sight of the wheelbarrow. Nothing. Until he spotted a girl pushing it. She had orange-copper hair in a braid and was wearing a purple shirt with a tattered fur vest and stained leather pants. Obviously not an upperclass.

He stepped in front of her and crossed his arms, "Excuse me, miss," he said, "but, I believe this here is my wheelbarrow."

She stared at him, her light hazel eyes filled to the brim with annoyance. "I need this, so move before I make y'all get outta my way!" She said fiercely.

Kyle stared at her too; he knew from somewhere... The wanted posters! "Hey, ain't y'all one of those bandi-"

She cut him off. "Move!" She pushed the wheelbarrow with a sudden jerk forwards, causing Kyle to stumble back a few steps.

"I can call the sheriff!..." he said in a loud whisper leaning over the wheelbarrow to get closer. "…Tessa Taylor!"

"All I need is for y'all to move, so I can beat Jason Garbage with my swag quota! If y'all don't…" She drew back her vest slightly, revealing the gun holster hidden underneath it.

"Or," Kyle said, "I can just call the sheriff over here. I can see him from here! I hear the bounty on yer head is really high…" Then, an idea struck Kyle's mind, "What do ya say if we made a deal. I don't tell the sheriff and help keep you out of jail and ya can keep the wheelbarrow if y'all help me get money." He smiled evilly, rubbing his hands together.

Tessa looked at him as if he was crazy, which, he probably was. "I'll think about it," she replied, pushing past him with the wheelbarrow. "If ya really want my expertise, there will be a price, y'all. But if ya as crazy as I think you are, I guess I'll be seein' ya around." With that, she turned down an alleyway and disappeared from sight.

This will be perfect. I'll get that money for the farm in no time if this works out! he thought as he walked back to his stand, where a few bushels of hay still sat stacked on top of each other. But still, no one stopped to buy anything.

Well, that was a longer chunk than I thought it would be. XD Anyways, have an amazing week and happy fourth to all you fellow Americans out there! And anyone else too. Just happy first week of July to everyone! :)