Chapter Seven: Oh Sweet Bribery

Hmm, what to ramble about for this author's note…*Jeopardy music* Uh, I've gots nothing. And I rarely have gots nothing. XD But I am starring at that dark-ish splotch where I dripped some black paint on the carpet. And its permanent! Next time, I'm using colored pencils! Anyways, to the reviews! (:

Willow Julien: Thanks! And yah, I heard of MNC's stuff before, though I never read it. Kendra told me about it though. I guess instead of Kai being with some girl, in our version he has his horses and cows. And chickens. And of course, his baaarn caaats! Wait, did our story mention that yet? Well, it's mentioned in this chapter, so…yah. XD

Anonymous7: Oh, that's totally okay! We both think it's awesomely amazing that you keep reviewing as much as you do! :) And as for the ah, ah, ah, HAM! thing, Kendra and I made this Lego stop motion a long time ago in which Zane was saying everything backwards and was…an evil painter for some reason. XD So when he did the evil laugh of Mah, ha, ha, ha! it came out as ah, ah, ah, HAM! Emphasis on the "ham". XD And yas, the popcorn scene was so fun to write! XD And I'm still working my way through season seven, but I just watched 71 and was so hyped to see Skylor…and then that hype was instantly crushed. Like, no Skylor! You can do so much better than being stuck in a Noodle shop! And so much better than Kai, for that matter…XD And the Lego Ninjago Movie? Well, Kendra are cringing and laughing at the trailer at the same time, but…Idk! The ninja all look so different, and oh, don't get me started on Misako! That's a whole different debate! But yah, we definitely are looking forward to seeing it, even if it's just to scrutinize and make fun of every detail. XD


Henry Porter knocked on Mayor Green's office door. True to the name in all his decorating, the mayor's door was stained a deep green. The young assistant stood outside the door, waiting patiently. A few moments later, a muffled voice came from inside saying, "Come in."

Henry opened the door and stepped inside. Mayor Green's office was the definition of spic and span, with the bookshelves lining the walls organized carefully so every book was perfectly aligned with each other. The floor was made with mahogany wood polished to a shimmering shine, and the walls were, of course, painted a deep forest green. The mayor sat behind his matching mahogany desk, signing some papers. He was a middle-aged man with graying brown hair and piercing green eyes. He glanced up, and seeing Henry standing there, took a deep breath and carefully lined up the papers and tapped them in a neat stack on the desk. Then he carefully set them aside, aligning his pen vertically from them. He folded his hands professionally on the desk and asked, "Have you found anything about where my daughter and John Jameson are?"

"We think there being held captive by the resistance. That would be the most reasonable answer," Henry answered carefully, fidgeting with the cuffs of his jacket.

Mayor Green frowned. "You aren't certain, and it's been two days?" Frustration and warning crept into his voice, though his expression remained neutral. "I am sure that I could have put that together myself, Mr. Porter. Do you have anything I might not know already?"

Henry winced, figuring that the mayor wouldn't be satisfied with that information. "Well, the resistance wants to overthrow you, so this could well be a distraction to give them the opportunity to attack."

"I also can put that together." Ninjhaven's mayor gave Henry an unimpressed glare. "But if that is the case, then make sure our security here in town hall is strong and fortified. But only as much as is needed. We need a lot of our defense force to go to the resistance's hideout and destroy their operations. After all," Mayor Green smiled slyly, "we have inside help they don't know about. We must attack them first while we have this opportunity."

Henry nodded in agreement, but still bit his cheek nervously.

Mayor Green eyes narrowed. "Did I not give you instructions?"

Henry blinked in realization. "Oh, yes, sorry sir. I'm on it." The young assistant quickly slipped out the heavy green door and closed it carefully behind him.

The mayor sighed and reached for his stack of papers once more. The resistance has gone on long enough! I say we need proper order, he thought purposely. He looked down at the papers, reading through the reports. He looked over to grab his pen, and then saw something shadowy out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and flinched in surprise when he saw the cloaked figure in front of him. The figure was clad in all black and hooded, but Mayor Green could make out his glowing red eyes and sickly pale skin. He felt a chill snake up his spin.

Mayor Green cleared his throat, trying to keep a calm composure. "What is your business here, and who are you?" he demanded.

"Well," the shadowy figure said in a hissing voice with an evil smile on his face, "I am Ssssssoul Sssstealer and I couldn't help but overhear that you want order."

The mayor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "That's true," he responded cautiously. "And what about this interests you?"

Soul Stealer didn't lose his wicked smile. "I have a propossssssition," he said slyly, leaning over the desk. Mayor Green leaned back in discomfort. "I believe I can help you with this lack of dissssssorder. And I know, that you know, you can't bring order yoursssself. I will help you, 'clean up thisss town' ssso to ssspeak, on one condition!"

Mayor Green blinked slowly in thought. He just met this…thing, but something did tell him that this creepy figure was being honest, and really could bring order and control if he wanted to. After all, it obviously wasn't completely human.

The mayor exhaled very slowly, then folded his hands on the desk once more. "I'm listening…"


"Just give me one more day, y'all, and I'll pay you all the bills I owe!" The man was practically trembling in his rickety house's doorway.

Lawrence glared at him. "I gave you an extra five days last time you said that. And you still haven't paid."

The man swallowed. "Well, y'all see, the mines haven't been very successful lately and therefore I didn't get a lot of pay-"

"Sorry," Lawrence said, shaking his head, "but you should've been better prepared."

Government officials pushed the rest of the family out of the house, including four sobbing children. They sealed the door shut and nailed a paper notice on it. The family watched, terrified.

"Come on," the man said to his family, hopelessness in his voice, "maybe Aunt Sally can take us in tonight." The family picked up their meager possessions, and walked away down the dusty street.

Lawrence watched them go, biting his lip. The mines, another desperate idea to try and bring more money and jobs in this town, had failed miserably. What we need is a factory, he thought. The economy was collapsing, and Lawrence knew it. If they didn't come up with an idea to bring in money, the town would be doomed.

"We just got a message saying the Murphy family owes over five hundred in back taxes," an official said, breaking Lawrence from his thoughts. "Let's pay them a visit next."

Lawrence took a deep breath, then nodded. "Let's do this."


"This story is kinda depressing," Mac said suddenly, looking bored with his chin resting in his hand.

"I like depressing stories," Cole said energetically. "They make me feel good about myself!"

Mac stared at him.

"It wasn't uncommon for towns to face economic collapse at this time," Zane commented logically. "There was a severe drought going on, and crops were their main product. Not being able to grow crops, towns had to find other means by which to bring in money."

"You lost me, y'all," said Kai, looking confused.

"As I was saying, sausages," continued Wu, "let's go back to my tale."


Sheriff Caleb Brown was patrolling the market on his jet-black mare. It was a normal day, with lots of people browsing among the twenty-seven stands, along with one guy who just sat on a wooden crate with a wheelbarrow full of hay. Caleb decided to leave and ride his horse around a different part of town. This part looked peaceful enough.

As he was leaving, something caught his eye. Or, rather, someone. He caught her stealing a ring from a jewelry stand, snatching it while the owner of the vendor was talking to a wealthy looking man. He carefully rode up behind her and said, eyes narrowed, "I believe you have to pay for that, Tessa Taylor."

She froze and turned around to see the him starring her down on his black horse. Instead of the reaction you'd normally expect from a criminal just caught red-handed, she crossed her arms and asked, "Why does everyone say meh name like that, y'all?"

Caleb swiftly took out his pistol and aimed it right at her. "Put your hands up, before you regret it!"

Tessa glared at him and slowly raised one hand.

"I said both!" Caleb said in an angry tone.

Tessa sighed and rose both, dropping the ring and other small shiny things she picked up earlier.

Caleb hopped off his horse and took out some handcuffs from his pocket, pistol not wavering in its mark. Tessa stared at the cuffs, wondering at how the clucky handcuffs fit in his pocket.

"Turn around," Caleb commanded with a small flick of his pistol.

Tessa raised her eyebrows suggestively. "And just why should I do that, y'all?"

Caleb glared at her, not amused. "Turn around," he commanded again bluntly.

Tessa sighed and slowly turned around. Caleb came up behind her, and, taking hold of her wrists, proceeded to cuff her.

Thinking fast, Tessa aimed a kick at his knee. But, when she swung her foot backwards, all she hit was air.

"I've been around bandits long enough to know their little tricks," Caleb said from her right. "Next attempt like that and I'll put a bullet in your back." Tessa felt the nozzle of the pistol being pressed against her for emphasis.

Tessa sighed angrily as Caleb finished fastening the metal cuffs on her wrists. He walked to her front and took away her small silver pistol and long knife from their holsters on her belt, throwing them into a saddle bag on his horse. Caleb then pulled out a length of rope and tied the end of it to her cuffed wrists as well. "Looks like we finally caught you. Hope you're excited to see your new temporary home at the prison."

Tessa scowled, hiding the panic building up inside her. "Just don't put me in the same cell as Garbage-Grant!"

Caleb finished tying the rope, and, the end of it in hand, hopped back onto his horse. His face was grim. "So, you haven't heard?"

"What?" Tessa looked over at him curiously.

"He and a couple others were broken out by the resistance; we ended up losing some guards when it happened." Caleb glared down at her with warning. "But don't get too excited. Them and the rest of the resistance are going to be thrown back into prison and hanged for their crimes before you know it."

Nevertheless, Tessa felt excitement race through her. Then it shouldn't be too hard to escape unnoticed if I didn't hear anything 'bout this before. Besides, Mr. Depressing-hater-of-life here doesn't know I still have a knife in my boot…


Kyle sat up in surprise when he saw Tessa go by, cuffed and bound, being prodded along in front Sheriff Brown's horse. The sheriff looked very full of himself, having caught the two most famous bandits in the same week.

Tessa locked eyes with Kyle. With a violent jerk, she sent a jingling bag tumbling out of her vest pocket. Making sure the sheriff wasn't looking, she kicked it toward him with a glare that said, I'll be coming back for that! Then she and the sheriff disappeared from sight around a corner.

Kyle looked cautiously around, then scooped up the bag and opened it, shaking his head. It was filled with tiny pure gold nuggets. How does she steal this stuff?

He knew there was nothing he could do for Tessa. After all, she was a thief long before they met, and was still a criminal for that. He gathered up the gold and the rest of his wares, and began making his way back to the farm, hoping Tessa wouldn't do anything stupid that would get herself killed sooner than the government's execution department planned.


Clara and John both stared wide-eyed at the two glowing, sickly green orbs floating outside their prison window. They seemed to be making strange hissing sounds, as if communicating to each other. Then they flew away out of sight.

Clara took a shaky breath. "What were those things?"

John shrugged, not looking too concerned. "They look like the same things that were described in the old campfire stories. Esprits, I think they were called."

"You mean those evil spirits? John, those are just stories! It had to be a trick of the light, someone playing a prank, or something. Not a fictional monster come true."

"Not necessarily fictional. Some people have reported seeing orbs like this around town recently. Authorities didn't believe them, of course."

"And you're saying you do?"

Before John could answer, they were interrupted by a commotion in the hallway. Wordlessly, they pressed themselves against the door, trying to make out what was going on.

"Whoa, slow down, partner! What were ya saying?" It sounded like the guy who identified himself as Smithereens.

An unfamiliar out-of-breath female voice replied, "I overheard the mayor's plans. His troops on their way here right now, and they want to finish us off once and for all!"

"But Irene, that's impossible! They can't know where our hideout is, unless..."

"Unless what, y'all?" asked what sounded like Jason.

"Unless," continued Smithereens, "someone betrayed us!"

Clara and John heard a sharp intake of breath from the group and an owl hoot.

"We need to find this double-crosser!" said another feminine voice. "Who knows what information he or she will give the mayor!"

"Me and Fluffers here agree, y'all!" Mongwau cheered.

"We need to gather everyone up first and escape through our underground tunnels," said Irene. "Then we can worry about it."

"All in favor, y'all?" Smithereens asked.

There was a chorus of "Ayes," and then a thud, like a fist hitting a wall.

"Then let's go!" Smithereens said. Someone gave a frustrated groan, and then Clara and John heard them splitting ways.

Clara turned back around to face John. "Did you hear that? My father is on his way!" She was relieved and anxious at the same time.

"But I'm sure the resistance will take us with them to use as a bargaining chip in case they get caught. They will need to find out about the tunnels in order to rescue us," John said calmly with brutal honesty.

Then Clara had an idea. She went to a dusty corner of the cell, bent down, and wrote a single word in the dust with her finger: Tunnels.

"There," she said, standing back up. "They will definitely be searching this cell for clues, and when they see that, they'll know to look for hidden passages."

Just then, a young women with long black hair pulled into two loose braids and stormy grey eyes opened the cell, twirling two pairs of handcuffs in one hand and a pistol in the other. "Up against the wall," she commanded, "you're coming with us."


Cowboy Queue rode his tall white stallion down an old country road towards the farm house he believed was the one the prophecy mentioned, the one that was home to the second member of the foretold Wild Roundup. He turned the corner around a cluster of dried up trees and squinted at the farmhouse in the distance. As he drew closer, Queue noticed how untended it looked, with weeds taking over the browning flower bed and the red paint peeling on the barn and house. Yep, this was the one!

Cowboy Queue walked up to the house's cracked white door and knocked on its wobbling surface. He heard someone yell from inside in a strong southern accent, "I still have one more day, y'all!"

Queue replied, "I believe you're thinking of the wrong person."

A moment later, the door opened and a man came out. He was wearing your average cowboy clothes with a red flannel and buckskin pants, and his hat was covering his messy brown hair. He looked Queue up and down with distaste and asked, "What do ya want?"

Queue observed this young man and answered, "Well, I am here because of a prophecy. It states that eleven characters will help defeat the great evil about to come to this humble town of Ninjhaven. I came because you are one of them."

The farmer raised an eyebrow, "And yer proof...?"

Cowboy Queue held out the scroll to the man. He took it, scanned over it, then looked back up at Queue.

"That's the thang, y'all," the man said, annoyed. "I can't read. But I can tell ya now, if I could, I still wouldn't believe et!" He tossed the scroll back to Queue and crossed his arms.

"Well, Kyle, I think you should. After all, the fate of the world depends it."

Even though Queue had said his name without being told what it was, Kyle still wasn't convinced. "Well, I've lived perfectly fine by mehself with meh horses and meh barn cats!"

"The fire is great within, I can see."

Kyle looked Queue straight in the eyes, confused. "What does that mean?"

"The element of fire has great power for forging will and determination. Mentally it translates into personal drive, intention and desire. It-"

"Ya lost meh," Kyle interrupted.

"Never mind that," Queue said with a sigh. "Just know that the scroll describes one 'who resides where everyone else has already left, and has a temper like a raging fire and unwavering determination even when he really should just give up'. I believe that would be you it's describing. Would you like to join?"

"Probably not."

"Just know, you'd be saving many lives and if you don't, the Wild Roundup will never be full and all will fall to the evil."

"What exactly is this 'evil' y'all keep mentionin'?"

"If you agree to join, I will tell you. If not, you will find out when they take over."

"You're bribin' me now."

"It is the truth."

Kyle sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll a-join y'alls little club. But I betta get somethin' outta et."

"Excellent. Meet me at the White Barn tomorrow at 11:00." Queue said, starting to walk over to where his white stallion stood waiting.

"Wait!" Kyle called. Cowboy Queue turned around to look back at Kyle. "Who else is in this?"

Queue simply answered, "Patience is a virtue."

Kyle kicked the doorframe in frustration and went back into the farmhouse, slamming the door behind him.

Queue jumped on his horse and began to ride back towards civilization. Two down, nine to go.


That marks the end of chapter seven, y'all! XD Please leave a review and have an amazing week! And wow, is July almost over already?! Nnnnnooooo! Summer is going by way too fast!