Chapter 8: Boss-Queen Pigeon

Alexa watched in wan satisfaction as the last pigeon of a group flew off. Although she hadn't been keeping track, she did feel significantly stronger than when she first emerged on the rooftops. But she also felt incredibly exhausted, having taken quite a few pecks between hits.

"You en't looking that dapper, lickety-Lex," Tiny noticed as she caught her breath. "Your health points have certainly seen better days."

"Should I take out the White Bread?" Alexa breathed. She'd already used up Eve's Healing Touch during battles, so her MP was lacking, too.

"Actually, no need!" Tiny's eyes lit up, staring at something above her. Alexa weakly glanced upwards. She'd come quite far up the rooftops in her training, and now stood directly underneath the wide pillar where the nest was located. At the base of the pillar were a series of rungs leading to the top. And about half way up was a small outcropping, where a glowing blue stone was erected.

"A waystone!" Tiny exclaimed. "Thank the flippin' Ancients! And I was thinking we'd never see one of 'em!"

"A waystone?" Alexa echoed.

"A useful little marker that completely restores your HP and MP," Tiny said. "They're also proper useful for teleportation. That is, if you were to get defeated, you'd wake up back at the last waystone you were at. They en't that great at supply and money retention, though, so you might lose some of your goods if you get conked out."

"I see." Alexa eyed the rungs of the pillar. "So…I guess I should head up, huh?"

"Well, that's the other thing…" Tiny started. "Waystones have a useful—if not a bit nasty—habit of showing up right before a really tough enemy. That is to say, you'll be facing the mam pigeon at the top of this pillar. 'Course, you could always save up there and then climb back down for more training."

No way. Alexa shivered. With her fear of heights, climbing up the ladder was a challenge in itself. The fact that she couldn't see the top of the pillar was disconcerting enough; climbing back down was out of question. If she wanted to restore her health, she would have to face the Queen Pigeon immediately after.

"Let's go," she determined. She clasped her hands firmly onto the rungs. "I'll heal, and then take her on."

"You sure?" Tiny asked, clambering up onto his perch on her shoulder. "I'm no expert, but I'd say you could use a wee bit more leveling if you want to stand a chance. You might not be strong enough as is."

"That's bogue," Alexa scoffed. "I feel plenty strong. And didn't you say we're in a hurry?"

"That I did," Tiny nodded. "Ta, alright then. Lead the way, lickety-Lex." Taking a breath, Alexa slowly began to make her way up the rungs. Her hands trembled, and she didn't dare looking beyond the next rung. She was so tense that she nearly missed the outcropping with the stone.

"Hold it, lickety-Lex!" Tiny interrupted her climb. "The stone's right there, en' it?"

"R-right," Alexa muttered, swaying slightly as she glanced to the side. She dropped from the rungs onto the outcropping. In front of her, the stone pulsed with a mellow blue glow. She hesitantly put her fingers on it, wincing as it flashed in response. It felt like she'd touched a thousand glims at once, as strength slowly began to return into her form. She pulled away when it returned to its normal color. Alexa sighed in relief, the exhaustion completely gone from her previously aching limbs.

"You sure you don't want to train more?" Tiny quipped, taking a glance below them.

"Positive," Alexa replied firmly, straightening up. There was no way she would make this climb twice. Still, as she refastened herself against the rungs and began a steady climb to the top, she felt a twinge of regret in her chest.

I'm totally strong enough for my first real battle…right? Her nerves began to creep up as well, and she willed herself not to think of the security of the outcropping, or the comforting warmth of the waystone. She came here with a job to exterminate the pigeon for King Hickory, so she could get her Guide Stone and locate a friend of her father's. When she grabbed the last set of rungs and hoisted herself up, she paused for a moment. There was no platform in front of her; just empty space.

"What's up with-" she started, but her musings were interrupted when something flew up from behind her, causing her to tumble forward off the rungs. She shrieked as she fell through the air, before landing on something soft.

"C-crikey! This is flippin' huge!" she heard Tiny's voice from her shoulder exclaim. Alexa blinked open her eyes in confusion at the short drop, and inhaled sharply. Stretched in front was a flat, circular platform littered with straw and garbage from Ring Rong Rell. In the center of the platform were what appeared to be the remnants of huge eggshells. Alexa realized she wasn't in Ring Rong Rell at all; rather, she was sitting in a gigantic bird nest, built into the balcony of the tower.

"W-wait a sec," Alexa muttered, swallowing roughly. "If this is a nest, than that thing behind me-" An ear-piercing croon interrupted her words. A huge gust of wind from above flattened Alexa and Tiny against the nest. Alexa just managed to look up at the gigantic looming shadow above her, steadily lowering itself. With a loud thump, the oversized bird landed in the nest across from Alexa. Some of the downy feathers on its wings appeared to have been burned off.

"Ther' she is," Tiny muttered. "The ol' rotter herself. That's the mam pigeon all right." Alexa shakily stood up, eyes widening at the sight before her. Up close, she could see just how big the bird really was. It was only a bit smaller than her house with its wings drawn at its sides. The pigeon quirked its head sideways, examining Alexa. Alexa pulled out her wand, her hand shaking so badly she thought she might drop it. The pigeon, as though understanding the wand was a weapon, prepared itself to lunge.

"A real fight, eh…I'm so flippin' scared and so flippin' excited!" Tiny added in, before Alexa's first official battle began.

-Boss: Queen Pigeon-

Not waiting for Alexa's first move, the pigeon lunged straight at her. With a shriek, Alexa ran out of the way. Tiny barely managed to cling to her shoulder.

"C-crikey, she's not gonna sit around for us, lickety-Lex!" Tiny gasped. "Go on, get on the offensive!"

"I'm trying!" Alexa huffed, turning to face the pigeon managing to cast a Fireball spell. The flame burst on one of the pigeon's wings, but by the looks of it, the damage was minimal.

"That hardly did anything," Alexa muttered through clenched teeth. "Seriously, dad made these fights sound so much easier in his stupid stories…"

"No time for nostalgia, lickety-Lex, move it!" Tiny commanded, just as the pigeon lunged once more. But his warning came a bit late, and Alexa was knocked sideways.

"Ow…" she winced, feeling her previous strength beginning to drop. She didn't want to know how many health points had been lost in that simple hit.

"Look lively, she's not done yet!" Tiny just managed as the pigeon began to flap her huge wings, creating a miniature windstorm.

"T-Tiny!" Alexa called in alarm. "I-I can't move!"

"Blast it," Tiny cursed. "It seems that gust storm knocked the wind out of your legs. That is to say, it paralyzed you. You're gonna have to hold tight until she hits you again."

"A-are you wacked?" Alexa spat. She never realized how much she could say that in a day until she'd arrived in the other world. "I don't want to get-!" But her words were cut off when the bird's beak connected with her form, sending her backward. She slammed against the rim of the nest and fell onto the prickly bedding below.

"I take back what I said earlier," Tiny muttered, sounding just as exhausted even though he wasn't fighting. "You'll do well playing defense in this fight, attacking only when the window of time is presented." Alexa climbed to her feet as the pigeon began flapping again. She quickly shielded herself, just managing to hold her ground and avoid paralysis. Then she yanked out her wand and sent a quick fireball.

"Nice!" Tiny praised. "Just do a couple thousand more of those and she's good as defeated!"

Thousand?! Alexa defended as the bird charged her once more, taking the hit but staying on her feet. "Tiny, that'll take forever!"

"Well, we don't have many other options, d'we?" he retorted. Alexa got in another fireball as she dashed across the nest, managing to get behind the pigeon before she charged. The hit spawned a few glims that Alexa managed to snatch up. This pattern of hitting, running, and defending continued for what felt like hours. Alexa sent out Eve a few times to restore her health, but her magic was running low, and the blue glims weren't keeping up with the frequency of her fireball casting.

"My magic is taking a hit," Alexa muttered to Tiny as she defended another gust of wind.

"I know, I know, gimme a clock tick…" Tiny leaned forward on her shoulder and rummage through her satchel with one of his antenna. "Where is that flippin'…ah!" He produced a thermos of coffee. "Here, lickety-Lex, for your magic! Drink up!" Alexa grabbed the thermos from his antenna, opened it and took a few large gulps. She felt strength returning to the hand holding her wand as she finished the last sip. And just in time, as the pigeon quickly rammed into her with its beak. She took damage, but not enough to take her out. The spamming of fireballs continued for another long while, and Alexa began to wonder if it was even possible to defeat the great bird. She stopped running to catch her breath, noticing the pigeon had stopped as well. Alexa defended herself for good measure. But instead of charging her, the bird turned its head upwards and took off into the sky. For a hopeful moment, Alexa thought she had defeated it.

"Is that it?" she whispered to Tiny, letting her defense down.

"I don't know…" Tiny admitted. "Lord Drippy is much better at detecting this kind of thing than I am. But still, I have a pretty bad feeling…" Suddenly, a high-pitched croon came from above their heads. Alexa glanced up, to see the pigeon heading straight for her.

"Oh god," she muttered, trying to defend, but she found she could not longer do so.

"You used up your defense…" Tiny told her. For the first time, his voice, usually upbeat and loud, sounded nearly as small as his body. "This may be it for us…"

"Wait, it might be what?!"The bird's ominous shape kept getting closer. Alexa thought about running, but the pigeon seemed like it was going to slam into the entire nest. She and Tiny were quickly swallowed by its growing shadow.

"Well, it was a pleasure traveling with you, lickety-Lex," Tiny told her, his voice wavering. "I had a proper great time, you have no idea. You have a fairy's upmost-"

"HOLD STILL!" a boy's voice suddenly yelled from somewhere above her.

"Huh?" Alexa glanced around for the source of it. "Wha-AHHH!" Right as the pigeon was going to crush her, something swung by and-quite literally-swept her off her feet. She opened her eyes against the wind to see she had been swung behind the pigeon and onto the rim of the nest. She was also being carried bridal style by whoever was standing on the rim.

"That's the second time I've saved your guts," the boy's voice, suddenly familiar, informed her smugly. Alexa blinked up at the figure carrying her, and recognized the cheeky grin of the young sky pirate.

"Oh, it's you," she muttered. The boy suddenly crinkled his nose.

"By the skies, you smell disgusting!" he sputtered. "Clearly you've been…well, immersing yourself in Ring Rong Rellian culture!" Alexa's face heated up, as her lips twisted into a scowl.

"Put me down!" she demanded hotly, squirming in his grasp.

"I never did catch your name," he told her, ignoring her request by tightening his grip.

"Why should I tell you that?" she retorted. The sky pirate shrugged.

"I'll tell you mine. The name's Kolton, pirate apprentice of the great blue sky." He puffed out his chest with pride at the title. "Anyway, I heard from that old tree you were headed out to Ring Rong Rell to get a Guide Stone, and knew you'd probably get roped in to one of Hickory Dock's jobs." He gestured down to the penguin. "Need any help taking of her? I can finish her off in a few clean swipes if you want."

"No, I don't need help," she told him. "Now put me down. I don't want you following me."

"You sure? I think our paths will inevitably cross at some point, considering our missions are basically the same."

"I don't care, just put me down." Alexa knew her face was beet red by now. And she had no interest in groveling at the feet of a jerk.

"Fine, fine. If you want to lose all your coins, be my guest. Then again, she's looking pretty weak...well, I'll be off. Good luck with the bird!" And before Alexa could react, he held her over the nest and let her go. With a shriek she tumbled back into the bedding. She flipped onto her back and glared up at the rim of the nest, but Kolton was gone.

"For flip's sake, lickety-Lex!" Tiny scolded her, popping his head out from his hiding spot in her satchel. "Don't you like free stuff? Pirate boy just offered to help us for no charge!"

"I don't want anyone like him helping me out," Alexa replied hotly. "He's rude, a jerk, arrogant-"

"Can the insults, lickety-Lex, we've got work to do." Tiny pointed to the pigeon, now wobbling unsteadily from it's missed hit. Alexa took the time to hit it with a few fireballs, before it resumed its lunges. Her MP continued to drop until she could no longer cast Fireball. She had no idea how weak (or strong) the pigeon was at this point.

"What should I do?" she whispered harshly to Tiny, taking a hit but managing to hold her ground. Her health points were also beginning to drain, as a few poorly timed defenses left her to be hit right afterward.

"Don't think you should waste another coffee," Tiny admitted. "We've been fighting this beastie for Ancients know how long, so it's impossible to tell where 'er health stands. A-ah, get ready, she's going to use her Skydive move on you again." Sure enough, the bird took off into the sky once more. Alexa mentally counted the seconds, and just as the pigeon began her dive she shielded herself. The defense was successful, and she'd deflected the blunt of the attack. But even then, she felt just as weak as before finding the Waystone; if not weaker. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises.

"I-I can't keep doing this, Tiny," she huffed. "Everything…really hurts…"

"You have to try!" he encouraged. "C'mon, just a few more…O-oi!" He sat up excitedly from his perch. "There, there! Lickety-Lex, see that?!" As the pigeon stumbled around dizzily, a large, pulsing golden light floated nearby.

"W-what is that?" Alexa questioned aloud.

"Get it!" Tiny demanded. "Ask questions later, just grab that glim!" Alexa weakly sprinted over to it, stretching out her hand and touching it just as it was about to hover back up to the sky. A warm, powerful surge of heat pulsed through her, just like how it felt touching the waystone. The soreness in her muscles vanished, as did her wounds. The hand holding her wand began to tingle, as though she'd touched a stinging nettle.

"A golden glim," Tiny muttered. "This outta be interesting…"

"W-wait, what's going on…?" Alex asked, when suddenly, everything around her became dim. The wand in her hand glowed silver, as material from the nest-straw, trash, and fragments of eggshell-were pulled to it. The materials folded into a silky dark twister at the tip of her wand. Alexa became scared and nearly dropped her wand at the sight of her creation. But then a single word entered her mind that she felt an impulse to say.

"Tenebrosity." On beat, a silvery twister of darkness and debris left her wand. It obliterated everything in its path, uprooting trash and straw, before slamming directly into the pigeon's breast. A small blue glim came from it, which Alexa snatched up and used to catch a final fireball spell. She watched as the pigeon stumbled back a few moments, swaying on its feet, before it gave a shaky croon and collapsed onto its side.

"Flipping heck…" Tiny muttered, before leaping from her shoulder and landing on the nest. He whirled to face her, beaming. "That was flippin' awesome!

"Should I cast another Fireball?" she huffed, still looking ahead and waiting for the pigeon to get up again.

"No need, she's out like a light!" Tiny did a miniature victory dance. "The mam pigeon's been exterminated! Amazing, lickety-Lex! You did it!"