Again, sorry for being so late, but classes end TOMORROW! Wish me luck for finals next week, please!
Okay, I really think you're going to like this chapter; it's very revealing! ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own the original characters, but you know that already. :s
"Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find."- Natasha Beddingfield, Unwritten
Chapter 10: One Less Enemy, One More Friend
Libby, Carl, and Sheen got out of the dungeon and started looking for any place the Yolkians might have been holding the rocket.
"Now y'all keep quiet," whispered Libby as they tiptoed, "I don't want anyone freaking out if we run into"--
Then a guard found them.
"YOLKIANS!" Carl panicked and ran in the opposite direction. Libby didn't know what to do for a second, but she first tai kwon did the guard out of his case and grabbed his spear.
"Sheen!" she said, "Get Carl! I'm gonna find the rocket!" She ran down the hall.
"But how do I fight?" he called.
"Just use your Ultra Lord moves!" she said, "And be careful!" Feeling left with nothing, Sheen shrugged and took after Carl.
Meanwhile in the cockpit, Goobot heard shouting and violent thumping outside his doors. They slammed open and one of his men fell by him, fried to a crisp. Goobot turned to see Cindy covered in mucous with a zapping spear that had goo on the point.
"I tried it out," she said viciously as she spat goo out of her mouth, "It works great." Goobot looked down at his guard. Holy crap; he was dead! Cindy said her next sentence with slow steps, flashing eyes, and a dangerous voice.
"Where...is...my...fiancee?"
She cornered Goobot at the front window. He was alone and outmanned by a woman who knew tai chi.
"Now, Cindy," he said, backing nervously up the dashboard, "Dear, let's not try anything rash."
"RASH?" she jerked her spear close to his face, "Rash is driving your mother's car without permission and having it totaled! Rash is buying a fashion magazine and finding it in your brother's locker! This isn't rash, Goobot! THIS IS ENRAGED! YOU STOLE MY FIANCEE, AND I WANT HIM BACK, NOW!"
She put one hand on him and poised her spear in a throw position as hot tears started to leak out.
"Now I want the truth, Goobot!" she shouted, "And you'd BETTER answer me straight: WHAT DID YOU DO WITH JIMMY? WHERE IS HE, AND HOW DO I FIND HIM?"
Goobot had now become afraid enough of this child to tell her all.
"The truth is," he squeaked, "All we did was torture him! We left him half-dead on some rock in a galaxy we don't know about! I swear!"
"Give me the coordinates!" Cindy demanded.
"We don't have them," he grinned, "Once we left him, I erased them."
This stunned her. Jimmy was lying on a space rock aLONE?
The hand holding the spear shook, and she dropped him and fell on her knees.
"You don't know where he is?" her voice was hollow. Her hand gripped the spear.
"Neither do I care!" he found his courage, "He's defeated and humiliated me for the very last time! I've torn him down in the worst way, and you'll never see him again!"
(Shatter) Her spear found its way through his body case and pinned him to the control panel. He and it short-circuited and the cockpit started to explode.
Cindy ran out down the hall. She heard Carl's voice inside a room whining, "What's going on?" Cindy immediately opened the room and found him in the rocket with Libby trying to fire it up. Sheen ran in from a different way with Goddard in his arms.
"I found Goddard!" he ran to them, "He's fine! Where's Cindy?"
"Right here!" she joined them, "Get in, Sheen! This bird's going down!" Sheen dived in headfirst.
"What about Goobot?" Libby asked with the dog in her lap.
"He's dead," Cindy answered shortly in the last second before they took off.
They shot through a side window as the chicken ship collapsed in on itself and finally blew. The impact thrust them head over heels, and they were screaming. Before Cindy knew what was happening, the rocket jolted, they landed on a dark space rock, were thrown out and scattered, and she was caught in a pair of muscular arms.
"Don't worry none," a warm, deep voice said, "I've got you, sweetheart."
"What in the world?" she asked, discombobulated, "Are you human?" He gently put her down and ran to Libby.
"My dear," he answered sorrowfully, "I've been away from home so long, I don't even know anymore." Then he said to Libby, "Come now, darling. Up and at 'em. This is no place to nap." He lifted Libby to her feet. As she watched him revive the boys, Cindy couldn't help but feel safe around this man. He had dark red hair and a Chuck Norris styled beard to match. It was too dark to see his eyes, but she guessed green. He wore a white lab coat, a worn-out light sweater, old jeans, and no shoes.
'He's so kind,' she thought, 'He could be my own father, he's such a gentleman. At the same time, I feel like I know him!' Libby shared the feeling. Once the strange, kind man gathered the four of them together, he made a request of them.
"Children," he said, "You are undisputably from Earth, as am I. You can't be hallucinations, because I felt you. My wish is that we hadn't met on this accursed rock."
"Cursed?" Carl repeated.
"Not really," he said, "But I've been on it for months now, trying to find a way off here. Do you have room in your vehicle for one more?"
"Yes, of course," answered a bewildered Cindy, "but if you don't mind, who are you?" The man looked down.
"When I was worth anything at all," he said with remorse and tears in his eyes, "I was a famous astronaut named Jacob Turner, nicknamed 'Jack.' (At this, the kids sharply and silently drew a breath.) I had a faithful wife and a beautiful little girl who would be about your age named"--
"Alex," Cindy cut across him, "Alexandra Turner! Right?" The man, Jack, stared at her in surprise.
"Yes," he said in amazement, "That's exactly what her name is! Who are you children? How do you know my daughter?"
"Come with us!" Cindy grabbed his elbow, "We'll explain everything."
They quickly ushered Jack into the rocket (which, again, suffered no damage) and found a moon to land on. There, they got a meal out of the hypercube and allowed Jack to stuff himself full (eating heartily themselves) before they talked.
"Mr. Turner," Cindy immediately started, "We know your daughter because she's one of our best friends! She lives with us in Retroville; my family and I housed her until she got her own place in town. Your wife...is in a psychiatric hospital in town. Alex sees her every day." Jack was horrified.
"My wife?" he asked, "How did she end up like that?" Cindy looked away uncomfortably, so Libby took over.
"Alex told us once," she spoke up, "that your ship had malfunctioned and flown off with you in it...when you didn't come back...they told your family you were dead. Alex believed them, but your wife didn't. She went on believing you'd come back until they finally committed her." Jack's eyes looked hurt, and he sighed and put his head in his hand.
"No," he said sadly, "Leah..."
"I'm sorry, sir," Libby said, "We all are. But we can't take you home until our mission's complete." Jack lifted his head.
"Mission?" he asked with interest.
"Yeah!" Sheen put in, "Our friend Jimmy was kidnapped by aliens, and we're off to find him in a death-defying quest of friendship!" (Awkward moment of silence.)
"Fascinating," Jack smiled, "And who is this young man with such dedicated friends?"
"Our best friend, Jimmy Neutron!" Sheen piped.
"And Cindy's fiancee," Carl giggled.
"Well," Cindy blushed, "Yeah, we're kind of engaged."
Jack saw the ring on her hand and examined it.
"Congratulations, my dear," he said, "That's a lovely ring. He made that himself, did you know?"
"He did?" Cindy drew back her hand and stared at the heart-shaped diamond, "How can you tell?"
He answered with a smile, "The diamonds you buy at the store have a uniform cut on the inside. That one doesn't." (I don't know if that's necessarily true; I'm not well-versed in that stuff. If anyone here knows about that–like Genius Flyboy?;)–please inform me.)
'Wow,' Cindy thought, 'He never told me he made this! I thought he just modified it!'
"Mr. Turner," Carl asked, "How long have you been lost in space?"
"That year," he thought out loud, "was my daughter's 10th birthday, and she should by 19 by now, so...9 years now."
"Man," Libby said, "I can't believe you survived all this time!"
"And you four haven't found me a moment too soon," Jack said, "Thank you."
"No," said a bulky club-wielding figure behind him, "Thank you."
WHUMP! Jack and the children were clubbed over their heads and dragged away, but Libby wasn't hurt. The group that had ambushed them stared in awe at her and hoisted her above their heads and carried her and her friends away.
Author's Review:
Wow; I think I'm getting pretty good at this cliffhanger thing:D Mwa ha ha! I am so evil! Okay, not really...
The only thing I've got this time is the "fashion magazine in brother's locker" thing. I got that from the movie "The Pacifier." Cute movie; I think y'all should see it! Oh; and did y'all catch the "tai kwon did" quip? XD I thought that was kinda funny!
Okay, bye! I'm off to the chinchilla protest!