Chapter 12: The Arbazzan Vulture
As they entered the west, Data, Spock, Worf, and Nyota walked up to a sign with nets, phasers, guns, and a hatchet. What made the situation worse were the crows' dark calls which unnerved all of them. Eventually, they reached a sign at the border of Seven of Nine's country.
"'I'd turn back if I were you.'" Worf said as he began to head off when Data and Spock caught him, and they continued on.
As the disturbing sounds continued, everyone became more and more on edge.
"I do believe there are spooks in here." Spock said as he clutched his bow with a loaded arrow.
"That is ridiculous." Data insisted, trying to sound brave, but still sounding nervous all the same. "Spooks. That is silly."
"Don't you believe in spooks?" Worf asked.
"No." Data insisted. "Why-"
Just then, Data was lifted up by nothing and dropped down as everyone went to him.
"Oh my goodness!" Nyota remarked.
"Are you alright?" Spock asked.
"I do believe in spooks." Worf chanted to himself, trying not to make them mad like he believed Data had. "I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks."
()()()()()
From her crystal ball, Seven of Nine chuckled at the sight of the cowering Klingon.
"Ha-ha." Seven of Nine scoffed. "You will believe in even more than that before I'm done with you."
Seven of Nine then approached an army of gray people with scales along their necks and foreheads, one of her slave races, the Cardassians.
"Take your army to the Haunted Forest and bring me the girl and her dog." Seven of Nine ordered. "Do what you like with the others, but I want her alive and unharmed. They'll give you no trouble, I promise you that. I sent a little pet of mine ahead to take the fight out of them. Now fly! FLY!"
Seven of Nine cackled as the Cardassians took flight and headed for the haunted forest.
()()()()()
As the group was nervously looking around the area, they heard a low but loud call.
"Did you just hear what I just heard?" Nyota asked nervously.
"That noise didn't come from an ordinary bird." Worf pointed out.
"It may be just a cricket or a critter in the trees." Nyota said, trying to sound hopeful but failing as the noise came again.
"It is given me the jitters in the joints around my knees." Data said with a gulp.
Spock then looked up to see what looked like the creature.
"I think I see a creature, and he's fuzzy and he's fury." Spock pointed out. "I haven't got a brain, but I think I oughta worry."
"I have not got a heart, but I've got a palpitation." Data responded with a gulp.
"As monarch of the forest, I don't like the situation." Worf said as he stood his ground, surprisingly.
"Are you gonna stand around and let him fill us full of horror?" Nyota asked to no one in particular.
"I'd like to roar him down." Worf said as he gulped. "But I think I lost my roarer."
Just then, the creature lept down, and the four got a good look at it. It looked like a huge vulture. It roared and knocked Worf and Spock back effortlessly as it went to Nyota and roared as Data stepped in its way.
"Oh no, you do not!" Data shouted as he punched the creature in the head with such force and strength that its head went completely around, and it fell to the ground dead, and Data fell to the ground gasping as his hand was severely dented.
"It's okay." Nyota said as she gasped. "We'll fix you up back at the Emerald City."
"Precisely, the worst is over." Spock assured him when they heard marching and saw people like the Wizard's guard come up and attack them.
They basically ripped into Spock, knocking out most of his stuffing as after that they just took out whatever straw was left in everything but his head and tossed it away, so that the whole area was covered in straw.
They banged up Data even worse than the punch to the creature, and he didn't even have time to retaliate as they'd leap back after each blow.
Worf was made a mockery of as the Cardassians blended into the dreary area, allowing them to continually surprise Worf, and he ended up very bloody.
Nyota then screamed as the people grabbed Nyota and Porthos and went off with her as the others caught their breath and went to Spock.
"What happened to you?" Data asked. He couldn't see a thing through all the wings of the hawk people until they flew off.
"They took my chest out and they threw it over there." Spock said as his still stuffed hand pointed to his right before pointing the other way. "They then took my legs off and threw them over there."
"Oh, that's you all over." Data sighed as he began stuffing Spock back up.
"They sure knocked the stuffing out of you, didn't they?" Worf asked.
"Don't stand there, talking!" Spock snapped. "Put me together. We have to find Kara!"
"Now let us see…" Data said as he and Worf went to work trying to put Spock back together.
Oh boy… That took a turn for the worst.
