Chapter Thirty-Six: Reform (part 3)
There was a large section of the library where the bookshelves had been smashed and the books had been scattered. It had been like that since the Doomlander sacked the library for that forbidden book. Stupid Kaos and his stupid Doomlander- it had taken the reformed villains forever to rearrange the books in there. Tae Kwon Crow busied himself one afternoon trying to set things back in order, finding himself incapable of leaving it be until the crisis was over like the Skylanders kept telling him to do.
"Say, what happened to that floral field guide by Onk Beakman? I knew it was over here," he wondered. "Unless the Doomlander stole that as well."
Buzzer Beak appeared behind a stack of books, carrying a slim book in his talons. The chubby little bird buzzed over, handing it to him.
"Thanks, BB."
Buzzer Beak squawked in response.
Hugo carried a large book with a burgundy cover into the library. The little mole spotted Tae Kwon Crow there, immediately hurrying over to him. There seemed to be alarm in his face, as if the crow wasn't supposed to be in there. Which couldn't be right- the library was free to all visitors.
"Tae, how long have you been in here?" Hugo wondered.
Tae Kwon Crow looked at the stacks of books he'd made. "Um...three hours, maybe?" he thought.
"It's very nice work, but you really don't have to bother yourself with that. I can arrange the books on the new shelves, if you'd like."
"Well I'm sure you'll do it wrong, messing up the order that we so meticulously set up like Eon asked us to."
"But I insist."
"I insist harder."
"Well I'm the librarian, and it's my job to insist with authority. I'd just feel better if I could handle it, that's all. "
Tae Kwon Crow frowned at that statement, something unpleasant stirring in his gut. He didn't like the way Hugo said that. I'm the good librarian, and you're just the foul pirate who will mess things up for me. Hugo didn't trust him, it sounded like. The statement held the kind of tone that most people had been giving him on each mission he undertook with the Skylanders- you're just the foul pirate who will mess things up for me.
"Fine," Tae Kwon Crow growled. "C'mon BB, let's go."
Buzzer Beak set himself on Tae Kwon Crow's shoulder, giving Hugo a raspberry. The crow stomped away, leaving the library and walking through the halls. Aware of what repercussions his anger might cause, he made it a point to avoid anyone he came across, swerving past faculty and young Imaginators alike. He kept an eye out for his dorm room, hoping to simply hide away in there, for he definitely wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone right now.
Stupid Hugo, chasing me out of there, he thought bitterly. How dare he wave "authority" around like that? I wasn't doing anything wrong. Heck, I'm sure Eon and Buzz would appreciate-
Someone bumped into his shoulder, chasing Buzzer Beak off. Tae Kwon Crow stood there for a moment, fists clenched in unbridled rage. All self control he was keeping up to that point washed away, and his temper snapped out of control. All he wanted to do now was scream at the person who had crossed his path.
"Hey!" he shouted, whipping his head around. "How dare you..."
He paused, looking up at the person that bumped into him. This was a behemoth of a man, not quite the size of a Giant, but still dwarfing the crow. He wore the black-and-gold of the Senseis, tied together with the golden belt. The man's clothes were blue-and-white, boots with claws on them and a headpiece that resembled a horned animal's maw. The man was angry as well, indicated by the glowing of the animal piece's eyes. Tae Kwon Crow's anger dissipated, and he hurried down the other way in fear, hiding himself away in a broom closet.
That man. I know him. I fought with him. He's one of them, and no one mentioned anything to me? To him?
Thoughts of his past suddenly came to mind- they'd been there for the past few weeks, but they were all he could think about while he hid in the closet. He had been a pirate, embarking on a foolish crusade to be what he thought was a superhero. There had been rules that he'd been taught as a child, rules that he thought the entire would had to live by, and he'd been set on enforcing them. Until the Skylanders had captured him, Tae Kwon Crow hadn't realized how he was hurting people in that quest- threatening them, fighting them, imprisoning them. That man, Wildstorm, was one of his victims, and he'd fought him in a bid to escape- which, given the man's immense power, was offered after a while. Even so, he felt sick thinking about it.
I am a monster, aren't I? Just an awful pirate?
He waited a few more minutes before leaving the closet. A familiar squawking sound called out once he did. Tae Kwon Crow surveyed the halls, finding no sign of Wildstorm anywhere. He just found Buzzer Beak hiding behind a trash can, calling out for help. Tae Kwon Crow picked him up and held him, thankful to have found his friend.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Buzzer Beak shook his head, burying himself underneath one of the crow's arms.
"Aw, I'm alright, BB. Not a feather out of place."
He looked down the hall, wondering if Wildstorm was searching for him. He had the sudden desire to find him, to try and make things up to him. But it would be unwise to seek him out after what had just happened. It was necessary to wait it out, at least for the morning.
The next morning, Tae Kwon Crow made his way to the Academy's quad, carrying a basket of goodies in his hand. Wildstorm was seen next to a tree, sharpening his large blade. Tae Kwon Crow slowly walked toward him, nervous about what might happen. Suppose Wildstorm attacked him out of anger? Suppose he besmirched the crow's name in front of everyone at the school? It was nerve-racking.
Buzzer Beak hovered near him, squawking in fear at the prospect of meeting Wildstorm as well. But Tae Kwon Crow was prepared to do this.
"Ahem...greetings, Wildstorm," he muttered.
Wildstorm looked up at him, curiosity in his eyes. "Hello," he replied. "Hawkmongous, right?"
"I go by Tae Kwon Crow nowadays- the disembodied voice seemed pretty insistent on it."
"What?"
"Um, never mind. Anyway, I've felt pretty bad about our past history together, and I wanted to make it up to you."
"Alright. What were you thinking of doing?"
Tae Kwon Crow set the basket on the ground next to him. "For starters, I made you a care package," he began. "Just to try and smooth things over. After that...well, I'm not sure. I figured you might have ideas, I guess."
Wildstorm set the blade next to him, taking the basket. "Did you pack food in this?"
"Oh of course. No one in their right mind packs a basket without food in it."
Wildstorm grabbed an apple from the basket, biting into it. "Well, this is good for starters, but it in no way makes up for everything you've done."
"I know."
"How about this? Prove that you're different now than you were back then. Go on a mission with me. We'll see what kind of hero you are."
Oh, a mission? Tae Kwon Crow wasn't sure about that. He hadn't enjoyed going on missions as of late. Nothing he'd done on them had made him feel like a hero. But...he wanted to make it up to Wildstorm.
"I'm yours to command," Tae Kwon Crow insisted.
Buzzer Beak squawked in disbelief, his eyes showing nervousness at the idea. Tae Kwon Crow clamped the little bird's beak, giving the knight a reassuring grin.
Wildstorm got up, grabbing his blade. He gripped Tae Kwon Crow by the arm, leading him to the training yard where some of the other Senseis were working with Imaginators. Wildstorm waved over to King Pen, grabbing his attention. The penguin waddled over to them, a brow raised in curiosity.
"King Pen, are there any available missions for us?" Wildstorm demanded.
King Pen shrugged, looking back to the Brawlers that anxiously waited for him. "You could possibly take a scouting mission on your own, if you wanted to get out that badly," he suggested.
"You know I prefer to have an idea on the enemy I'm fighting."
"Right. Let's see...well, there's always something going on in Calamity City, though I can't determine what you'll find. If you want specific, you can go into the Rat Kingdom for a while."
"Ugh, rats. I guess we can explore down there."
"Cool. Oh, and if you find any gear, remember to bring it back for the Imaginators- they just love getting new goodies."
Wildstorm nodded, dragging Tae Kwon Crow away. "Do you think you can handle rats, 'Tae Kwon Crow'?" he asked him.
"They're just rats, right?" Tae Kwon Crow thought. "Should be no problem."
"Best to stay on your toes, regardless."
The Rat Kingdom turned out to be an unpleasant place. It was a dark, smelly dungeon-like place, pathways built like mazes. It was also rather cold and damp, with the ground squishing beneath them from...actually, Tae Kwon Crow didn't want to know what it was.
Then there were the rats themselves.
By the Ancients, the rats.
They were always crawling about, varying in different, gigantic sizes. They attacked with different weapons- hammers, claws, stinky cheese. For every one that Tae Kwon Crow took down, there were ten that took its place. Or twenty. Thirty? Honestly, it was hard to count.
Wildstorm always directed their actions. When he said to hang back, Tae Kwon Crow did. When he said to cover him, he did just that. At one point, an army of rats swarmed them, and Wildstorm directed them to hide in a crevice large enough to house them. Tae Kwon Crow followed his orders without question.
He hoped that if he did everything he was asked, Wildstorm might forgive him for what happened long ago.
"It's like this place is infested, or something," Tae Kwon Crow panted, settling into the crevice.
"It is infested," Wildstorm replied. "They don't call it the Rat Kingdom for nothing. Have you not fought rats until now?"
"Sort of...if you count the smaller bilge rats."
No comment.
"Ah, you don't, then."
Wildstorm let out a friendly chuckle. Whatever it was that the crow had said, it seemed to have amused him. Tae Kwon Crow felt good about that. Perhaps things were getting better.
"Still think we're better off knowing what the threat is?" Tae Kwon Crow asked.
"It's always better," Wildstorm insisted. "Last time I went in blind...well, I'm sure you know."
That made him feel worse. Things weren't getting better, were they?
Frantic squawking outside of the crevice made Tae Kwon Crow's heart drop to his stomach. His eyes scanned the crevice, noticing that Buzzer Beak was not with them. He stood up slightly, observing the scene outside. The army had calmed down a bit, instead observing the chubby little bird. A riff rat was on all fours, sniffing at Buzzer Beak, poking a claw in the bird's direction. There seemed to be a hunger in the riff rat's eyes, hoping to have the bird as a snack.
"Wildstorm, they've got Buzzer Beak," Tae Kwon Crow whispered nervously. "We have to get out there."
Wildstorm drew his gaze above the crevice, but slowly sank back down. "We can't go back up yet, or else we'll have the army on our backs again," he argued. "I'll see if I can call for backup. Just hang tight."
Now the riff rat was directly touching Buzzer Beak, plucking a feather off in an attempt to tease him. Buzzer Beak squawked again, calling for help.
"Tae, get back down," Wildstorm hissed.
The dread in his heart grew larger, watching as two more riff rats started nosing at Buzzer Beak.
"Get. Down," Wildstorm threatened, his voice giving a low growl.
He couldn't. He just couldn't. "Let's just make a run for it," Tae Kwon Crow argued. "No time to think."
"Tae!"
But Tae Kwon Crow was already running. He swooped past the riff rats, sliding away and grabbing Buzzer Beak. He tripped up slightly as he tried to get back upright, but managed to do so. Tae Kwon Crow frantically bolted away from the army chasing after him, clutching Buzzer Beak to his chest. He halted as he came to a high wall, trapped there as the army caught up. Tae Kwon Crow hid the little bird away in his shirt and scaled the wall, making his way to a ledge they hadn't found before.
Panting, he watched as the rats tried in vain to climb up to him, scrambling on top of one another and failing to get up. Their attention was suddenly averted from him, Wildstorm rushing in. The knight's animal piece eyes were glowing in anger as he fought off the rats coming near him. He made his way around, becoming trapped by the wall as he reached it. Tae Kwon Crow lowered a hand down, and Wildstorm spotted him and grabbed it. The crow hoisted him up, and they both found refuge on the ledge as the rats scrambled to try and reach, unable to do so.
Tae Kwon Crow found himself laughing a tiny bit. "They're strength isn't intelligence, huh Wild...?"
He stopped, looking at Wildstorm. There was a gash on his right leg, a bit of blood seeping out of the armor. The animal piece's eyes were still glaring with anger, and he stood in a menacing position. Tae Kwon Crow knelt down, guilty about what had happened.
"Stay down, I said. Stay down, and allow me to call for back up," Wildstorm growled angrily. "And what do you do? You disobey my orders and run out there, nearly getting the both of us killed. You wanted to prove to me that you were different than before, but I saw the same impulsive jerk back there."
Tae Kwon Crow didn't reply. He felt like crying, he was so sick with himself. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Buzzer Beak any more than he could bear the thought of being seen as a villain- but maybe he should've just listened to those orders. Then Wildstorm wouldn't hate him as much. Then he might've proved himself.
Wildstorm staggered down, sitting for a moment. "Did you at least save the bird?" he sighed.
Buzzer Beak crawled out of Tae Kwon Crow's shirt, plopping down dizzily. He looked at the two of them, chirping in confusion.
"Good. At least your little endeavor wasn't in vain," Wildstorm continued. "Keep him close to you. Let's not have a repeat of this incident. You will follow my orders to a tee, and nothing other than that. Got it?"
Tae Kwon Crow nodded meekly.
Wildstorm stood up again, stumbling on his wounded leg. "Let's just go home, then," he decided. "I've had enough of rats for today."
Tae Kwon Crow got up, setting Buzzer Beak on his shoulder as they walked. He didn't feel like talking- didn't see any point to it, rather.
The next day was rather uneventful. Wildstorm didn't order any missions for them to go on, probably because he was being cautious of his mending leg. Tae Kwon Crow had brought food from the kitchen up to his dorm, hoping to spend some time alone. He really had no desire to seek the knight out this time. Heck, after yesterday's fiasco in the Rat Kingdom, who would ever trust him with anything again?
Nothing more than an awful pirate, then. I've really dug myself into a pit of un-repentance, haven't I?
He opened the door to his room, setting the food he'd procured on the small table. Buzzer Beak left from his little bird swing, buzzing over to the table. The little bird squawked in confusion, looking up at the crow.
"A feast fit for a king," Tae Kwon Crow beamed. "A tiny king, but a king nonetheless."
Squawk.
"It's the least I can do after nearly, you know, letting you die. You know I'd never do that on purpose, right?"
Nod.
"Okay. Just making sure."
Buzzer Beak went straight for his feast, gobbling down the bread before anything else. Tae Kwon Crow walked toward his bed, plopping down and staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes with a sigh, his mind buzzing with a thousand thoughts. He was horrible even to those closest to him.
"...And I thought you were right next to me, even," he muttered. "How did that even happen? Was I not paying attention when you needed me to carry you? So much was happening, and...ah, listen to me blathering on about nothing."
Buzzer Beak stopped eating, whipping his gaze around to him. He flew over, plopping directly on Tae Kwon Crow's stomach. The little bird kept squawking and flapping his stubby wings frantically, trying to alert him to something.
Tae Kwon Crow opened an eye. "What, you found something big down there?" he wondered.
Buzzer Beak nodded in a grin.
"We can't go back there. I could never live down what happened."
Buzzer Beak sighed, deflating as he did so.
Of course, it would be nice to do something for the Imaginators. Give them whatever it was that the little bird had spotted. And if it was something big, then it definitely needed to be on the side of the Skylanders.
Tae Kwon Crow sat up, nuzzling Buzzer Beak's cheek with his finger. "Alright. The two of us will go down there alone," he decided. "We'll be safer that way."
Buzzer Beak chirped in pleasure.
"We need to be smart about this, though. We can't have those rats swarming us again. And I think I might have an idea."
Tae Kwon Crow had found a rat suit, donning it and sneaking down into the Rat Kingdom. The suit itself was hot and itchy, but the rats seemed to be fooled by it. They treated him as if he were an old friend, allowing him to walk through without a fight. Tae Kwon Crow tried his hardest to act natural, though he couldn't help but worry about then discovering his true nature.
Buzzer Beak remained hidden, safely tucked inside the suit. He'd poke his head out occasionally, pointing out directions to the thing he'd found. Tae Kwon Crow kept the little bird hidden from peering eyes, though any on looking rats didn't seem to care.
Maybe I should hide like this more often, even at the Academy. Everyone seems happier to see me that way.
Reaching near the crevice, Buzzer Beak started squawking frantically. He flew out of the suit, flying toward a crack in a wall. Tae Kwon Crow hurried over to him, looking at what he'd seen. Buzzer Beak hovered next to a loose-fitting brick, pressing into it to try and push it away. The crow pushed the block out, creating a hole that led into a treasure room. Gold lined the walls, and Imaginite chests were stacked on top of one another at the center. It was a bigger horde than the Skylanders had found on their journeys through the M.A.P. Heck, it was more than Tae Kwon Crow had ever seen in his life.
"BB, you've got a better nose for treasure than most of my pirate crew had," Tae Kwon Crow chuckled.
Buzzer Beak gave a small chuckle of his own.
Someone set a hand on his shoulder, startling him immensely. Tae Kwon Crow turned around in alarm, and only tensed up when he saw who the person behind him was. A giant filthy brown rat suit stood in front of him, the person's head poking out of the suit's mouth. The animal piece on the head was familiar, its eyes glowing fiercely. Tae Kwon Crow's heart thudded in his chest, and his mouth became dry, worried at what this person would do.
"I saw you sneaking down here earlier in that gaudy thing," Wildstorm growled.
"It's...it's not what it looks like," Tae Kwon Crow muttered.
"Then what is it? Because it looks like a thieving pirate went on a treasure hunt by himself."
You're just a pirate. Nothing changing that. "BB thought he saw something. I was just checking it out."
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
No comment.
"King Pen told me this morning that you were one of the new Senseis he brought on board. You should know the rules- non-Core Skylanders are not allowed to go on missions alone, especially new recruits. We have to go in groups of two."
"My group consists of me and Buzzer Beak."
"Except he's more of a companion than a Skylander."
Buzzer Beak scoffed in indignation. Tae Kwon Crow didn't reply.
"Did you find the door to that place by any chance?"
"Still...still working on that," Tae Kwon Crow stammered. "BB, try...try to find us a way in."
Buzzer Beak hovered around, nosing the wall for a way in. He decided to squeeze through the hole, looking about that way. Something moved on the wall next to them, and Buzzer Beak let out a squawk indicating that he'd found it. Tae Kwon Crow pushed his had on the wall, revealing a door that slid away. He and Wildstorm walked into the treasure room, though Wildstorm shut the door behind them. Buzzer Beak landed on the ground, looking quite proud of himself. All Tae Kwon Crow could feel was sick with himself, the treasure room reminding him once again of what an awful person he was.
Wildstorm took off his rat suit, saying, "Why don't you get out of that thing and claim the Imaginite chests? I'll call into the Academy saying that we need to be teleported home. Good thinking on the rat suits, by the way. If the rest of us had thought of that sooner, we wouldn't have had so much trouble with those vermin."
Tae Kwon Crow unzipped his rat suit, dropping it on the ground. He stepped toward the Imaginite chests, a hand raised to claim it. But he stopped before he claimed the chests, his eyes tearing up. It wouldn't work for him, would it? He could gallivant with these greater heroes all he could, but it wouldn't make him one. No matter how many lives he saved, or how many Imaginators he trained, it would never make up for anything he'd done, would it?
"I can't," Tae Kwon Crow muttered.
"Why not?" Wildstorm huffed. "You're a Skylander now, and this was your find. You can claim it."
Tears fell down his face. "Except I'm not a Skylander, am I?" Tae Kwon Crow pouted. "I've done so much to try and prove myself to them, and I don't feel like one of them. Everyone's turning me away, telling me that I'm a monster- civilians and allies alike. I knew the next steps in my life wouldn't be easy, but...I need something, or else...what's the point in trying, right?"
Wildstorm sighed. Tae Kwon Crow looked over to him, noting that the animal piece's eyes were no longer glowing, and instead the knight's eyes were shown inside the piece's maw. Those looked about as forlorn as the crow's eyes currently did.
"I think I know your problem. It was one that I experienced a long time ago," Wildstorm began. "I had been used to loneliness for a long time, and when I joined the Senseis, that feeling didn't go away like I thought it was supposed to. I still felt unwanted, even when it looked like the others genuinely wanted to be with me. I'd often snap at them or try to fight them if they got too close, convinced that no one could really want me around. When concerns of me not fitting in came around, Chain Reaction had a chat with me one day, and insisted that the problem was that I wouldn't allow myself to fit in."
Buzzer Beak set himself on the crow's shoulder, giving out concerned chirps. Tae Kwon Crow pressed the bird to his cheek, letting out a few more pouts.
"And that's your problem, Tae. You don't feel like a Skylander because you're not allowing yourself to. You're so fixated on everything you did wrong, and trying to make up for all of it, that you're not letting yourself focus on the things you're doing right. We can't focus on the past. We can't allow ourselves to convince our hearts that we'll never fit in. We just have to tell ourselves that we're doing good and that we belong here. I don't know if any of that makes sense...I'm not so good at giving advice...but when the pieces came together, that helped me."
Tae Kwon Crow tried wiping his tears away, though a few more fell down.
"You're not bad. You know that? You may be stubborn, but you're not bad. And I really must thank you for imprisoning me back then, strange as it might sound. It led me to my family."
The tears stopped flowing. It sounded like Wildstorm had forgiven him for what happened. Tae Kwon Crow looked at Buzzer Beak, noting how calm and patient he was, how he always seemed to be. Wildstorm and Buzzer Beak...those were the things he'd been looking for to push him onward.
"Those Imaginite chests are your find," Wildstorm insisted. "They're yours to claim."
Tae Kwon Crow nodded. He walked toward the Imaginite chests, taking deep breaths. He raised a hand, prepared to set it on the chests in order to claim them. There was still that uncertainty in the back of his mind. He was still nervous about it not working for him.
Take it easy, he told himself. You might not be a proper Skylander, but you're trying. That's all that matters.
Tae Kwon Crow set his hand on the chests. A blue aura circled around them, and in an instant, they teleported away.
"See? There you go," Wildstorm smiled. "Now let's wait around while I call the Academy to pick us up."
Tae Kwon Crow's heart filled with extreme joy, and a wide smile grew on his beak. This was where he was now! He was a Skylander!