Chapter XLIX: Aspirin Please
Iago woke Merida by squawking in her ear: "Brak, the early bird gets the worm." Merida wanted to grumble at him, but there were pressing matters going on. She got up and looked to the parrot and suddenly asked him: "Ye know where their hideout is, right?"
"Whose hideout?" Iago asked.
"Jafar's an' his boss. Ye know where it is?"
"Yeah, it's a dingy place in the Yorkshire area." Iago replied.
"In tha' case, ye are goin' help us get Jenny an' Valka back." Merida told him. So she hopped out of bed, collected her friends, and then they made their way to the palace Library to plot out their rescue mission.
Hiccup had brought charcoal pencils, parchment, and his sketchbooks; Rapunzel brought some snacks she baked, Ivan had prepared some potions to relieve headaches Merida might get from going in and out of visions, and Merida brought Iago because he was the only one who really knew the layout of the hideout.
"Alright, Iago, we need to draw out the floor plan to their hideout." Hiccup stated as he held the pencil ready.
"Hand me the pencil then." Iago replied.
"Wait, you can draw?" Jack asked.
"Kid, you don't know the half of what Jafar had me do when I worked for him." Iago said as he took the pencil from Hiccup, and to the amazement of everyone he drew the schematics to their foe's hideout with incredible detail, and not only that, he labeled the rooms.
"Iago, this is incredible." Emily stated.
"Why thank you, Miss. It's nice to be appreciated. Now this empty room here is most likely where they're being held. As you can see, there is only one door and no windows. There's also no need for them to take away their wands as this room is charmed so nobody can get out using magic. The room just outside it is the room where Pitch Black, the dark master spends most of the time. He is weak so he needs a constant attendant, and so you'll need to get the attendant to get Pitch out of there. A big distraction ought to do it."
"Well what if Hiccup-" Jack started.
"Not now, Jack!" Hiccup interrupted, knowing that Jack was just about to reveal his special ability.
"Alright, what if we take one of the dragons to land on the roof and let out a roar?" Jack suggested.
They looked to Merida and she looked into the situation running through scenarios using all of their dragons by triggering a series of visions. She was out of it for a while, but came back to tell them: "Of our dragons the worst ones to brin' would be Valhalla an' Dagger, they're so big that they'd crush the roof, an' chances are that me Braveheart would set the place on fire. As for the others, they'll all do the job the best, but here's what we need to consider: It will be best to take only one dragon, Cloudjumper can take the most damage, Toothless is the fastest and has the best stealth, and Solaria is also rather stealthy and her tail provides an extra weapon."
"In that case, I think that it would be best to take Solaria." Hiccup replied.
"Aye, wit her tail Solaria is a good choice, but keep in mind that Valka said that she doesn't attack unless she knows that she's in danger. Plus Cloudjumper and Toothless are faster than her." Merida told him.
"Did the scenarios play better with them?" Ivan asked.
"Only by a little bit, but I'm willing to bet that a little goes a long way here." Merida replied.
"So what happens after our dragon lands on the roof and roars?" Jessica asked.
"His attendant, most likely Mor'du would escort Pitch Black outside with his other followers. They'll want to fight the dragon once they get outside, but by that time we'll have our dragon hidden and they'll be confused. This will give us the time for one of us to sneak inside the building." Merida replied.
"Alright, so who's going to go in?" Emily asked.
"I'll go in, as a prankster I've developed a sense of stealth like you wouldn't believe." Jack told them.
"Wait a minute, what if Elsa and Jack whip up a wicked blizzard before we send in the dragon?" Hiccup suggested. Merida went into her vision again and played the scenario where they summoned a blizzard and Jack snick in while the villains were distracted.
"Hold on, wouldn't a blizzard draw attention from the peasants?" Ivan asked.
"Who cares about the bloody peasants? We need to rescue Jenny!" Jessica snapped.
Merida came out of her vision and said: "We could have some fun with this. If we wait until there is enough snow on the ground, then I can use me telekinetic powers to throw snowballs at them and confuse them even more. This will give Jack even more time to search for a key or pick a lock."
"Alright, so before we land… Exactly where is it that we're going Iago?" Elsa asked.
"Pontefract, Yorkshire, it's a grey house with black shingles and shutters." Iago replied. Oh, and the cellar door is the best way to sneak in without having to break a window." Iago replied.
"Thanks for that, now I'll have to direct the snow away from that door, as for picking locks I'm pretty good at that." Jack stated.
"It won't be much trouble for you would it?" Ivan asked.
"Not at all." Jack replied.
"Scythe, will ye be as so kind to hand me one of Ivan's potions please, I've got headaches coming in?" Merida asked. Scythe handed her the potion bottle and Merida downed it faster than she could taste it and her headache soon cleared up.
"Let's take a break and enjoy some of these snacks." Jessica stated as she passed around a platter of Rapunzel's gingerbread biscuits and banana brownies, and the group also helped themselves to a bowl of some dried fruit and roasted nuts while they were at it, including Iago.
A few minutes later, Jack spoke up: "So, I take it that I'll be leaving with Valka and Jenny the same way we get in."
Merida tested out the vision again and told him: "It'll work better than smashin' through a window or usin' one o' the main doors. We can keep the villains away from the storm cellar door."
"Will Gothel be there?" Hiccup asked.
"Aye, I've seen her a few times in the visions." Merida replied.
"If that is the case, then I think that it would be best if Rapunzel doesn't come along… at least not as herself." Hiccup stated.
"Why not? I can help!" Rapunzel asked.
"Yes, but you have a very close connection to Gothel. We know her alliance, and you've already fought against her. If you continue fight against her and shut her out, while you still have something she wants, then who knows what she'll do to you? Chances are it'll end up with the rest of us plotting your rescue mission." Hiccup replied.
"He's got a point." Jessica remarked. Rapunzel crossed her arms and pouted for a moment, but then she got an idea: "Hiccup, what about the stone?"
"I don't know how that will work out… Merida?"
"Her Nadder-Skrill hybrid could do the job… However, because of her inexperience as a dragon, I see more scenarios where she gets hurt than get away unscathed, add in the snowstorm and she will suffer an injury, and I'm not talking mere cuts or bruises. Also, the Nadder-Skrill isn't the strongest or the stealthiest. Our best chance is with either Cloudjumper or Toothless, and Rapunzel it really is for the best if you stay hidden in the woods near the house or don't come at all." She replied.
"Well I'm going, I don't care if I have to stay hidden!" Rapunzel told them.
"What about us?" Kay asked. Merida went into the vision again but this time she spoke during it: "Jessica, I see ye accompanyin' Jack as he goes into the buildin' providin' him with cover fire. Ivan, ye, Elsa, Emily, and I will be attacking the villains. Scythe an' Kay, ye will accompany Hiccup on our dragon and cover him. It is also yer job to get the dragon off of the roof. Hiccup, ye need to stay on the roof as a guard to the entrance of the house. As for ye, Rapunzel, We should position ye at the door to the storm cellar, ye need to guard it and it would help if you kept it clear o' snow, as Jack and Elsa need to whip up the biggest blizzard in history for this plan to work"
"How should we signal the others to let them know we're out of the house and have rescued Jenny and Valka?" Jack asked.
"I can shoot purple sparks into the sky." Jessica replied.
Merida stayed in the vision to play that though, and told them: "It will work, but we'll have to move out fast, luckily we can all bring our brooms."
"Well it sounds like we all have a plan now." Iago stated.
"Aye, an' ye'll be staying here. We can't risk ye getting reclaimed by Jafar. Ye blab whenever ye receive a threat." Merida told him.
"Hey, I wasn't planning on going along." He replied.
"So should we get ready for the mission now?" Emily asked.
"Actually, if there's one thing I know, its that Pitch is expecting you to come as soon as possible. If you wait until next week then he'll be thrown off-guard." Iago told them.
"NEXT WEEK!" The group exclaimed.
"Exactly, it's for the best." Iago replied. Merida went into the vision once more and confirmed what Iago said, and told them that there was no intension of harm towards Valka and Jenny, but while they were being held captive, Pitch will remove all sense of their hope for rescue and acceptance from friends and family, and replace it with fear. By the time they get there, they will be traumatized, and would have been living in fear. It will be a delicate situation, but if all went according to plan, they will succeed.
"Ivan, would ye please hand me another one of yer potions? Me head is killin' me right now!" Merida asked. Ivan gave her a bottle, and again she swallowed it so fast that she didn't have a chance to taste it.
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"Oh, what a pity, your friends still haven't shown up yet. Don't you see that I was right about them? They can never accept a werewolf into their happy circle. As for you, Valka, It appears that your son has left you as you did with him. Now, enjoy your meal. You're having spiced pears with smoked eel." Pitch told his captives. Gothel stepped inside and set their tray of food down.
"Pears, it had to be pears! Why can't they just give us some steamed broccoli?" Jenny asked.
"They're doing it to increase the fear of having to eat them. After living with dragons, I've grown a distaste for eels, but we'll both have to eat something that we don't like tonight." Valka replied, and with great reluctance, they dug into their meal.
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I will still like to know what you guys would like to see during the actual rescue. Hurry now, you know how fast I update!
Please review.
