WarknightXL216: Well don't worry, that'll be happening soon.
South Down: Thanks.
GBond007: Well, I can't bring up every theme in every chapter. And it technically was, *ahem" Red?
John-117sp: Yeah, I can see things being a little disjointed, since I was trying to introduce all four themes separately. I'm hoping things will be a little more streamlined when the themes start to converge with each other. Also, I do plan on having the Mystical theme play a part in the future.
The Elf King watched from his throne as the new recruit, Heidi, engaged in a training exercise with one of his soldiers. The two parried swords with one another, Heidi fencing single-handedly. Kyle couldn't help but be impressed; Heidi had only just joined them, but she was already showing potential. He could see in her eyes the way she studied her opponent's movements and anticipated his next strike.
Eventually, Heidi saw an opportunity, and jabbed the tip of her sword into her opponent's hand, causing him to drop his weapon. She aimed the sword at his neck, forcing her opponent to raise his arms in surrender. Heidi had won. Quickly, she whirled around to face Kyle, awaiting his thoughts.
Next to him, Nichole clapped her hands. "Great job, Heidi," She stated with a grin. "You'll make a great soldier. Right, Kyle?" She tilted her head towards him, urging him to agree.
". . . Yeah, you did good," He agreed, but his face was rather blank. Heidi frowned, upset at Kyle's dismissive tone, despite the compliment. This didn't go unnoticed to Nichole, either, who suppressed a sigh.
They were snapped out of their thoughts, however, when the door to the backyard swung open. Several elves, led by Bebe, stormed through, and dragging behind them were the two kids, ensnared in the net. The elves dragging them roughly tossed them into the center of the field.
At first, Kyle assumed they were spies of the Dwarf King that had been captured, but when he looked closer, he saw that they were Indians. Quickly, he sprang to his feet, perturbed. "What do you think you're doing?!" He shouted.
He was about to yell at them, remind them that targeting kids from other themes was off-limits (especially ones belonging to Stan's), but before he could, Bebe cut him off. "These two kids trespassed into one of our outposts," She informed him. "And to make matters worse, they shot one of our soldiers!"
She pointed at Pete Melman, who had been carried into the backyard. He was clutching his injured shoulder from where the arrow had struck him.
Hearing this, Kyle turned to the two Indians, who were struggling to untie themselves from the net. They managed to free themselves, only to find themselves surrounded by several elven warriors, clutching their swords and spears as they glowered down at them.
The brave turned to the Elf King. "Please, sir," He said, nervous. "It was a simple accident. A raid had gone wrong and we were running, and we didn't know where we were going, and-"
"Lock them up!" Kyle ordered. The elves quickly descended upon the two Indians, dragging them off.
"No, please!" The Indians begged as they were hauled off to the dungeons.
Nichole jumped off from the throne and rushed to Kyle's side. "What are you doing?" She whispered to him. "You can't just lock up two people from another theme. That's not kosher."
"Well then they shouldn't have trespassed here," Kyle retorted, his arms folded.
"Kyle," Nichole said with gritted teeth, her voice firm. Kyle's face softened as he turned to face her.
"You know what we have to do," She told him.
Kyle groaned, knowing what Nichole meant, and dreading it. "I don't want to call him directly," He murmured to her. "We arranged this so we wouldn't have to cross paths."
Bebe stepped forward. "I know who can contact him," She said.
Within Many Moon's Stronghold, the Indian people were seated around Storyteller Jimmy, who sat on a tree stump, a makeshift mic propped up in front of him.
"Tell me; why do we hate s-s-snow?" He asked. When the other Indians didn't answer, he finished, "Because it's white and on our land."
The Indians immediately burst out laughing. At that moment, however, a hunter posted on one of the Arrow Towers overlooking the stronghold rushed towards them, shouting, "Hey, we have visitors from the pirates!"
Stan of Many Moons sprang up at the news. Quickly, he shouted, "Open the gates!"
The guards obeyed, opening up the gates and allowing the newcomers entrance. Quickly, Lola and Jenny, dressed as pirates, rushed in, and following close behind them was Captain Wendy.
"Wendy!" Stan shouted, quickly hugging his girlfriend. "You're back from your treasure hunt!"
Nelly approached Lola and Jenny. "I hope that means you've brought something useful for us," She said. Lola nodded, pulling out a Lighting Bolt card.
"Great!" Nelly exclaimed. "That will aid us immensely against those stinking cowboys!"
"What was your treasure hunt like this time, Wendy?" Stan was asking the captain. "I want to hear all about it."
"Well, we picked up some gold and jewelry on our search," Wendy explained. "We were planning on collecting more stuff to trade with you, but I received a phone call which made me have to come earlier than expected."
Stan's smile faded as he noticed the worried expression on Wendy's face. "What's wrong, Wendy?" He asked.
"Look, Stan, the call was from Bebe," Wendy revealed.
"The Blood Elf?" Nelly asked. "What business did she have with you?"
There was a stony look in her eyes. Wendy sighed; she knew the tribe matriarch didn't like mingling between different themes. Which made the following statement all the harder to say.
"Stan, two of your braves were captured and are being held by the Elf King," Wendy revealed.
A collective gasp arose from the Indians. "They were what?!" Stan exclaimed.
"They're being held in the dungeons at his kingdom," Wendy went on.
Hearing this, Nelly's face turned red. "Why did they do this?!" She asked. "Do they want a war with us?!"
"No!" Wendy denied as she turned to Stan. "Bebe called me to tell you so they could sort this out. You need to come over there to talk with them."
"Oh, we'll talk with them, alright," Nelly said, pulling out a battleaxe. Seeing this, Stan raised an arm and placed it on her shoulder.
"Nelly, there's no need for that," He said. With a pout, Nelly put her weapon down.
Stan turned to face Wendy. She slightly tilted her head, beckoning for him to hurry up and follow her so they could settle things with the elves. However, Stan hesitated. Talking with the elves meant talking to Kyle, and he wasn't sure either of them were prepared for that.
But what choice did he have?
"Alright, let's go," He said, straightening up and putting on a tough face.
Within a half hour, Stan of Many Moons was marching towards the Elven Sanctuary (aka Kyle's house). By his side was Nelly and Wendy, and following behind him were around a dozen Indian braves.
They passed through an outpost, ignoring the glares from the elf guards stationed on the towers. One of them blew on his horn, signaling to the Elf King that the Indian chief had arrived.
The Indians were shown through the door of Kyle's house and entered the backyard, where Kyle, Nichole, and several elven soldiers awaited them. The Elf King was seated at his throne room, his gaze hardened as he saw the Indian chief approach.
Behind Stan, the Indian braves couldn't help but feel intimidated as they found themselves outnumbered and surrounded by the elves. Nelly, meanwhile, glared at Kyle, her arms folded.
All eyes were currently on the two leaders. Kyle and Stan stared hard at one another, neither of them saying a word. Everyone watched in anticipating, waiting to see how the former best friends would react to being in each other's presence again.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Kyle spoke first. "So, you got my message?" The Elf King said to Stan of Many Moon. The Indian chief nodded, and stepped forward. Nelly was about to follow, but he raised his arm, signaling for her to stay put.
"Where are my braves?" Stan asked.
Kyle cocked his head to the right, diverting Stan to a wooden cage, where the guilty Indians sat, their heads lowered in shame. They didn't make a sound, apparently having learnt that any words they said would just get them in even more trouble.
"Let them go," Stan demanded.
"These two Indians not only entered elven territory, they injured one of my guards," Kyle replied. "Why should I let them go?"
"Whatever they've done, I'll deal with it," Stan reassured him. "Release them, and I'll make sure they don't do something like this again."
"You should've made sure they didn't do it at all," Kyle retorted venomously. "You remember the rules; we were both there when they were made. You and your Indians stay in your territory, me and my elves stay in mine. Your men knew this part of the neighborhood was off-limits!"
"Look, Kyle-"
"That's Elf King Kyle, to you!"
"Elf King Kyle, this is a waste of time," Stan told him. "We both have important matters to attend to. I'm keeping my tribe safe from cowboys, and you're busy preparing for battle with the Dwarf King. Do you really want to waste time on a petty quarrel like this?"
Kyle's gaze softened, but only slightly. "If I let them go, you promise this won't happen again?" He asked.
"Yes," Stan replied.
Kyle sighed, in an almost relieved tone. "Alright, then," He whispered. "Heidi, let them go."
The elf girl opened the cage and pulled the two Indians out. They sheepishly took their places with the rest of the Indians.
"For both our sakes, this better not happen again," Kyle warned Stan and the other Indians. "That's it. You can leave, now."
Stan let out a relieved breath. Turning towards his comrades, the Indian chief said, "Come, let's return to the stronghold."
As they turned around to leave, a voice suddenly blurted out, "Wait!"
The Indians stopped. All eyes turned to the source of the voice. It was Heidi.
She stared at Kyle, then at Stan. "Is that all?" She asked. "Do you have nothing else to say?"
An uncomfortable silence ensued. Both leaders stared at Heidi for a long time, then turned to stare at each other.
"No," Stan whispered coldly.
"Nothing at all," Kyle added chillingly.
With that, the Indians exited the backyard. The only one who stayed for a brief moment was Nelly, who took the time to glare at Kyle, then shot at look at Heidi, who stepped back, perplexed at her friend's demeanor. Slowly, the brunette turned around before following the other Indians out the door.
As they Indians left, Heidi rushed to Kyle's side. The Elf King was currently slumped over in his chair, resting his face in his hand.
"Kyle, I know that wasn't it," She said. "I saw how you looked at each other. You wanted to say some-"
"Enough, Heidi," Kyle snapped, not removing his face from his hand. "I don't want to hear or even think about it."
Heidi was about to open her mouth to speak more, but decided against it. With a sigh, she walked off to return to her post. So did the other elves.
As they left, they didn't notice Kyle briefly look upwards, gazing sullenly at the spot where Stan had stood mere moments before.
"Make way for the King of Dwarves!" Clyde exclaimed as he made his way to his weapons storage area, the local junkyard.
"Certain matters have delayed my arrival, namely some crappy homework, but I've arrived, lads!" He said as he entered the junkyard. "I hope the weapons have been prepared for the oncoming war!"
As he passed through the junkyard, however, Clyde was puzzled at how vacant the area looked. "Uh, hello?" He called out. "Guys?"
He got no response. "Dwarf Engineer Dougie, where are you?" He called out, scouring through the junkyard. "Have you created the weapons as I told you?"
Again, no answer. "What the Hell is going on?" He asked, looking around. As he surveyed the area, he didn't notice the gooey substance that had been splattered all over the junkyard.
Eventually, Clyde could hear slight movement coming from deeper in the junkyard. Quickly rushing towards the source of the noise, he caught sight of Dougie's red hair, next to the window of a beaten-up car.
"There you are!" Clyde shouted as he turned the corner to confront the engineer. "Why have you kept your king wait-"
He paused, however, when he saw Dougie glued to the car by the sticky substance, his mouth covered by the goo. Instantly, all color drained from Clyde's face.
Dougie tried to scream, his voice muffled by the goo. It took Clyde seconds to realize the younger boy was trying to warn him as he noticed a shadow engulf him. Quickly, Clyde dodged out of the way as he was nearly tackled.
Pulling out his axe, Clyde found himself facing Sef Furman, donning an alien costume. The latter boy crawled on all fours, encircling Clyde like a cat stalking its prey. More aliens began to appear, making their way down the stacked cars.
"Aliens?" Clyde said, shocked. "What the Hell are you doing here? This place belongs to the Dwarves!"
"Sorry, Dwarf King," Sef Furman hissed. "The Alien Queen has declared this area belongs to her. She has dubbed it the Alien Junkyard."
"Dammit, you can't do that!" Clyde shouted. "This is where we make our weapons!"
"Yeah, and who's going to stop us?" Sef asked, standing up and staring Clyde down.
"I am the Dwarf King," Clyde declared. "And I will not let some alien freaks-"
He was cut off, when an alien egg was hurled at him, forcing him to jump to avoid it. He tried to protest, but the aliens continued chucking eggs at him. Realizing he was outmatched, Clyde used his axe to hack through the goo restraining Dougie, freeing him.
"Come on, lad!" He shouted, dragging Dougie as they fled the fallen junkyard, dodging alien eggs being thrown by the intruding aliens.
As the dwarves fled, the aliens cheered.
"The Alien Queen will be pleased when she hears about this," Sef whispered.
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