Chapter 17: Train Tracks Rumble
The Bloody Bambi had managed to carry the three girls and run through the train tracks in less than five minutes until they reached the broken parts. Crystal was the first to cringe at the massive size. The red stag could easily jump over it, but the train would easily plummet.
"OK, so we got about 45 minutes to fix this before the train crashes." Crystal said. "Anyone got a genius idea?"
"What if we tried that Mineral Materializing spell that you mentioned during our lessons?" Audrey suggested. "You said your dad taught you that spell to manipulate the walls of the labyrinth."
"That's not a bad idea." Crystal rolled up her sleeves. "Better you don't help me on this one, Audrey. This is a highly leveled spell that requires a lot of concentration. One false move and it's all the tracks that are going to break!"
"How long did you have to learn this spell?"
"All my life. It's only back in January that I managed to prefect it. Now shut up." Crystal kneeled down on the tracks and held her hands up. The clouds suddenly transformed from cotton white to vein purple colors. Crystal's hair moved wildly despite the lack of wind and her body stiffened like a statue. "Stone, metal, mineral, follow the desires of I, your royal!" Just like that, crystal balls started pouring out of her fingertips, coming in contact with the pillars, tracks, and wooden planks. Gluing themselves onto the materials, they started dragging the tracks towards each other like magnets.
"Woah!" Audrey made sure to stay on her feet as the tracks moved due to the magic magnetism.
"If Crystal keeps it, we should be good before the train starts showing up in 40 minutes." Beatrice rechecked to make sure that the train was still many minutes behind them. "We should be good."
And just like that, beating drums louder than the magic magnetism echoed over the jungle.
"Why do I never shut up?" Beatrice groaned as the drumming ended.
"Why are they even this loud? It's a jungle, not a rock concert," Audrey commented.
"It's Jumanji, Audrey!" Beatrice hissed. "Everytime you hear the drums, it means something bad is gonna happen! And the rhinos already passed, so I dare imagine the worst!" And as if to go with perfect timing, the branches of the nearest trees began to shake and break. The girls nearly thought it was an earthquake until a creature stepped out of the green foliage and turned white, revealing its camouflage. Sure enough, the albino creature was able to reach the train tracks' heights. Every inch of its spine was covered in spikes, its black claws sharper than swords, and teeth sharp enough to rip through metal. And sitting on top of its head was some humanoid teenager that looked like a hybrid of its steed and a commando human.
"Great!" Beatrice whined. "Out of all the dangers in the Jumanji jungle, why did I land on the Indominus Rex? And we're nowhere near Jurassic Park! Where's the psychotic mandrill herd when you need them?"
Audrey gulped at the sight of the Indominus Rex. Suddenly, she missed Ricky the Hydra. "So, what's the worst outcome of this?"
"Oh, nothing," Beatrice rolled her eyes. "Except they can totally destroy the tracks, kill me, Crystal, and the Bloody Bambi for sport, and then figure out how to season you as their appetizer for their preferred human-flesh only diet. HOW DOES THAT SOUND TO YOU?"
"And, the unlikely case scenario where they actually leave us alone if we try talking it out?"
"Hey, if you want to join the half-dead club, be my guest!"
Audrey sighed. She had to try anything out. Crystal was still focusing her attention on fixing the track and the train was 30 minutes away. The dinosaur and her rider had to leave ASAP. Audrey gave a gentle pat on the Bloody Bambi's face and dared to stand near the edge so that her eyes had only ten feet of distance from the bloody red eyes and massive toothed-mouth. "So… I know you guys probably don't do this with your food, but could we try to talk things out before you try to eat us as your appetizer?" She bared a forced smile.
Her attempt was rivaled by the laughter of the duo that caused the nearby flocks of flamingos to fly away in fear. "You actually think verbal stalling is going to distract us?" The rider's laughter sounded like the machines of a slaughterhouse cutting through an entire herd of future burgers. As she laughed, her albino-scaled spiked tail wagged in unison. "Best I got to say, the longer you keep those vocal cords bursting, the more they'll make a fancy sauce when you become the dessert instead."
"I could, but you know, I was spoiled rotten as a child. I highly doubt great predators like yourself would bother gaining useless calories from spoiled meat." Still, Audrey couldn't keep herself from putting her hand near her neck at the idea of her vocal cords exploding as dessert sauce.
The rider exchanged a humorous glace with the Indominus Rex. "Looks like we really hit the fancy game." She went back to Audrey. "What's your name, ye who is food who is entertaining but delaying the inevitable?"
"Audrey. And you, ye… who hunts well but I'd rather not be in her plate?"
"Indimia Rex." She gestured at the Indominus Rex. "This is my mother. And I am the only known humanoid Indominus Rex you'll ever get to encounter."
Audrey's eyes surveyed the mother-daughter. Eventually, she couldn't resist giving an insult. "Hm, yeah, I can imagine. You're probably one of those lab rats freaks, otherwise your mom must have really stained herself during her last night with whatever crazy human thought it was a good idea to make out with a skyscraper slaughterhouse."
Indimia grimaced, baring her teeth in the process, and cracked her knuckles.
"Way to go, genius!" Beatrice mockingly congratulating Audrey while double-checking on Crystal as she barely reached halfway in her spell. "You just turned their hopes of a fancy dinner into a human meat drive-thru bar!"
"And I'm going to go with the newbie!" Indimia bounced off her mother's head, holding out her claws as she aimed for Audrey's direction. The Indominus Rex had her share of distraction as the Bloody Bambi transformed itself into a larger version of the appearance it had taken to assault Mal in dragon form. The abomination of a stag pushed the dinosaur further into the jungle with its horns, giving the Jurassic abomination some serious cuts. Audrey was too distracted with evading Indimia that she didn't notice her animal companion's current fashion.
Beatrice had tried manipulating some nearby vines to dangle Indimia in the air, but the hybrid merely cut through them with her claws. Before Beatrice could retaliate, Indimia whacked her with her tail, sending the half-ghost hybrid flying and crashing at Crystal. It broke Crystal's concentration on the spell and the amount of energy she had put drained her out; now the two of them were subdued and dangerously close to the broken ends. One push could either lead to death by crash or by becoming dinosaur food.
Audrey wanted to reach to them and wake them up, but she had her own problems with Indimia. The latter was fast enough to dodge any spinel ball or spell that Audrey aimed at her, and when Audrey tried to fight her physically, she regretted thinking that she could beat her up the same way she had beaten up Vincent Salt. Indimia wasn't some weak human but a hybrid with enough strength to destroy buildings. When she scratched Audrey, the latter felt deeper pain and bleeding than the bloodhound bite. Every punch, slap, whack, and kick she received made her feel like her bones were slowly breaking from the inside.
"You are pathetic," Indimia said. "I see now what you are. You're nothing but an Auradonian refugee. I hate Auradonians."
"You're not… the only one." Audrey groaned.
"No. But I know what Auradonian flesh tastes like. You're all self-entitled brats, thinking you could claim any land that wasn't yours. You all had no problem ripping people from their homes, menacing families to split apart, and murdering babies! You're all the same and I hate you for it."
"Auradon is no longer my home…"
"Denying your original home is denying your unchangeable flaws." Indimia stared at the injured Audrey with a disgusted sneer. "Devouring you wouldn't even be worth it. I'd rather take one killing bite and leave your carcass to the local carnivores than poison myself with your spoiled flesh. At this rate, Beatrice Deetz and the Goblin Princess might make a better meal."
And the anger within Audrey intensified.
The train tracks started to shake violently and it wasn't from the Bloody Bambi beating up the Indominus Rex into surrender. The shaking was loud enough for Beatrice and Crystal to wake and get up. Not only were the tracks agitating, but every single mineral was materializing in a massive amount.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Crystal shouted as the tracks filed up the hole but were agitating into spikes, squares, and worse, impaling sticks. Beatrice, being half-ghost, was able to lift up Crystal into the air.
Then they saw Indimia getting a taste of her medicine with Audrey using a massive amount of magic. But Crystal and Beatrice knew something was wrong. Audrey didn't look like herself. Somehow, the blonde and self-aware Pink Fingers they cared about was replaced by a wild pink and pale blue streaked she-demon whose dripping bloods were forming a very red, dangerous looking attire. Audrey's eyes were glowing pink to the point where no whites could be seen. Her fingernails were darker and throwing endless spells at the tracks to attack at Indimia. The latter got cut by many enchanted spikes and nearly met her doom when she tripped and the transformed Audrey made her motive very clear when she ripped off of a piece of metal and transformed it into a sword.
"Audrey, don't!" Beatrice begged. "It's not worth it!"
Beatrice's words distracted Audrey long enough for Indimia to make a run for it. And Crystal and Beatrice didn't have enough time to warn Audrey about the upcoming train.
Meanwhile
Marius Bogfae and the twins had been spying on their sabotage from a safely distanced hill. To say that they were utterly shocked at the blonde girl's super-transformation was one thing, but their reaction when they saw her getting hit by the train?
"Oh shit…" Marius choked.
"They survived the crash, but the girl's probably dead." Kit said. "Fantastic theory of yours, your Highness?"
"Hold on." Junk was still observing from the binoculars. "Wonka must have shoved one of his pastries into the train's engines to slow it down. It just stopped."
"What are they doing now?" Marius asked.
"He and some dark-haired just came out. They're bringing the blonde one in… and the Deetz kid has harnessed the red stag to the train…"
"So what? He's the reindeer to Santa's toy train?" Kit asked sarcastically. She got her response when, in the distance, the Bloody Bambi ran and pulled the train into the tunnel ahead of the tracks. "Never mind."
"You think she survived, Your Highness?" Junk asked the prince.
"A mere mortal couldn't survive it. She has magic, so the worse case scenario is that she came out with some broken bones. However, a cut from an Indominus Rex can lead to infection. I lost track of how many she received. One thing is certain, depending on how many cuts she got, especially with that transformation of hers and the train impact, her magic might try to fight off the infection and she could get very ill. Without the proper treatment, she could die. She'd need the necessary healing before I can figure out if she used Maleficent's scepter or if she's just a threat that I need to dispose of."
"Should we sneak into the train to provide medication?" Junk asked.
"Yeah, and why not reveal our status as spies?" Kit spoke sarcastically. "You never think!"
"Kit's right. The best we can do for the moment is ensure that nothing else goes wrong as the train goes to the Troll lands. Once there, the Trolls will be able to cure off the infections. And since we need to go there, I can continue the next phase."
Back in Auradon
It had taken a couple a couple days, but Evie finally managed to reveal her big idea to the group. At the conference room, she undraped the item that, with permission, she had taken from the museum and resized.
"Your magic mirror?" Mal asked.
"I don't see why not," Evie shrugged. "If it could tell my mother where Snow White was, it could tell us where Audrey is."
"You're certain it will work?" Queen Aurora looked desperate.
"Fairy Godmother and I had it resized so that it's no longer mirror in the hand but mirror on the wall. Hopefully he won't be as lippy as he was with my mom." Evie clasped her hands and faced the mirror. She didn't even bother to recheck her makeup. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, how are you doing after all?"
"Finally! Somebody who starts a decent conversation with me!" The green face of the mirror rolled his empty eye sockets. "Do you have any idea how annoying your mother was? Always a 'who's the fairest of them all' this or 'who's the fairest of them all' that! And she never asks me if I'm doing well! She never even bothered to have me repaired while I was stuck in her pocket! That's seven years of bad luck for her! At least YOU didn't constantly nag me with questions about your vanity! Thank god there's such a thing as humble feminism!"
"Uh… thanks." Evie glanced at the others, who just looked speechless. "I was wondering if you could show me where our friend Audrey is. You know, Sleeping Beauty's daughter?"
"Even if you asked me in a rhyming question where she was, I can't locate her with my magic." The green face shook its head.
"What do you mean? Is she dead?"
Aurora and her mother looked like they wanted to sob.
"She's not dead. My magic can only determine that she's still living, but something has changed. Your friend must have done something to herself so that my magic no longer recognizes her as the Auradonian she was. In a way, it's as if Princess Audrey has disappeared and a new Audrey has moved on, permanently detached from her home. I cannot trace someone I don't know."
Evie thought of something. "Audrey left with Gothy Gothel. Do you think that if you can locate Gothy Gothel, you can show us where she and Audrey are?"
"I'm seeing something… Yes, I see Gothy Gothel. They are moving further east, where the Auradon Wall is many lands away. Let me show you what I see." The green face disappeared and the glass turned green. Then, a visual appeared. They immediately saw Gothy's face. She looked like she was in a frantic state and they got their answer when the mirror zoomed out to reveal that she was in some sort of train cabin, looking in anguish as an unconscious Audrey was being tended to by some candy-themed young man. Two teenage girls looked miserably at the scene.
"Well?" Gothy's demanding voice spoke up through the static.
"Hey, give me some slack!" The young man snapped as he finished wrapping Audrey's right arm with bandages. "OK, done."
"So what's the verdict?"
"I'll have you know that just because I know a few Oompa-Loompa healing creams DOES NOT MAKE ME A LICENSED MEDIC!" The young man snapped. "So save me your criticism! You're the one who accidentally broke the brake!"
"And you thought it was a genius idea to throw caramelized chocolate in the engine!"
"Is Audrey going to be OK?" The youngest of the teenagers, some gothic carnival girl, looked rather guilty as Audrey seemed to struggle in her unconsciousness. Through her bandages, small pink auras could be seen.
"I really can't tell you, Beatrice." The young man shook his head solemnly. "The best case scenario is that she isn't dead. Her magic's still fighting off the internal infections of Indimia Rex's strikes. My lotions will work on disinfecting the external parts."
"W… What's the worst case scenario?" The small Beatrice bit her lip. Some of the witnesses actually bit back the tears as the watched the whole thing on the mirror.
"Well… one scratch of that dinosaur would have killed a mere human. Audrey took in a countless amount of hits. Her magic is taking a lot of energy to self-heal and a lot of energy was wasted when she transformed. The worst I can say is that by tomorrow morning, she'll have a very bad fever, and if we don't reach the Troll lands at least before lunch… well, you know what exorcism looks like, right?"
Beatrice coiled in a nearby chair, shuddering in horror. "Let's not get all unraveled!" The other teenager said dismissively. "The Bloody Bambi's pulling the train faster than it took Jareth to understand that Sarah never liked him."
"Your dad never got over her. Audrey said you practically wasted 3 minutes of singing how he never got over it!" Gothy said.
"Exactly! Jareth never got over it, but the Bloody Bambi is a whole lot faster in acknowledgement! I say, he'll have the train arrive at the Troll lands by 9am tomorrow at most."
"I doubt that Audrey's deranged animal sidekick could get there before noon," the young man shook his head. "I'll gladly bet it, and if you lose, you shut up for the entirety of the trip until you guys get as far away as possible from me."
"Sure. But if I win, I get a lifetime supply of candy AND you and I exchanged thirteen goblins for thirteen Oompa-Loompas!"
The young man looked horrified. "I'd rather die than have my poor Oompa-Loompas drown in that filthy bog of yours!"
"Why do you think we call it the Bog of Eternal Stench?"
"Why can you not grasp the concept of Wonka sarcasm and that I was not insulting your bog, but your entire kingdom?" And just like that, the visual of the two strangers bickering, Gothy being further exasperated, and Beatrice constantly looking at the unconscious Audrey, vanished on the magic mirror's glass.
"So…" Evie broke the uneasy silence. "Bad news, Audrey's hurt. Medium news, she's being taken care off by strangers who argue like sitcom actors. Good news, Gothy still has her mind straight."
"I should be very grateful for Gothy and that little girl Beatrice…" Leah sighed gratefully while her daughter stroked her hand. "They're taking such good care of her."
"Things are not going well…" Mal shook her head. "Audrey and Gothy are too far from Auradon, we have no idea where Charles is out there, I don't know how long I can keep up the lie until Penna realizes that I lied to her and Audrey's sauntering around her turf, and to boot it all, Audrey could die tomorrow! And to think that the best hope she has to reach a medic is with that demonic stag!"
"Yeah, speaking of demonic, where's Hades?" Jay asked.
"He's taking round trips around Hell to see if he can identify Audrey's demon," Mal explained.
"But… there must be around a million sinners in Hell!" Leah exclaimed. "And a day in Auradon is like a month down there!"
"He makes sure to only spend 6 human hours in Hell per day. For the citizens of Hell, it's like he only comes for one day on monthly visits. He's trying to go as quickly as he can to discreetly find out who the demon is, but so far he has no luck."
"Why would he need to be discreet?" Ben asked.
"After I told Dad what Charles had told us, he said that a human who has summoned a demon but who has yet to perform a contract is like an aging cheese waiting to be devoured by rats. If he just said it out there that a human princess had summoned but still not performed a contract with a demon, other demons could try to steal his place and trick Audrey into a contract. She'd be put into bigger trouble than she is now."
"So… either avoid the impossible and become the demon's servant after death, or be conned into a contract worse than anything by another demon." Ben grimaced.
"Or just go through with it and do a contract with the demon…"
"Or give her a phone call," the magic mirror suggested. "Ironically, I picked up Audrey's cellphone signal. It's still in her bag."
Everyone stared at Leah as she grabbed her phone and started dialing.
Back on the train
The group jumped in fright when a phone beeping startled them, and thanks to a bump in the tracks, Audrey's bag accidentally opened up and a vibrating pink phone slid on the floor.
"Ah! Audrey's grandmother!" Gothy panicked when she saw the picture of the one calling.
"Wow. With a face like that, I can understand why Audrey was so intimidated!" Beatrice whistled as she picked up the phone.
"Don't answer it!" Willywaffle cringed. "It's banned to communicate with Auradon! We could get in trouble! WHY ON EARTH IS THERE INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY WITH AURADON?"
"I ask the same thing about why French chargers are so different from American chargers." Crystal rolled her eyes.
"Relax! I'll mock her grandmother on the phone, I'll go shred the device at the disposal wagon, and I'll buy Audrey a new one at the gift shop wagon! Easy peasy!" Beatrice hit the answer button and put the call on speaker. "Hello?"
"A… Audrey? Is it you?" The old woman spoke through the phone.
"Sorry, we don't give senior priority in health insurance for those who are exorcists or who survived the bubonic plague! Make sure to increase your plastic surgeons' hourly rates!" And just like that, Beatrice hung up. "Voilà!
Crystal and Willywaffle applauded. "Neat job, Bea!" Crystal whistled.
"I agree. Now go burn off that phone!" Willywaffle pointed at the door.
"I definitely think I can get Audrey a duplicate of that phone…" Beatrice whistled her way out of the cabin. The others were too busy continuing to talk that they didn't notice Beatrice snapping herself from the corridor to the wagon's pool. Her fingers became pixelated as she hacked the phone, transforming it into a black-and-white phone of her liking and with entire access to Audrey's phone's content. She managed to find the number of the grandmother and dialed it.
"Audrey? Please tell me it's you!" The grandmother begged.
"Don't you think you've done enough?" Beatrice asked coldly. "Audrey doesn't need you people to suffocate her again!"
"Suffocate? No, you don't understand! We're worried about her! We fear something bad will happen to her!"
"Gee, I wonder why," Beatrice retorted drily. "You know, I hope you aren't using some sort of technology or magic to spy on your granddaughter, because I'd have to report to some particular experts that Auradonian monarchs are harassing refugees and spying on us. I should warn, the monarchs in our side of the wall would be beyond enraged if they start thinking that Auradon is trying to steal their lands again. Spy on Audrey again, and I will tell on you!"
"You must understand… I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"Beatrice Deetz. Then again, you and the other monarchs should know my dad very well. Say his name three times and he'll remind you why he's the ghost with the most. Say MY name three times, and you'll figure out why I'm very much my daddy's girl." Beatrice's hold on the phone tightened again. "I'll be clear one last time. Audrey chose to come here. She chose to be her own person and find her own life. She has better friends who actually take care of her while you guys left her in the dust when she could solve your pathetic problems. She's the best person I've ever met in the world and twice she got injured protecting me from some assholes! So unless you want me to appear in Auradon to screw your eyeballs out and stick them in your mouth, leave her alone!"
And to that, Beatrice hung up the phone and shoved it inside her shirt.
Back in Auradon
Leah's eyes were still wide open from the call she had just gotten. At this rate, she probably shouldn't have put it on speaker for everyone to hear.
"Charming friend," Mal said sarcastically. "Now what?"
