The kings were up to something.
While Brady and Boomer had their 'twinstinct' that made them feel each other's pain occasionally, Boz had a sixth sense of his own. whether it was a mere gut feeling or something more, he couldn't tell, but he did know in his core that Brady and Boomer were up to no good tonight.
Boz looked in their bedroom – as expected, it was empty. There was no sign of his brothers anywhere. Luckily, he had an idea as to where these two could have gone. As Boz still kind of remembered the little riddle, he kind of knew where he needed to go as well.
That did not mean that traversing the jungle with crutches had become any easier, even if Boz was only now getting the hang of it. By the time the cast came off and he didn't need the crutches anymore, Boz would be a jungle parkour crutch champion or something. He wished he could have carried a light source with him, but with his hands full, he had to do without a lantern or a flashlight. At least the full moon provided him with some light tonight.
Boz continued to the valley of geysers – aptly named by the Nanju people. However, a scared explorer had given this valley its current name, based solely on his personal experience with this semi-volatile patch of land deep within the jungle's Light Side. That was also the name currently in use by most of Kinkow's people, and the name was written on all maps.
And then, a little away from him, he heard the kings' voices.
"You know, this place is called the Panic Valley for a reason," Brady said. Boz followed the sound to find them.
"I'm sure it's named after you," Boomer said. A geyser chose this moment to spew its water and Boomer screamed as if he were under attack. Boz hurried closer until he realized Boomer probably screamed because the geyser spewed in his face.
Boz came on time to see the geyser die down and see Boomer stand right next to it, recovering from the fright of having a geyser blow up near him.
"That was scary!" Boomer commented. Then he spotted the guard in training, coming closer to them as well as he could, trying not to accidentally place one of the crutches in or near a geyser. It was almost like navigating a minefield.
"Hey, Boz!" Brady greeted him. If they were still confused and wondered what he was doing here, they've learned not to question it out loud.
"What did I tell you two weeks ago?" Boz said. "I wanna be involved."
After their mummy adventure, he thought they were going to invite him to further adventures, be they stupid, life-threatening or just mundane. Maybe he'd placed too much faith in their ability to remember to bring anyone with them.
"But you didn't want to go to the village with us," Boomer said.
"And you laughed with Mason and Mikayla," Brady added.
Really, that's why they didn't ask him to come along? It was reasonable, considering these were good reasons in their minds, but that didn't mean Boz agreed with their reasoning. He did understand where they were coming from, though.
"Just because I don't want to go to the village doesn't mean I don't want to go on a jungle adventure with you guys. Also, Mason's laugh is quite infectious. You try not laughing when he is." There was just something about that loud, thundering laugh that always made Boz want to laugh along, no matter the circumstance. "How can I help?"
"We're looking for the X," Boomer said. He pointed at the map, and Boz took a quick look at it. If he remembered the locations from the riddle correctly, he might be able to get them to that X without too much hassle.
"Right. I know the way," Boz told them. "Let's get moving, then."
Somehow, it felt strange that Brady and Boomer trusted that a guard in training, who was just as new to the island as they were, knew his way around as if he had lived here for years. Maybe they'd already forgotten that he was an immigrant, supposedly.
"You want a wishing coin for yourself, don't you?" Brady then asked.
Boz shrugged. "No, not really. You can have them."
If wishing coins existed – which Boz was still not sure about – he did not need them. He didn't necessarily want anything now, and what he did want wasn't something you should wish into being – much like Brady shouldn't wish for Mikayla's love.
Something rustled in the bushes. The three stopped, silent, some terrified as to what might come through. To their surprise and relief, it was just Lanny.
"Lanny?" Brady asked. "What are you doing here, creeping in the woods?"
Lanny hadn't seen the kings and Boz before Brady had spoken. He had been caught in the act, and for just a moment, he stuttered.
"I'm on my midnight hike," he said unconvincingly. He may be a good liar, but when he was surprised and had to think on the spot, it might not be the best. Also, Lanny carried a shovel, so it wasn't just a midnight hike, as he claimed.
"Lanny, you can't fool us," Brady said. "Our cousin is trying to dig us a jungle hot tub, aren't you?"
Lanny nodded in relief – his true plans weren't found out, and he still got the kings' support.
"You got me," their cousin said. "You guys can read me like a book!"
Lanny was invited to come along and look for those wishing coins – it was about time they left the Panic Valley, anyway. Another geyser spewed some water in Boomer's face, making him scream once again.
"Now I really need that clean underwear tree!" Boomer exclaimed, and Boz shook his head. Let's go to the X and possibly debunk this idea.
When they almost reached the site of the X, the kings could barely contain their excitement. Even Lanny, who had to put up with that excitement for most of the walk, was starting to be excited. They were almost there. They could almost start digging. They just needed to find the X on the border between the lava lands and the normal jungle. It had to be around here somewhere…
Someone fell out of a tree. Everyone in the group turned their heads and were shocked – it was Mason.
"Just trying to remember where I parked my canoe," Mason said, looking around in the trees. He tried, but this lie was just too ludicrous for the kings, and Mason couldn't keep it up too long. "Okay, I lied, I'm here for the treasure."
"You make me sick," Brady reacted. Mason did have a good reason – how else was he going to get his hands on the world's largest machete?
"You just wanted a stupid sword!" Mikayla exclaimed. She had been the best at sneaking around, as nobody had noticed her until she popped out of the bushes to scold her dad for, in her eyes, such a stupid wish.
"Mikayla's here, too?" Boomer said. "This wasn't an island paradise, but a jungle full of lies!"
"A family of thieves," Lanny added. "We should lock them in the dungeon."
"We should not," Boz quickly said but the kings were more likely to listen to Lanny than the guard in training. They eyed the two guards and seemed completely on board with Lanny's idea until Mason suggested the Makoolas dig the holes. Brady accepted them back, handing them their shovels, and the group continued on their way.
After this encounter, it did not take them too long to find the X. Mikayla spotted it first, and everyone else rushed there as fast as they could. Boz, with his crutches, was significantly slower. He barely made it when the shovels first hit the ground.
Boz stopped – he heard a sound that should not be in the jungle, and he took a step back. Just in time – a wooden cage fell down, trapping the Makoolas, kings, and Lanny inside. They were so blinded by their desire for treasure and wishes, none of them had noticed the cage hanging there, waiting to fall.
Boz should have seen it, but didn't. Maybe he was too focused on the perfectly marked X on the ground that looked too good to be true. As it turns out, it was too good.
He had to get them out of there.
"Boz, behind you!" Brady exclaimed.
Boz just had time to turn around. The group of pirates emerged from the jungle. The pirate closest to him held something in his hand – Boz couldn't clearly see it, but while he turned, it hit him hard on his forehead. Boz hit the ground and fell unconscious.
Boz woke up to the sound of someone repeatedly hitting some wood. He stirred – his head might as well have exploded. At least his leg didn't ache more than it normally did, though it was itchy. Hopefully, no ants had crawled in. He wasn't sure whether that was possible, but the idea was in his head now and it grossed him out.
He quickly sat up – too quickly; the world around him spun and he barely could make out who was in this cage with him. But he could see them as shadows, and they came more into focus as Boz's head got used to this upright position.
"Boz?" Mason asked, his eyes presumably on the young man who jerked up.
"Are you okay?" Mikayla asked. Didn't sound very friendly. She was irritated. Did it have something to do with the repeated hammering that hadn't stopped since Boz woke up?
"That better not become a habit," Boz said, scooting backward until his back hit one of the wooden bars, so he could lean against them. If he was going to come along with Brady and Boomer's adventures, it better not always end up with him losing consciousness at an inopportune time. "How's everyone?"
Mikayla might have wanted to answer, but her attention was drawn to the ceaseless hammering. She turned her head to Boomer.
"For the twentieth time: that's not working!" she told him. Boomer stopped whatever he was doing – Boz couldn't see, and turned to Mikayla.
"I am not losing my brother," Boomer complained, "I already lost my underwear tree and he was supposed to have spry tidy—"
"Sweet Kuki Maluki!" Lanny exclaimed. He too was fed up with Boomer's attitude. "Enough about your stupid underwear tree! What a dumb wish."
Boz agreed with Lanny – that was a stupid wish. For some reason, Mason brought up his machete wish again and how it might have helped them escape. From one thing came another, and soon Mikayla confided in the group that she did not want Mason to treat her like she was a little girl because she was more than capable of looking after themselves.
While that was going on, Boz dug his fingers in the loose soil he sat in, so his finger had something do to. It hit something smooth. He followed it with his fingers – it was round, flat, small. A coin, perhaps. Boz quietly pocketed the coin – might as well grab a souvenir, to remember he shouldn't let anyone hit him in the head again.
"Snowboarding!" the pirate kid piped in. "My wish is to become a pro-snowboarder!"
He probably should go to colder places if that was his dream – the closest Kinkow ever got to snowboarding was lava sledding, and that did not end well.
"You know," Mikayla said in a light flirtatious tone, "I think snowboarders are really cool."
Boz frowned, as Boomer and Mason were equally confused. Lanny wasn't really paying attention – he was fiddling with the wooden vertical bars, in an attempt to escape. With a bit of help, Lanny might be small enough to fit through. Boze watched Lanny fiddle more with those bars and did not pay attention at all to what Mikayla was doing.
When Boz turned his head as he heard some congratulations for her, he spotted the pirate kid. His hands were inside the cage, which Mikayla had bound together with a piece of fabric she must have torn off her outfit. Or did she always carry something like that, for the occasion? Either way, it was smart to get him to be tied up to the cage, especially as he was the only pirate left at the scene.
"Hey!" Lanny drew the attention. "Help me squeeze through these bars!"
As Boz was still not in shape to help, the others did. They pushed Lanny through the bars – and it worked. The cousin did not look back as he hurried back to the castle, giving no regard to the prisoners who were still in the cage and who wouldn't all fit through the small hole Lanny had gone through.
That's when he noticed only four people were left in the cage, himself included.
"Wait, where's Brady?" Boz wondered. How had he not noticed before? Surely he'd gotten used to Brady's presence enough the past months that not seeing Brady was unusual.
Boomer took it upon himself to tell Boz what's up. "The pirates overheard an argument between me and Brady – the coins were fake, by the way. You know, he's scared to be alone, and he told me that it was his quick thinking that always saved me. Can you believe it? Brady and I can survive on our own!"
Boz frowned. "Why would you fight, you're brothers?"
"Well…" Boomer said, unsure how to answer. "It's part of being brothers. You fight."
"But you also forgive," Boz said. "Look, I was unconscious when that happened, but you're brothers. Kings! You shouldn't fight. Think of all you can accomplish together. Maybe you'll destroy the Dark Side one day. The sky's the limit when you work together! Not to say you won't be your own people or be strong on your own, but you just are stronger together. Believe me – you can be your own person and still love your brother enough. That bond you have is unbreakable."
For a moment, there was silence. Then, Boomer's hands shot to his back.
"Auch, my back!" he screamed.
"Was it that bad?" Boz wondered. Surely his words couldn't have been that bad that Boomer's back ached.
"No, it's our twinstinct!" Boomer responded. "Brady's getting his butt kicked!"
Then Boomer was seemingly thrown all around the cage by an invisible force – the pain that Brady was experiencing. They tried to avoid Boomer, but Boz couldn't do much as Boomer collided with him. The king uttered an apology before being flung right into Mason, and they fell.
"Look up!" Boomer said as he got up. "The roof! There's a bar loose!"
They all looked up – Boomer wasn't wrong. This was the time he had to get up. His head spun a little, but Boz fought through the feeling. He could feel miserable once he got out of the cage.
After Boomer's attempts to pull Mikayla in the air were unsuccessful, Mason took it over from him. He first lifted Mikayla in the air, then chose to get Boz out of there before Boomer. Boz climbed through the hole created by Mikayla and slowly climbed down, helped by Mikayla and stopping for a moment when black dots danced within his field of vision. At long last, there was solid ground under his feet again and he took a moment to recover.
Mikayla grabbed his crutches and gave it to him while Boomer landed outside of the cage and Mason climbed out on his own. When they all were out, they went back to the castle as quickly as they could, at Boz's pace.