Pestering Pigface

Linka and Jose stare into the blinding light, as Greedly walks towards them, looking for a way out. He laughs and snorts, as his henchmen close in from the sides. Behind them, the duct rattles slightly for a moment.

"You eco pests have bothered me for the last time." Hoggish Greedly says, reaching into his pocket, just as he walks past a trashcan.

No one in the room notices a slight rumbling in the air vent. Just visible in the darkness is Wheeler.

"Hey Pigface, you like porkchops?" He suddenly yells from the duct. "Fire!"

His ring glows and the trashcan beside Greedly bursts into flames, causing the villain to jump back as the two men with him run for fire extinguishers. Greedly looks up as he kicks the grate off of the vent and jumps down into the room. Seizing the moment, Jose runs for the door, and trips one of the henchmen, causing the fire extinguisher to fall to the floor. THUMP! WHOOSH! As it hits, it goes off spraying Greedly in the face. As he runs to grab it, he steps in the water and crashes to the floor.

"Run guys!" Wheeler yells. "I'll keep Hoggy busy for a little while. Hey, maybe you shouldn't have stuffed down that last sandwich, greedy!"

Linka moves to the door, as Wheeler backs away. Dripping wet, Greedly gets up making fists as his face turns red. SNORT! SNORT!

"Forget the trees, I'm going to cut you down, eco brat!" Greedly yells, charging at Wheeler, who throws a chair.

"You gotta catch me first!" Wheeler yells, leading him away from Jose and Linka. "And right now, that's just not happening."

Ducking and dodging, Wheeler leads Greedly out into the hall, taunting him with insults and mock pig noises. Turning the corner, the chase is on, as he races down the hall.

"Come on hog, you're slowing down!" Wheeler yells, waving at him. "Oink! Oink! Greedly!"

Greedly's face turns dark red, and he charges Wheeler with all his might, swinging his fists. Meanwhile, Linka and Jose stand and race for the door. Ducking, they turn and run down the hall towards the exit, flash drive in hand. As they leave, Wheeler, ducks and runs at Greedly once more, knocking him to the ground.

"You're going to pay for that, Pest-a-teer!" Greedly yells, shaking his head.

"Come on Wheeler!" Linka yells, holding the door. "Time to go!"

"Sorry Pig Face, but I'm a busy guy!" Wheeler yells with a laugh. "You'll have to send me the bill!"

"You're not too busy for me to fry your chops!" Greedly yells back, giving chase once more.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Footsteps echo as the two of them dash off down a dark hall. Soon the sounds of falling things and doors slamming echo. Linka and Jose stand transfixed on the corridor, as murky shapes fade into the distance. Soon, it fades to voices, but nothing can be seen. Jose looks around at the empty corridor, listening. Suddenly, he grabs her shirt sleeve and gives it a tug.

"Linka, he's covering for us. Let's go!" Jose calls, and they take off down the hall.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Together they race towards the exit. As they turn the last corner, a guard spots them and points.

"Hey, get those intruders!" He yells, as several other guards come out of side rooms.

The two planeteers, dash for the exit, as an alarm goes off. Behind them footsteps fill the hall and two people before them begin to close the door. Just as one of the men is about to barricade the door, she points her ring.

"Wind!" Linka calls out.

Suddenly, a swirling tornado appears out of nowhere, sweeping the men off of their feet, and flinging the doors wide open. Jose leads the way, as they race into the darkness. Moments later, the men jump to their feet and the chase is on again. The two youth duck and turn, running down black trails in the forest, with only a little moonlight to guide them. Behind them are footsteps.

"You can't get away that easy!" One of the men yells.

"Oh, where is Wheeler?" Linka sighs, shaking her head. "Come on, get out of there!"

Jose tugs on her arm, and they begin to run again. At times, she struggles, but stays on her feet just barely. Click, a flashlight comes on from behind them, bathing them in light. Stumbling, the flash drive falls from Linka's pocket.

"What's that?" One of the guards asks, shining a light on it.

"Hey, call the boss!" The other yells. "These kids stole Plunder's computer files. Quick, get that back!"

Linka turns around seeing one of the guards running for the flash drive and quickly dashes back. The race is on as the two of them dive for the tiny USB, knowing whoever gets it first has Plunder's secret files. As the man is about to grab the device, Linka points her ring at him.

"Wind!"

A sharp gust of wind forces him back and she slides across the ground, just grabbing it as she rolls out of the way. The stranger flies into a nearby bush and Linka turns to run once more. As she takes off, she nearly trips, but just manages to hold on to her precious win and its secrets. Racing as fast as she can, two more guys appear behind her.

"Bozhe moy! How many of these people do Plunder and Greedly have?" She says breaking to the left. "Hurry, we don't have much time!"

Jose stays close as they run and duck, trying to stay out of sight while crawling deeper into the cover of the forest. Every so often, they look back, only to hear footsteps in the dark.

"Do these people ever give up?" Jose asks. "If only we could disappear."

"That's it!" Linka says racing down a long path to a tree. "It's time to lose these guys. Grab on!"

Linka points her ring at the ground just as Jose grabs on. "Wind!"

A swirling jet of air lifts them high in the air and drops them near the top of a tall tree among the thick branches and leaves. Holding on tightly, they stay still and wait. After a few minutes, the men appear below. Several run by, but two pause, looking around with their flashlight for a clue to where they went. The strangers walk back and forth, searching with their lights.

"Sir, the footprints stop here." One of the men says.

"Keep looking, they went somewhere."

Back and forth, they walk, sweeping with their lights, and shaking the bushes nearby. Soon, Linka's foot begins to slip. As she moves to hold on, her foot comes off the branch and she begins to fall, just grabbing a branch. Shh! The leaves rattle, drawing attention from the people below. Throwing her leg over the nearest limb, she clings with all of her might, as one of the men shines his light up.

"Hey, I heard something! What's up there?"

The light sweeps back and forth for a moment. Twice, they just miss Linka by a few inches.

"It's probably an animal. This forest is full of all kinds of strange stuff!" The other man says.

The men circle the tree once more, before walking away. Below everything becomes quiet, but they wait and hold their place for a few minutes. Slowly, Linka looks over at Jose and exhales slightly. Now she leans down, and gazes around, studying the scene.

"Okay!" She says, and they begin to climb down. "Now, where are we? I hope Wheeler got out of there."

"Do you still have the flash drive?"

Linka feels her pocket for a moment, then becomes frantic, before reaching into her top vest pocket. Now she gasps, before pulling it out with a sigh.

"Bozhe moy! That was close!" She sighs, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "But we still don't know where Wheeler is."

With a deep breath, Jose slowly loosens his grip, then climbs down from the tree. Dropping the last few feet, he catches himself and kneels for a moment. He gazes around, before running over and ducking behind a nearby bush. After a moment, he slowly peaks out.

"Okay, all clear!" He says softly, waving to her.

Linka jumps from the tree and runs over beside him. Once more, they look around, before running out of the trail and hiding among some nearby trees. They wait, then slowly stand, and move on. Suddenly, in the dark, they hear something moving. Jose steps back, and Linka points her ring, as the bushes begin to move. Backing away, the shaking grows stronger.

"Come out from there, now!" Linka shouts.

"Whoa Babe!" Wheeler says, holding his hands up as he pushes his way through. "I'm on your side."

"Wheeler!" Linka cries out, leaping into his arms and hugging him. "I was afraid that Greedly caught you."

"Naw!" Wheeler says, brushing her off with a wave and a grin. "I told you I could take on the big pig. Now let's get those files back to the others."

"Oh, Yankee cowboy!" Linka replies playfully, pretending to be angry. "You need to think, not just do!"

"Can we go now, you two? Plunder is probably at the door to Ma-Ti's home by now, and you want to catch up." Jose says, leading them into the darkness.

Suddenly the sound of cracking trees, followed by a loud boom, fills the air, causing all three of them to jump. In the distance, something flickers brightly, as if the rainforest was on fire.

"NO!" Wheeler screams, looking on in horror. "Not my little buddy!"

"Ma-Ti!" Linka cries out. "We must get there somehow!"