Chapter Thirty: Jester Faces His Fears
Jester searched all around the upper floor looking for the kid. Blade was downstairs in pain and needed some immediate medical attention, but he had searched ten rooms and none of them had the kid or Torch in it. When Blade was all healed he promised to learn himself some first-aid and maybe some engineering to help Blade or his other brothers in the future.
He turned a corner and nearly ran back back the other way when he caught sight of a huge black scorpion wrestling with an equally huge hairy brown spider. But his quick eyes caught the fact that they weren't wrestling. The black scorpion was trying to help the spider from an entrapment it had managed to trap itself in.
He eased his way back around the corner to stay out of their sight and watched as the scorpion tried using its pincers and tail to open the trap. It moved to try another angle and Jester saw that the trap had ensnared the spider around its abdomen. Half of its body was trapped and it was left practically defenseless with just its thorax and four legs available.
He was shaking from their sheer size but he didn't like to see any creature in pain, unless it was a greedy or abusive human. Tenderizing the cowboy's meat with a meat tenderizer fourteen years ago brought the mischievous grin to his face. The spider hissing in pain brought him back and helped resolve his fear to help the poor thing so he coughed to get their attention.
The scorpion turned around and spotted him and was immediately on guard, stepping in front of the spider and posing for battle.
"Um, hello there," Jester began nervously. "Uh, can you . . . can you understand me?" he asked, tugging at his collar.
The scorpion didn't budge for a moment, keeping its stinger at the ready and quietly thrum-hissing.
"Uh, I uh, (ahem) do you need any help with that?"
Who are you? the scorpion growled, snapping its pincers.
"I-I'm Jester." Jester gulped, his knees shaking. "I'm looking for . . . for um, t-the kid?" he rasped.
What do you want with him? the scorpion asked.
"M-my brother's in pain a-and is a patient of his."
What is wrong with your brother?
"H-He's got a broken leg. I-I mean, a brand new leg and is going through therapy."
Pain is inevitable during recovery. the scorpion hissed.
"Y-Yeah, I know that. But . . ." by now Jester was ready to cry. "Could you please point me in the kid's direction?"
You said you could help.
"I can, and I will, but I'd like you to help me in return." Jester whimpered.
The scorpion narrowed its electronic blue eyes at him and gave off a low thrumming hiss. Are you afraid?
"Y-Yes, v-very afraid." Jester whispered, he was shaking violently now and started to back away.
Why?
"I-I was attacked by two scorpions a-and three tarantulas here once."
Lies! We do not attack without cause! the scorpion yelled and took a step forward.
Jester whimpered and closed in on himself, his shaking getting even more violent. "But their eyes weren't blue likes yours or your brothers! They were red!" he cried in a high pitch voice.
Red eyes? The scorpion asked, lowering its stinger.
"Y-y-yes, a-a-and pulsated with evil."
The Guardian has told us of our fallen brothers and sisters in the overgrowth by the cliff bank, along with another creature that stank of human.
"S-Sutekh's totems."
Our master gives us blue eyes as favor to the brother. Red eyes shows possession from another who wishes to do harm on innocents.
"Master?" Jester asked softly.
The Kid. Though he doesn't like it when we refer to him as such.
"That's what Torch said." Jester smiled, feeling a little calmed.
Who is this Torch you speak of? the scorpion asked, after being tapped by the spider.
"Torch is my brother. The last one created by my Father." Jester answered.
Created by your father?
"A-Andre Toulon. Though, father was dead when he made him."
How can the dead create life?
Jester looked up at the scorpion. "We . . . He made this formula that can bring us to life and we used it to bring him back because we missed him."
A potion cannot bring back the dead.
"We figured that when he wanted immortality."
The world is already full of living humans, why fill it with dead ones brought back to life as well?
"Hey, he was my father and he loved us! We wanted our kind, caring master back because the one who found us abused us when he got what wanted!"
Another human garnering for immortality from your magic potion?
"Well, . . . yeah, but we've been careful about choosing masters after Gallagher and Dead Toulon afterwards, and it paid off. We had a new master named Rick Myers."
The bio-mechanic? the scorpion asked.
"Y . . . Yeah, how'd you guess?"
We've lived here for over a hundred years. We know what has been happening and who has passed these halls.
"You do? Well then you must have seen father before he . . . before he killed himself." Jester said the last part quietly.
Is that who it was? He was very interesting. We watched him doing a paint job on one of his creations and muttered 'alive, come alive' once.
Jester was stunned. "That . . . That was me. Father was fixing me up before hiding us away in a secret panel and killing himself before the Nazis got a hold of him."
Well now, it is a small world after all. the scorpion chuckled and finally relaxed, raising its stinger and allowed Jester to help. In return, the spider led him to Chug who was in the attic room that used to be Rick's room, zapping away on something.
"Kid! Kid!" Jester yelled, jumping up and down trying to get Chug's attention. Luckily Torch noticed him and stopped Chug from what he was doing and pointed him out.
"Jester, what are you doing here?" he asked, lifting the little puppet up and into his lap.
"Blade needs help. He said his leg is hurting too much to continue the therapy." Jester answered in a worried tone.
"Pain is inev-" Chug began, but was interrupted by Jester.
"It's inevitable, I know, but there's something else." Jester said and told him about the seamless leg he found.
"Seamless? Are you sure it isn't the glue?" Chug questioned.
"Yes, I'm sure. I know what to look for." Jester said.
"Hmm, that does sound a bit peculiar." Chug mumbled and looked over at the scorpion and tarantula that had escorted Jester, addressing the tarantula first. "Maybelle, go find Kegs and tell him about Jester's findings. I'll meet him there. Polaris, you stay here and make sure nobody sees these." he said, gathering some blueprints together into a pile and set the scorpion on it.
It saluted with its tail and sat down.
"Now, let's go see what's wrong with your brother."
