Chapter Thirty-Four: A Surprise Present For Jester
Chug was on his way up the stairs to his room because Jester told him to go to sleep first before he or Blade did any work on the totems. He would have argued but Jester's screech had him him up and out of the chair in five seconds, screaming out his agreement. Man, Jester can be so persuasive. He reminded Chug of when he used to be that persuasive. Jester and Blade were a lot like he and Kegs in many ways.
Jester would look up to Blade for protection the way he used to with Kegs back at the Academy. Blade would throw the biggest fit if he was confined to limited mobility the same way Kegs would if he was grounded and confined to Amanda's office, bith yelled and pouted a lot in these fits. Jester didn't like the yelling or loud noise in general unless it was about having fun, and didn't like to harm innocent creatures just like him.
Jester may have a bad case of arachnophobia, but it wasn't strong enough to stop him from getting help for his brother. Chug was the same way. Chug didn't like wandering the halls of the Academy by himself unless he absolutely had to or if Kegs was with him, but when Kegs was placed in the hospital when he was fifteen Chug had no choice. Amanda would sometimes take him to classes when she could, but as the Head Administrative, she couldn't take a lot of time off to do so.
And then when Kegs was finally released, he was still too fragile, and a lot of former bullies took advantage of that. Chug had found his strength from that and was able to fend off the bullies by throwing an old out-of-order washing machine at the, barely missing his brother.
And so their cycle of protecting one another began and he was soon just as dangerous as Kokiri bythe time his own fifteenth birthday arrived.
Chug entered his room, closed the door, tossed his hat onto hisndesk and then flopped down on his bed with a loud, tired sigh, barely missing Torch when he landed. "Hey Torch." he smiled and pulled himself up to the heaboard. "What'cha readin'?" he asked, pulling Torch and the book he was holding onto his lap.
"Um, (closes book to read title) Treasure Island." Torch answered, scooting closer to Master when Master took the book away and placed an arm around him.
"I love this book. Would you like me to finish reading it to you?" he asked.
Torch nodded and they both made themselves comfortable under the covers.
.
Blade and Jester had been taken back to the lobby of the hotel, not wanting to go back through the kitchens. Blade wasn't done testing out his new leg so he suggested they go up to the kid's room and see if he had any books on paleontology.
"Why?" Jester asked.
"Because the brother suggested it when we were watching that movie," Blade said heading over towards the elevator.
"But why paleontology?" Jester asked.
"His ship is based off of a creature called a lio- . . . liople . . . something. It's called a somthing. But I'm sure we'll recognize it when we see it." Blade said, reaching the elevator and pulled at the doors.
Jester helped but they were barely strong enough to slide it open enough for Jester to slip through. Blade used his new leg to push himself against the door frame to get through and fell in when the doors automatically opened up on its own accord then closed again.
Jester climbed up to the buttons and pushed the sixth floor button then jumped down to help Blade up. "So, how was it? Did you hurt yourself?" he asked, dusting Blade's back. Chug had taken the coat for repairs but had prmised to bring the clothes trunk so Blade could get another one after he rested.
"Works just like a leg." Blade said and wiggled his toes inside the boot. "My toes spread apart. Having toes is . . . quite a new feeling."
"The sawdust paste grafted over it with ligaments and things, didn't it?" Jester asked, tapping his index fingers together.
"Yeah, why?" Blade asked.
"Do you have a sense of touch on them?" Jester asked.
"I don't know. We'll find out later, ok?" Blade said and stepped off the elevator, the doors having opened themselves when it went 'ding'.
They headed up the stairs to the attic room and knocked on the door.
"Why are we knocking? We know a way in." Jester said and turned but Blade grabbed his shirt collar with his hook to hold him back.
"Because the kid has probably put up one of his security systems in the ducts and we might get caught in one of his traps and left there until God knows when." Blade said and knocked again.
Jester sighed and swayed on his feetnas they waited for someone to answer, sitting down when ten minutes passed. "Maybe he's asleep." he suggested.
"Maybe, so we'll wait." Blade said and slid down the wall, both were quiet forna while, lost in their own thoughts.
"Didn't the brother say he gave you a . . . a magic uh, sonar pulse?" Jester asked, trying to remember the exact kind of magic.
"Yeah, but he said it was only temporary." Blade answered and leaned his head against the wall with a sigh.
"But maybe you still have it? How does it work?" Jester asked.
"Like a sonar. Exactly like a sonar." Blade said and put his hook to his chin in thought. "Do you know how ech-locations work?" he asked.
"Uh, bats?" Jester questioned.
"Yeah, bats use echo-location to hunt. Whales use the same thing to determine distances, communicate and find their food." Blade explained.
"Don't they use it as a weapon too?" Jester asked.
"I think so. But the sonar pulse is a lot like the whales' version of echo-location." Blade said.
"Well, if you can echo-locate in a field of crickets and sense your leg through it, then maybe you can sense if there's anything dangerous in the ventilation ducts." Jester suggested.
Blade looked at him. "You know, that never occurred to me as a possibility." Blade smiled and made himseld comfortable for the meditation.
"So, how do you make it work?" Jester asked.
"The brother said to imagine yourself in a black void. The sonar pulse is a pale blue ball of fire, and then to tap it and imagine it rippling outward like water ripples." Blade answered and tried to picture the blue ball. He smiled as he found it was still there, burning away like a small twinkling star.
"Ooh, that sounds pretty. I'ma try." Jester said and follwed the steps. He pictured the pale blue ball of fire real easy, imagining as the brightest star he would see when night fell. He was shocked to find a small teinkling light, twinkling like the brightest star. "Blade!" he screamed, making Blade flinch and snapping him outnof his meditation.
"What?" Blade clipped, annoyed at being interrupted.
"I found a twinkling light inside me!" Jester said.
"What?" Blade asked but in a surprised tone.
.
Kokiri Yusaga was down at the beach, watching the waves crash against the shore, the white noise sund very soothing to the idiocy of the world when he felt a slight bump in the road. He turned his right ear in the direction of the hotel and listened. It wasn't Six Shooter, he could sense him anywhere on the property; the source was small, barely there, but enough for him to pick up.
He turned and headed back to the hotel. Maybe Blade had managed to keep hold of his magic and was developing another way on how to use it. Sonars were very useful and could be used in all sorts of ways. It could be used as a weapon, to locate hidden objects or people,msee in the dark and sense other magicals if it was well developed.
Now he just got himself interested and ran back to the hotel.
.
"What do you mean you found a twinkling light inside you? When did you get it?" Blade asked.
"I don't know. I was just copying what you said about the black void and the blue ball." Jester said.
"But the brother is the only one who can grant magic, and, unless you asked for some without my knowledge-" Blade said.
"I didn't, I wouldn't go behind your back about something like that. That'd be a major responsibility on my shoulders." Jester said. "Besides, I'd be too scared."
"Maybe the kid can explain it. He did say he has some knowledge about magic." Blade suggested and rapped on the door again.
"He also said he was more skillful than magical." Jester added and climbed up on Blade's shoulders to reach the door knob and turned it, but someone on the inside had opened it and he fell to the floor.
"Can you guys keep it down? Master's asleep." Torch whispered.
"I thought he didn't like you calling him master." Blade said, waving his knife at him in a 'tsk, tsk, tsk' manner.
"He likes me plenty." Torch grumbled.
"We know he does, Torch, but just to be on the safe side you shouldn't call him master. Boss sounds . . . shorter." Jester said and stood up and dusted himself.
"Shh!" Torch hissed and looked back at the bed. "He's sleeping!" he whispered and let them in.
"Well, could you wake him? We've got a few questions we'd like to ask him about." Blade said walking over to the desk to climb up but Torch stopped him.
"There's a scorpion up there. A big black one." he said and headed over to the bed and tried to climb back up without making too much noise.
Blade and Jester watched as Torch jumped up and tried to grab hold of the blankets but kept sliding back down. He jumped up and grabbed a small handful and kicked his feet, trying to pull himself up but just slowed down his slide.
Blade looked at Jester who had a big smile on his face, his hands clasped together in that 'Aw, just cute!' pose, and waved at him. Jester looked over and Blade motioned him to help Torch since he couldn't, he might hurt him. Or get damaged. Jester nodded and went over to push Torch up when he grabbed another handful of blankets.
Torch still couldn't get up and slid down and landed on Jester. Having only one hand sucked and he threw a fit in frustration.
"Torch?" Chug called sleepily, rolling over to the side, lifted him up and snuggled him under the covers. "My wee bairn, do you want to sleep with me?" he chuckled and fell back asleep. Torch immediately calmed down and went quiet.
Blade headed over to Jester to see if he was OK. Jester was little and more likely to snap a limb in half or splinter than the other puppets. Even Tunneler was more built than he was. Having a full metal puppet squash you from a fall and throw a fit could have been damaging to him.
"Are you ok? Do you feel bruised? Do you see two of me? Can you move?" Blade asked in quick recession.
"I'm fine, just winded." Jester moaned breathlessly and rolled over, clutching his stomach. "He landed on my stomach." he wheezed and took a slow deep breath.
"Ouch. Come on, let's see if the kid has any magic books in here." Blade said and helped him up.
"Maybe I should've climbed up and tossed something down to help him." Jester panted and leaned against a bookshelf to take another deep breath. "Now I know how Six felt when Torch landed on him." he groaned. "Cor, he's heavy!" he gasped. "How . . . How does that sonar thing work again?" he asked, the pain starting to get worse.
Before Blade could answer the scorpion on the desk rose up and spotted Jester.
-Mr. Jester, so good to see you again.- it said, saluting him with its tail.
"Again? When did you come across this one?" Blade asked.
-Dear me, you look as though you're in terrible pain. What happened?- the scorpion asked.
"Torch fell on him. Who are you?" Blade asked. "And why can I understand you?"
-I am large enough to have a dual neural chip inserted into my brain which allows me to speak to both animals and people.- the scorpion answered.
"The kid can do that?" Blade asked and was put back on track when Jester grunted in pain and saw that he had curled in on himself still clutching his stomach.
-Bring him over here.- the scorpion said as he crawled to the edge of the desk. He opened the first drawer with its tail and reached in. The bottom drawer opened up and Blade observed a medical bed within. -Place him on the bed and make sure he is flat on his back.-
Blade brought Jester over as best he could with his knife and hook and tried to gently place him on the bed.
.
Kokiri was back in the hotel and in his human form, heading up to Chug's room. The little tingle of magic he felt was getting stronger and began to pulse when a loud 'ping!' rang in his ears.
'What the-?' he thought, shaking his head and dug in his ears. The ping sounded again and he shook his head again to clear it of the high-pitched noise. He quickened his pace when the ping continued to ring.
He entered the room and awe Blade trying to get Jester, who looked to be in immense pain, inside Chug's bed scanner.
"What's going on here?" he asked and flinched and covered his ears when Blade looked directly at him. "Well, now I know who was shouting for help." he mumbled, dug in his ear again before taking hold of Jester. "Now, let's see what's wrong." he said and ran his left hand over Jester's entire frame.
Jester's abdomen was bruised and his formula was bubbling up to an overloaded state.
"Jester, there's something really wrong here and it could kill you unless you allow me to freeze you." Kokiri said in a serious tone.
"Freeze him! Freeze him!" Bladed immediately said, panicking that Jester could die.
"Jester?" Kokiri asked.
Jester nodded and was instantly frozen into a solid, crystal clear ice. Even his clothes and bells were frozen. The formula, the wiring of his gears, the IV cord, all frozen but could be made out if one looked closely enough. Kokiri set Jester on the medical bed and closed the drawer.
"What are you doing?! That's my brother you froze and stored away!" Blade screamed.
Though when Chug woke . . .
"Is Blade in here? I can hear some incessant, hysterical hissing." he mumbled, rubbing an eye and sat up, yawned and stretched.
"There's something wrong with Jester. His formula is ready to bubble over board." Kokiri said quickly gathering Blade and stood up and away from the desk when Chug's eyes popped open and he leaped out of bed to find a reason for the bubbling.
"How long ago did the pain start, how did it happen and why did it happen in the first place?" Chug asked, opening the bottom drawer and finding the frozen Jester. He left him on the bed, covered the top with a metal slab and ran the scan. He could hear Blade hissing away but he couldn't understand him since he took his ear piece out in order to sleep.
"He said Jester was helping Torch up the bed when he slipped and landed on his stomach." Kokiri answered for Blade.
"Who slipped? Torch or Jester?" Chug asked, bringing up a holo-computer and started typing away on it, Jester's imaging scan showing up in two seconds.
Blade started hissing and waving his knife.
"Be nice, he is helping. Torch slipped and landed on Jester and threw a fit when he couldn't get up. Why didn't you help too?" Kokiri said, turning Blade around and looking him in the eye.
Blade hissed loudly and waved his knife and hook under Kokiri's nose: "With what hands?!"
"You could have easily used your hook to pull Torch up to the bed. Do you use your common sense at all?" Kokiri asked and let Blade float in the air, not wanting to shake the life out of him.
"Torch is too heavy for me to lift him!" Blade said, feeling his anger rise.
"If he was too heavy for you then why did you think Jester would be able to push him up? There's this little thing called working together you know." Kokiri countered and sat down on the bed. "You could have done the pushing and Jester could have done the pulling with your hook."
"Kegs, I need you to return Jester's colors, but keep him frozen." Chug said, interrupting their little argument.
Kokiri did as asked and watched as Chug did a more indepth scan. The results showing that the formula was reacting to something in his system. It wasn't the bruise, that was minimal damage at best and would heal with some healing paste. Chug ran another scan on all levels and finally found the problem.
"Did you give him magic?" he asked, rounding on Kokiri.
"Magic? No, only Blade." Kokiri said and hovered his right hand over Jester and did a magical scan. "Wha-at? How in the world?" he mumbled to himself and did another scan. "What? This isn't making any sense." he stated and ran two more scans over Jester with both hands but came up with nothing. "I don't know how he got a hold of magic but I didn't give it to him." he said and leaned on the desk.
Chug sat back in his chair, also at a loss for words.
"What happened to your coat, B?" Kokiri asked, finally noticing the missing coat.
"He fell out of it and tore it on accident." Chug answered and gave the ruined to his brother.
"Oh, shame, I liked this coat." Kokiri said nonchalantly and rolled it up into a ball.
Blade grabbed hold of the brother's wrist watch to keep from floating away. Then the black cloth swirled around him and turned back into his coat.
"Ok, how'd you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?" Kokiri asked.
"Make it snake around me like a . . . a snake!" Blade said.
"All I did was repair it, the coat did the snake-thing on its own." Kokiri answered and went into a deep thought.
"Ri-i-ight. Seriously, how'd you do it?" Blade asked. Kokiri shooshed him and tapped the tips of his fingers together and crossed his legs to float in the air, very deep in thought.
Chug ran another scan, focusing on the formula and found something he missed. He ran it again and again before slapping himself on the forehead. "Duh, it's the formula!" he said and ran the formula's diagnostics and the little magic core inside Jester and compared them. "Yeah, I forgot about the formula I gave them. It was a variant of theirs I made back at the cabin."
"And did this variant have my blood in it?" Kokiri asked.
"Yes, you I always keep a vial handy. You never know when I need it to make the cyborg's healing potion." Chug said, twirling his hat on a finger.
Kokiri raised an eyebrow at him. Blade dropped his jaw at them. It took Chug a moment to figure out why.
"Oh-h, the magic's in your blood as well." he mumbleda and smiled sheepishly and placed his hat back on his head and started typing away on the holo-computer. "And magic tends to bond together and grow and often activate when a familiar source is near." He motioned for Blade to stand on the desk for a scan of his own.
Blade did not like being in their clutches when the two brothers decided to run their experiments, but if it was going to help Jester get better he was willing.
