Chapter 5 - The Scorpions and the Gunfight

Behind the Birdcage Theater, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, 1881:

Wednesday, October 26, 1881 began pretty much like any other day except in Stromboli's wagons behind the Bird Cage Theater. The preparations were being made for the three o, clock in the afternoon confrontation between Pinocchio and the great scorpions guarding Pleasure Town when they made their appearance in Tombstone. Pinocchio had one advantage over the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday for the three o' clock hour. He knew what was coming. While his confrontation would not be recorded in history anywhere else but the two Pleasure Islands and in the world of the fairies Pinocchio's contribution to this day would assure the end of the contamination of the Earps' timeline with his own through the Coachman, the Ringmaster and their creations of magic.

Pleasure Town, Outside Tombstone, Arizona Territory, 1881.

The children of Tombstone who were captured at Pinocchio's and Stromboli's puppet show were still prisoners of the park known as pleasure town. They were not as yet changing into donkeys but it would only be a matter of time until they fell for rather than resisting the park's temptations and the change would occur through the park's enclosed roller coaster and its magical misters. Of course the girls probably would not change at all as they never have before. In the minds of the Coachman and the Ringmaster there would be only two possible fates for them. They would be enslaved to become confectioners, bakers and cleaners for the park or they would have their own meeting with the scorpions. There could be no thought of ever letting the girls go. Once the donkey changes started amongst the boys they would witness this and know too much to ever be let loose in Tombstone or anywhere else again.

However the Scorpions would have another use before that time. According to a deal separate from the one they made with the McLaurys that they made with Deputy Stilwell the Coachman and the Ringmaster would have to eliminate the Earps and Doc Holliday in return for grabbing some of the children of Tombstone for Pleasure Town before their deal for Friday went into effect. The scorpions were to be the weapon of that murder as at their current size nothing the 19th century had in the way of weapons could resist them.

The Ringmaster since he was the one who controlled the Alexandrian Scorpion Magic that created both the giant scorpions and the invisible tracks they were currently following around Pleasure Town was the one who had to carry out Pleasure Town's part of the deal with Stilwell. With a few arcane waves of his arms the invisible tracks changed from a circular path around Pleasure town to an invisible road into Tombstone aimed straight down Freemont street around Western Tombstone and back to Pleasure Town where it would rejoin the circular track again. Neither the Coachman or the Ringmaster would even have to follow the scorpions to give them additional magical instructions. Everything from the specific path they were to take into town and back and the specific people they were to sting to death, pre digest and eat, the Earps and Doc Holliday was already programmed into them with those few arm waves from the Ringmaster making those scorpions the world's first "fire and forget" weapon. It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the scorpions reached the point in their circular tracks where they would enter the new track to Tombstone. At their average walking speed which was slowed somewhat by their size the scorpions would be in Tombstone at 3 o'clock.

Marshal's Office, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, 1881:

The first report that the McLaurys and Billy Clayborne were seen armed in the vicinity of the OK Corral in defiance of Town Ordinance number 9 came about two forty five in the afternoon. This brought the Earps into action saving them from a possible scorpion attack on the Marshal's office but at the same time setting them up for what would be the apex of their careers as gunfighters. The Clantons and McLaurys were well known crooks in that part of the Arizona Territory whose sphere of influence included the corrupt county level law enforcers Behan and Stilwell. Wyat Earp still couldn't get over how Stilwell used an obscure county ordinance to stop Stromboli's and Pinocchio's puppet show and take the children =who viewed it to some still unknown location. But on top of that the Earps were still sure that at least some of the more obscure members from the Clanton, McLaury, Behan gang of crooks was responsible for the recent stage coach robbery in which passengers were killed that brought Ordinance Number 9 into force in the first place. (It was basically designed to disram lynch mobs and bounty hunters while they were in town to prevent them shooting up the town in search of their quarry where the stage robbery was concerned.)

Now the Earps had the Clantons and the McLaurys and their tag alongs in the same position that Stilwell had Stromboli, Geppetto, Pinocchio and Lampwick in. They were in violation of a TOWN Ordinance which the Earps were charged with enforcing. The Earps knew of the possible death that could come from the Clantons and the McLaurys however they did not know of the death headed for them from the other side of town from the OK Corral in the form of the Ringmaster's two giant scorpions as they walked out of their office soon to be joined by Doc Holliday to carry out the arrest of the Clanton, McLaury gang for violation of the town ordinance against carrying firearms in public.

Behind the Bird Cage Theater, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, 1881:

Pinocchio was ready to do his own duty in this mission for the Blue Fairy at about two forty five in the afternoon. Now he resembled a combination of western cowboy and Tyrolean garbed puppet with the exception of wearing Peter's red visor cap instead of his Tyrolean hat. Crickets and scorpions were mortal enemies so Pinocchio felt he should keep the hat with the cricket in it out of this battle thus asking his new Russian brother Peter to borrow his to put in the Tyrolean hat's place. He also carried Peter's magically enhanced pop gun with him as well as one of the anti scorpion peacemakers the fairy originally provided.

For the Earps the trip to their gunfight would be together with Doc Holliday accompanying them for a foursome. For Pinocchio toe trop to his gunfight with the Pleasure Town scorpions would be alone just as it was in the dream that began this mission. Only he in his inedible and unstingable puppet form could stand up to those scorpions and live.

He began his walk to the south at pretty much the same time that the Earps and Holliday began their walk north. In both cases the pace of the walk was slow and deliberate. Soon the quarry was in sight. Both monsters had the streamlined pincers body and sting holding tail of the deadly Arizona bark scorpion magnified by what seemed to be hundreds of times. If these monsters were not stopped before any of the town's buildings were reached they could easily destroy the town simply by crawling over it without even using their stings and pre digestive injecting mouth parts. Pinocchio took careful aim at the scorpion to his left with his modified peacemaker, cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger. Rather than a bang and smoke

The gun made a WHANGGG sound and a beam of light of the same bright blue color as the wishing star came out of its barrel. Rather than killing the scorpion the beam reduced his size by about half. At the same time 3 o'clock in the afternoon a series of more familiar gunshots could be heard to the north behind Pinocchio. Pinocchio knew from knowing the history of this time that that was the end of any deals the Coachman and the Ringmaster had with the McLaurys for eternity. He continued his own gun work on the Pleasure Town scorpions until they were no larger than normal bark Scorpions and then they were finally placed in transport bubbles and brought into the barrel of Pinocchio's gun. They were now prisoners of one of the weapon's glass cartridges. The way to Pleasure Town and the capture of the Coachman and the Ringmaster was now safely open for Pinocchio's entire family.

Once Stromboli saw that the scorpions were gone he brought the wagons up to Pinocchio who promptly took his place with Peter and Lampwick atop the second one.

"On to Pleasure Town!" Geppetto announced. "It's time to get the townspeople's' kids back to them and bring the Coachman and Ringmaster to justice!

With that Stromboli said "giddup!" to his horse and the wagons were headed for Pleasure Town.

Next - The Fall of Pleasure Town