Chapter 6 - The Fall of Pleasure Town
The road between Tombstone and Pleasure Town, Arizona Territory, 1881:
Even in the distance the people on the two wagons could see that Pleasure Town was now in full operation by the fireworks and search lights that erupted from it. Was it within the realm of possibilities that some of the kidnapped boy children were already turning into donkeys under the Coachman's and Ringmaster's influence. Everyone on the wagons hoped not.
I've never seen anything like that. Peter said. Lenin and Stalin never allowed that sort of thing in Soviet Russia, even if it could turn people into donkeys and get more labor our of them.
"Your Lenin and Stalin sound a lot like the Coachman and the Ringmaster in spades so I don't see why they would not have a place like this available to them." Pinocchio said.
"Simple." Peter returned. "If you would not labor for them they would not turn you into another species of animal to get the labor out of you. They would simply kill you outright, starve you to death or send you to a prison camp where they would get the labor out of you as a human until you died of overwork and the Russian cold."
"Sounds like a horrible way to live." Lampwick said. "Even WORSE than being a donkey."
"Believe me," Peter returned. "It is!, and I'm very glad your Blue Fairy came and took me out of that place so I could rescue you from your own villains.
Pleasure Town, Outside Tombstone, Arizona Territory 1881:
"Something coming this way." The Ringmaster announced to the Coachman in one of the taller buildings of Pleasure Town that seemed designed to specifically overlook the rest of the town.
"Its probably the scorpions. They should be coming back to assume their normal circular tracks around Pleasure Town." The Coachman returned.
"Its not the scorpions." The Ringmaster returned. "Its two Gypsy wagons attached to one another like a train with people atop them."
"Stromboli." The Coachman announced. "Last time I saw him he was in the Tombstone klink for running an unauthorized puppet show on the back lot of the Birdcage Theatre. When I get my hands on that Deputy Stilwell I'll find some way to turn him into a donkey for letting them loose. You can bet that Pinocchio, that new Russian brat Peter, Geppetto, Fowlfellow and all the rest of that bunch are on those wagons. Tell the guards to activate defenses."
"But the defenses might kill some of the boys and we will lose some valuable donkeys if that happens." the Ringmaster said.
"It can't be helped." the Coachman returned. "Its either that or wind up in the klink in either Duckburg or Collodi without any donkeys. We can always get stupid little boys."
With that the Ringmaster shouted to the head guard who was at the bottom of the building. "Activate Defenses!"
"Activate Defenses." the head guard shouted to all the others. They took their hats off and waved their hands over them each in a specific individual arcane way and the hats grew from stings alone into wolf sized Arizona bark scorpions. The girls were shocked at the site of the new monsters and kept inside their quarters. Most of the boys also made for their quarters and safety too. Some however stayed outside feeling that if they could simply get around these new monsters that the open gates to let them outside represented a chance for them to escape and find their way back home. The boys being Arizonans knew something about the deadly bark scorpion in its normal size and figure they should follow much the same ways that they knew in this new size.
Scorpions were known to hunt by a combination of sensory hairs and sound, and to have very poor eyesight, especially on the side vectors. As long as a boy was not close enough to one to contact the sensory hairs on their pincers and sting bearing tail he would generally be safe. Another thing they would have to avoid was too swift movement as that was where the scorpion's sound receiving and limited peripheral vision came in handy on the hunt.
One boy was a little too fast and found himself in a deadly sword fight with a broomstick against the deadly sting and the accompanying pincers of one of the scorpions. Because bark scorpions hunted with their venom however the pincers were very streamlined thin and weak and this trait was further enhanced with the creatures new size. However the swordfight ended quickly when the scorpion was put out of action with a POPGUN CORK. The whangging of peacemakers specifically redesigned against such creatures could also be heard. The boy who was sword fighting the scorpion looked around to see that the wielder of the popgun was a Russian boy dressed in red and red pink with blonde hair. He could also see that there were other rather strange assailants taking out the scorpions. One of them was the stringless puppet whose performance was the supposed reason he was brought here, his father, his older brother and the Puppet Master along with an anthropomorphic fox and cat. Above the action a woodpecker like bird and greenish mallard duck flew. The Russian boy was also accompanied by an orange cat. The boy was more fascinated by what on the surface appeared to be more conventional guns was doing to the scorpions. These weapons actually seemed to be reducing their size to the normal size for such beasts then sucking them into their muzzles by means of a bright blue beam. Within a few minutes there was not a scorpion to be found and the great oak doors were still wide open. The children of Pleasure Town were now free BEFORE they were turned into donkeys.
"Now it's time to find the Coachman and the Ringmaster." Peter said to the Boy he had rescued. "Sorry, but no one leaves until they are found." He was soon accompanied by the puppet boy and his older brother.
The targets of Peter's Pinocchio's and Lampwick's search were still in the lookout building far from any magic spells they could use to escape again copies of which were kept in the administrative offices by the gates of Pleasure Town now guarded by Stromboli's wagons. Pinocchio and Lampwick however bypassed this building and went on to the roller coaster to start the other part of their mission. Pleasure Town did not belong in the timeline of the Earps. Therefore it would not be "jackass" behavior to destroy it and rid the Earp timeline of its influence. Both boys applied matches to the kerosene lanterns they were carrying and threw them at the building covering the roller coaster. Within seconds the roller coaster was in flames and the Coachman's and the Ringmasters latest boy to donkey factory was up in smoke. (There were no children in danger from this because they were all either outside trying an escape or went to the quartering area pf Pleasure Town for safety from the scorpions.) Pinocchio and Lampwick used the roller coaster fire to create torches that were used on the other unoccupied rides and attractions of Pleasure Town. Soon all that was left was the Quartering area, The Lookout building, the administrative offices and the great log fence around pleasure town resembling a military stockade and its great oak gates.
Suddenly someone grabbed Peter from behind. He looked around to see the Ringmaster. "So you three think you put a major block on our plans." he said. "All the stuff your friends torched can be rebuilt. Everything right down to the boy to donkey conversion equipment even id the magical specifications for it here are destroyed. I keep copies of all of my magical formulas in several different places and the originals are where only I can ever find them. You stopped nothing you Junior Kossack. We'll just rebuild again. If not here than elsewhere were a large volume of donkeys will, be profitable.
"That is precisely why you're going to jail." Peter said as he let the cork on his popgun go again hitting the Ringmaster square in the head and knocking him out.
"You got the Ringmaster?" Pinocchio said as he returned to the lookout building. "That means the Coachman must be in or on top of that building too."
Peter and Pinocchio looked for an entrance to the building and eventually found it. Once inside they saw nothing but a spiral staircase leading to the roof of the structure. The idea that it was some kind of look out tower proved to be the right one. The Coachman was mid way down the spiral staircase when the Coachman saw the pair.
"Well." The Coachman said. "If it isn't the Russian and Italian half pints." Well you may have destroyed the boy to donkey factory and you may have captured my adoptive son byt you cant stand up against my guards."
"Sorry but we did that too." Pinocchio returned. "Your guards ran off to save themselves when they released the scorpions from their hats. The scorpions wound up in the glass cartridges of this." He showed the Coachman his gun.
"That pistol Pinoke is carrying bay not be effective against you." Peter said to the Coachman. "But you know this IS!" Peter displayed his pop gun which as the Coachman knew was well enhanced by the Blue Fairy."
"Its time for us to leave and destroy the remainder of this wicked place." Peter told the Coachman aiming the cork loaded muzzle of the pop gun at him. "Now like that wolf back in the Soviet Union you have a choice, the easy way or the HARD way."
The Coachman did not want to deal with that pop gun again with no red star of Alexandrian magic to back him up. He surrendered himself to the two boys upon descending the spiral staircase. Once all three left the look out tower the tower itself was torched and destroyed. After this Pinocchio, Lampwick and Peter made their way to a cage wagon that Sasha had found during his over flight of the Pleasure Town Complex. Geppetto, Stromboli, John Worthington and Gideon were waiting at this wagon. Inside of it was the Ringmaster.
"Pinoke." Peter said. "You take the Coachman to that wagon. There is one more thing that has to be done inside here."
"What?" Pinocchio asked.
"That Administration building has to go." Peter returned. "Not only is it a part of the infection of this timeline with Pleasure Island's timeline but it may also contain the written form of the spells the Ringmaster used to enlarge those scorpions."
"Good thinking." Pinocchio said. "You take this in case there are any more of those scorpions around in that administration building." Pinocchio handed Peter his revolver. "and I'll take your popgun to use in case the Coachman wants to try some "jackass" behavior on me."
Peter handed Pinocchio the popgun and then proceeded towards the oak gates and the administration building. Pinocchio then took the coachman to the cage wagon. Once there Stromboli turned the key in the lock and literally threw the Coachman into the wagon cage with the same force that he used on Pinocchio at their first meeting when he was first given life as a puppet and sold by John Worthington. He then locked the cage and gave the key to Pinocchio.
"Well," John Worthington said. "We've got them, how do we get them out of here."
"I saw some donkeys in a corral just outside the stockade." Lampwick said. "But I'm afraid to use them because they might have been boys at one time."
"They are natural donkeys and can be used to haul this wagon." Geppetto said. "All of the children who were brought here at the behest of Deputy Stilwell, the Coachman and the Ringmaster have been accounted for. NON of them were changed into donkeys while they were here. The Ringmaster also testified that the donkey change never occurred and even confirmed my theory that the boys being brought here by force rather than on their own volition negated the donkey fever curse in this particular instance.
The administration building glowing orange red with flames in the distance told Pinocchio that Peter had completed his last errand in Pleasure Town and was headed back to the wagon. When he arrived he had also brought four of the donkeys from the outer corral to haul the cage wagon.
A grand procession left what remained of Pleasure Town. Taking the lead was the cage wagon containing the Coachman and the Ringmaster driven by Lampwick with Pinocchio and Peter also in the drivers seat accompanied by Sasha, Sonya and Ivan. Jiminy was also present in his usual location under Pinocchio's Tyrolean hat. This was followed by Stromboli's wagons with Stromboli and Geppetto in the driver's seat of the first one and John Worthington and Gideon atop the second one.
The next stop was Tombstone followed by the meeting place for the Blue Fairy to Return them to Pleasure Island Collodi.
Next. The triumphant procession through Tombstone. Pinocchio is made a real boy again and the return home to Pleasure Island.