Ch. 12: Stuff Happens
A figure snuck into Woodburrow, unseen to all, as thick, gloomy clouds swirled overhead, rendering everything difficult to see.
Slobber Tooth paused and sniffed. "Slobber Tooth smell something weird," he commented. "It's probably your own butt, don't mind it," Terrafin snorted. "Okay," the dinosaur grinned, and the silent observer wiped their invisible brow. "That was too close," they thought, continuing to creep through Woodburrow.
In an instant, they spun and adopted a combat stance as someone bumped into them, expecting at any moment to be discovered and have to make a desperate run for it.
It was Jet-Vac. "Oi, come on Stealth Elf. I thought especially you'd never stoop so low as to bump into me while invisible," he groaned. The figure remained silent. "What? Not even going to answer me?" the bird snorted.
Not a sound was made. "Fine, have it your way, elf," And stormed off, around the invisble figure, who breathed a sigh of relief, rapidly moving away from hi.
Jat-Vac made his way around the large, enchanted fountain in the town square towards Woodburrow's docks to see how the Dread-Yacht was doing - a lot of Jet-Vac's earliest missions had been on board the Dread-Yacht, and he was rather fond of the old ship. As he turned to climb up the stairs, he stopped and started at the sight of Chill and Stealth Elf at the top of the stairs and walking downwards towards him. "Bloody hell, there's no way she could have gotten there that fast," the Sky Baron gasped with widened eyes. "The only way that's possible is if there's two of her, and that obviously can't be right, eh?" he muttered to himself, still staring at the ninja. "Unless . . . . ," He trailed off, still thinking through the ramifications. "Whoever that was wasn't Stealth Elf, but if it wasn't, then who?" he finally realised.
"Something fishy's going on here, and blimey, I'm gonna find out what," he vowed to himself.
Eventually, the hidden arrived at the area where the surviving apartmentcrafts were docked. Having done that, they quickly located the only one that was quite literally paved with gold - Trigger Happy's. The door to the room seemingly slid open without cause, and closed itself a few moments later. There was no sign that anyone had ever been there.
X
A melodious, cacophonous horn blared from further down the pier, where Sharpfin's ship had docked. "Whuh?" Flynn blinked. "You called that thing out?" Sharpfin demanded. "What were you thinking? That thing is dangerous! It almost cut my ship clean in two last time you put your hand on that thing's tiller!"
"No no no no no, mi amigo," Fiesta interrupted him with a wave of his ghostly hand and a waggling finger. "It's called a steering wheel," he corrected the Dirt Shark.
"I don't care if it's called a frying pan without a handle, you are not using that thing! You could knock this whole island out of the sky!" the admiral exploded. "Well, then it's a good thing that's what we're trying to do, right?" Fiesta pointed out. "Not until after we've refuelled!" Sharpfin groaned. "Relax, relax, mi hombre. It'll be fine," the ghoul grinned.
"Uh, what'll be fine?" Flynn decided it was time to interrupt.
"Mi muy mejor amigo, my very best friend," Fiesta grinned. The cacophonic horn blew again, and Fiesta grinned. "Music to my ears," as a faint blue glow appeared in the evening gloom behind the trolls on the pier.
The Amazon trolls were sent sprawling, several being knocked off the pier as a strange, three-wheeled craft rammed into them without mercy. "Esta el Crypt Crusher!" Fiesta exuberantly declared. "Isn't she a beaut?"
The Crypt Crusher looked like a weaponised, mobilised coffin. One large wheel was mounted on skeletal hands at the back, which glowed with an underworldly blue light. The front half of the coffin was covered by a black bonnet decorated with a stylised skull, with exhaust pipes protruding from the rear, and the back half was open and comprised of a deep-set seat with a steering wheel lined with satin pillows. Two small wheels were mounted on either side of the front of the coffin. Flynn's aw went slack. "That is so totally awesome!" he freaked. Sharpfin rolled his eyes.
"You have got to tell me where you got that thing!" Flynn demanded. "Sorry buddy. Trade secret," Fiesta winked, climbing behind the steering wheel and gassing the engine. The Crypt Crusher roared to life, and the assembled trolls behind them suddenly looked a lot less certain of themselves, staring down that vehicle.
"It's party time!" Fiesta exuberantly shouted and tooted his blowhorn. Tessa, Sharpfin and Flynn hastily took a step backwards, out of the line of fire, and moments later the car rocketed forwards, ramming into the Trolls and sending them sprawling.
Several of them tried to run away towards the edge of the island, where their airships were docked. "Nu-uh, no one's leaving this party until I'm sure that everyone's had their fill!" Fiesta grinned like a maniac, twisting the car to point at the troll's balloon escape and firing bolts of blue energy at the balloons, puncturing the bags and causing them to slowly deflate and droop from the piers. The trolls stopped dead in shock.
"Well, he sure knows how to throw a party," Flynn commented. "Shouldn't you be helping him?" Tessa suggested. "Do you honestly think I could keep up? I'm a pilot, not a marathon runner. I'm at home behind the tiller of a ship," Flynn explained, then looked back down the pier towards Sharpfin's aircraft. "Hey, that gives me an idea," he slyly grinned.
X
"You can't go soft on Star Strike," Terrafin told Spyro. "Why not? She's a nice girl," Spyro retorted.
"She's gonna be a Skylander, for crying out loud! What kind of villain will take her seriously if she can't even finish a sentence?" the Dirt Shark demanded. "Master right! Right?" Slobber Tooth helpfully put in. "The only way she'll beat up a villain is if they fall off the island laughing at her," he continued.
"Which is just as effective as any other way. Besides, it might be good for them to underestimate her, then she'll get the drop on them," Spyro pointed out. "And that trick will work more than once?" the Earth Skylander derisively snorted. Slobber Tooth hooted and turned his head away in perfect imitation of Terrafin, who looked down at his rookie with a sudden smile. "I'm startin' ta like you, kid,"
"I'm not a kid! I'm thousands of years old! I'm adolescent!" Slobber Tooth toothily grinned. Terrafin blinked in surprise. "Uh, right,"
"Okay, I hear you," Spyro nodded. "But don't underestimate us Magic elements," he pointedly added. "Wouldn't dream of it," Terrafin nodded. "Then again," he added with a pointed look at Pop Fizz, who was walking towards them down the street. "Okay, maybe Pop Fizz isn't exactly a shining star of principle, but Magic in general -"
"Hey, guys!" Pop Fizz shouted. "Have you seen my trainee?" he asked. Terrafin cast Spyro a pointed look, and Spyro shook his head in exasperation. "I've looked everywhere, and I can't find him!" he continued, turning around and scratching his head in exasperation. Spyro and Terrafin blinked in shock. A tiny Dune Bug was clinging to the straps of Pop Fizz' backpack, screaming something. No one could hear a thing because he was so small.
"I got this," Terrafin sighed, picking himself up and plucking the tiny insect rookie off Pop Fizz. "I found him," he snorted, presenting the miniaturised Skylander to his mentor. "Oh, yay! Thanks, Terrafin!" Pop Fizz obliviously grinned, dashing away. Terrafin moaned and glared at Spyro. "Okay, fine. I'll pick up the slack a bit on Star Strike,"
X
"Okay, it's the red wire, right?" Flynn asked Tessa. The two had snuck away from Sharpfin, who was occupying himself with staring after Fiesta as he terrified the Amazoness trolls with the Crypt Crusher, shaking his head and muttering silent prophecies of doom and destruction if Fiesta continued to drive 'the monstrosity', and were now attempting to hotwire his ship. "Haven't you ever hotwired a boat before?" Tessa asked skeptically. "I've never seen volt monitors and power conduits like these before. This thing must be a custom job, one-of-a-kind type stuff. I recognise some of the parts, but they're all mixed up. I can only really guess here," Flynn explained. "But I think this should do it," he grinned a moment later, pulling two exposed wires out of their places near the ignition.
The pilot promptly shrieked in pain as the electrical current coursed through him for a few brief seconds, before he managed to twist them together, return them to their place and gratefully let go. The engines beneath them promptly roared to life, and Tessa cheered, before wincing at Flynn's blackened plight. Spotting Tessa's concerned glance, the pilot shrugged it off. "Not the last time I've gotten shipped electrocuting on a work, and it won't be the first," he commented, before slumping over the tiller with a soft groan. "How 'bout you drive?" he suggested.
At the edge of the pier, Sharpfin heard his craft's engines come to life. "What in blue blazes -" he cursed, cutting himself off and running towards his ship. "Ay! What the blimey do you think you're doing!" he demanded, dashing back down to his craft. "Eek!" Tessa squealed. "Flynn! Which button makes this thing go?" she demanded. "I dunno . . . blue one?" Fkynn moaned in a daze. With no better ideas, Tessa depressed the blue button with her thumb.
Sharpfin staggered up the gangplank and saw what they were doing. "Oi! Quit that! That's the windscreen wipers! I only have so much cleaning fluid!" he commanded. Tessa blinked in surprise and removed her paw from the button. Sharpfin stormed over in anger. "You two were trying to steal my ship! You'd better have a good explanation for this!"
"We were trying to help Fiesta take down the trolls!" Tessa protested. "Oh, like hell you were," Sharpfin growled, brandishing his cane. "And even if you were, I'm not letting my ship anywhere near that rolling death-trap! I was NOT exaggerating when I said that it knocked an entire island out of the sky once!" he exploded. "Off my ship! Now! Get that bird of yours and get out!" he demanded, then paused and spotted Flynn lying on the ground. "At least he got what was comin' to him," the Dirt Shark grinned. "But . . . . what about Fiesta?" Tessa asked. "Look at him!" the Shark snorted. Sure enough, Fiesta was blowing up the Troll camp left and right. "He's having more fun than he's had in ages, trust me. He'll be fine and you do-gooders can consider these trolls routed! Now get out of here!" Sharpfin snapped. Flynn awkwardly picked himself up. "I don't think we're gonna win this one, Tessa. Besides, if we don't leave now we'll be flying home in the dark," he pointed out, gesturing at the setting sun. Tessa sighed. "You're right. Come on, Whiskers, let's head home,"
X
"That was insanely anti-climactic," Tessa complained. "We didn't even get to see Fiesta finish kicking those villains' asses!" she continued.
Flynn placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey. Take it from someone with experience, you can't always be the hero. Sometimes, you just have to be the good guy and hope that that's enough," he advised her. Tessa nodded in understanding. "Thanks, Flynn, that's . . . really smart," she nodded in gratitude. Flynn sighed and put his hands behind his head. "Eh, y'now, greatest pilot in all of Skylands is always willing to impart some of his greatness,"
Tessa awkwardly chuckled. "You know, there's something I have to admit. I was skeptical about you at first. You just seemed so, unbelievable," she shrugged, not really certain on how to finish the sentence. "I, ah, usually come off that way," Flynn nodded, feeling somewhat self-conscious for the first time in his life. "But now, after spending the day with you, you're amazing! Sure, you made a couple of mistakes, but everyone does now and then. I really get why they call you the greatest pilot in all of Skylands," Tessa sincerely smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself in for a hug. "Uh, yeah. The greatest," Flynn gulped.
X
Trigger Happy cheerfully whistled as he let himself into his room. The moment the door closed, a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of him. "Whaargh!" he shrieked in surprise.
"Hello," The figure walked over to his prototype car. "Nice ride," they commented, swinging open the bonnet and pulling the engine out. Pipes were ruptured and cords snapped. Trigger Happy stared in dismay. "You won't be needing this," the figure told him, and sliced it in two. "Now, you've got a choice. Come with me, or face the alternative,"
Trigger Happy gulped. "What's the alternative?"
"You don't want to know,"
A/N
A/N
Okay, finally done with the Flessa fluff sub-plot. Sharpfin's dropping some major hinters of ominousness, and, honestly, I kind of liked the build-up and let-down with hotwiring the windscreen wipers. :P
For the record, just in case this is confusing everyone, the Swappers and Mesmeralda are in a different time zone right now. Which is why it's the late evening in Woodburrow and only the afternoon where they are. And sorry for the weak chapter title, I honestly had no idea what to say.
BlazinVoid, I . . . . guess? He was just kind of unlucky.
LiteFox, nice to see you again. Remember what we were talking about? Mesmeralda's gonna get there . . . . eventually. XD Aww, thanks. "I AM KAOS! FEAR MY GIANT FLOATING HEAD OF DOOM!" Sorry, but Fiesta's gonna be the only SuperCharger for now. It's mostly Cores and Swap Force in the first part. But the SuperChargers are way more important when we reach the second part of the trilogy. So look forward to that.
Guest, why would I need a secret message? Dpeft bsf sfevoebos. :P
Sparky, of course I know what Kaos forgot. And yes. That was a very bad joke. -.-
Anyways. Trigger Happy might just be in trouble. Next time, well, everything that I said last time because I forgot I had to put in all this. Peace!