Getting the Bugs Out part 2
By morning we had found where the trail was ended and came across a strange looking building. We stood at the end of canyon looking up at the white building on the small grassy hill.
"Oh, great." Muttered Iago from behind us. "The sun's come up, not a wink of sleep and now I'm going to be cranky the whole day…"
"Then you must be tired all the time." I smirked at him and Al and Jaz started laughing. Abu chattered and glared at the both of us.
"I meant more than usual!" he snarled and I laughed harder. "Oh, really funny!" Iago snapped. "You're such a comedian!" Then he got a smug look. "At least I'm not made to have a bedtime…"
"Hey!" I hollered at him. It wasn't my fault that Genie had taken it as his personal job to make sure I went to sleep every night.
"Alright, guys cut it out." Al said and Iago and I glowered at each other before following Al up the hill. We reached the door and stood outside looking for a way in. Al and I pushed on the door but it wouldn't budge. Iago grinned.
"Locked huh? Oh, what a shame, guess we'll have to go home now!" Iago announced and he settled onto a golden bull head that was on the door. As he sat down, the horn he had been sitting on suddenly went down. With yelps, we were smacked by the door and tossed inside the building.
"Way to go, Iago." I laughed and he glared at me from under Abu. "Your butt got us in."
"Shut up!"
"Would you two stop?" Al hissed and we grinned at him as he gave us an eye roll. That's when we took a good look at the room.
Gears and all sorts of machinery stuff were in the high ceilinged room dangling down and all about the room. Hearing muttering, I looked over and spotted a strange looking man scribing on a scroll.
"Al." I said and he looked at where I was pointing.
"Who is that?" he asked and I shrugged. Iago gulped.
"Okay, I think we've seen enough." He started to walk away and as he passed one of the metal bugs and it stabbed the ground in front of him. "Hospitable little arthropods, aren't they?" He chuckled nervously patting the sword and then he ran back, jumping into my arms. Then he strange man turned to face us. He was kind of short, but extremely skinny and wore brown sandals, a red toga with a white sash, and a head band. His black hair was pulled into pig-tails that stuck out on the back of his head and a manacle over one eye that jutted out making his eye look really big.
"Greetings meddlesome strangers!" He announced in a very annoying voice. "I am Mechanicles, the greatest of the great Greek geniuses!" We just looked at him as he spoke. None of us knew how to respond to something like that. "Archimedes? An amateur! Socrates? Talk, talk, talk, talk. To make a long story short, I plan on taking over the world." He ended finally showing us his list on the scroll.
"What?" Iago squawked loudly and he flew over to the guy. "Let me see that!" He snatched the scroll from the pig-tailed man's grip.
"Hey!" Mechanicles whined and I winced at his voice. His nasally high pitched snooty voice was getting on my nerves. Iago flew out of reach and started to read from it.
"Take out the trash. Do the dishes. Take over the world. Ooo, this guy's serious!" Mechanicles launched himself after Iago who kept teasing him with it, keeping just beyond reach. I laughed as Iago swooped around and around his head.
"My scroll! Give me back my-" Mechanicles grabbed it and held it to him like a baby. "I need it!" He squeaked and I sniggered into my hand. "You got little sticky wing prints all over it!" As he was complaining, Abu went exploring. He found an oil canister and getting on it, accidently made it splash the wall with slick oil.
"The wall!" Mechanicles shrieked and Abu grinned sheepishly at him. He then ran over and grabbed a mop. "You have got to get these oil stains right away or they will leave a mark!" he hollered before starting to scrub.
"What a weirdo." I muttered and Jaz leaned in to whisper to me and Al.
"Notice how this guy is nuts about keeping this place clean?" I saw Al's brown eye light up with an idea and I grinned.
"Right!" Al said jumping up. "You guys mess things up while I find Genie and Carpet." Iago and Abu exchanged happy glances.
"I'm coming too." I told Al and he smiled. "All right, let's go." While Iago was knocking books off a shelf, Abu was messing with items on a desk. Mechanicles was running ramped trying to stop them and I heard him start yelling at Jaz. Al and I ran over to the metal bugs and found the one that sucked up Genie.
"Genie?" I called out.
"Yeah." Came the reply, he sounded uncomfortable. "I'm caught in the filter." I reached in and took out a board like thing and found Genie squished in it. I gave it a shake and he popped out.
"Oh! That was the cleanest vacuum I've ever been in." he stated popping his back and then he ruffled my hair. "Thanks short man." He said before going over to get Carpet. Pushing a small door, Carpet flew out. Carpet flew around Al and me and Al grinned, before he whistled to get everyone's attention. Iago, Abu and Jaz stopped tormenting Mechanicles long enough for us to get onto Carpet. As we went out the door Al gave the large metal bugs a kick, knocking them over. They crashed and banged in a domino effect.
"You see Aladdin," Jaz smiled at Al as we flew away from the crazy Greek. "You thought you were nothing without Genie and Carpet. But you did it; you defeated the beetles and saved the village."
"Rick?" I looked over at Al and he was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Look I'm sorry about what I said…"
"I know." I forgave him and he hugged me.
"Thanks little brother." he said and then he looked at Genie. "I'm sorry Genie. And Carpet." Genie smiled and nodded and Carpet gave a thumbs up.
"We know." Suddenly we heard loud noises coming from Mechanicles' hideout and Al told Carpet to turn back. We approached the building as the ground around it started to crack. Genie had his arms around us to steady us as the building started to go up in the air. Slowly it rose until we could see it was on a large metal something.
"It's a bug." I said as the large red metal thing came up fully from the ground, Mechanicles' hideout on the very top.
"A really, really, really big bug." Genie muttered and we all had to crane are necks to see it.
"Saved the village, huh?" Iago retorted loudly and Carpet sped off with us quickly. "Hold that thought." The metal bug clamped its serrated jaws at us and started to follow. We flew towards the village just barely ahead of the metal beetle.
"Oh, this is a switch! A bug is gonna step on us!" Iago stated to me and Abu when Carpet let us off in the center of the town. We stood there watching the giant metal bug come our way, not knowing what to do. I poked Al as one of the villagers approached us.
"Sorry we were so rude when you failed the last time." The old man said laying a hand on Al's shoulder. Al frowned. "But in the name of fair play we'll give you another chance! Break a leg!" He hollered and ran off to hide with the others in an old building.
"What a bunch of yellow-bellied, lily-livered, cowards." Iago remarked landing on Al and I nodded. For once I agreed with them. Suddenly the ground shook and we were jostled. "My kind of people!" He hollered flying away and this time I rolled my eyes and when I did, I spotted some kids hiding under a cart and dashed forward as the metal bug came their way.
"Alaric!" I heard Al yell as I slid under the cart. I took hold of them running out from under the cart just as the foot of the bug crashed down behind us. I shooed them towards the people and Genie pulled me over to where they were.
"Quick thinking, shorty." Genie patted me and I nodded in response trying to catch my breath.
"Al, you better think of something quick." I said regaining my breath and Al turned to Jaz.
"Jasmine, what was wrong with that dragon fly you gave your father?" he asked quickly.
"Uh, the oil leaked out and, um, he said it was full of sand."
"Right!" Al shouted and we looked at him. "Guys!" Al said to Genie and Carpet. "Think you can whip up a sand storm?" Genie and Carpet nodded. "I'm going to see if I can let the oil out of that thing." He handed Abu to Jasmine and she hugged him.
"Be careful."
"I wanna go." I told him when he turned to me and he shook his head.
"No, it's too dangerous." He said and took off. I frowned after him. There was no way I was staying out this. While Jaz had her back turned, I ran down the street determined to help Al. he sighed when I almost ran into him.
"Alaric, go back." he said and turned to frown at me.
"Al, I never get to do anything! Just let me help out!" Al tried to shoo me back. "I'll just follow you…" I said in a sing-song voice and he scowled.
"Oh, alright. But if it gets too dangerous you're leaving, understand?" I nodded and he motioned for me to follow. We climbed to the rooftop of a building and I carried a vase of water. The giant metal bug had started spitting fire, like a dragon would.
"Stay right behind me." he warned, taking the vase from me and I nodded. He got ready as the large bug came stomping by. Al jumped out and grabbed hold of the bug's serrated bottom jaw to keep from falling further and almost dropping the vase. After taking a deep breath I jumped too. I landed above Al on the top of the bottom jaw and helped pull him and the vase up. With a grin he handed me the vase and I tossed the contents onto the small fire starter in the center of the bug's mouth.
"Okay, Mechanicles your gears are numbered!" Al yelled up at the mad inventor and the Greek glared down at us.
"Yeah, it's over you weirdo!" He got an offended look then.
"As the great Greek philosopher Plato said, 'Nuh-uh.'." he stated and pulled one of the many levers he had around him. Something whirling caught our attention and we looked to see two swords spinning towards us.
"Al!" I yelped and we dodged and moved about (Which was hard to do in a small space) and managed to make the sword wielding thing break. Al grabbed one of the swords and held it in his hands.
"Ha! Not bad, eh?" Al taunted and Mechanicles yawned.
"Probably not the time to be cheeky, Al." I muttered.
"Yes, yes very amusing. What a shame I must destroy you both." Mechanicles gave us a smirk before pulling on another lever. A small trap door opened beneath us and Al and I fell through it.
"Whoa!" I yelped and I landed on Al. He pushed me off and we stood up. We were inside the bug!
"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" I shouted up at the door and Al rolled his eyes. Suddenly we were launched forward and end up toppling on top of a turning cog.
"And you said I was being cheeky?" Al muttered and I scowled as we were tossed about. I gave a yelp when one of the gears knocked into me and I went flying down a conveyer belt. "Rick!"
"I'm okay!" I called from the end of the belt. I suddenly felt wind and looked up to see sand swirling into the bug.
"Al, Genie's got the storm going!" He grinned and then looked up at a long thick pipe. It was leaking oil. With a grin Al ran up a cog and jumped on top of the pipe to break it in half. He succeeded and the bug suddenly came to a halt, including all the cogs.
"You did it!" I hollered and he grinned down at me. Suddenly, the bug gave a lurch and the cogs and gears started faster. The cog I was on spun faster, tossing me over to a spinning cog and to my horror I found that in about a few seconds I was going to be squished between two cogs!
"ALADDIN!" I cried out as I got closer to the connecting grooves of the machine.
"Hang on, Alaric!" he called up to me and I grimaced as the cogs came closer. I was scared, so I shut my eyes as it was just above me. Suddenly the cogs began to groan. "Alaric?" Al called, opening my eyes I looked up to see the Al had stuck his sword in between the first groove of the gear and I sighed with relief.
"Alaric?" Al called again and I leaned over the side slightly pale. He sighed with relief and then saw the look on my face. I didn't feel too well at all.
"Come on, let's get you down." He said gently and he held out his arms below me and slowly I started too slid down. Suddenly the bug started to sway and then it rolled. Screaming Al and I were tossed about the cogs and gears banging into all of them. Finally it stopped rolling. I edged out from under one of the broken cogs and looked around. I was feeling sick to my stomach from all the rolling.
"Al?" I called out and I heard him cough from nearby. He crawled out of the broken gears and over to me. Al saw me and crawled over to me.
"Are you alright?" I nodded a little, a little disoriented and he looked at me in concern. "Rick?"
"Huh?" He took my arm and we made our way out of the bug. We got up and I clung to Al to keep falling. Genie and Carpet showed up and Genie's head was spinning around much like my stomach was.
"Thanks for the help, guys." Al told them patted Genie on the shoulder and the jinni grinned.
"No sweat! Hey, be a pal and make everything stop spinning would ya?" He clutched his head and then fell over backwards.
"You did it!" Jaz came up and hugged Al as the villagers surrounded us happily. "You saved the village!"
"No we did it together. We all saved the village." Al proclaimed and we all grinned.
"And what village would that be?" A person in the back called and Iago flew over to him.
"Oh, lovely! Go ahead and ruin the moment with your malcontent!"
"Think you could help rebuild it?" Al asked Genie and Genie nodded.
"Hey, what are semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic powers for?"
"Al." I tugged on his arm and he looked down at me. "What happened to Mechanicles?" And like a chain reaction he suddenly appeared riding on the top of another golden bug, but this one was a large butterfly.
"You puny minded fools!" He hollered at us. "You thought you could stop Mechanicles?" He laughed in that annoying way and I rolled my eyes. "It is to laugh! I'll be back! And I'll be back to get my revenge on you, Aladdin! And your little pest of a brother!" He screeched as he took off into the sky.
"Come on, Rick." Al pulled me with him. "Let's get you settled down, alright?" I suddenly broke away from Al and ran behind the giant bug.
"Short man?" Genie called and I came back around feeling much better. He saw me and grimaced. "Are you okay?"
"I feel a little better." He tucked an arm around me and herded me back to the others. "I told you, his voice was annoying." I said and he looked down at me. "It made me nauseous." Genie laughed and ruffled my hair as we went back to help the villagers.