A Deception and An Escape- Chapter 6
Shakira glanced over to see Vinnie and Charley conversing and to plainly see her place her hand on Vinnie's arm. Her eyes went wide and were frightening.
"Stop! You must not touch him!" She cried, grabbing Charley's hand and pulling it off, "He is sacred!"
"What are you talking about?" Charley questioned.
"He is a god. You mustn't go near him."
"Hello! You rode with him. You touched him." Charley replied.
"That was different. The touch was not intimate. You must stay away or be burned by his consuming fire!"
Modo and Throttle burst out laughing.
"Darling, I don't think you or Charley-girl have a thing to worry about." Throttle chuckled.
"Yeah, Vinnie here doesn't have any godlike powers. He's just a goofball." Modo laughed.
"Well, thanks a heap, bros!" Vinnie replied, annoyed. He glared at his two bros who grinned.
"You mean you weren't sent from the sky to save our land from our enemies?" Chief Hgumbu questioned Vinnie.
"Well..." He hesitated.
Throttle and Modo stepped in to protect Vinnie.
"We did come from another planet and we will stop the Big Cheese from taking your land." Throttle said, "But we ain't gods."
"Then the mouse being my people saw and worship is?"
"My dad. And what I don't get is what he was doing on Earth in the first place." Vinnie said.
"I don't know. But whatever the reason we'll get to the bottom of it." Charley told him.
"Hey, I wonder if Stoker knows. The Martian Military has records of every soldier that's joined up with them." Modo said, "If he could take a peek at their files for us we'd be set."
"Or we could ask Carbine. She's in the military." Charley suggested.
"Was in the military. She defected to the Freedom Fighters, remember? " Throttle replied.
"Like Modo was saying, the Coach is our best bet." Vinnie said.
"This statue doesn't look very old. " Charley said, examining the ivory statue of Vinnie's dad.
"I created it two years ago." Izchur replied, "One night I could not sleep so I went for a walk. I saw a strange ship crash into the jungle. I ran towards it to see if anyone needed help. That is when I saw him: a being come from the ship. He looked like a giant mouse but he also resembled a mortal man. He was fighting with large, fat, foul-smelling fish creatures."
"Plutorkians!" Charley exclaimed.
The mice quickly glanced at each other. So the Stink Fishes have been on Earth before as well as their own people. What did it mean?
Meanwhile, Iago ran back through the jungle carrying the suitcase containing the fake diamond Limburger gave him.
"When I find that backstabbing bass, he's going to be fried fish!" He fumed. He slowed down when he spotted a yellow frog sitting on a lily pad near a swampy bog. Then he began to hear moans and groans. Iago slowly approached in the direction of the sound.
Lawrence Limburger, Carbunkle, and Greasepit were still lying on the ground where the Biker Mice and their friends had left them. Iago threw back his head and laughed.
"It would seem my enemies have you at a disadvantage, my friend." He teased.
"I don't find this the least bit amusing." Limburger groaned.
"And this is?" He replied, opening the suitcase and dumping the fake shards and dust in front of the three villains.
"You ripped me off! I don't find this funny at all."
"Aw, c'mon. Haves a heart." Greasepit moaned.
"Well, you can hardly blame me for your misfortune." Limburger said.
"Really. And how do you figure that? " Iago questioned.
"I have fallen on hard times thanks to those bothersome moles and their female companion."
"Not to mention that red-haired jungle witch! She's to blame for this." Carbunkle put in.
"Watch your mouth, carrot top! That's the woman who is going to be my bride once I eliminate the one called Esuom."
" We both want the Biker Mice to meet their demise." Limburger began, "You let me help you. Me and my associates." He motioned his head towards Greasepit and Carbunkle.
"And why should I?"
"Because Mistah Limboiger said so." Greasepit reached out, grabbing Iago by the collar with one hand and lifting himself up with the other.
"B-But how?" He sputtered. His eyes bulged out as he saw Limburger and Carbunkle get up.
"Oh, we starting being able to move twenty seconds ago." Limburger explained, "And now those hapless hampsters' days are numbered."
"Hey, looks like the rain stopped." Charley said.
"Then we best get moving. The village is just over that hill." Chief Hgumbu told them.
The Biker Mice and their friends got on their bikes. The old chief rode with Throttle. Charley rode with Vinnie. Shakira rode with Modo.
They rode down the steep hill.
"Easy does it, bros." Throttle told the others. Soon they entered through the gates.
"There they are!" Iago said, pointing at them. He was followed by the elders and people of the village. They soon surrounded the mice and their friends.
"Iago, what is the meaning of this?" Chief Hgumbu asked.
"Do you see, elders? Look how these mice creatures have bewitched our beloved chief and his sweet innocent daughter!"
"No! You are wrong! He is a traitor to our people!" Shakira said, pointing at Iago, "The Biker Mice are our friends."
"You saw with your own eyes how this Esuom imposter used an incantation over our chief turning him into a wolf and now he's turned him back! Our chief has been corrupted by dark forces. His daughter has been possessed as well!"
The elders looked at other nodding. The people looked at each other. Loud murmurings filled the crowd.
"My people, I am your chief. Iago is a deceiver! You must not listen to him."
"We are sorry,Hgumbu. But the Esuom imposter is a servant of the Evil one! He has bewitched you and the princess. We no longer follow you." One of the elders told him. The chief looked down bewildered while Shakira stared at the people.
"So much for admiration. Talk about no appreciation." Vinnie murmured.
"My people, heed my words. As my servant has directed you, so do ye. The mice imposters must die in the flaming volcano! Do it quickly or I destroy your village!" A voice from the volcano suddenly boomed out.
The people cowered in fear as lava burst from the volcano. The mice and Charley jumped. Shakira and her father looked dazed.
Spears were soon aimed at the Biker Mice. Charley tried to stop the villagers but was held back. Their hands, feet, and tails were tied to long, bamboo poles carried by the villagers.
Soon the Biker Mice and Charley were taken to the top of the volcano. Red and orange lava glowed like Northern Lights. Charley gasped at the grand size of it. It was brighter than any sunset she'd ever seen. The heat was so overpowering many villagers fainted.
"Okay, this whole trip suddenly turned out to be anything but fun." Vinnie said, looking nervously at the sharp, pointy spears aimed at his head.
"Sure wish I was back in Chi-town." Modo frowned.
"Not to worry, bros. We might be there soon than you think." Throttle said, mysteriously.
"What does Esuom say we do with the woman? Throw her in, too?" A villager asked Iago, motioning at Charley. The latter was held by two men from the village.
"No. She is far too beautiful to kill." He replied, grinning as he cupped Charley's face under her chin. The latter shrank from his touch.
"You stay away from her!" Vinnie shouted.
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of the girl. She will be my concubine!"
"In your dreams, pal!" Charley blurted out.
"Iago!"
Shakira walked up to him. Her mouth was in a thin line and her face was set.
"Let Esuom and his friends go and I will...marry you." She said.
Everyone glanced at her in shock.
"Shakira! Daughter, you must not!" Her father pleaded, "This black hearted monster has already chosen a bride."
"I've chosen more than one. I shall marry them both! The princess will be my chief wife and the lady mechanic my second. If she displeases me, I can always kill her and I'll still have the princess."
"'All you're gonna have is zip." Throttle said. He had gotten free and fired his blaster at Modo and Vinnie's ropes which dropped from the two mice freeing them.
"How did you get loose?" Iago told Throttle, "We tied you up."
"Forgot my tail and borrowed a little something from one of the people and cut the ropes while you were bragging about how you were gonna marry Charley-girl." He held up a small dagger with his tail then threw it aside.
All three mice put their two fingers in their mouths and whistled.
The villagers parted and fled in fear as three motorcycles rode up to the three bikers. They mounted their bikes along with their friends.
Iago tried to run but was stopped by Modo who held him in the air by his collar.
"Fishface is behind all this." He said, "This guy is just his puppet but that Hallibutt is pulling the strings."
"Well, our friend here is gonna tell us." Throttle said.
He looked inside Iago's ear and pulled out the transistor.
"Well, lookee, what I found. Pay dirt!" He said, triumphantly.
"There are two volcanoes I saw. Didn't see lava come out of that other one next to this one." Vinnie said.
"Because its inactive. It hasn't erupted in years."Shakira explained.
" Wanna bet that Stink Fish and his cronies are hiding in there?' Vinnie asked.
The mice glanced at each other as a plan formed.
Meanwhile, Limburger and Carbunkle were listening in as they hid in their hiding place.
"What's going on? I expected those wretched motorcycle riding hamsters to be parboiling in lava. It's too quiet." Limburger wondered.
"I don't know, Your Extra Cheesiness." Carbunkle replied, puzzled.
Suddenly, three motorcycles that had gliders attached to them came down into the volcano.
"Looking for this, Cheesewhiz?" Throttle asked, crushing the transmitter in his gloved hand and letting the residue drizzle to the ground.
"You're done, Stinkfish." Vinnie said.
"One thing you rodents haven't learned yet is that I don't give up easy." Limburger said, pointing a blaster at them.
Unbeknownst to the mice, Greasepit was had snuck up a few feet behind them with a missile launcher.
"So long, meeces!" He chuckled, fiendishly, as he aimed it at them.
Shakira saw his shadow and shrieked.
The mice turned around. Modo fired his bionic arm knocking Greasepit into the air. He then fell into Carbunkle's sound speaker and console. Fire, smoke, and electrical sparks shot out of it.
"It's going to blow!" Carbunkle cried out. A large blast began causing the volcano to erupt.
"Run for it!" Limburger called out.