Chapter 2
Juju Awakening
Tak woke up leaning against the rock formation outside the village and near the tram.
"Ugg what happened?"
He felt his arm.
"Ow"
Tak noticed his arm was bandaged with leaves.
"You're awake!"
He turned to his right and saw Flora floating towards him.
"I was worried we were too late."
Tak looked at his arm and then at Flora.
"I remember finishing off that plant and then nothing."
He said while pulling the makeshift bandages off his arm.
"Wait you're not-"
Flora stopped and noticed not only was Tak's wound not oozing with poison anymore but wasn't even bleeding.
"That's….different"
Tak looked at his arm, noticing a bite mark.
"Ok i know i passed out after beating the plant but i swear this bite was worse than it is."
Flora picked up the bandages.
"That plant did bite you harder than the mark you currently have, it also poisoned you."
She held up the bandage revealing some red and purple.
"I used the plants around here to make an antidote for the poison but even with that you healed faster than you normally should have."
Tak looked at his arm before shaking his head.
"I'll worry about this later, Jibolba needs the plants."
He stood up.
"You sure you're alright?"
Flora asked.
"Yeah my arm is just a little sore."
Tak walked back into his village making his way back to Jibolba's hut.
Flora looks at Tak.
"I'll wait out here, i'm gonna check some of the plants around here."
Tak nodded and he went inside.
"I have the herbs and spices Jibolba. How's Lok doing?"
Jibolba was standing next to a sheep.
"Lok,the mighty warrior has been mindlessly eating grass and leaving little pellets all over the floor of my hut."
He complained before his expression switched.
"So I guess he's doing okay for a sheep."
Tak looked at the sheep and shook his head.
"Right, anyway here's the plants."
He handed the bag he had the plants in to his mentor.
"You did well, Tak. Now I can perform the transformation spell and bring him back."
Jibolba placed the four plants forming a square around the sheep.
He began chanting while standing near the sheep
The plants began spinning with Juju.
Suddenly the sheep exploded, sending Jibolba back.
When the smoke cleared someone was standing but it wasn't Lok.
It was another villager holding a spear with a bowl haircut covering his eyes with a bone holding a feather in his hair.
Jibolba sat up after landing on the ground.
"But this is not 's Tobar,Lok's squire."
Jibolba said, confused.
"At least your transformation spell worked."
Tak stated before he turned to Tobar.
"Tobar! Can you tell us what happened to Lok?"
Tobar only responded with a baa.
"Umm Jibolba?You sure you did that spell right?"
He questioned his mentor.
"Of course I did!"
Jibolba shouted.
"You mean he wasn't always like this?"
"I'm pretty sure no one in our village always only spoke sheep."
"Ah well I suppose the spell wasn't perfect after all."
Jibolba got up.
"Tak,I'm afraid the situation has gotten more complicated, you must go to the Tree Village and find their he has been turned into a sheep,you must fetch his Spirit Rattle. We will need it."
"Isn't their shaman in the upper part of the Tree Village?"
"Yes you'll need this charm to get into the shaman's tree."
He handed Tak a glowing green charm attaching it to where his club usually was.
"While you're gone, I will find out where Lok is. Hopefully he wasn't turned into a sheep."
The plants Tak brought back were wilting away quickly.
"I doubt we have time for another ingredient run."
'That's true.'
Tak thought to himself.
"Okay,I'm on my way."
He said as he was about to leave.
"Oh and Tak, if the shaman has been turned into a sheep and he has any nice shamanic jewelry you think would look go on me–"
Tak gave Jibolba a disappointed look.
"Uhh on!"
Tak walked out of the hut.
"Hey Flora!"
He shouted,looking around for her.
She floated down to him.
"Tak what's the matter?"
"We have a new problem,apparently the sheep we've been gathering plants to return to normal wasn't Lok."
"Oh that's not good."
"Jibolba told me to meet with the Tree Village's Shaman"
Flora shook her head.
"He's been turned into a sheep. I don't think he's going to be any help I'm afraid."
"Jibolba also said we'll need the Spirit Rattle."
Flora thought for a moment.
"We better hurry."
Tak nodded and the two went towards the lift to the tree village.
While this was happening Tlaloc was inside his dark temple injecting plants with Dark Juju.
His voodoo doll minions Pins and Needles approach him.
"We have news to report."
Pins stated.
"The moonstones are safely secured in the three temples."
"Good and with that so-called mighty warrior taken out there's no one to stop my plans,especially with Jibolba's little errand boy wasting his time with a half baked counter to my magic."
Needles tried to speak.
"Wait, are you serious?"
Pins questioned.
Needles responded once again with a muffled voice.
"Needles says that the apprentice is going after the Spirit Rattle."
"What?"
Tlalok turned to his minions with a glare.
"Let me take him out Tlaloc!"
Pins said.
Needles spoke in his muffled voice again.
"Needles says he thinks he can take him on all by himself."
He spoke again.
"He says he can take me on,too. Well come at it, little man!"
Needles tackled Pins and the two began slapping and punching the other until Tlaloc finally interrupted them.
"Enough! Pins,Needles! You will both stop Tak together!"
He placed a hand on her forehead in annoyance.
"Afterwards,you can fight as much as you like."
Tlaloc waved his other hand and the two voodoo dolls were gone.
"The Spirit Rattle would be a problem given the right circumstances and time."
Tlaloc spoke before continuing his experiments on the plants around him.
"Time is something they lack."
Tak had reached a lift similar to the one that took him and Flora to the Lower Tree Village.
"The upper part of the Tree Village is guarded by the village shaman, to prevent any unwanted guest from getting in."
Flora said flying next to Tak.
"I'm guessing the more important people live up there."
"Just some of the builders as well as the Village Chief and Shaman."
The lift stopped at what appeared to be a mostly empty room.
"This is where the shaman lives? Its kinda empty"
Tak looked around, the room consisted of a couple bowls and mortars as well as some books and table but there was no sign of ingredients
"The tree people never take more than they need, it's how they stay balanced with nature."
Flora said flying around.
"The Spirit Rattle should be around here some- Tak watch out!"
He reacted quickly and moved to his right as a ball of magic nearly hit him.
"You missed him, Needles!"
Needles gave his muffled response.
Tak turned to see the voodoo dolls.
"Next time let me throw the inflaters."
Pins threw the ball at Tak who rolled out of the way.
He tried to reach for his club before remembering it broke.
"Crud"
He held the staff he had with both hands.
"What's that stick supposed to do?"
He threw the inflater at Tak.
Tak smacked it with the staff and it hit Pins immediately.
His head pulsed with air immediately.
"Urrgg you'll regret that pipsqueak."
Needles muffled laughter was heard through the room.
"Oh you think this is funny?"
He threw an inflater at Needles.
After getting hit he reacted exactly like Pins did.
'Definitely don't want to get hit by those'
Tak thought to himself.
"Alright enough! We pop his head first then you're next!"
Pins shouted.
Needles shouted something and nodded in response.
Tak began running back and forth dodging each inflater that came towards him.
He tried to load an acorn into the staff but the Voodoo Duo wouldn't give him a chance.
"What's the matter? Can't take a hit?"
Pins taunted.
While this was happening Flora was searching the hut for the Spirit Rattle.
"Cmon cmon where is it"
She said to herself.
Needles looked up and saw the Juju searching the hut.
He threw a inflater directly at Flora.
Tak saw this and quickly pole vaulted up while swinging the staff down.
With a spinning down attack he struck the inflater down hitting it back at Needles making his head inflate more.
Tak landed between the Voodoo Dolls.
"Back off."
"I'll show you what's what!"
Pins shouted.
Needles had gotten up and with a muffled yell threw an inflater directly at Tak while at the same time Pins threw an inflater at Tak.
He quickly dropped to the ground.
"What?"
Pins responded while Needles let out a muffled scream as both Voodoo dolls were hit with the inflaters the other threw.
Pins head inflated again while Needles went too far and exploded leaving the voodoo doll without a head.
Tak looked behind him and Needles went down.
"One down."
He said to himself.
Before Tak could get up Pins kicked Tak onto his back before he could get up.
"And one left"
Tak was about to swing his staff at Pins but when Pins kicked him he dropped the staff.
With little time to react as Pins was about to throw an inflater directly at Tak.
Suddenly before the inflater was about to hit Tak something fell in front of Tak and blocked the inflater from hitting him.
Tak saw what protected him.
It was a weapon with two shells connected with leather bindings,some that wrapped a green handle with two sticks connecting the two bigger shells to a pair of smaller shells at the bottom of the weapon.
"Tak use the Spirit Rattle!"
He heard Flora shouted.
Tak quickly grabbed the Spirit Rattle and felt the power inside it.
Pins looked at Tak.
"Oh that's just unfair!"
He complained before Tak swung the Spirit Rattle down and a burst of green and purple magic charged directly at Pins.
"Oh sh-"
He didn't finish that sentence as Pins was hit with the magic.
Tak was breathing heavily as both Pins and Needles bodies vanished.
"What happened to them?"
He questioned as Flora floated down to him.
"Unfortunately even though you destroyed their bodies Tlaloc's Dark Juju can keep them coming back as long as he has a vessel to place them in."
"So they'll be back?"
"Most likely unless Tlaloc no longer has a use for them."
Tak looked at the Spirit Rattle
"This is a powerful weapon."
"It grants the user abilities normal people wouldn't have without lots of training."
"This should give Lok everything he needs to save us then."
Tak put the Spirit Rattle where his club used to be and went to pick up the staff.
'One thing he doesn't know is that it also requires great power to use it efficiently.'
Flora thought to herself.
"We should get back to Jibolba."
Tak said while standing on the lift.
"You go ahead, I need to check something."
Flora noticed a couple orange and red leaves nearby.
"Ok."
Tak nodded and went down the lift.
"Ok you can come out Fauna!"
Her sister Juju flew down in an orange and red version of Flora's travel form.
"You seem to be enjoying your time with him while I've been busy herding animals."
Fauna said snarky.
"It's not like we've been on vacation, things aren't normal right now, far from it in fact."
"Tell me about it"
Fauna shook her head.
"Look, the sooner Tak gives the Spirit Rattle to Lok the sooner we don't have to worry about Tlaloc or his dark powers anymore."
Fauna sighed.
"About that"
Flora looked at Fauna confused.
"About what?"
She asked.
As this was happening Tak made his way back to Jibolba's hut going behind his mentor.
"I got the Spirit Rattle! It was really hard to get i had to-"
Tak then noticed what Jibolba was looking at.
"Oh gross!"
Lok's body was flat against the ground in front of them.
"Is- is that Lok?"
"The mighty warrior himself."
Jibolba said sadly.
"He's a quarter of an inch thick. He's a Pupanunu people's pancake."
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"No he is going to be the opposite of okay. Lok has moved on to the spirit world."
"He's dead?! How? Why? This wasn't in the prophecy!"
"I know. I am very confused. The prophecy warned us that our people would be turned into sheep by a shaman wielding Dark Juju. The prophecy also told us a mighty warrior would save the Pupanunu people. But apparently when Lok tried to calm them down, they crushed him like a bug!"
Tak looked at Lok's flattened remains.
"Well, can we uncrush him or something?"
Jibolba had moved a few feet away from Tak.
"Bring Lok back from the dead? It's very difficult."
Tak looked at the Spirit Rattle in his hand and then back at his mentor.
"Well, i'll do it"
Jibolba turned to Tak.
"Only a mighty warrior can do that."
"We don't have a mighty warrior."
Jibolba thought for a moment before giving a frustrated sigh.
"The Spirit Rattle will grant you Juju Vision. You will be able to see the tikis and the magic yorbels throughout the world. You will have to put the tikis into the shrines to call upon Juju Spirits for may not want to, but if you call upon them, they must help you."
Tak nodded trying to process the information.
"How will I find Lok?"
"You will need to open an entrance into the Spirit inside you will be able to fetch Lok's order to open the path you must collect one hundred magic yorbels to open the way."
Tak looked shocked.
"A hundred magic yorbels?"
Tak said in shock.
"Yes, don't complain. When I was a young man, it used to take ten thousand magic yorbels to do a resurrection spell."
Tak shook his head.
"Jibolba I don't think we have time for one hundred."
"Uh well yes I suppose you're right."
Jibolba looks through some scrolls.
"There is a faster way but it'll be even more difficult I'm afraid."
"We don't have a lot of options."
Jibolba gave a frustrated sigh again.
"There's a more powerful yorbel, the golden yorbel, you'll only need to get three of them but they require you to go very far and it's very dangerous especially now."
Tak took a deep breath.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
"You'll only need three of them and they're at the west side of Chicken Island, Mountain Top, and the Dryrock Caverns."
"The Caverns? Didn't Lok train there?"
"Yes but he never found the golden yorbel unfortunately, I hope you have better luck."
Tak nods.
"I hope so too."
He leaves the hut and immediately bumped into Flora both falling to the ground.
"Tak! Lok is-"
"I know, I saw, I'm going to bring him back."
Tak said while trying to calm Flora down.
"You- You're going to what?"
Flora questioned.
"I'm going to get the golden yorbels and I'm going to bring him back."
"The golden yorbels? You're either brave or crazy."
Flora was surprised at Tak.
"It's what needs to be done, it'll take too long to get the hundred regular ones."
Tak began to walk down the path.
"Then you're brave."
Flora flew next to him.
"And you'll need a guide to help you get to them."
Tak turned to his Juju companion.
"You're still with me?"
"Been with you so far might as well see what's next."
Flora said with a small smile.
"Then let's do this."
He began running towards the Chicken Island Blimp.
AN:This chapter was delayed a few weeks due to real life being a pain. No excuses, that's just what happened. I'm trying to be more detailed in this story to improve my other ones which hopefully will work out in my favor in the long run. I'll try to get the next chapter out by the end of September with early October being the latest. Until next time