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Episode Four

Snow Day in Thembria

The McQueen sat on the surface of the water in the middle of the open sea, surrounded by archipelagos. And inside the cockpit, seated in his seat, Matthew kept examining the papers in the file he had gotten from Don Karnage about Kit.

Matthew found the papers in the file surprisingly informative, Don Karnage had gone out of his way to write down every little detail in a self-flattering way, but it still gave Matthew a clear picture of what happened when Kit first encountered the Air Pirates.

The Air Pirate had plundered a cargo plane bound for Cape Suzette from Freeport. Dumptruck had found Kit hiding in one of the cargo crates.

"Though the boy was quite young, I saw the making of a great pirate in him and decided to recruit him." Matthew read off the paper. "So we took him and brought him back to the Iron Vulture. I then decided that he would be my cabin boy, but he got promoted to be the navigator for the Iron Vulture when he has proven to be great with maps."

This file kept describing the adventures and various treasure hunts and plunders of cargo planes in which Kit got involved.

"Bound for Cape Suzette from Freeport…" Matthew re-read. "So, Kit wanted to go to Cape Suzette even before he met Baloo."

He kept reading through the events of Karnage's quest to build the Lighting Gun. Kit's thieving of the stolen Stone, the pirates' pursuit of Kit and Baloo for the Stone, the kidnapping of an annoying business lady and her little girl, Kit's reunion with the Pirates, right down to Kit's final betrayal that ended with the destruction of the Lighting Gun and their dreams of plundering Cape Suzette.

"Whoa… Kit risked his own life to save Cape Suzette there." Matthew said, feeling a mixture of sadness and pride. He was proud of Kit for his heroic deeds, but he was also sad that Kit had to make that decision in the first place. No child should ever feel like they had to put their lives on the line, even if it was for the greater good.

Matthew closed the file, got up, and went into the cargo hold. He opened a locker and placed the file on a shelf next to the other files and records of Kit he'd managed to gather in the last couple of days. Kit's paper from the orphanage, Kit's police records (though those did not report any crimes, just the capture and return of a runaway orphan to the orphanage). And most recent of all, his Captain Kit Cloudkicker, Ace of the Sky promotion posters from Daring Dan's airshow. Matthew had collected all the different posters ever released. He gave the signs a sad little smile and then buried his face in his hand, falling to his knees in grief.

"I'm so sorry, Kit," he muttered, sobbing a little in his hand. "Sorry I couldn't find you sooner..."

The sun rose in Cape Suzette, and as the rooster crowed, Kit woke up inside the upstairs bedroom of Higher for Hire. He sat up and stretched. He looked over at Baloo's bed to see that Baloo was resting on his side, snoring as he dozed on, and then looked to his other side at Chris, who was still deeply asleep next to him.

"Poor, Chris," Kit said sympathetically, stroking Chris on top of the head, running his fingers through his hair. Chris smiled as he slept. "He may be an early riser, but because of his phobia of the storm last night, he may sleep a little longer today."

Kit got out of bed and started gathering clothes from various places on the floor, and when he picked up Chris' sweatshirt, he noticed it felt a little heavy. He shook it, and three items came out onto the floor with a loud thump. Kit cringed and looked back at Chris, who gave a loud snort and seemed close to waking up, but he simply turned over and slept onward. Kit breathed a sigh of relief before bending over and reaching to pick up the items.

The items on the floor were Chris' folded airfoil, what looked like a tiny pill box, and a flashlight. He picked up the airfoil and set it on the bedside table. He picked up the pill box and opened it. Inside were what looked like three maroon-colored jelly beans. He took one of the beans out and examined it, sorely tempted to eat it, to taste it, but decided against it. It belonged to Chris, and he did not know whether this was a jelly bean or some kind of medicine that Chris was taking. And as he had learned on the streets, never eat or drink anything of an unknown substance. He put the bean back into the box, closed it, and set it on the bedside table, and now, only the flashlight remains.

Kit picked it up and examined it, noticing that this wasn't an ordinary flashlight. It looks fancy, almost futuristic.

"Wow… this is a cool-looking flashlight," he said, turning it on. But instead of light, a long blue rod shot out of it, startling Kit. "WHOA!" Kit gasped as he swung the strange glowing blade. Once noticing that it made a weird humming sound when moved, he dropped it. The butt of the hilt hit the floor, and the blue blade flickered and died.

Kit approached the flashlight-like device cautiously and was even afraid to pick it up again, but he bravely reached out a shaky hand and picked it up again.

"What is this thing?" Kit said to himself, rotating the device over in his hand. He held it at arm's length and pressed the button again, causing the glowing rod to appear again. For a moment, he just stood there, staring at it.

"KIT!" cried Chris' voice from the bed.

Startled, Kit whirled around to see Chris leap from the bed, cartwheeled in midair, and then landed on the floor next to him, snatching the glowing rod out of his hand. He turned it off, and the luminous rod vanished. Chris wiped his forehead.

"Phew!" he said with relief. Then he turned a stern face to Kit. "WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WERE YOU DOING?!" he demanded, looking half angry, half concerned. "You could've sliced off your hand, or worse…." he made a throat-cutting gesture with his finger across his own throat.

"I… I was just," Kit stammered, seemingly lost for words, but then he shook it off and became stern. "What is that thing, and why do you have it if it's that dangerous?!"

"This is...uh..." Now Chris seems to be lost for words. "Wait, that's not the issue here. You were snooping around in my stuff, weren't you?'

"What…? NO!" Kit cried, looking indignant at that accusation. "I was just collecting your clothes for the laundry, and that fell out of your sweatshirt!"

Regret filled Chris' face, and he looked ashamed of himself. "I'm… I'm sorry, Kit, I shouldn't have assumed..."

"It's okay," Kit said, then he eyed the weapon in Chris' hand. "But what is that thing, and why do you have it?"

Chris held up the weapon, looking at it thoughtfully, then sighed. "I'm turning out to be a bad secret keeper… but as you're my brother and since you discovered it, I'll tell you. This…." He held up the weapon. "...is called the D-blade. It's the weapon of choice in the organization that Dad and I joined long ago."

"What organization?" Kit inquired.

"You know I can't tell you that. I'm probably in enough trouble as it is for telling you this and what I told Baloo."

"What did you tell Baloo?" Kit asked. "Chris, are you telling him things you're not telling me?"

"I had no choice, Kit. He saw some of the things I did to save you," Chris said. "He was a witness, so I had to explain things to him. You should've seen him after I saved you. He was terrified of me. I hate it when people are so afraid of me like that, so I told him some things to put him at ease."

"What did you do to save me? Wait, when was I ever in danger?" Kit asked as he did not know of his free fall from the day before, just that he woke up with his head hurting and a turban of bandages wrapped around it.

"When the Air Pirates attacked, you got knocked out by the crates in the cargo area, the back door opened, and you fell out. I jumped out to save you, but those dumb pirates made things difficult for me, and I had to resort to using my powers to get them out of my way and save you."

"Powers? What powers?"

For an answer, Chris held out a hand to Kit, the palm of his hand facing him, and Kit found himself floating off the floor and rising halfway between ceiling and floor. He struggled and kicked, but there was nothing physical holding him up, and therefore, there was nothing to kick and stumble.

"Ahh! What is this? Put me down!" Kit cried.

"This is what I had to do to stop you from falling," Chris said, lowering Kit back down to the floor slowly and gently.

Kit stared at Chris as if he'd grown an extra head. "Chris… how did you do that?"

"I've learned to access and harness the Heart," Chris said. "The Heart is the power source of all living things. Anyone can use the Heart, but most people don't even know it's there. And don't ask me to teach you how. I'm a student, not a master, and as a student, I'm not allowed to teach others how to use it."

"Aw, nuts," Kit said, looking disappointed. "So, where can I find a master?"

"Ask Dad. I'm not answering any more questions," Chris said firmly. "I'm sorry, Kit, but we're heading into territories I can't talk about."

"Okay, Chris…" Kit sighed, knowing how Baloo must have felt when he had refused to answer questions about his past but understood that there are things that one simply cannot talk about lightly. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. "But what CAN you talk about?"

"What… what do you mean?" Chris asked nervously, sensing Kit's annoyance. He had always been very reluctant to anger his Dad, and the fact that Kit looked more like their Dad than he did, did not help.

"You can't talk about your adventures. You can't talk about this group that you and Dad are members of, and you can't talk about the Heart. What CAN you talk about, Chris?! Why do you have to be so secretive?"

"Kit..." Chris said in a trembling voice, understanding Kit's frustration—it is how he would feel if he were in Kit's position. "You don't think I want to tell you? I do! I want to tell you everything! But, I can't…."

Kit saw how this was making Chris upset, then he sighed and hugged Chris. "I'm sorry, Chris. If you can't tell me, I won't pressure you anymore." Kit still wanted to know some things, but not if it made Chris this upset and pressured.

"Thanks, Kit," Chris said gratefully, hugging Kit back. "But maybe I'll be able to tell you stuff soon. I don't know when, but maybe soon."

They broke apart, and Kit picked up Chris' and his laundry. "If you want breakfast, come downstairs with me," he said, leading the way out of the room, down the stairs, through the office, and into the back room that served as a kitchen and laundry room, with a foldable paper wall between them.

They stepped around this paper wall into the laundry area. The washing machine wasn't what Chris expected. It seems to be an opened metal gasoline barrel with an aluminum bowl in the center. He supposed that this was what washing machines were like in the nineteen-thirties. He watched as Kit put the clothes into the bowl and then filled it with warm soapy water from the kitchen sink, he turned the bowl on its side, and then he turned the machine on. Chris watched as the bowl began to spin within the barrel, like a concrete mixer in a barrel. Even though he had already seen what washing machines would one day evolve into, it was still interesting to see what the early washing machines started as.

"What, you've never seen a washing machine before?" Kit asked with a chuckle.

"Huh? Oh. Of course, I have," Chris said. "Just not one quite like that…" he added under his breath.

"Well, what do you want for breakfast?" Kit asked, walking around the paper wall that separates the laundry room from the kitchen. He opened a cabinet and took out a few boxes of cereal. "We got cereal, oatmeal... or we could cook some eggs and bacon if you want."

"Eggs and bacon, please," Chris said.

After breakfast, Wildcat came in, looking confused and scratching his head.

"Good morning, Wildcat. Is the Sea Duck ready to fly?" Kit asked as he washed the dishes.

"Huh? Oh! Oh, yeah, she's more ready to fly than she's ever been!" Wildcat exclaimed. "But strangely, I couldn't work on her."

"Why not?" Kit asked, looking confused. "You always find something about the Sea Duck that needs working on."

"Not this time…." Wildcat said sadly. "The Sea Duck's perfect. Can't find a thing to fix, man."

"Oh, well, maybe you'll find something else to fix… like, uh…." Kit paused for a moment to think of something that needed fixing. "Oh yeah! The radio! The record player part of the radio needs a new needle."

Wildcat gasped. "The record player's sick?!"

"Yeah, the record player is very sick." Kit confirmed, obviously playing on Wildcat's childish side.

"Have no fear, little guy. Uncle Wildcat's coming!" Wildcat called out before running from the kitchen.

"He didn't even notice me…." Chris pouted.

Wildcat then stuck his head through the kitchen doorway. "Oh, Kit, who's your friend?" he asked.

Kit gave Chris a smile that plainly said: 'he noticed you.'

"Oh right, Wildcat, I'd like you to meet my brother, Chris Cloudkicker."

"Oh wow! I didn't know you had a brother!" Wildcat exclaimed excitedly.

"Neither did I. Until very recently.

"Well, nice to meet ya, Chris," Wildcat said.

"Likewise," Chris said as they shook hands.

"Well, I better go tend to that sick record player. See ya around!" Wildcat said, and he left.

Chris gave Kit a worried look: "Is he okay?" he asked, clearly referring to Wildcat's sanity.

"Don't worry, Chris. He's harmless," Kit said reassuringly. "Just think of him as an oversized kid who is good at fixing things."

Chris paused for a moment, evidently trying to think of other ways to see Wildcat in his head, then he smiled and said: "I guess that makes it easier to interact with him."

"Don't worry, you're going to like everybody here," Kit assured him, leading him to the breakfast table, fixed him a plate of eggs and bacon, and then they both sat down. "Now, the first person you need to know about is our boss, Miz Rebecca Cunningham. Your first impression of her would probably be that she's a little money-hungry and a crazy schemer. That she's scary, especially when she's mad."

"Is she?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow, taking a bite of scrambled egg.

"A little, yeah…." Kit admitted with a nervous chuckle as if scared Rebecca might hear him. "But don't worry, her barks are worse than her bites. Besides, Baloo usually takes all the heat from her and she burns herself out before she gets around to yelling at me."

"Ahh, the angry, demanding, in-your-face type of boss, right?" Chris said, tearing a piece of bacon with his teeth and chewing it.

"Kind of, but she can be sweet and nice when she's not angry," Kit said, trying to highlight Rebecca's best qualities. "You'd want her as a friend, though. She'll go to the ends of the earth for ya, even Baloo."

"But how can those two be friends when she yells at him a lot?" Chris asked.

"Well, that's because Baloo is a great friend and pilot…. but a lousy employee to work with," Kit said reluctantly, obviously not wanting to say anything negative about Baloo. "She just wants Higher for Hire to be successful, and Baloo makes it difficult for her."

"How come?" Chris asked, taking a sip of orange juice.

"Well, he's just used to more of a free-spirited life, carefree and no troubles," Kit said. "Flying is what life's all about, he told me. Only working when he has to and no more. But, that's what led to him losing his business and his plane to Miz Cunningham in the first place."

"The kind that loves to party, eat and sleep, isn't he?" Chris said casually. "And hates work?"

"Yeah, but how did you…?"

"I know a similar guy back at home, so I know his type," Chris said. "Dad didn't want me hanging around him too much. He didn't want that laziness and allergy to hard work to rub off on me."

"Baloo may be a lazy slob, but he's got a heart of gold." Kit said. "Why don't you go with him on this morning's delivery and see for yourself?"

"Okay, but what about you, aren't you coming too?" Chris asked, confused.

"Nah, I got to school today." Kit said, grabbing his backpack and heading out the door. "Good luck with getting Baloo up for work."

"Thank—wait, what?" Chris said, wondering what Kit meant by that. But Kit was already gone. "What did he mean, with good luck with getting Baloo up for—" he stopped suddenly as the realization hit him, and he groaned. "Oh gosh, no…. Don't tell me he's a…,"

The scene flipped to Chris standing over Baloo, who snored loudly in his bed.

"...Heavy sleeper..." Chris finished in a resigned voice. "C'mon Baloo, time to get up!" he said, shaking him.

"Nothin' getting me outta this bed," Baloo said in his sleep as he rolled over, drawing the covers tightly around him.

"C'mon, Baloo, you gotta get up!" Chris said more urgently, pulling on his arm, but Baloo was an immovable rock and slept on, oblivious to Chris' attempts to rouse him.

Chris thought for a moment, tapping his head with a finger and thinking hard. Then he snapped his fingers as an idea came to him.

"Ooh, this is so cruel, but it's probably the only thing that'll work…." Chris said with a hint of remorse as he climbed up on top of Baloo. Then he bounced up and down on top of Baloo while singing in a bright and cheery voice. "GET UP, GET UP! IT'S MORNING! IT'S TIME TO RISE AND SHINE!"

"Ohhh...oh no…." Baloo groaned, covering his head with the pillow. "Anything but that, kid, anything but that…." he begged Chris.

Encouraged that his song seemed to work, Chris kept bouncing on Baloo like a Gummi Bear while still singing.

"GET UP, GET UP! IT'S MORNING! IT'S TIME TO RISE AND SHINE!" Chris continued the song, snatching away Baloo's pillow and began whacking him over the head with it while still bouncing up and down on top of him. "GET UP, GET UP, GET OUTTA BED! GET UP, GET UP, YOU SLEEPYHEAD! GET UP, GET UP, IT'S MORNING, IT'S TIME FOR RI—"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" Baloo yelled, desperate for Chris to stop that irritatingly annoying song. "I'm up! I'm up! Just please don't ever sing that song again," He sat up, causing Chris to slide off him onto the bed.

"Sorry, Baloo," Chris said sheepishly. "I tried other ways to wake you up. But you were sleeping like a log! How does Kit wake you up?"

"He just whispers the magic word in my ear, and I'm up in a heartbeat," Baloo said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh, and what is the magic word?" Chris asked.

"Just the name of any kind o' food he happens to be thinking of," Baloo said.

Chris smacked himself on the forehead, "Of course, why didn't I think of that? Okay then, tomorrow I'll give that a try. But if it doesn't work, I'm singing that song again."

"Oh no, please don't," Baloo groaned, with his hands over his head.

"So, where are we going today?" Chris asked, the light of adventures shining in his eyes.

"We?" Baloo questioned. "As in you and me?"

"Well, yeah. Who else is gonna be your navigator while Kit is at school?" Chris said. "Besides, I prefer being in a plane than being stuck here on the ground all day."

"And you're volunteering?" Baloo sighed. "Okay, let's see what Becky has for us today."

Right on cue, they heard the front door open and then Rebecca's voice floated up the stairs. "Baloo! I need you down here now!"

Chris got excited at hearing her voice. He could hardly contain himself as he did a little jig. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! It's like we're soldiers, about to go on a deadly mission!" he gasped dramatically. "We may not come back alive!"

"Yeah, pretty much," Baloo said as he exited the bedroom, smiling in amusement at Chris' antics.

Downstairs, Rebecca sat behind her desk, going over some papers while she talked on the phone.

"Yes, we have your cargo, and we're just about to ship it to you. Yes, yes, yes, thank you. Bye-bye." Rebecca hung up the phone and looked up to see Baloo and Chris approaching her desk. "Ah, Baloo, great! You're up much earlier than usual!" she said, sounding pleased.

"Yeah, someone thought it'd be funny to bounce on me while singing a very annoying song," Baloo said grumpily, glancing at Chris, who grinned apologetically.

"Well, it certainly looks like the song did its job, Baloo." laughed Rebecca. "What was it?" she asked Chris.

"No, don't tell—" Baloo started to say to Chris, but too late.

Chris did a little jig with a bright and cheery voice. "GET UP, GET UP, IT'S MORNING! IT'S TIME TO RISE AND SHINE!"

"STOP, STOP!" Baloo cried his hands over his ears. "I'm not listening! Hmm-hmm, hmm, hmm-hmm, I can't hear a thing!"

Rebecca laughed behind her hand. "Watch out, Baloo or I may put Chris in charge of waking you up every morning... with...that... song," she said, emphasizing the last three words.

Baloo groaned. "Oh please, Beckers, no! Have a heart! It's torture!"

"Sorry, Baloo, but an early bird pilot is just what this business needs, and if that song gives me an early bird pilot, then so be it," Rebecca said, going into full businesswoman mode.

"Oh, now look what you've done," Baloo said to Chris, looking annoyed. "Yer song will be the death of me."

"So get up, then I wouldn't have to sing that song." Chris retorted playfully.

"Yeah, Baloo, get up, then you'd be making even more money!" Rebecca said,

"But more money just means more work," Baloo protested, groaning. "I can't have too much work, Rebecca. It's bad for my image."

"But it's good for Higher for Hire's image." Rebecca shot back.

"Alright, alright, I get the message," Baloo said, now looking defeated. "So, where am I shipping this cargo to?"

"Right, you're shipping food and medical supplies to…."

"Thembria?!" Chris said an hour later, as he and Baloo were flying over oceans and archipelagos in the Sea Duck."We're going to Thembria?!"

"For the third time, Chris, yes!" Baloo said as he was piloting the plane while Chris sat in Kit's usual seat with Kit's maps and compass spread across his lap.

"But Dad always said Thembria's a dangerous place for kids," said Chris.

"It's a dangerous place for anybody," Baloo said darkly. "I don't usually take Kit to that part of the world, but Becky insisted you come with me, so I get there faster. Just stick close to me, and you'll be fine."

A few hours later, as they flew further north, Chris noticed a distinct drop in temperature. It grew colder and colder the further they went. Chris shivered, hugging himself for warmth. He then looked out of his window to see what looked like icy mountains and snowy terrains below.

"Brrr! So this is Thembria. A bit cold for my liking," Chris said, then he noticed his breath was a foggy mist in front of his mouth. "Hey, I can see my breath!" he said, blowing a little air just to see more of the foggy mist from his mouth. He was fascinated by this as he had rarely been in cold places.

"Yeah, that's Thembria for ya." Baloo said, "You cold?" he asked, noticing Chris shiver and self-hugging.

Chris' teeth chattered as he nodded, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. "Uh-huh."

Baloo set a crowbar on the control yoke, got up, went into the cargo hold, and came with a brown leather flight coat.

"Here, put this on," Baloo said, smiling as he handed Chris the flight coat. "It'll keep ya warm."

"Th-thanks!" Chris said through chattering teeth. He put on Baloo's coat. It was rather large on him, the sleeves were too long for his arms, and his hands only came up a little past the elbows, but Chris didn't care. He wrapped it around himself like a blanket. He sighed with relief. "Ahh, that's better."

"Guess you haven't learned to tolerate cold weather like Kit had," Baloo observed as he sat back down in his seat, removing the crowbar from the control yoke and resuming piloting the plane himself.

"What?" Chris said, astonished. "How can anyone tolerate this cold temperature?"

"Well, Kit had ta fend fer himself as a kid, you know. I guess he's been through a few cold winters," Baloo said sadly. "He's been to Thembria with me a few times, wearing nothing but his sweatshirt, and he seems to tolerate the cold pretty well. At least his teeth didn't chatter, and he didn't hug himself for warmth like you're doing."

"Yeah. Well, I haven't been to cold places very often," Chris said, feeling better with the coat. "Dad's like a bird himself, he always flies south for the winter, so I wasn't exposed to cold weather that much growing up. And I thought you said you don't usually bring Kit here, so why do you now say he's been here a few times?"

"Because he has. Look, I don't bring him to Thembria if I could help it." Baloo explained. "Once, he came here on his own to learn to fly a plane when Thembria lowered the piloting age to twelve, and that was because ol' Spiggy needed a bunch of small people to fly that tiny Thunderyaks."

The rest of the flight passed as Baloo told Chris the whole story of Kit going to flight school in Thembria.

"Wow, my brother flew an airplane?" Chris said in awe, and then he looked down sadly. "It must have been terrifying to him, flying towards a mountain while having trouble pulling up… and trying to take off with a bunch of tanks on his tail."

"Yeah," Baloo agreed. "That was a close one, it scared me too, but I had ta keep a cool head while I coached Kit away from that mountain. Man, that was a bad time for the stick to be stuck."

"I'll say," Chris agreed, frightened at the thought. There is nothing worse than an uncontrollable plane in a life-threatening situation.

At last, they had landed in Thembria. Baloo and Chris disembarked the Sea Duck while the group of blue warthog soldiers began to unload the cargo.

Baloo put an arm around Chris' shoulder and drew him close. "Stay close to me, Lil' Buddy. The last thing you wanna do is get on the wrong side of a Thembrian."

Chris didn't need to be twice. He clung to Baloo's side as they walked down the street through the Thembrian marketplace, unnerved by how very unfriendly and unhappy most of the people looked, going about their business with a scowl or a frown.

"Yeah, I can see why Dad never brought me here before," Chris whispered, not wanting to be heard by the Thembrians, fearing it would make them angry at him. "Can we go home now?"

"Not yet, Lil Buddy. They're still unloading the cargoes," Baloo said gently, patting Chris' head consolingly. "Just stay with me while I check out the bargains," he said, looking at the items for sale in various booths.

As they reached the center of the town square half an hour later, they came across a giant ice statue standing in the street, with a round walkway around it.

Soldiers surrounded the ice statue, adding the finishing touches. All of this was being directed and supervised by the tiniest blue warthog Chris had ever seen, even though he, at three feet and eight inches, was a head taller than him.

"Hurry up!" the tiny warthog yelled. "This statue has to be done in honor of the High Marsal by this afternoon!"

"Wow," Chris said, standing next to the tiny warthog. "This statue's amazing!"

"It is?" the tiny warthog said in surprise, feeling differently. "I-I mean, of course, it is! After all, it is being built by yours truly, Colonel Spigot! Perhaps you've heard of me."

"Can't say I have," Chris said with an apologetic shrug. Spigot, swelled up with pride, deflated at Chris' words. And then he was fuming at Chris' ignorance of who he was.

"Get out of the way," Spigot spat, walking around Chris and shoving him. "Can't you see I'm busy at the moment?!"

"HEY!" Chris cried as he stumbled backward into the statue.

Spigot and the other Thembrians gasped in horror as the statue swayed and fell with a loud crash, breaking into a thousand pieces on the ground.

"No…." Spigot said, standing numbly over the pile of ice. "NO! My gift to the High Marshal, RUINED!" he then rounded on Chris. "YOU! You, this is all your fault!" he yelled at Chris, poking him very hard in the chest with a finger.

"No, it wasn't!" Chris cried indignantly, rubbing the spot where Spigot had poked him. "You shoved me!"

"I did no such thing!" Spigot said, turning his back on Chris with his arms crossed. "Men, arrest this kid!"

"But you did shove him, Colonel," Dunder said in his helpful, fair tone.

And this, of course, earned Dunder a whack on the leg from Spigot's riding crop.

"OW!" Dunder cried, hopping up and down on one leg while holding on to the other.

"Who asked you!" Spigot growled at Dunder.

"Sorry, sir."

Chris seemed shocked and angry by this treatment of Dunder, and Baloo felt he had to step in before things got way out of hand.

"Hey, Spiggy, lay off the kid. He's with me." Baloo said in Chris' defense, pulling Chris closer to him. "You did push him, so it's your fau—mmf!"

Dunder placed a hand over Baloo's mouth. "No, Mr. Baloo, you mustn't say anything's Colonel Spigot's fault. He'll have you shot."

"But Chris' just a kid, Dunder!" Baloo protested.

"Sadly, that doesn't matter here in Thembria," Dunder said apologetically.

"Arrest the fat one too!" Spigot shouted. "No one defies Colonel Spigot and gets away with it! Except for the High Marshal, of course."

"Now I know why Dad never brought me here," Chris said as the soldiers surrounded him and Baloo.

"I'm sorry," Chris said as he and Baloo sat in a jail cell, looking at the floor in shame. "I didn't mean to get us both arrested."

"No… no, don't beat yourself up, kid," Baloo sighed. "Knowing Spiggy, most likely he'd find some reason to arrest us anyway."

"So… what now?" Chris asked, sitting down on the bed.

"That depends. Can you use the Heart to bust us outta here?" Baloo asked.

Chris looks up at Baloo with a frown. "Only as a last resort," he said soberly. "If you're thinking of escaping, we'll have to try other ways of doing it first."

"Why?" Baloo asked, sounding a little frustrated. "You could simply wave your hand, and the door will open."

"Baloo, the Heart is a sacred tool. I can't use it on the little things we can do without it," Chris said. "I can only use it in life-threatening situations and combat. That is the Dedi law, and as a Dedi-in-training, I must obey this law."

"C'mon, Chris. How will they know if you bend the rules a little?" Baloo said, sounding sneaky.

"They will know, the Grand Dedi has a way of knowing stuff like that," Chris said with a disapproving frown.

Before they could say or do anything else, the door to the jail cell opened, and Spigot walked in, flanked by two enormous, muscular soldiers.

"Alright, you two, the firing squad is ready for you," Spigot said, "It was a squeeze, but we managed to fit your execution for this afternoon, which is now." He walked up to Chris and threw a noose over his head. "Congratulations, you have the honor of going first!" he said as he tugged on the rope, tightening the noose around Chris' neck and forcing him forward to follow Spigot's lead.

"Ow! Not so tight!" Chris said, but Spigot ignored him.

"Now, hold on, Spiggy!" Baloo protested angrily, charging forward. The two soldiers grabbed one of Baloo's arms and pinned him against the wall. "You can't do this! He's just a kid!" he yelled as he struggled against the soldiers holding him.

"Oh, don't you worry, once we deal with HIM!" Spigot said, giving Chris another tug that forced him into a bow. "You're next."

"Ohh, when I get my hands on you, Spiggy, I'll—ugh!" Baloo never got to finish his threat as a soldier punched him in the face, knocking Baloo out cold, and he fell to the floor.

"NO! BALOO!" Chris yelled, trying to run to Baloo's side but was halted by his noose as Spigot tugged him back to his side. "Baloo! Get up! Please get up!"

"Shut up, you statue-wrecking hooligan," Spigot snarled as he led Chris out of the cell by the noose. "He'll be joining you in the afterlife soon enough." he ended with a speech with an evil, cruel laugh.

Baloo came to, just in time to see the cell door close behind the soldiers. He quickly got up and slammed himself against the door, screaming Chris' name through the window's bars.

"NO! CHRIS! CHRISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

Chris was led outside to a wall with dozens of bullet holes and a few craters here and there. Almost as though a tank had shot at the wall a few times.

When they reached the center of the wall, Spigot stopped and turned to Chris. He placed a target sign around his neck and then turned Chris to face the guns. Several soldiers behind the guns looked uncomfortable about shooting a kid but knew better than to protest against Spigot as he would most likely have THEM shot too.

Spigot walked over to stand next to the guns. "Any last words?"

"Y-yes," Chris said, looking seriously scared. "Please don't shoot me! I'm just a kid!"

These words had a powerful impact on the soldiers, who looked like they got stabbed in the chest. They exchanged a miserable look that indicated they regretted being soldiers at that time. Dunder had turned his back on the scene to cry into his hands.

"You should have thought of that before you broke the statue we worked so hard to build." Spigot said with an expression and tone of mocked sorrow, shocking everyone present. "Ready! AIM…."

The soldiers shook off their shock and readied the guns. Orders were orders, after all, and it would mean their deaths if they disobeyed.

"FIRE!" Spigot yelled.

Chris, frightened beyond belief, shut his eyes tight and quickly raised his hands so that through the power of the Heart, he accessed his elemental power and caused the snow on the ground to rise and formed a solid wall between himself and the guns! Even though he knew he could use the Heart to save his own life, it did not take the fear that any twelve-year-old in this situation would feel at the prospect of being shot.

The guns blasted at the wall of ice that Chris had formed, but the guns could not even dent the wall. While behind his wall of protection, Chris took the noose and the target sign off of his neck. He fought the urge to cry and keep himself under control as he took out his airfoil, threw it to the ground, and hopped onto it. When his feet touched the airfoil, it glowed and rose off the ground as he flew towards the prison.

Chris flew around the jail, looking through every window until he finally found Baloo's jail cell. He was happy to see that Baloo was conscious again.

"Baloo!" he cried in relief.

Baloo looked up. His face was that of a man who had lived a hundred years of misery. But when he saw Chris, he was overjoyed.

"Chris!" he said, sounding so relieved. "But how did you—?"

"The Heart saved me," Chris said simply. "Hold on. I'll get you outta there."

"Tell the Heart to save ya sooner next time!" Baloo said as Chris waved his hand, and the bars came out of the window. He waved his hand to Baloo, and Baloo floated off the floor and out through the window.

Chris then flew them both to the airfield where the Sea Duck sat. Once inside, Baloo started the engines and took off.

They were barely in the air before they had bathtubs and kitchen sinks dropping on them from above by Thembrian bombers. Baloo growled and gritted his teeth as he pulled the plane into a loop-de-loop, causing the two pursuing Thembrian planes to crash into each other! And Baloo flew full throttle out of Thembria.

"WHEW! Made it," Baloo said, wiping his brow.

"That wasn't fun..." Chris said shakily, with his face twitching, like a dam about to break against the tidal wave of tears fighting to get out. And then the dam broke, and he burst into tears and cried his heart out.

"Chris…." Baloo softly, putting the plane on the crowbar autopilot before lifting the crying bear cub out of his seat and holding him to his chest.

"I never wanna go back to that awful place again!" Chris sobbed into Baloo's shirt. "I was so scared!"

"That's it, kid….let it all out…." Baloo said as he patted Chris' head.

"I want my Dad," Chris sniffed, his face still buried in Baloo's shirt.

"Okay, Lil Buddy, I'll fly us home, and then you can see yer Dad," Baloo said, holding Chris to his chest. "Hopefully, this will convince Becky not to take on any more Thembrian clients."

Chris continues to sob into Baloo's shirt for most of the trip home.

Later, at Higher for Hire.

"THEMBRIA?!" Kit's angry voice rang out from within the building. "You took my brother to THEMBRIA?! Baloo, what were you thinking?!"

"Now, now, Lil Britches. I did manage to bring him back in one piece," Baloo said nervously, backing away from the angry bear cub with his hands held up in a defensive pose.

"But not before he had to stand in front of a firing squad!" Kit roared furiously, causing Baloo to flinch. "I should have just taken him to school with me!

Baloo gulped, trembling as he sat low in his chair. An angry Kit was scarier than he could have ever imagined. He did not know which was worse; Rebecca or Kit. And he shuddered to think how scary Matthew would be once he got back.

"Now, Kit, it was my fault too," Rebecca said remorsefully. "I suggested that Chris go with him as a navigator in your place."

"He could've been shot!" Kit shouted, rounding on her. "If he had died, it would've been all your fault! And I'd quit Higher for Hire!"

Rebecca hid her face in her hands at those words. "You're right, Kit. I wouldn't have blamed you one bit for quitting. If that were to happen to Molly, I'd have said the same thing."

"Please don't be mad, Kit," Chris said, looking frightened of Kit's anger. "I wanted to go, but now I regret going."

Kit's anger melted away upon seeing Chris' timidness towards his rage, and he smiled and gave Chris a soothing hug.

"Well, at least you're okay, and that's all that matters." Kit said grudgingly.

"Yeah… Um, let's not tell Dad about this…." Chris said, "Last time something like this happened, he sent the guy responsible to the hospital in a body cast."

Kit's eyes widened in shock. "Really? Did he beat someone up that bad?"

"Yeah, Dad is...extremely protective of me, and if he finds out someone endangers me… body cast for them," Chris said, shuddering at the thought of just how violent Matthew can get when he goes into full Protective Daddy mode.

Baloo gulped at that and said weakly: "Yeah, let's hope he doesn't find out…" then, his eyes rolled upwards to the back of his head, and he fell back onto the floor in a faint. His fall caused a minor earthquake within the building.

"BALOO!" Kit and Rebecca gathered around him and tried to get him back up again, with Chris fanning him with an empty pizza box.

Baloo slowly came to, sniffing the air while Chris kept fanning him with the pizza box. "Did anyone catch the number of that pizza parlor?" He said before passing out again.

Author's Note:

The washing machine described in this episode is a 1930s Savage Washing Machine. If you Google it, it's the first Youtube video listed in the results.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode. Stay tuned for the next one.