DevilBoy216's Nicktoons Unite

by DevilBoy216

Entry 7 in a Nicktoons crossover series. The Irkens are coming. Arnold Shortman, Danny Fenton, Otto Rocket, Rudy Tabootie, and Lincoln Loud are the only ones who can stop them. A warning of from the future tells them of Zim. They must unite. Rated T for violence, language, drama, and sensuality.

9. Chapter 7: The Magnificent Seven, Part 7

CHAPTER 7: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, PART 7

America has its own mythology.

A mythology can be based in both facts and history, as well as fabrications and lies. More often than not, it is a mix of the two that creates stories everlasting that influence a country and its peoples, and the rest of the world in turn. A lie becomes easier to believe with a grain of truth, and the truth becomes far more believable when inluenced by lies.

Those that are mythologized in history are those who tried their best to make a difference in the world, like civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., world peace activists such as John Lennon, or just kind, gentle people who wished to make a difference, such as 'Mr.' Fred Rogers.

Those that are mythologized in fiction are characters, ideas that we look up to in order to set a goal to become better than ourselves, like Superman, the invincible, near-omniscient, yet gentle man of steel, Batman, the man who took his inner demons and put them to use to fight injustice, or Spider-Man, a regular person who, despite all the pressures of his life, still does good no matter what.

Then, there are those who are very real indeed, but have become figures so much larger than life that they are almost a perfect blend of the two.

That is the Green Eye.

He has been referred to as the world's first real-life superhero, but that is a claim of great contention. From a long lineage of superheroes rumored to exist in Mexico going back as far as the 1800s, to a caped crimefigher by the name of Monkeyman in the same city as the Green Eye, there is no doubt that real-life superheroes did indeed exist long before this one.

But the impact he has made is undeniable.

[Soundtrack Cue: A Perfect Circle - (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?]

During one of the darkest hours in American history, when the island city of Hillwood was cut off from the United States, leaving its devestated population to starve and rot, the Green Eye single-handedly fought tooth and nail to hold his city back together, doing so until the bitter end of the city he so loved.

His story, managing to get out to the rest of the world even isolated in the hellhole he was trapped in, was heard by and resonated with thousands, if not millions. Already becoming the most well-known superheroes since his debut in the crime-ridden city of Hillwood, his actions since have cemented him as a true American hero.

And like all heroes whose names are still sung, people all across America honor his good works.

In every major city in the country, and even a large chunk of smaller cities, people gather round to murals dedicated to the Green Eye, gifting the murals with flowers and letters containing thanks written in words and even full poems. They not only give their thanks to the Green Eye for his deeds, but those with family lost in Hillwood mourn for their loved ones, almost cherishing the Green Eye as though he were one.

On all their faces, green face paint was put across their eyes, honoring the Green Eye with marks on their persons, in solidarity with him. Most of the face paint ends up on their own clothes or the ground, however, due to the many tears that were spilled during the memorials, but the gesture is still made clear.

The events are covered by every single news outlet across the country, and the reporters themeselves partake as well, themselves not even above the event.

"Over half a year ago, the city of Hillwood, Washington was destroyed under order of former president Milius Arcudi. The city was home to America's most famous superhero, the Green Eye, whose story has become a household name all across the country, as well as the world. Children and adults alike looked up to him, all seeming to find some connection to the original Hillwood hero. From his smaller good deeds to regular citizens, to his dramatic efforts to sustain Hillwood long after its disownning by the United States, he has been firmly cemented into the collective consciousness of humanity as one of its greatest people." The reporter sniffled.

The camera feed began to show the murals put up in honor of the Green Eye, showing various photographs taken of him as well as several drawings, some being detailed artistic depictions, and some simple sketches drawn by children, all showing their love for the hero.

"It is almost beyond description for this reporter or perhaps any other that can adequately describe the emotions that the crowd lets out here. Almost never has any one human being managed to garner such unanimous love and support from the world, but this is a testament to the impact he has left." The reporter sniffled.

Among the many paying their respects to the Green Eye, many had worn armbands bearing his symbol, an football-shaped eyeball with a green iris within. One person was filmed aiding a boy who scraped his knee with cream and a bandage, to which he was gifted one such bracelet in return by his mother.

"His neighborly approach to his fellow humans and dedication to good has also inspired a new trend of Green-Eye bracelets: In return for a good deed committed by another, these bracelets are given as a reward, made as a reminder of their good work, and encourage them to continue their neighborly acts." The reporter sniffled.

Holding hands with one another, the people sang as one, continuing to pay their respects to the Green Eye, all hoping their tribute would have an impact. The murals not only were showered with their loving words and gifts, but also was there a graffiti across the entire mural that shared the simple mantra that all had adhered to:

'THE GREEN EYE LIVES'.

"It... It would seem as though the Green Eye had perished with the rest of the Hillwood Heroes, but still do rumors persist that this much-beloved hero still lives, famously spread by Vlad Masters, head of the Hillwood Reclaimation Project. An individual has defaced the mural with the saying that popularized this claim, 'The...' 'The Green Eye Lives', but it has been met with unanimous support and treated as a tribute just the same." The reporter struggled.

Finally, the reporter herself began to lose her composure, taking the time to wipe the tears from her face and softly sobbed.

"I'm sorry. As you can see, even this reporter is not above the emotions that run wild in this site here today. All of us feel as though there is a part of ourselves missing without the Green Eye, and we do dearly miss our hero. Though he has inspired many to follow in his footsteps, there is no doubt that he cannot be replaced." The reporter sobbed.

The feed showed the reporter moving on to interview a little girl, who was wearing green face paint and had a Green-Eye bracelet, as well as a T-shirt that featured the Green Eye himself. She proved to be a perfect embodiment of the impact that the Green Eye had on children, and it is with her that the reporter decided to end her report on.

"If you could say just one thing to the Green Eye today, what would it be?" The reporter asked.

The little girl looked to the camera with teary eyes, responding to the Green Eye with a simple request.

"Come back." The girl cried.

[Soundtrack Cue End]

---

Sad as this scene is on the television, it is fortunately not the only one playing, as a simple change of the channel can spare further tears.

Tuning to the channel BBC Earth, the award-winning nature documentary Nigel Thornberry's Wild World runs yet another episode, continuing one of the longest runs on a nautre documentary show ever recorded. Covering every corner of the Earth, recording all of its wildlife from the most commonly found to the rare and endangered, it stands out as one of the greatest works of non-fiction ever committed to camera.

Even in his old age of 67, the jovial English zoophilist narrates yet another episode of his show, introducing the country of San Lorenzo.

"Hello again, and welcome to Nigel Thornberry's Wild World. Today, we are exploring the jungles of San Lorenzo. Gaining independence from Guatemala in 1963 by a revolution led by General Monzano, the country has been under military dictatorship since. It is not only one of the poorest countries on Earth, but also one of the smallest, only slightly bigger than Rhode Island. Most of its populace lives in its capital city of Puerto Clara, and the vast majority of this small country. It is here where we are today, where we search for what wildlife lay in wait in these vast jungles before us." Nigel narrated.

Concluding his take for the opening scene of the episode, Nigel's serious yet soft-spoken demeanor changed to a cheerier one, excited to get the rest of the episode underway with the enthusiasm of a child at play. His wife, Marianne, does not share the same level of energy, but smiles as she lowered her camera, having filmed her husband against a wall of trees.

"Well, Nigel, that sounds like a good start to me. I think we can say the introduction's done filming." Marianne said.

"Cheerio, Marianne! Excellent work as always by my beautiful wife, and efficient at that. Now, there's plenty of animals to film, and so little time to do-" Nigel began to say.

Grasping at his chest, Nigel began to groan, taking in a deep breath.

"Uh, Marianne?" Nigel asked.

Marianne responded before he could ask his question, giving Nigel a nitroglycerin pill, along with a bottle of water, both of which he took and consumed.

"Mmm... Ngh... Ah, that's much better." Nigel sighed.

"Remember, Nigel, the doctor said you need to be more careful. You're not the same old man you used to be." Marianne said.

"Yes, but your mother was saying much of the same to your father, and he proved all of us wrong on his little outing with Eliza. If he can do it, I can, too, can't I?"

"My dad didn't spend most of his life chasing after wild animals, or being chased by wild animals."

"Right, well, he missed out on some good fun, rest his soul, didn't he? That's alright, he was a fine chap, and raised a beautiful woman for me to marry. Now, enough chitchat, we've got a jungle to venture into. Eliza, Shane, you little lovebirds just about ready?"

Packing up the rest of the equipment needed to venture into the jungles of San Lorenzo, the additional crew of Eliza Thornberry and Shane Grant, the two also married, both holstered their backpacks and lifted up their bags, visually demonstrating that they were ready to go.

"Ready, dad." Eliza said.

"Ready, pops." Shane said.

"Right-O. And, eh, Tyler? You will be watching Donnie while we're gone?" Nigel asked.

Nigel's question was directed at Tyler Tucker, cousin to the Thornberry family, who leisurely laid at a table with a pair of drumsticks, playing a beat on the table.

"Watch him? Uncle Nigel, he's a grown man now, he'll be fine on his own." Tyler said.

"Yes, but you know how Donnie is, always up to something." Marianne said.

"Yes, and at a spanking 24 years old, he hasn't lost that bit of feral child in him, has he?" Nigel asked.

Donnie demonstrated his eccentric personality and high levels of energy through his current activity: An musician as talented as he is experimental, the adopted Thornberry child attempted to play a trumpet with his feet, while playing a bass guitar at the same time, curling himself into a ball in order to reach the trumpet with his mouth.

"Donnie, I'm telling you, man, it ain't gonna work." Tyler said.

"You just wait, man. I totally got this. Hendrix got people to watch him play guitar with his teeth, just imagine the people who come to see me do this." Donnie said.

Donnie returned to his nigh-impossible task of playing both instruments at once, leaving Tyler to shake his head.

"Right, then. We'll be off to film. Carry on, chaps!" Nigel laughed.

Leading on Marianne, Eliza, and Shane along with him, Nigel departed into the thick jungles of San Lorenzo, leaving Tyler and Donnie alone to their own devices, as they leisurely laid back by the Comvee, with Tyler continuing to play a beat with his drumsticks, and Donnie once again attempting his impossible musical feat.

The instant the rest of the family was out of sight, however, both congregated in conspiracy for a different activity.

"They gone?" Donnie asked.

"Yep." Tyler said.

"You got paper?"

"Always."

Taking a pack of rolling papers out of his pocket, Tyler prepared a piece as Donnie pulled a bag of marijuana out of his trumpet, selecting a bud for the paper. The instant he placed it on the paper, Tyler enthusiastically rolled a joint with the marijuana, lighting it and taking a puff before he passed it on to Donnie.

Smoking their herb together, both young men have their eyes to their joint rather than to the trees. Even had they looked to the trees, they would still have failed to notice that there was a presence in the trees looking down on them, observing them with the cautious look of a hunter, and keeping just as silent as one.

Staying obscured within the trees, he sees nothing of interest here, moving on to follow the departing Thornberrys.

---

Trekking through the jungles of the small Central American country, the two sets of married Thornberry couples move together as a troope, documenting nature and all its beauty, and keeping a keen eye open for whatever wildlife may reside in these thick, humid woodlands to document them.

The goal of these explorations is to educate the human race of the rest of the world around them and the life they share it with, being made aware of parts of the planet they may not think about, or the threats that could be presented to it. For in an industrialized world and in artificial cities, who has want or need of the natural world?

Fortunately, there are men like Nigel Thornberry who carry an enthusiasm for this world, virginally untouched by the human race, and, though he is still but a member of that same species, he leaves but gentle embraces of love upon this world, and speaks loving words that have not intimacy with this world, but act as his declaration of love for it.

"Having the unique distinction of being a scarcely-populated country with large swaths of jungle left to grow untouched and untamed, this is one of the most special places we here at Nigel Thornberry's Wild World have visited, and a place where this nature documentarian has been most looking forward to for most of his career. Aside from many humanitarian workers visit this country, and an infamous field trip of middle-schoolers in 2017 gone wrong, very few human hands have touched the green that grows in this land. This is a place of no industrialization, no gentrification, and no human interference. Just a jungle paradise with not a single sound of technology anywhere to be heard." Nigel narrated.

In the midst of his take, Nigel's poignant narration was interrupted by his cell phone, its ringing prompting him to answer it.

"Oh, uh, hold on a 'mo, Marianne, that would be Debbie." Nigel said.

Though taking minor annoyance with an otherwise perfect take disrupted by a phone call, Marianne forgave the indiscretion for a chance to talk to her firstborn child, and the following Eliza and Shane accompanying to join the call. Selecting the option for a video call, the four Thornberrys looked to the screen in anticipation...

...soon having their patience met by the face of Debbie Thornberry in a fancy suit, calling from a personal desk in London.

"Hey, guys. Having fun out there in San Lorenzo without me?" Debbie asked.

"Oh, it's not nearly as fun being out here without you, Debbie, dearie, but it's just a delight being in these jungles for the first time." Nigel said.

"Yes, although you happened to call at a time when we were filming." Marianne added.

"Oh, sorry, you guys. You want me to call back?" Debbie asked.

"No, it's alright, sweetie. You know we always try to make time for you. Just please be a little more mindful in the future. One call like that could scare an endanged animal out of our sight and cost us a shot. We have a few minutes now."

"Okay, okay. So, aren't you gonna ask me how my new, cushy office job is?"

"Yeah, tell us, Debbie!" Eliza said.

"Alright, well, first of all, we have our own coffee and tea bar with all kinds of stuff that you can't find at the store, and the sugar tastes a lot better than American sugar, it's not super-processed or anything like that. All my co-workers are my super-best girlfriends, they're all super-nice and have cool accents, and they all like the same music I like. The boys are all super-cute too, and, despite how the stereotype goes, they do not have bad teeth at all."

"Well, now, I could've told you that much, Debbie. Mother England sure can grow them handsome, can't she? Ngh-heh-heh-heh." Nigel snickered.

"Ugh. Dad. Please do not ruin this for me. Anyway, the reason I was calling was because my boss wanted to make sure you guys are all on schedule and everything, or if there's anything you need. This job's real nice, but the British guys who run the place seem more German at times, if you catch my drift."

"Oh, the BBC doesn't take kindly to lollygagging, Debbie. They do take their jobs very seriously, as do we."

"That's right. And speaking of which, we really should be returning to the shoot. Is there anything else you needed from us?" Marianne asked.

"Nope. All good on my end now. And now that I know you're all cool, I gotta go. Bye!" Debbie called.

"Bye-bye, Debbie, dearie!" Nigel called.

The remainder of the Thornberrys called their goodbyes to Debbie, watching the screen turn black as the call disconnected.

"Ah, that's our Debbie. One minute, she's barely taller than me own knee. The next, she graduates at top of her class in Oxford, and takes on an executive role for the show. Who would've thunk it?" Nigel smiled.

"Yes, and let's make sure we keep her there, and keep a good source of income for all of us. Girls, you ready to carry on?" Marianne asked.

"'Girls'? C'mon, Marianne, the hair's not girl hair, it's just long." Shane joked.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Shane. Force of habit. You two ready to go?"

"Ready when you are."

"Yeah, mom." Eliza said.

Continuing on through the jungles, the elder Thornberrys continued filming, with Nigel picking up where his narration left off while Marianne filmed him. Staying behind with most of the equipment on their backs, Eliza and Shane followed the two at a short distance, preventing themselves from potentially obstructing or ruining any shots.

All the while, Eliza had a melancholy look on her face, which Shane not only took immediate notice of, but called out with concern.

"Hey, Eliza. You okay, babe?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Eliza said.

"You don't look so fine. You look a little down."

"I'm okay. It's just... I just kind of miss the old days, you know? It's not the same without Debbie or... or Darwin."

Shane let out a sigh, sharing Eliza's sorrow with her in sympathy.

"Yeah, I miss him, too. He was a cool chimp. But think of it this way: He was getting old, and he wasn't able to keep up anymore. He's back at the London Zoo where he can eat all the Cheese Munchies he wants. That's like, retirement goals for him." Shane said.

"I know, but it's still not easy. Could you imagine spending so many years with your best friend, and suddenly watch them grow old on you to where you can never see them again? Never spend as much time having fun like you used to together?" Eliza asked.

Shane responded by grabbing Eliza's hand, running his finger across her wedding ring as a means to remind her of their vows.

"I don't have to. I married my best friend, that way I can grow old with her." Shane said.

Eliza smiled in response, running her thumb across his hand in response.

"Oh, you've always been so sweet, Shane." Eliza said.

"It helps from being a former pop star. My old songs used to drive you nuts, remember?" Shane asked.

"Yeah. Now your music drives me nuts for different reasons."

"Aw, c'mon. Tucker and Donnie and me all make a great band. If it wasn't for your dad getting old and needing some extra help in giving your cousin a job-"

Seeing Eliza's face start to sour, Shane stopped talking when he recognized the problem he brought up, turning his head away in embarament.

"Eh, I mean, it's great to have the whole gang together, right? I get to spend time with my beautiful wife, and play with my band, all while helping on the best nature show on Earth." Shane said.

"Yeah. I guess so." Eliza said.

Having the topic of her father's age fresh in her mind, Eliza looked to Nigel once again, listening to his narration continue for the episode.

"However, there does exist a legend of a tribe of humans living deep in the jungles of San Lorenzo, known among the populace as Gente de Ojos Verdes, the Green-Eyed People. Their namesake comes from a bright green glow which comes from their irises, a genetic impossibility for humans who come from this region of the world. Their origins remain a mystery just as the rest of the legend itself; rumors of contact with this mysterious tribe have been reported over the past several years, but none have ever presented evidence that these mystical peoples exist, or if they ever had at all. Nonetheless, they remain a prevalent myth in the nation of San Lorenzo, strong enough that they warrant a mention on this very programme." Nigel narrated.

Upon hearing the mention of this lost tribe of people, Eliza, having her mind start to wander to the past, saw the mention as an opportunity for adventure, wishing to relive a more pleasant part of her past. Taking her hand back from Shane, she started to walk away from the rest of the group.

"Eliza? Where are you going?" Shane asked.

"I, uh, have to pee. I'll be right back." Eliza lied.

"Oh. Ok, we'll wait here."

Having excused herself from the others, Eliza has allowed herself a moment of privacy, giving her a chance to seek out the Green-Eyed People her own way.

The one in the trees watching the Thornberrys knows the true intention in the heart of Eliza Thornberry, and makes her his target to observe. Discreetly moving through the trees, he watches the visitor in his jungles, waiting to see what agenda of her own she has.

Unaware she is being watched, Eliza carried on as though she were alone, stuck within her own thoughts.

After an encounter with a wild boar stuck in a trap, freeing it only to have it transform into a human being, a witch doctor at that, going by the name of Shaman Mnyambo, Eliza's act of kindness was repaid with the supernatural ability to talk to animals, communicating with all things in the kingdom of animalia.

The only catch is that she can tell no one of this gift, a pact she has broken once before out of necessity, and revowed never to do again.

Many times has she helped the creatures she has encountered, and just as many times she has acted to their detriment, becoming a striking embodiment of the duality of human beings' ability to be both a boon and a bane to the natural world. Other times, she has simply passed them by on her own path, living out childish needs for fun and adventure.

Even while a married woman in her 20s, her youth and desire for adventure have not left her, nor her gift itself. Searching the ground in search for an animal which may have interacted with this lost tribe, she hopes to find a creature with information on where to find them once again.

Her search brought her to an armadillo, which her footsteps rudely woke out of its sleep.

"[Ah! Hey, keep it down, will you? Some people are trying to sleep here. It's way too bright to be up yet!]" The armadillo shouted.

"[Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you.]" Eliza apologized.

"[Yeah, well, I'm up now, and- Hey, wait a minute, are you talking to me?]"

"[Yeah. I can talk to animals. It's kind of a long story.]"

"[Whatever. You mind letting me get back to bed?]"

"[Wait! Before you go back to bed, I want to ask you something.]"

"[Yeah? What?]"

"[Have you ever seen a bunch of people like me come through these jungles, people with bright green eyes?]"

"[What's green?]"

"[You know, green? The color? Like all the grass and trees?]"

"[What do you mean, the grass and trees? Those are plants. I got no clue what a 'color' is.]"

"[You know, color. It's like... When you have one thing that looks a certain way, but another thing that's shaped the same, but it still looks different. Maybe it's brighter, or maybe it's darker. Color.]"

"[I've seen plenty of things that look brighter or darker, but I never heard of any 'color' stuff. If you're looking for more people shaped like you, I saw 'em just yesterday.]"

"[You did? Where?]"

"[Just down that trail. There's a whole bunch of 'em together in a whole pack. You can't miss 'em.]"

"[Great! Thanks a lot!]"

"[Yeah, don't mention it.]"

Leaving the armadillo to return to his slumber, Eliza ran back to the rest of the Thornberrys. The one watching from the trees has only a basic understanding of what he saw, seeing her speak to the animal in a manner he has never seen before, but he knows what the contents of the conversation have entailed.

Once again, he follows the adventurous Thornberry, watching and waiting.

When Eliza arrived back to the rest of her family, she found Shane quietly staying behind as Marianne shot another monologue coming from Nigel. Discreetly keeping herself hidden and silent from the others as they worked on their shot, Eliza grabbed Shane's hand, tugging him along.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Shane whispered.

"I think I found a clue where to find the Green-Eyed People. C'mon, follow me!" Eliza whispered.

"But what about your parents and the show-?"

Ignoring Shane's concern about the elder Thornberrys and the show, Eliza pulled him away on a self-imposed adventure, leaving the episode to continue uninterrupted. And once again, these two have gained the attention of the one in the trees, marking them as his center of attention, and he follows along them from above.

Nigel, well within his narration, continued with great enthusiasm.

"And here, we can see the Ateles geoffroyi, or, the Geoffroy's spider monkey, in his natural habitat in the trees. Named in honor of the French naturalist Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, this is an endangered species of primate that requires large tracts of forest to survive, making the jungles of San Lorenzo nothing short of a safe haven for this animal. They feature a prehensile tail, carrying enough strength to be used as a fifth limb, which can be used to collect his diet of fresh fruits- Eh... Or, uh, as it seems, used for masturbation, which is quite a, er, common habit among primates... Oh, my, he's a trooper, that little one, isn't he? Eh, Marianne, do you think they'll let this be shown on the telly?" Nigel asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly the target audience for monkeys spanking the monkey, but if National Geographic can show African tribal boobies, I'm sure we can get away with this. It's your call, Nigel." Marianne shrugged.

"Right-O. Eh, well, this probably isn't exactly in the spirit of Nigel Thornberry's Wild World, so we might wish to let the little fellow... er, finish before we continue."

Pressing the 'RECORD' button on her camera, Marianne ceased shooting, allowing the two to take a break.

"Alright. In any case, I'd rather not record any more of this. Brings me flashbacks to when Donnie was a teenager." Marianne said.

"Oh, yes, what a growth spurt that boy went through, ngh-heh-heh." Nigel laughed.

"Nigel, please never use the word 'spurt' regarding that. Remember the last time we left him alone, and the inside of the Comvee looked like a Rorscach test? That was not a pleasant experience."

"Egh, yes, well, good that the boy's gotten better control of himself now."

"Yes, and I'm proud to say we can extend that to Eliza and Shane for not giggling at-"

Turning around in expectation to see Eliza and Shane, Marianne and Nigel both noticed they were gone, having departed without their notice.

"Nigel, they're gone." Marianne said.

"Oh, probably stopped for the loo, we should give them a minute." Nigel said.

"They went at the same time? Without telling us?"

Realizing the situation was potentially more serious than it seemed, Nigel dropped his oafishness for seriousness, showing concern for his daughter and son-in-law.

"Right, dearie. Perhaps we should check on them, yes?" Nigel asked.

---

Not too far away, Eliza and Shane, the latter dragged by hand by the former, and after a hasty explanation of the detour from the main show, continued on with the search for the Green-Eyed People. Brought against his will and forced to go against his own common sense, Shane continued to question the journey, listening more to his own instincts than his wife.

"Eliza, I know you always love a good adventure and all, but, don't you think you're taking a big risk here?" Shane asked.

"No more of a risk than I've taken before. You've been in one jungle, you've been in them all." Eliza said.

"Yeah, but in a jungle this thick, in a country under a military dictatorship?"

"Plenty. Why are you such a worrywart today? You're the one who used to cause plenty of problems when you first joined up with us. You almost got yourself killed by an angry wolverine."

"Yeah, but I was a young douchebag teenager then. I learned my lesson."

"C'mon, don't be a party pooper. Just follow me."

While running through the jungle, the two came to a stop when the sound of grass crunching and branches breaking, both taking caution in regard to any potential threats or predators. For the eager and adventurous Eliza, she approached the situation with stealth, taking just enough care to remain safe, while still allowing herself to get closer to danger.

Sneaking up through the foliage, Shane stayed close behind her, keeping as vigilant as possible for threats.

"What do you see so far?" Shane whispered.

"Nothing yet. I think I hear some people this way." Eliza whispered.

"You really think it could be the Green-Eyed People?"

"I don't know yet. Nobody else's out in this jungle except for us, so I'm inclined to think so."

"Yeah, but what if it's poachers? How many times have you told me about how you ran into them?"

"In San Lorenzo? You know how hard it is to get into this country? It took us months to get approved for entry here."

"And what about getting in without approval? I don't think poachers are particularly concerned with getting into countries legally."

"Okay, okay, point taken. But I think we'll be fine. After all, how many times we spent together in all sorts of countries without running into-"

Moving through one last thicket of bush, both Eliza and Shane looked to see not any Green-Eyed People, but instead the one threat to wildlife they hoped not find.

"...poachers." Eliza whimpered.

Through her small window of vision, Eliza laid eyes on several men loading up various animals in cages, from common to endangered alike, taking ones with high-valued furs like cougars, ocelots, foxes, and jaguars, and several smaller animals alike such as kinkajous, toucans, and monkeys, for their exotic factors for rich buyers.

It is a horrible sight for any animal lover to see, and one that Eliza Thornberry has seen one too many times in her life.

Her anger and disgust is experienced not only by herself and Shane, but also the observing one in the trees, looking down on the sight with an anger greater than either of the visitors could feel. These jungles are his home, and have been so for many years of his life...

...and, looking down with narrowed eyes, he does not take too kindly to intruders.

"Boy, do I hate being right all the time." Shane whispered.

"Shut up, Shane. Here's the plan. We have to go back and get dad, he'll call in the local authorities." Eliza whispered.

The sound of cocked guns were heard by both, and gun barrels were felt against their heads, putting a stop to this plan the instant it was made.

"You two aren't going anywhere. Get up." A poacher ordered.

Putting their hands behind their heads, the couple got up off the ground, soon forced back down onto it on their knees. Their hands were instantly bound together with zip-ties, preventing them from escaping to tell of their illegal deeds. As they stood helpless to move, daring not to scream and receive a bullet to the head, one poacher approached forward towards the two...

...and, upon looking back at him, Eliza realized she knows this particular poacher well, and scowled as she spoke out his name.

"Kip O'Donnell." Eliza sneered.

Standing over Eliza Thornberry, dressed in his preferred attire of military fatigues and a boonie hat, concealing his eyes with a pair of sunglasses, the Australian poacher looked down on Eliza with a smile, snickering out a taunt over her in his gravelly Austrailan accent.

"Well, well, well. Little Eliza Thornberry, all grown up. How very nice to see you again." Kip said.

Taking a pistol out of a holster on his leg, Kip O'Donnell smacked Eliza in the face with it, marking it as the last thing she saw while still conscious.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Shane yelled.

Attempting to defend the honor of his wife, Shane lunged forward to attack, regardless of the handicap of his bound hands, but was met with a rifle butt to the back of his head, sending him the way of Eliza. Letting his unconscious body fall besides Eliza's, the poachers prepared to have them taken back.

"They're not alone. Nigel and his wife are here as well, along with the other two Thornberry brats. Find them and bring them back." Kip ordered.

His subordinates headed out into the jungles to complete the order, marching forward with rifles and firearms to secure their targets.

With most heading out on their mission, the small encampment they set up for capturing the San Lorenzo wildlife was left mostly unattended, allowing for any others in the jungle to sneak in undetected. There are no more Thornberrys present or aware of the situation to do so...

...but the one in the trees quietly came down, stepping up to the cages which held the wildlife against their will. A small ocelot, looking at the approaching one, meowed in an angered manner, having been agitated by various poachers handling it, and being trapped in a cage.

But when he came closer, the ocelot lowered its tone and parched down in ease.

The hand that reaches out to it has white skin, but the owner is just as Green-Eye as the fabled Green-Eyed People, and, carrying on their magic, he calms down the ocelot, assuring it of its imminent safety. The ocelot now knows that it will be saved, just as its other brethren in the jungle now know.

And the one in the jungle watches and waits for his chance.

---

Eliza Thornberry's consciousness returned to her over an hour later, with her coming to on the inside of a boat, as she was once again bound and unable to move, this time strapped to a chair. Instinctively trying to free herself, her struggles against her restraints provided no rewards for her efforts, leaving her at the mercy of her captors.

When the idea of escape is out of her mind, her thoughts then go to the rest of her family, and she finds all of them with her. They, too, are bound and helpless just as she is; Nigel, Marianne, Shane, Donnie, and Tyler, they have all been captured and restrained, preventing them from escaping and reporting on the crime of poaching that has been discovered in San Lorenzo.

The men responsible for the crime were all around them, all armed with rifles and other firearms, and all keeping close eyes on the Thornberrys. Out of concern for their lives, none had further struggled against their restraints or attempted to attack, carefully biding their time to safety.

"Eliza, poppet, are you alright?" Nigel asked.

"I'm fine, dad. Just got a bump in the head." Eliza said.

"We ran into some poachers. They got us, and then they went for the boys." Marianne said.

"Yeah, don't remind us. We found 'em when Eliza decided she wanted to go off an adventure." Shane said.

"Ooh! Just like the old days. I remember when Eliza would run into poachers all the time, and send 'em all packing! This oughtta be fun." Donnie cheered.

"Ever wonder why I never came back on these trips until you started paying me for them?" Tyler snarked.

Then, stepping forward, the two poachers responsible for the operation taking place in San Lorenzo revealed themselves. Kip O'Donnell was seen once again, and by his side was the short and portly Neil Biederman, and, with their enemies caught and subjugated before them, both smiled in pleasure.

"Back to the waking world, I see. And we've got ourselves a nice family reunion. The blonde bimbo I found absent, but I'm greeted by two new boys. You would be?" Kip asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know, amoral Afrikaner?" Tyler joked.

"He's not South African, Tyler, he's Australian." Eliza corrected.

"Correct, Miss Thornberry, and thank you for answering my question for him." Kip smiled.

Realizing her unintentional mistake, Eliza cringed in self-annoyance.

"Damn it." Eliza swore.

"And the other boy... You know, I do believe I've seen you somewhere before. Weren't you one of those MTV popstars back in the day? Shane G., if I'm not mistaken?" Kip asked.

"Yeah, then Taylor Swift came by and put me out of a job. Got another gig in a rock band now." Shane joked.

"You're a long ways from home, teeny-bopper. How the hell are you mixed up with this family?"

"Well, I happen to be a part of it now, I... married this lovely redhead sitting next to me."

"Shane, don't give him what he wants. He'll do anything he can to hurt us." Eliza interrupted.

"Wise words from your wife, teeny-bopper. These jungles are a very easy place to get lost. Perhaps you never actually encountered any poachers at all, perhaps you wandered off too far, and you perished in the jungles without any aid, and no one would find any evidence to the contrary. Am I making this clear enough for you, or should I rephrase this in the form of a love song for you?" Kip asked.

"Do whatever you want to me, shithead. You just leave Eliza alone." Shane said.

"On the contrary, teeny-bopper, I have no real quarrel with you. Aside from your decision to marry into the wrong family, my attention is reserved for Eliza Thornberry."

Singling out Eliza, Kip knelt before her, putting his own face against her own as he let out a deep exhale full of anger.

"Yes, this little straw has broken the camel's back one too many times. You've cost me more bounties than I can count, driven me out of so many countries, and let's not forget that little incident where I ended up a slave to that curry-wog rajah for several months." Kip said.

"I don't know, boss, I kind of liked wearing that dress. It really breathed." Beiderman added.

The side-comment from Beiderman earned him a scowl from Kip, who did not take kindly to his idiotic interruption.

"Beiderman, you idiot, shut up." Kip growled.

As Beiderman backed down as ordered, Kip returned his attention to Eliza, this time beginning to lightly stroke her face.

"This time, however, you'll be pleased to know I'm not taking any more chances with you. I think this should be a nice, final solution to the Thornberrys and their animal-loving ilk, always filming those hideous things. Speaking of hideous, you know, you filled in quite nice. Letting the hair down is a vast improvement over the girly ponytails, and the losing the braces did you well. The old ugly duckling turned out to be a beautiful mallard after all." Kip said.

The inappropriate comments and touching gained quietly angry looks from the rest of the Thornberrys, but only Nigel dared risk his life to speak up.

"Alright, Kip, I don't care what you do to me, but you don't lay a finger on my daughter in that way. You want to take advantage of her, you'll have to get through me first." Nigel threatened.

Getting up from his kneeling stance, Kip turned around and walked away, continuing a self-aggrandizing monologue to the Thornberrys.

"Oh, don't worry, Nigel, old boy. Pretty little thing your daughter may be, I've no interest in that. No, I'm not some cartoonish villain who rapes and pillages, twirling my little mustache. I'm going to kill you soon enough, but I want you to know that your deaths are very, very personal to me." Kip said.

---

Concurrent to Kip personally handling the captive Thornberrys, the crew of his ship continued on their work to secure their bounties.

Operating on a small oil tanker, the flat surface of the ship is filled with hired help as its crew, loading up several cages full of animals to be put onboard and shipped off away from their natural habitat, becoming exotic furs and food. Interested only in money, the moral aspect of what they do has no burden on their souls, and the crew continues without care.

But the one in the jungles does care, and he has followed the cages here to see his work done.

Upon loading the final cage, a pair of crew members carried it to the several others loaded aboard, placing yet another endangered animal among the others to be sold off. Exhausted from a long day of work, both pant and wipe the sweat from their brows, taking a moment to catch their breaths.

"[Hard to believe people want coats made of these ugly things. Enough time in this weather, you'll never want a fur coat again.]" One crewmate jested.

"[Don't matter to me, as long as their money's good. You wanna grab a beer?]" The other crewmate asked.

"[Yeah.]"

Leaving the animals behind and unattended, believing them secure and unlikely to be disturbed, the crewmates stepped to a cooler to obtain beers to drink.

"[You know, we shouldn't be drinking this on a hot day. Dehydrates you faster. Not to mention increases your chances for boater's hypnosis. That's no good.]" One crewmate said.

"[You worry way too much, don't you?]" The other crewmate asked.

"[Can't be too careful in life, my friend. You're not careful enough, everything important could just slip right out under your nose.]"

"[Ah, shit happens. That's just how life goes.]"

"[Oh, that reminds me, I better make sure the rachet straps are down tight. I'll be right back.]"

"[Like I said, worry too much.]"

Carrying his beer with him, sipping it as he walked, the crewmate stepped back over to the cage of animals, preparing to adjust said rachet straps.

Upon arriving to the cages, however, he noticed a much more obvious problem, making him spit out his drink with eyes widened in shock in response.

While every cage that the crew brought up was in place and secured, every single animal that was in them was gone without a trace, all having disappeared in a manner of seconds. Unable to comprehend the incredible phenomena that his hard work became, the crewmate stood without words or any further reaction.

"[Hey, how long can it take to fix a rachet strap?]" The other crewmate asked.

"[They... They're gone.]" The first crewmate whimpered.

"[What?]"

"[They're gone! The animals are all gone!]"

Joining back with his crewmate to investigate, the second crewmate reacted in the same manner as his friend, spitting out his beer with widened eyes.

"[What was that you said about worrying about things?]" The first crewmate asked.

"[We gotta tell the boss.]" The second crewmate said.

---

Back on the area of the ship holding the captive Thornberrys, neither the Thornberrys nor their captor had any knowledge of this yet, left to their personal business built up over the years. As Kip's sight was taken away from the Thornberrys, Beiderman stepped up to Shane, pulling out a marker and a CD recorded from his days a popstar.

"Hey, uh, before the boss kills you, I just want you to know that I was always a big fan of your work. That collaboration you did with Britney Spears, excellent. Can I have your autograph on this before you die? It'll be worth the big bucks after you're dead." Beiderman said.

Placing a clenching hand on Beiderman's shoulder, Kip pulled him aside, preventing him from obtaining his autograph.

"Beiderman, you idiot, must you continue to chum it up?" Kip asked.

"Well, you know, nothing like a little money on the side, right? Or, you know, just to have it as a collector's item?" Beiderman asked.

Kip scowled at Beiderman with a growl, forcing him to concede and back down.

"Okay, okay. Look, can we just hurry this up and kill them, and get back to work? This whole jungle has been making me feel skittish. Like something's not right here." Beiderman said.

"Oh, what could possibly be wrong this time? We've got the Thornberrys tied down and out of our way, soon to be dead, and we've gotten our payload of animals, meaning we're soon to be gone. What are you so afraid of?" Kip asked.

"Well... You know... This jungle."

"You've seen one jungle, you've seen them all, and we've seen plenty. Why this jungle?"

"You know... This is where La Sombra died."

"La Sombra? That incompetent beaner? He was killed and eaten by some cannibals living in this region, nothing of value was lost."

"That ain't what I heard, boss. I heard the Green Eye got him."

"The Green Eye?! Please, Biederman, stop embarassing yourself. La Sombra died far before that goody-green-two-shoes ever even showed his face. Now, he's been nuked to oblivion with the rest of Hillwood. Even were your analysis true, the Green Eye is far from a concern anymore."

"But, boss, I'm telling you-"

"'But' nothing. Shut up and remember this: There is no more Green Eye. And there most certainly isn't anything going to go wrong."

"Boss! Boss! Something went wrong!" A crewmate shouted.

Running into the room with haste, running down the stairs to the lower deck, the two crewmates who discovered the missing animals arrived to tell their employer regarding their disappearances, both doing so with exasperated expressions and heavy breaths taken at their arrival.

"What? What's going on?" Kip asked.

"Boss... All the animals... are gone." The crewmate panted.

"What do you mean, 'gone'? What happened?"

"One second, they were all in their cages. We turned our backs and came back, they were gone. I don't know how they got out, but they did."

The instinctual motion is for Kip to turn his attention back to the Thornberrys, pulling the handgun from his holster and putting it against Eliza's head. Watching the weapon being put against her head, the rest of the family immediately shouted in protest, pleading for Eliza's life to be spared.

"Who's here with you?!" Kip shouted.

"Nobody!" Eliza panicked.

"Don't lie to me, who's here with you?! The San Lorenzian army?! Interpol? Goddamn Greenpeace?!"

"I swear, we had nothing to do with it!"

"You little bitch, don't you fu-"

Kip's threat was cut short by the sudden landing of a blade in his hand, forcing his hand away from Eliza's head and forcing him to drop his gun. Screaming in pain, his reaction urged the rest of his crew to surround him, checking on their leader to ensure his safety.

"Boss? You okay?" Beiderman asked.

"No, I'm not okay, you idiot! Something's stuck in my hand!" Kip screamed.

"Well, what is it?"

Grabbing the blade embedded in his hand, Kip pulled it out with a pained groan, holding it in his hands to inspect it. Able to see what had afflicted him and made him drop his weapon, he found himself looking at a small blade, with a hilt bearing decoration reminiscent of the Mayans, and several green jewels.

Then, silently dropping in from the ceiling, the one who threw the knife showed himself, dropping on one gunman and beginning to beat him down.

Kip, Beiderman, and the various crewmates of the ship, as well as the Thornberrys, all watched as their comrade was beaten down by the stranger, surprised by his sudden presence, and stunned by his viciousness. Punch after punch he laid into the poor crewmate, leaving him unconscious on the floor in mere seconds.

Standing up from his defeated enemy, the man stood up to observe the other occupants in the lower deck. As he stood up, the shock came over the room, all present in the lower deck drew their weapons and pointed them directly at its owner, at last seeing the intruder.

He was a white man with glowing green eyes and a football-shaped head, sporting long blonde hair. His dress was nothing more than a simple pair of shorts made of brown rags, and he appeared to have no weapons on him, making appear as less than a threat as he was.

Nonetheless, this urged Kip and his subordinates to lower their guard, carefully keeping their eyes on him.

"Well, well, well. What have we now? A new feral boy. Blonde hair this time, and he's the strong, silent type. Nice little trick you did with that knife, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to save your friends." Kip said.

The football-headed man made no response, staying quiet to gain a scowl from Kip.

"Definitely emphasizing the 'silent', I see. Sure there isn't anything you'd like to say before my men gun you down?" Kip asked.

"Crossfire." The man said.

"What?"

"Your men are standing directly across from each other, and pointing their guns straight across. They're not going to hit me."

"Oh, I think they'll be able to hit you just fine. Do you really think you'll be able to dodge bullets coming at you from every direction?"

"Yes."

The confidence in his answer made all present skip in their speech before responding again, but Kip chuckled, continuing with a smile.

"You're crazy." Kip scoffed.

"I can sense things better than you or anyone else can. I can feel how nervous your men are, taste and smell their sweat beading down. Anything you can sense, I can sense 9 times better and faster. Your men open fire, they're only killing themselves. I'm giving you a fair warning." The man said.

Once again, the subordinates of Kip stood uncertain and confused by his confidence, but Kip himself did not yet falter.

"And if I ignore your warning?" Kip asked.

"Then you die in this jungle. And it won't be me who kills you. It'll only be yourselves. All I can do is try to talk you out of it. I've only killed one person in my entire life and tried to talk other people out of dying, and I saw firsthand how useless it is. I've already given you a chance to back out now and change your ways, but we both already know what you're going to do, don't we?" The man asked.

A moment of time is spent in contemplation of the man's words, but Kip nonetheless ignored his words, opting to carry on as he planned.

"On that, it seems we agree. Open fire." Kip ordered.

The order is given, but not followed. The men still stand in fear, unwilling to make any sudden moves against the football head.

His very presence demands their respect, and feelings of terror are warranted with the look in his glowing green eyes. They can sense that this man is different from the rest of the human population, knowing that no one is like this one man for a reason they cannot specify.

Once, this reason might have been a benevolent one, but it is no longer, instead making them grow uneasy against attacking him.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot him." Kip ordered.

Yet still, the men do not shoot. Their guns are still pointed directly at the football head, but they do not act.

Neither, however, does the football head himself. Feeling himself in no particular danger, he merely scanned around the room, eyeballing each gun being pointed at him. Carefully does he observe the room around him; he has no need to count the guns or enemies, but instead he watches them as a predator would his imminent prey.

This impression is made well on the gunmen, and even more so do they falter.

"Fire!" Kip shouted.

FInally, one gunman, his sweat beading down and his hand shaking, nervously pulled the trigger of his handgun, firing off the first bullet.

Flying out of the barrel of his gun, 9 millimeters of metal flew directly towards the football head. Sensing the bullet come his way with senses working faster than any normal human's brain, that same brain also sends an electrical signal to the parts of his body in immediate danger, allowing him plenty of time to dodge out of the way of the bullet.

And, just as the football head predicted, the bullet hit not him, but instead one of the other subordinates of Kip, killing him in an instant.

[Soundtrack Cue: Sevendust - Tits on a Boar; Starting from 0:20]

The realization is not made, and none have the cool-headed attitude to stop and find an alternate solution. Fear has completely taken over the men, along with foolhardiness brought about by the weapons in their hands. Now that the first strike has been made, and a man is now dead, instinct says that it is time to act.

Let the bullets fly.

Over and over are every gun fired, sending bullets all across the room. The football head has not been hit by any one thus far, and all he needs to is dodge.

Moving across the room in a manner combining acrobatics, breakdancing, and parkour, moving down to the floor, jumping up over it, and returning to the ceiling, not a single bullet could touch him. Further cementing his protection against the gunfire, his dance across the deck also included him destroying the lights, shattering the light bulbs with a simple chop or slap.

He is left untouched, but the ones the bullets do touch are the gunmen themselves. While making his dance across the ship's room, bullets landed in the heads and bodies of Kip's men. Whether they land by direct hits or ricochets, those who choose to fire their weapons die by the very weapons they wield.

The football head does not take pity on these men or try to influence their decisions. He has made a life of doing such a thing once before, and it has taken from him everything he held dear, to the point where the troubles of the human race are no longer his concern, and what altruism he once had has been snuffed out.

What happens to these people, happens.

Kip, however, is not so easily manipulated into his own demise as his underlings, and kept his head low, with Beiderman at his side. He noticed that, miraculously, of all the bullets sent across the room, none had come into contact with either him or the Thornberrys, leaving them completely untouched and safe.

"Goddamn wogs. Should've known better than to trust these idiot darkies. They're almost as dumb as the animals." Kip muttered.

"Maybe we can train the animals to hold the guns next time, boss." Beiderman suggested.

Having his own plan to ensure his safety, he discreetly grabbed the restrained Eliza Thornberry and dragged her along.

"Beiderman, follow me." Kip ordered.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" Eliza asked.

"Don't worry, Thornberry. Just taking a little insurance policy."

The football head's dance continued across the room, going back and forth and side to side and zig-zagging all around. He still remained untouched by a single bullet, and still do those foolish enough to fire their guns are killed by their own teammates, leaving them to die by their own violent ways.

Below decks and dimly lit, the gunmen have very little sight of their target, merely catching a blur or a glimpse of his image. This poor visibility adds to the self-imposed slaughter, with friendly fire being the cause of death for the entire crew within the lower deck, making for a humiliating way to die.

The poor visibility, made all the worse by the destroyed light, led to the gunmen not even having an understanding of what laid mere feet in front of them, mostly firing in the dark in hopes of hitting their enemy. When the gunfire began to dwindle down, the silence marking the end of many lives wasted on heinous crimes, two such gunmen carefully prowled about the deck, searching out for the enemy.

The two came almost into contact with each other, neither able to see another, but they both shared a field of visibility that would serve enough to spot an enemy right in front of them, standing apart from each other on both sides of the target and not having any chance to miss.

Their enemy presented himself for a split-second, landing in the line of sight, before jumping away into the dark.

Aiming their guns once again, the gunmen opened fire. Without their target to receive the bullets, the two gunmen standing apart from each other, they had ended up merely shooting each other, both falling flat to the ground with not a shred of consciousness in their heads, and a bullet in each instead.

[Soundtrack Cue End]

Landing back on the ground again, the football head stood tall, casually approaching Kip.

"Your men lived by the sword. Now, they died by the sword. Will you join them?" The football head asked.

He found Kip holding the restrained Eliza Thornberry with a knife to her neck, slowly walking backwards as he held his hostage, with Beiderman nervously hiding behind them both. Beiderman is unsure of what his partner has planned, but Kip himself has little of a plan, forced to take a hostage out of sheer desperation.

The football head seemed unfettered by this fact, casually picking up a handgun from a dead subordinate and pointing it at Kip, which caused gasps among the survivors.

"Let the woman go." The football head ordered.

"Oh, I don't think so. Even if you struck me as the kind of person to use a gun, you wouldn't risk it even for her, would you?" Kip asked.

The football head cocked the hammer back, further cementing his bluff.

In return, Kip pulled out a grenade, revealing it to have its pin pulled out.

"Ah, ah, ah. This is an oil tanker. You know what that means? Plenty of flammable crude oil is on this boat. This can make the whole ship go sky-high." Kip threatened.

Stepping over to a bridge, Kip held the grenade over the edge, showing below it to be several vats of crude oil, reinforcing his threat.

"I'll do it, you Tarzan boy bastard! Drop the gun!" Kip ordered.

"You won't do it." The football head said.

"Oh, won't I? You don't think I will?"

"You won't. You're a money-oriented person. You know the oil you fracked onto this ship is your only chance at a payday after losing the animals, and you're too greedy to be suicidal. You love living a wretched life too much to give it up. After all, if you were going to kill yourself in an explosion, what would you need a knife against her neck for?"

Having his bluff seen through on a level more personally than expected, Kip faltered in fear, only to hold his ground again.

"Perhaps. Then again, after I saw what you did to my men, maybe I'm already dead. If I'm not making it out of here alive, then you're not, either." Kip said.

In further support to Kip, a group of more gunmen marched down the stairs to the lower deck, all running to the football head and pointing their weapons at him. Glancing back to see the reinforcements lining up behind him, the football head resumed his look at Kip, seeing him smugly smile back.

"But, of course, there's always the chance I was just waiting for the cavalry to arrive all this time. Now, if you will... drop the gun." Kip ordered.

Initially holding his ground, the football head watched as the knife against Eliza's throat came closer, threatening to cut it.

"No! Ah!" Eliza yelped.

"Eliza!" The Thornberrys shouted in unison.

The Thornberrys all jumped in fear as a raw reaction to the threat to Eliza, but the football head also responded. Holding his hands up, he allowed the handgun in his right hand to linger and hang on his index finger, preparing to fully release the weapon from his grasp, and consummating that goal by letting it slip off his finger.

Watching the handgun fall, Kip and his subordinates smiled, believing themselves to be safe...

...then, watching the handgun fall, the football head fell to the floor and caught the falling gun, aiming it at Kip quicker than he could perceive the catch or aim.

Firing his carefully-aimed round, the football head shot a bullet straight to Kip's hand, severing the fingers on it with one blast. The pain of losing his fingers was obviously an injury that made Kip scream and hold his hand in pain, releasing Eliza, but also had his loss of fingers made him release something else that was vital to his survival:

The armed grenade.

Watching it bounce off of the railing, Kip saw it fall to the pit of crude oil below, leading him and his subordinates to gasp in terror as their doom came upon them, soon screaming afterwards. As Eliza was released, he chair shattered against the floor, freeing her, and she immediately used that freedom to run to her family, grasping them for safety.

"I got it, I got it!" Beiderman shouted.

Jumping off the railing into the crude oil below, Beiderman leapt with either the courage or stupidity required of the task, luckily catching the grenade mid-fall.

Upon landing in the crude oil, he began unscrewing the fuse from the body of the grenade, either cleverly or coincidentally keeping it from detonating another pool of oil.

Then, luck prevailed a third time, and he unscrewed the fuse, preventing the grenade from exploding.

Having watched the affair with a tension never-before felt in their lives, what comes next is the greatest of relief, with Kip starting to chuckle, then full-out laughing. The gunmen under his command had started to follow suit, and even the Thornberrys allow themselves some levity with laughter.

Beiderman, having declared himself the savior of the day, cheerfully raised both halves of the grenade up, bouncing up and down in joy.

"Yeah-hah-hah-hah! I did it, boss! I did it! I saved the-" Beiderman began to shout.

Then, a spark was seen and heard between the two halves of the grenade, and all laughter stopped in lieu of shocked expressions and silence.

And Beiderman realizes his fate all too soon.

"...Oops." Beiderman said.

'Boom' goes the grenade.

Beiderman is dead.

The explosion detonated the tub of crude oil with it, starting a chain reaction towards the other ones on the lower deck. Running up to the restrained Thornberrys, meeting with Eliza, the football head handed her a knife, pulling out one of his own to free the rest of the family.

Working through the intense heat that began flooding the room, as well as the deafening explosions, the only positive is that neither have to fear the reponse of Kip or his gunmen, who began running out of the lower deck in a desperate and panicked attempt to find safety.

Soon, all the Thornberrys are free, and can make their own escape off the ship, and they do so without haste, running for the exit. Eliza, the most foolhardy of the family, stopped for a small moment to look back at the football head, seeing his glowing green eyes look back at her in a blank expression.

There is much curiosity in her mind, driving her to ask many questions, but she forces herself not to, running for safety, and hoping she meets him again.

Preparing to make his own escape, the football head casually began making his way off the ship, only to be stopped by a voice.

"Help! Help me, please!" Kip screamed.

Hearing the voice of Kip O'Donnel scream his plea for help, the football head turned to the now-destroyed edge of the bridge, walking over to it. Looking over the edge of the bridge, he saw below him Kip hanging off the railing of the bridge, and below him a hole blown straight through the ship, leading into the river below.

And in the river below, there could be seen several crocodiles swimming by, hungrily looking up at the morsel dangling their way.

"Help me! Please! Help me!" Kip screamed.

Many deaths have happened due to his presence on this ship, but he cannot be called directly responsible for their demises. This is a yet another situation where he can make a difference in life or death, but, through the life he has lived, he feels the unwillingness to help a man as heinous as Kip.

Nonetheless, the situation is enough to guilt him enough into acting... but his action is a farcical one, carelessly holding up his hand out of Kip's reach.

"Here. Take my hand." The football head said.

"What are you, crazy? I can't reach that! Bring your hand lower!" Kip shouted.

"Take my hand. You're not reaching for it."

"I can't reach up there, you son of a bitch! Help me!"

"Why should I help someone who won't help himself and just asks to be helped?"

The meaning behind the football head's cruel gesture became clear to Kip, and the realization of his imminent demise also gave him a moment of self-reflection that came all too late in his life to make any difference. His heart began to sink, as if his will to live had diminished and made gravity pull on him harder.

His grip slipping off the edge, Kip began falling to the river below, screaming all the way down.

A splash was made with his impact, made with enough of a distance to kill a weaker man, but Kip survived his fall to swim back up above the water. Gasping for air, he looked around to see crocodiles start to surround him, all snarling with eyes locked on him, more than ready to feast.

Opening their jaws, they began, all of which was witnessed by the football head.

Within the first bite, Kip began screaming.

Within the next bite, he began choking on his own blood.

Within the third, all noise stops.

Kip O'Donnel is dead.

Turning away from the cruel and primeval death that Kip suffered, falling victim to the same lower animals he would just as soon exploit, the football head made his way off the boat, walking up to the higher deck in order to escape before the tanker would sink into the water.

Stepping to the upper deck, he once again found the Thornberrys, but saw them unable to escape. Held at gunpoint by Kip's subdordinates, the rest of the men began preparing a lifeboat to flee the ship with, holding the Thornberrys back to perish on the boat as they fled to safety.

Once again given a chance to intervene in a choice between life and death, the football head stepped forward.

Gaining the full attention of the gunmen, the football head looked back at the enemies before him with the same coldness he had shown to their now dead comrades, making them uneasy even with but one man posing a resistance to them, once again leaving their guns shaking in their hands.

Reaching for a small assortment of bags tied to his waist, the football head threw them at the gunmen, which exploded and set off large clouds of smoke.

No longer able to see their target, the gunmen began firing wildly and blindly all across the deck of the ship, hoping in vain that they would hit their enemy. This proved to be ineffective; even running into the cloud of smoke without any apparent concern or strategy, it was soon shown that he indeed have his own strategy, and the Thornberrys were present to bear witness, if only in small doses.

Through the haze of smoke, flashes of gunshots could reveal but small silhouettes of the football head and his target at that moment in time, seeing only what attack he was making against his selected enemy, and hearing the end results of his attack with the sound of a body hitting the floor.

One flash showed a punch straight to one gunman's face.

Another showed a side kick delivered to another gunman's stomach.

The next flash showed yet another gunman being hit in the chin with the football head's knee.

Those who did not fall to the encompassing cloud of smoke, or miraculously managed to escape it, all congregated around the lifeboat, continuing to hold their guns up high. Keeping their aims dead-center on the cloud of smoke, they nervously awaited the emergence of the football head, hoping that this last stand would allow them to secure their safety. The plan had sounded airtight and foolproof...

...but, seeing the football head emerge from the smoke, his eyes continuing to pierce into their souls, they began to stand frozen in fear as though they were fools.

All sense and logic would tell them to pull the triggers of their weapons, that surely this one man could not be immune to their gunfire, that surely he would not be able to dodge their bullets, that he would be dead within seconds and they would be able to safely get in the lifeboat and escape...

...but, seeing the football head walk towards them, they still were frozen in fear.

Even having the football head walk up to the gunman in front and have his handgun placed against his chest, that surely would give anyone in such a situation the urge to squeeze the trigger of their gun, put a bullet through his heart and end his life to preserve his own...

...but, seeing the football head walk still, the gunmen began to back up, attempting to reach a place of safety, regardless of whether it existed or not.

Continuing to back up from the football head, trying to keep their distance away from him by any means necessary, the gunmen soon came into contact with the edge of the boat. Being sent near the boat with the threat of being pushed off would surely at last give some nerve to fire their guns, if only as a last-ditch effort to save themselves...

...but, their eyes still met with the football head, the gunmen all fell off the edge one by one, falling into the river below.

And, through screams and tearing flesh, the crocodiles below feasted well.

With the threat of Kip's men gone and the crocodiles below well-fed, a window was wide-open for the Thornberrys to escape, and the path to their escape showed itself when the smoke dissipated, showing the football head and the downed gunmen, as well as the unoccupied lifeboat behind him ready to use.

With a small gesture of his hand ushering them to the lifeboat, the Thornberrys took to the boat, running towards it and jumping inside.

Eliza, the last of the Thornberrys in line, had a handicap stop her from escaping with the rest of her family, coming at the last second of escape. In mid-run, her ankle had twisted, sprained to the point where supporting herself on the leg was no longer feasible, and she fell to the ground with a pained scream.

Just as the Thornberrys embarked on the lifeboat, they turned back to the screaming Eliza to see her in peril, and they began to climb out just as fast.

"Eliza!" Shane yelled.

"Hold on, honey, we're coming!" Marianna called.

But just as the Thornberrys began to climb back out, the tanker began to rumble and creak, making them hesitate out of caution. The creaking grew louder and louder, paired with the sound of metal tearing, sounds which accompanied the ship itself beginning to slant and tilt back.

The hole made at the bottom of the ship had torn all the way through the ship, cutting it in half. The two halves, both taking on water, began sinking into the river.

The half that the Thornberrys and the football head had occupied had began to lean back, with Eliza and the beaten gunmen laying across it starting to slide back. As the tilt of the sinking ship gained a sharper angle by the second, those still laying on the floor began sliding back, preparing to land in the river below.

This included Eliza, who began sliding away, unable to climb back up.

"Help! I'm falling!" Eliza called.

"Eliza, honey, hold on!" Marianne screamed.

Before Marianne or the rest of the Thornberrys could disembark, however, the cables supporting the lifeboat snapped, sending it falling into the river below. Despite the rough landing tossing about the Thornberrys, feeling battered from the fall, the ship carried the buoyancy to float, keeping them safe from the sinking ship.

Nonetheless, they did not let the rough landing stop them, and immediately began moving the boat towards the middle of the ship.

"Go back to the middle of the ship! We have to get Eliza!" Shane shouted.

"I got it, give me an oar!" Tyler shouted.

"I got the other!" Donnie shouted.

While the rest of the Thornberrys went after Eliza, the football head, clinging to a wall for safety, watched her slide down the ship, calling for help as she fell. Releasing his grip on the door, the football head laid down on the floor, allowing himself to slide down the angle to reach Eliza.

Sliding past the last of the shipmates, the football head watched them scream as they gained consciousness, all desperately calling for help as they plummetted towards their doom. He can feel their basic instinct for survival, mindlessly calling for any forces of mercy to save them...

...but he feels in them no remorse or guilt for their actions, and therefore ignores them.

His target is the one with the only worthy soul, and he reached her with great speed and haste, grabbing her hand just before she could fall off the half-boat. As soon as her fall ceased, as did Eliza's screams, looking back up to see her football-headed savior holding onto a platform to keep them safe.

The rest of the boat's crew, however, is not so lucky. Slipping past them as they fell, each and every one fell off the boat, making a steep descent into the river below. The majority survive the affair, attempting to swim to safety, forced to dodge fire and objects falling from the boat.

They all meet with the crocodiles yet again, and their lives end with bloodcurdling screams and gurgles.

The football head and Eliza both know that to drop down would mean a similar end, and to merely hold on would mean the same once the boat fully sunk. Looking past the bottom below, the football head noticed the river past the boat was free of crocodiles, with the vicious reptiles currently occupied with the shipmates, and the incoming lifeboat with the rest of the Thornberrys.

It is here where he thinks of his plan.

"Swing." The football head said.

"What?" Eliza asked.

"Swing for the lifeboat. We'll go around the crocodiles."

Any other individual would respond with the overt cliche of asking 'Are you crazy?', but Eliza Thornberry is a seasoned adventurer herself, and has gotten through worse situations with more risky ideas, some of which incidentally also involved hungry, man-eating crocodiles.

Moving herself back and forth, she built up the energy to a swing.

"Hold onto me!" Eliza shouted.

Moving back and forth with what little space she had, her momentum built up to a larger swing being made with each movement, slowly building up the force to get them to their safe landing. Her swing made the football head's task of holding onto their platform a challenging one, but he persisted in spite of this difficulty, allowing Eliza to build up the needed swing.

Soon, the swing becomes large enough to get them over the edge, and it also makes the football head break his hold.

Together they fell to the water below, flying past the crocodiles, and, with the football head holding her for protection, they both plunged into the river. With their weight combined, their plunge into the river is deeper than that of a regular swimmer, making their next challenge being to get back up to the surface to get air.

A quick swim allows them to reach near the surface again in no time, but a shadow looming over them prompted the football head to move them both away, dodging out of the way of a falling piece of metal. Evading the scrap metal just in time, the two began swimming not higher, but further, ensuring that they would not be stricken by any falling debris on the way out of the pandemonium above.

However, the trip becomes far too much of a challenge for Eliza's lungs, and she began to struggle to hold her breath, grunting and groaning in pain and effort not to breathe in the water. Noticing her struggle, the football head took her by the head and put his lips to hers, letting out a deep exhale to allow fresh air into her lungs.

It is mostly carbon dioxide that Eliza receives than oxygen, but it is just enough to make her struggles stop, giving her the strength to carry on. She knows that the gesture of the football head must have taken away most of his own air, but he carried on as though he lost none.

This is but one aspect about the football head that makes him ingrained in her mind, and, were she not married, perhaps having his lips to hers would mean more.

---

Above the water, the lifeboat continued to search for Eliza, circling around the wreckage of the now mostly-sunken ship for a sign of the remaining Thornberry. The waters around them are stained red with the blood of eaten poachers, leaving room for fear that Eliza may have been among them, but neither are there any signs of her, leaving just enough hope to continue searching.

And none are willing to give it up, least of all the Thornberry parents and the Thornberry by marriage, who value Eliza the most.

"Find anything yet?" Shane asked.

"Nothing yet, bro. Just a shitload of dead poachers. Well... just the parts the crocs didn't like, anyway." Tyler said.

"Ever wonder why I'm a vegetarian?" Donnie asked.

"Nothing to lose your appetite over, ol' Donnie-boy. That's the circle of life." Nigel cracked.

"Nigel, these were human beings." Marianne scorned.

"Oh, er... Right, it seems. You spend so much time with animals, you forget you're a member of the human species. It's easy to forget that we're not really at the top of the food chain, you know. Gotta look out for each other and all. But, yes, it would've been better had these lads just gone to jail."

"Will you all shut up?! We gotta find Eliza! We don't have time for jokes!" Shane snapped.

"Calm down, Shane. We're trying our best, and we're not leaving here until we see her." Marianne assured.

Then, by nothing short of a miracle, Eliza popped her head up out of the water, gasping and coughing after she emerged.

"ELIZA!" The Thornberrys shouted.

Reaching their hands over the lifeboat, the family provided her with more than enough support to climb aboard, which she did so with what little strength she still had. Tumbling over and laying in the lifeboat, Shane immediately held her up, keeping her head elevated to breathe properly.

"Eliza? Babe, you okay?" Shane asked.

"I'm... I'm fine." Eliza coughed.

"Well, next time, let's skip the sidetracks, okay?"

The family all shared a laugh at the chaos finally coming to an end, but Eliza soon shot back up, leaning over the lifeboat in search of the football head.

"Where is he, where is he?" Eliza shouted.

"Where's who?" Donnie asked.

"The guy, the... I don't know, the guy who saved us! He was with me, he was..."

Eliza's words trailed off as she looked out into the river, finding no signs of the football head, but instead a serene body of water that shows no signs of life.

"He's gone." Eliza said.

"Well, that's okay, we'll just send him a thank-you card after we get back to the Comvee. Right now, I just wanna get to land." Tyler said.

"On that, I think we're all in agreement." Marianne said.

Without bidding even a proper goodbye to the football head, the lifeboat made its way to shore, landing on a small marsh. Having no more need of the lifeboat, the Thornberrys disembarked from the ship and touched land yet again, walking to dryer land to make their way back to their mobile home, with Marianne leading the way with a GPS tracker.

"Alright, now we just follow the GPS to get back to the Comvee. I just hope those poachers didn't ransack anything while we were gone." Marianne said.

"You said it. If they touched my Cheese Munchies, they're gonna be thankful they had the crocs to deal with." Tyler joked.

Even with the threat of the poachers gone and the Thornberrys all brought to shore, trouble continued as Nigel grasped at his chest, groaning with gasping breaths as he leaned against a tree for support. Taking notice of his uneasy condition, Marianne took her eyes off the GPS tracker to come to her husband's aid.

"Nigel? Are you alright?" Marianne asked.

"I'm alright, dearest... That little boat adventure of ours took a wee bit of a toll on my ol' ticker, I just... Oh, dear..." Nigel gasped.

Losing his ability to stand up, Nigel collapsed to the ground, continuing to wheeze for breath. With several gasps made from the Thornberry family, all members of it circled around the father, coming to his assistance as he suffered through his painful heart attack, trying to fan him to cool off.

"Hold on, honey, I've got your nitroglycerin right-" Marianne began to say.

Reaching into her pocket, Marianne felt it was empty, finding no sign of her husband's heart pills, bringing a look of despair to her face.

"What? What are you waiting for? Give him the pills!" Shane shouted.

"I don't have them." Marianne said.

"What?! What happened?!" Eliza shouted.

"I must've lost them somewhere on the boat. There should be spares in the Comvee, we'll need to run and get them, it's about..."

Checking the GPS locator, Marianne found that the Comvee was nearly a mile away from their current position, making it impossible to get the pills on time.

"Oh, no." Marianne gasped.

"What do you mean, 'oh no'? We gotta go and get the pills, right?" Donnie asked.

"It's too far away. We'll never get them to Nigel in time."

Nigel reached a gentle hand to Marianne's, calming down his wife in their moment of despair and defeat.

"Oh, don't worry about me, dearie. I had always imagined myself dying somehow like this: Out in the wild, and with my beautiful family. I can't think of a better way to go." Nigel groaned.

"Then it pleases me to give you the added time to imagine a better way." A voice said.

Before there is time for tears over the Thornberry father, the Thornberry family all looked up to see an elderly Hispanic man with glowing green eyes, with many other tribal men around him, all also sporting glowing green eyes. Their concern over Nigel turns to defensiveness as they surrounded him, with Marianne taking the lead.

"Who are you people? What do you want?" Marianne asked.

"It is quite simple, Mrs. Thornberry. We have seen your struggle, and we are here to help." The man said.

"Wh-What...? How did-?"

"Your husband's time is short, Mrs. Thornberry. If you please, let me help him."

Unsure of what to make of the strange tribal man, Marianne, for lack of a better option, began stepping away, urging the rest of the Thornberrys to follow her back.

"Ease yourself, Nigel Thornberry. San Lorenzo will not let you die." The man said.

The tribal man opened Nigel's shirt, exposing his chest. Taking a knife, the tribal man began cutting into his own hand, drawing blood from his palm. Placing his bloody palm over Nigel's heart, he placed his other hand atop it, closing his eyes and making ambient noises with his throat, keeping himself in a state of deep concentration.

The Thornberrys know not what they witness, but they watch in intrigue, with great hope that it will help the father of their family.

After all the stress put upon Nigel Thornberry over the years, his heart had grown weak, beating erratically and requiring medication to be corrected. Forcing himself to continue his career has not helped his situation, but the medicine he has taken has allowed him an ease through the hardships of old age.

Without his medicaiton now, the years begin to catch up with his heart, and it slowly begins to fail him.

But with this different, mystical medicine, his heart began slowing down, beating at the correct pace on its own, and with the vitality of a young man's heart. Feeling his body start to receive the proper flow of blood once again, Nigel's eyes opened in rejuvenation, gasping for air in delight as he stood up.

Seeing her husband rise again, as impossible as it may have seemed to be, Marianne rushed to his side.

"Nigel! Are you alright?" Marianne asked.

"Alright? Marianne, I feel absolutely smashing! I haven't felt this good in ages! Eh-hah-hah!" Nigel cheered.

Getting up from the ground, Nigel enthusiastically began running for no other reason than pure excitement, only to be stopped by Marianne.

"Nigel, be careful! Remember your heart!" Marianne said.

"Oh, dearie, you don't understand. My heart's just like it was when I was a lad again. This fellow here, he... I... I don't know what he did, but he's made my ticker all better." Nigel said.

Silent wonder reigns through the Thornberrys, but Eliza, as always, is the one to step forward, approaching the tribal man with questions.

"Eliza Thornberry. You have seen much throughout the world. Even people like me. It is my very good honor to meet you." The man said.

"Who are you? All of you?" Eliza asked.

"My name is Luz. The answer to your next question, I believe you already know. You're the one who decided to go looking for us. You're the adventurous one, after all."

As the rest of Luz's accomplices neared him, they looked back on the Thornberrys with friendly expressions, extending their welcomes to the family.

"You're the Green-Eyed People." Eliza said.

---

Hours pass as the Thornberrys get themselves acquainted with the Green-Eyed People, being brought to their lost city and getting to know their culture more closely. He carries more interest in animals than he does in humans, but Nigel Thornberry also holds a deep respect for other cultures, and he cannot deny that he is excited to be in a world totally closed off from the rest of the planet.

Much time he has spent asking questions and exploring the lost city of the Green Eyes, and his family takes just as much interest and excitement in the city as him, if not more so. However, their interest is not only out of human curiosity, but also out of excitement to do what they do best:

Film an episode to document what they see.

"Here on Nigel Thornberry's Wild World, we primarily keep our focus on wildlife, exploring the animal kingdom and all its members, but we often forget that we Homo Sapiens are a part of the animal kingdom, and we deserve exploration. From our humble roots in the trees as we descended from Homo Erectus and Homo Neanderthalensis, we have become the dominant species of our planet, creating societies and civilizations that change throughout the ages. Today, we look at a tribe of Homo Sapiens that have, much like the San tribe in the Kalahari Desert of Africa, lived outside of industrial civilization for several years." Nigel narrated.

The camera feed on Nigel Thornberry began showing off the city of the Green-Eyed People, displaying the architecture of their city and the people living in it. The Green-Eyed People, as instructed by the Thornberrys, pay no mind to the camera, acting normally as possible to allow a more authentic documentation.

"The Green-Eyed People, or, Maako'ob ya'ax yicho'ob, are an offshoot of the ancient Mayans. Having split from the collapse of the Mayan region during its political collapse in the 9th century,the Green-Eyed People eschewed war with other tribes or human sacrifice to embrace a more pacifistic approach to life, making themselves one with the land. Their name comes from the distinctive bright green eyes that their people possess, which is noted to be an impossibility in Hispanic linage. Occam's Razor would simply conclude this to be a mutation that persisted in their people that bred its way to the gene's survival, but those more esoterically-inclined minds might believe it to be a sign of the supernatural, that their people carry great significance. A man of science myself, I cannot attest to these accusations, but what I can attest to is that, not too long ago today, I had suffered a heart attack brought about by my age, and these people were able to heal me by means beyond my understanding. Regardless of the explanation, I am happy to be alive today, and more than proud to document this lost tribe for the world to see." Nigel narrated.

[Soundtrack Cue: Incubus - Take Me To Your Leader (Fungus Amongus Version)]

Author's Note: The next portion of this chapter uses lyrics from the aforementioned song: 'Take Me To Your Leader' from the album 'Fungus Amongus' by Incubus. The songwriting credits belong to Brandon Boyd, Mike Einziger, Alex Katunich, Gavin Koppell, and Jose Pasillas, and the distribution rights belong to Sony Music Corporation through its ownership of Epic Records. No copyright infringement is intended.

Just as Nigel finished his emphasis on this tribe of people being cut off from the rest of modern civilization, a taste of said modern civilization was heard in the air in the form of distorted guitars, accompanied by drums. The camera feed turned to the three males in the Thornberry family, Shane, Donnie, and Tyler, playing as a band together.

Across the band's drumset displayed their name: 'The Boys-N-Berries'.

Shane took to the vocals and guitar, Donnie on a hybrid bass and 6-string guitar, and Tyler on drums, all playing experimental funk metal that carried a twinge of tribal influence, inspired by their time in the jungle and current experience with the Green-Eyed People. The music played loud enough to drown out any other signs of life in the city...

"What if your brain,

Unexpectedly and suddenly,

Picked out things to,

Flip around and view a lot differently,

What if blue sky,

All of a sudden turned a purple hue,

We would shit a,

Brick the size of all of it,

What if?" Shane sung.

...but life was more than shown with the Green-Eyed People congregating by the band, all cheering for the music and dancing along. Continuing to interact with the Green-Eyed People, Eliza is among those dancing to the music, supporting her husband and family members playing for the people.

And Nigel's commentary on nature continues, with a point to be made even here.

"As you can see behind me, there still is one universal language that resonates with all humankind: Music. Now that my little heart condition has cleared itself up, my son, nephew, and son-in-law have wasted no time starting their careers as the Boys-N-Berries, making their debut here in the jungles of San Lorenzo in the city of the Green-Eyed People!" Nigel cheered.

"What if I was I was just dreaming,

What if I lived in a pear,

What if my watch read 4:20 every hour, every day,

You can bet your dollar I'd be happy!" Shane sang.

True to his energetic antics, Donnie leapt off the stage for the band and jumped into the crowd, enacting a crowd-surf into the middle of the crowd, continuing to play along the way. Being carried towards the center of the crowd, Donnie yet still played his bass guitar, jumping up and down with the beat and getting more cheers from his newfound fans, yelling nonsense gibberish all the while just as he did as a youth.

"I forgot to remember,

I forgot to remember my pain,

Take me to your leader,

Or die by the fly guy!" Shane sang.

Moving through the crowd, he ran up to his adopted father, grabbing Nigel Thornberry by the arm.

"Yagabodigity-yagabodigity-yagabodigity! C'mon, daddy-o, I wanna see you up here in the pit! Whoo!" Donnie yelled.

Yanking Nigel along, forcing the camera-weilding Marianne to follow him, the two Thornberrys met up with Eliza in the crowd, with Donnie alongside them.

"C'mon, dad! Get in the mood of the crowd!" Eliza called.

Taking his daughter's cue, Nigel began to dance along to the music with his two children, taking Marianne by the hand to join him.

"Oh, no, no, no, Nigel, not me-" Marianne protested.

"Oh, come on, Marianne! Loosen up a bit for the children, why don't you? It's all in the name of anthropology!" Nigel called.

Freed from his heart troubles, Nigel found no difficulty in dancing along. Though initlally cautious of both her husband and her own sense of professionalism, Marianne soon fully joined in as well, dancing along to the music more liberally, with only a tight hold on the camera holding her back.

"What if I was I was just dreaming,

What if I lived in a pear,

What if I had a mustard-drenched cucumber tied to my leg,

And I did not want my pants to get dirt-

-y, What if this,

What if that, go!" Shane sang.

Nigel took advantage of his newly-healed heart to dance in ways he could no longer do in his old age, finding less than no difficulty doing so now. His reaction to the music is to breakdance, gaining many cheers from the Green-Eyed People, and even spinning on his head, gaining even more cheers.

"I forgot to remember,

I forgot to remember my pain,

Take me to your leader,

Or die by the fly guy!" Shane sang.

He ended by looking back to the camera feed to deliver his final words, letting out his signature laugh as he did.

"Ngh-heh-heh-heh! Now, this is what I call a 'Wild World', indeed! We'll be back next time, here on BBC Earth, with another episode of 'Nigel Thornberry's Wild World'!" Nigel cheered.

[Soundtrack Cue End]

---

The camera feed ended as its playback was paused on the small TV screen it played on, stopping on a rather unflattering image of Nigel Thornberry's face. Sitting at the table holding the portable television, Nigel Thornberry in his current state held a worried face, with Eliza doing the same as she sat beside him.

Across from them sat a man named Dib Membrane, who paused the video to discuss its contents.

"Cute. I'm not one for funk metal, or... whatever it is that your kids play, but you all seemed like you had a good time. Not exactly what I would call educational material, though." Dib said.

"Listen. I don't know who you are or what you people want, but you can't do this to us. We're nature documentarians, for god's sakes. We haven't done anything to you." Nigel said.

"It's not a matter of that, Mr. Thornberry. I'm well aware of what you do for a living. It's the location of the city of the Green-Eyed People that I'm looking for."

"I'm not under any obligation to disclose that."

"Yeah, I kind of think you do have one. Or maybe you just need a little reminder provided to you."

"Who are you? Who do you work for? What's the meaning of all this?"

"My name is Dib Membrane. You might be more familiar with my father, Professor Membrane. Head of Membrane Labs, under Lloyd Enterprises."

"Lloyd Enterprises? As in, Buckley Lloyd, that venture capitalist? Is it him that wants that region? Are you people trying to exploit that region? Do you have any idea about the people who live there, the animals that have their own home, what kind of damage you'll-"

"Mr. Thornberry."

Dib's stern voice silenced Nigel's defensiveness, allowing him the chance to speak once again.

"Mr. Thornberry, I'm really not interested in San Lorenzo or a bunch of tree-dwellers descended from the Mayans. But I need to get there because I'm looking for someone." Dib said.

"Who?" Nigel asked.

Dib passed a photograph towards Nigel and Eliza, who both looked at it. The image on it was that of a boy in the city of Hillwood, having a distinctive football-shaped head and blonde hair, taken during his younger years as a student at P.S. 118, months before his first departure from the city.

Despite the younger photograph of the individual, both Eliza and Nigel recognized him, with the former gasping out in realization.

"It's him." Eliza said.

Concerned for the safety of his daughter, Nigel nonverbally urged her to stay silent, but failed to spare her the interest of Dib Membrane.

"You saw this man?" Dib asked.

Unable to deny the questions asked of them, Nigel answered on Eliza's behalf, remaining protective of his daughter.

"He... I don't know anything about him. I just know he saved our lives, including my daughters. We ran into some old enemies of ours, and he freed us. He dressed like the Green-Eyed People, but I hadn't seen him with them during our time in the city. He's probably not there." Nigel said.

"I'll be the judge of that. All I need for you is to tell me where this place is and I can find him myself." Dib said.

"And should I refuse?"

Dib reached into a file on the desk and pulled out two more photographs, placing them on the table and showing them to be a man and a woman. The sight of the two made Eliza gasp yet again, but her reaction here was made in nervousness, recognizing these two personally and what threat they pose to her.

"I understand your daughter had some trouble with some poachers in Nairobi about 20 years ago. A mom-and-pop operation run by a Sloan and Bree Blackburn, the Mickey and Mallory Knox of the poaching community. Snatched up a cute little cheetah cub in the Kenyan desert, and, your brave little daughter, just 12 years old, escaped a boarding school and flew all the way back just so she could catch them and save the little cub, and, against all odds, did it. Right as they were planning one of the worst mass slaughters of elephants in recorded history, no less." Dib said.

Dib quickly extended a hand towards Eliza, making her jump, but showed it was merely a thumbs-up gesture.

"Good on you, girl. That definitely had to look good when you applied for college. But, uh, there was something really, really interesting about that whole affair. Sloan and Bree, after they were apprehended by the Kenyan authorities, had been asked about Eliza Thornberry, and they went off about how they would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for that meddling kid and her dumb chimp. Interestingly, they, uh, shared this one strange detail which happened to land them in insane asylums rather than plain ol' prison. They had held the elder daughter, a Debbie Thornberry, over a cliff and demanded to know how this little girl knew all about their operations, but, of all the things she could've answered with, she said it was because she could... talk to animals." Dib said.

Eliza's breath began to intensify under Dib's monologue, knowing her secret was far beyond saving any longer.

"Now, nobody might've thought anything of that, or might've thought it was some lie for their insanity plea, but... the funny thing is, they also reported seeing a massive storm and something that looked like the northern lights... in the middle of Africa. But what's really interesting as well, is that this story also co-responded with some other small reports in the area, mainly by some U.N. workers and Greenpeace members a few miles away. Most people might've just brushed something like that off as a weird freak of nature, but... in this day and age, I think we're beyond just dismissing strange things as just stories from crazy people, aren't we?" Dib asked.

Nigel looked to Dib in astoundment, looking to Eliza after, who held her head down in shame.

"Eliza...?" Nigel asked.

Eliza did not reply, attempting to hold onto her secret as long as possible until the end.

"Eliza, poppet, is this true?" Nigel asked.

Finally, Eliza spoke up, meekly letting out...

"I can't tell you. If I do, I lose my powers. That's what happened last time." Eliza whimpered.

"But... But, of course, that explains so much! You and Darwin having your own conversations, him understanding human behavior all the better, all the times you-" Nigel began to say.

Remembering his situation with Dib, Nigel held his daughter close, giving her his acceptance while offering his protection at the same time.

"Listen to me. I don't know what it is you want, but you leave my daughter out of this. You're not going to lay a hand on her." Nigel threatened.

"I never said I would. However, I would like to comment: You and your family hold dual citizenship with both the U.S. and the U.K., don't you?" Dib asked.

"Yes...?"

"Well, we've got plenty of our own superheroes in the U.S., but you'll notice Britain doesn't have that same condition. In fact, Europe in general has been cracking down on genetic and superhuman experiments far more, keeping it strictly under government control. Now, if word were to get out that Eliza Thornberry just so happens to be a superhero herself, who's to say that the U.K. wouldn't like to get their hands on her? Or, better yet, how about MI-6 trying to put that into use? Talking to animals might not seem like that big a superpower, but just imagine what kind of applications that could have. She could convince a bunch of bears or crocodiles to go eat an enemy army. She could make a flock of seagulls shit on an enemy sattelite and block their radar. She could send a swarm of wasps to sting an entire civilian population. Aquaman may have had the lamest power, but even the so-called 'lamest' powers can have the very practical applications. Of course, they might have to do a total brain removal in order to get it."

Eliza gasped and shuddered at the threat given, clinging to her father, who held her right back.

"Now, I'm not gonna ask you again. Where can I find this man?" Dib asked.

Forced to have his ethics as a naturalist challenged, Nigel paused before answering in heavy breaths, finally giving an answer with a cold face.

"I won't tell you where this place is. But I'll take you there myself. As soon as you find who you want, we leave, with or without him." Nigel said.

"Without him?" Dib asked.

"This doesn't seem like the type of fellow who'd be willing to follow you. Especially not considering what tactics you use."

"You let me worry about that."

"I just want to know one thing. Who is he? Why do you want him?"

Dib smiled before giving his response, as if cheerfully expecting it.

"His name is Arnold Shortman. He's going to help me save the world." Dib said.