Post
by LittleZbot » Thu Jan 02, 2014 3:37 am
Thank you for your comments and continued support, everybody! Sorry this chapter is short (even shorter than the last one), but trust me, you don't want to miss it.
Chapter 11: Choices
They all stared silently at the place where the ship used to be. Debris was floating around in the water - crates, barrels, wood, and even the sail.
"Well, that happened." Zwikko quipped.
Suddenly Arrrggghhh!!!! flung himself onto the ground. "NO! IT CAN'T BE GONE!" he bawled out, "WITHOUT A SHIP MY PIRATE DREAMS ARE OVER FOREVER!"
"See? See? I told you! Curse that curse!" Zooney shouted. "And you said that it wouldn't have ANY effect on us. Oh, yes, no effect at all, except that we're STRANDED HERE WITH A MONSTER AND A CRAZED LUNATIC THAT WANTS US ALL DEAD!"
"How did that even even happen?" Zippy asked, not quite believing what he just saw.
"I-I'm not sure," Mr. Science moaned, "I suppose that someone must have placed timed explosives on here while we were captured."
"That's probably what Tyop was doing while he left me to watch you." Zany mumbled.
That turned a few heads.
"Tyop? That's the Kongbu's name?" asked Zippy.
"Well, yeah, I guess so."
"How do you know?"
"It's...well...a long story." Zany said quietly. He still was trying to figure out all that ZiZanZoon had said, and what it meant to him.
"Tyop..." Mr. Science said, half to himself. "Tyop..."
"What about it?" asked Zippy.
"Tyop is an ancient word - one of the ones used by the Ancient Stinkers of the First Time. It means 'Bred to Kill.' But why would they choose such an old word for a name?"
"I'm not sure, but now isn't the time for this. We have to get off the island somehow." Zippy told him.
"Absolutely correct," Mr. Science said, snapping back to reality, "Now, let's think about this. There are three ways to get to something - over, under, or through. There's no known way to go under Fire Island and still get to Wonderland, or the other way around, either. Our ship is gone, so we can't go through the water. That leaves over it. But how could we do that?"
Wiener raised his hand in the air. "PICK ME! PICK ME!"
Mr. Science sighed. "Yes, Wiener."
"Well, we could grow wings! Or maybe just flap our arms like wings. That might work. Or we could build a plane out of wood, or a blimp out of leaves! Maybe we could build a bridge. Yeah, that's it! All we have to do is find a whole lot of dirt! It's perfect! Then again, maybe the dirt would just make the water muddier. And Zippy wouldn't need the bridge, because he can fly..."
Wiener kept going, but Mr. Science wasn't listening anymore. Something Wiener had just said caught his attention.
"Zippy can fly...Zippy can fly...Zippy the Z-bot can fly...Z-bots can fly...Z-bots can fly, but not across water...Z-bots are from another planet and can fly...that's it!" He whirled around.
"Zippy, ZiZanZoon is from your planet, of course."
"Of course."
"And now he's here."
"Yes."
"And no Z-bot ships have been seen in Wonderland as of yet?"
"Of course not."
"Even if he had landed somewhere there, he'd have no way to get to Fire Island, because it's been shown in the past that Z-bots can't fly over water. And of course, not many ships would just let a Z-bot on, would they?"
"I guess not."
"So he must have landed here."
Zippy was puzzled, "What exactly are you getting at?"
"ZiZanZoon landed here, Zippy. On Fire Island. Which means that, somewhere in that jungle, there's a spaceship just lying around, waiting to be taken."
Zippy caught on. "I see. So we have to find this spaceship if we want to escape from this place before ZiZanZoon decides to leave."
"Exactly."
"In that case, we better get moving. Once he knows he's stranded us here, he's going to leave, and come back someday to get us, when we've nearly starved to death, to complete our training."
"But we can live off the land. Fruits and berries and such. And there must be a few freshwater streams around here."
Zippy shook his head. "Z-bots can't live off of fruit. We need oil. We need fuel. And where can you find those things on Fire Island?"
Mr. Science saw the sense in this. "Then we must leave, and quickly!"
He ran over and began explaining the plan to everyone. They all seemed to understand except Ned. He was still staring off into space where the ship had been.
"Ned!" Mr. Science shouted.
"One rule. They gave me one rule." Ned said remorsefully, "They said, 'We've got one rule for you, one favor to ask you, Ned. Please don't blow the ship up. We know you've done it the past two times, but please, not this one.' Well, she's gone now, and I'm to blame. This never would've happened without me."
"Oh, give us a break, Ned!" shouted Mr. Science, "Come on!" He grabbed Ned's arm and began pulling him away.
They all ran for the jungle - except Zany. He stayed behind. Before Zippy entered, he turned around and saw Zany.
"Hey, Zany! Come on! There's still hope!"
Zany made his choice. A choice that would forever change him, Zippy, and all of the Z-bots, not to mention Wonderland itself. It was a hard choice, and he felt lowdown and horrible about it, but he made it.
"I'm not coming."
"What?"
"I'm not coming. I'm not going with you anymore, Zippy. I'm going back to the DAS Federation."
To say Zippy was shocked was an understatement. This rocked him down to his very core, and made him begin to question friendship itself.
"Zany - you don't mean that."
"I do." Zany turned himself away from Zippy.
"But..but you CAN'T mean that, Zany! You've been my best friend for, well, since we were little! And I mean really little! You can't just turn your back on us now!"
"I'm sorry, Zippy."
"But YOU'RE the one who's been helping me, driving me this whole time. YOU'RE the one who said not to kill the stinkers in the first place!"
"No, Zippy. I didn't. I told you to do what you think is right. And now I have to do what I think is right."
"But how can it be right? How can the destruction of every stinker be right? How can death, hate, and anger be right? I mean, the stinkers are so great-"
"How, Zippy? How are they great? So far, I've found them annoying, demanding, hungry, and frightened. Sure, they're not the green-skinned, fire-breathing, horned monstrosities I first imagined. But on the inside, their not much better."
"Of course they are! How-"
"How many truly excellent Stinkers have you encountered, Zippy? You've been here far longer than me. How many?"
Zippy was silent for a moment, thinking back. "Well, there's Loof, of course. I mean, he took me in. Fixed me up. Gave me a new life."
"One can't account for thousands, Zippy. Neither can four. I'm sorry, Zippy, but this is what I've chosen."
This time they were both silent. Finally Zippy spoke.
"You know that, most likely, there will be a war soon."
"Yes."
"And you know, that no matter what, I'm going to fight for the Stinkers."
"I thought so."
"Then, one day, we're going to be facing one another as enemies."
Zany slowly nodded.
"And you still want to do this?"
"It's the only way, Zippy."
"No, Zany, it's not. But that doesn't matter now. You let me make my choices, so now I'm going to let you make yours. But remember, Zany, deep down inside, I'll still be your friend."
"And I, yours. No matter what terrible things they do to me or how horrible I become."
They both nodded, then turned away.
"I'll miss you, Zany." Zippy called before vanishing into the jungle.
"And I'll miss you. Every day." Zany called back. He turned away sadly, and began his journey back to ZiZanZoon.
Remember to look at the dates that every post is made. It's been many years, and I, and others, may not be the same people we were when we made them. This is a symbol of where we came from, and should be remembered as that.