With a quick conversation, the three decided that the best plan was to leave early the next morning. After informing the Ice King of the prisoners, he was filled in on the plan. With the skeptical look on his face, Frize wondered if his king would really follow through with the treaty after all the years of fighting with the Firemen.
◆◆◆
The next morning came and Patrick let Frize lead them through the village. There was no surprise as they walked through empty streets, not a single Iceman leaving the comfort of their home to follow.
Just as they reached the edge of the village, Patrick heard footsteps crunching on the snow behind them. The footsteps gradually grew louder and more pronounced. It wasn’t until the sounds echoing off the walls resembled a small thunderstorm that Patrick turned around to see a crowd of Icemen trudging towards them. They were now pouring onto the street from every door and direction that he could see. Patrick couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and stare, mouth agape, at the growing crowd. The Ice King was at the front of what appeared to be nearly the entire village. As he locked eyes with Patrick, he gave a solemn but hopeful nod; Patrick nodded in return. The group pressed on, towards the Firemen and towards peace.
The group continued on until they reached the turnoff where Flee had originally left Patrick and Gin-us. With the snow now long behind, you could see the discomfort on many of their faces. This was to be the meeting location, the location where the treaty was to be signed. But there were no Firemen to be seen.
“Flee!” Frize was the first to see him.
“Frize!” Flee replied, with equal enthusiasm. The two met with a handshake. The collision of fire and ice sent sparks into the air, neither appearing to be harmed by the interaction.
“Where are the rest of the Firemen?” Frize inquired. “Surely you aren’t alone?”
Flee turned around to address the emptiness behind him. “None of them believed the stories. They wanted a volunteer to go ahead and see what was really going on,” he fidgeted nervously, “if it was really true. They were afraid the whole thing was a trap. But I trust you Frize, and I knew it couldn’t be a trap! I’ll go back and tell the others it’s safe!”
Flee turned toward the massive crowd of Icemen and hesitated for just a fraction of a second before turning around and running in the opposite direction to tell his people it was safe. He disappeared in a speeding ball of light and heat.
Gin-us and Patrick turned around to see all the Icemen staring at Frize in amazement. All these years they had said that he was wrong, that peace with the Firemen wasn’t an option. They alienated him and called him crazy, berating him when he tried to make peace. But now here they stood, on the brink of that peace, on the beginning of their journey back to their home, linked arm in arm with their previously sworn enemies.
An Icewoman started to break away from the crowd and make her way over to Frize. The crowd watched in silence as the Icewoman approached Frize with a questioning look on her face. He slowly nodded his head, yes, and the Icewoman nodded in return. She turned around to the crowd behind her and waved her hand; an Icechild came running forward and jumped into Frize’s arms.
“I always knew you were special, Daddy.”
“Daddy?”
“I can understand all of your surprise,” Frize said, laughing whole-heartedly as if a huge burden had just been lifted. “This is my wife, Bling, and our son Flu. Before I met Flee and began the talks of peace, I was about to get married. When I became an outcast, her father wouldn’t let us move forward with the marriage. But we did anyway. When we had a child a short time later, her father finally found out about us. I never got to spend much time with either of them, for once my fellow Icemen saw me as a traitor, I was a threat to them both as well. Therefore, my family was a secret to everyone. I became a hermit locked away for most of my time, trying to think of a way to obtain peace between the Icemen and Firemen, and a way to get my family back. I tried a few times with no luck. Then you, Patrick, and you, Gin-us, came along and gave me hope. I went on this quest with you in hopes of uniting our tribes, and it worked. We are all together now and on the same side. Now, I can finally have my family back.”
Still, no one moved. Frize hugged his wife and son tightly, the three of them sharing smiles and laughs. A few moments later the Ice King shouted, “Let this mark the beginning of happy days for the Icemen!”
The crowd erupted in cheering. Patrick joined in with the cheering, overcome with emotion and the positive energy that each Iceman emitted. Everyone was so busy celebrating that they did not see the army of Firemen approaching with Flee.
“Hey everyone, I’m back and got everyone else with me!” Flee’s unyielding cheeriness never ceased to amaze Patrick. “What’s going on here? Frize, who is the kid and the lady?”
Frize laughed kindly at Flee’s confusion. “Flee, meet my son, Flu. And my wife, Bling. I had to keep them a secret to protect them because as you know I wasn’t the most liked back in my village. I didn’t want my family to suffer.”
“Woah!” Flee said, surprised but happy. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? I thought we were buds!” There was a hint of sarcasm mixed with hurt as Flee spoke.
“It was for the best. Nobody knew. Please, don’t take it personally.” Frize clapped Flee on the back and the sparks went flying.
The Ice King talked with the Fire King in a small huddle, Frize and Flee standing by their sides as right-hand men. The two armies, Icemen and Firemen, still stood separated, swaying listlessly, waiting. Both sides had walked towards something they thought they may never have; peace, hope, and freedom. After a short while, the small delegation dispersed. Frize came back to his family and held his wife’s hand and picked up his son, smiling at Patrick. The two kings stood side by side and addressed both the Firemen and Icemen. Everyone was silent, waiting.
The Ice King began, “Today is an important day, everyone. The Firemen and Icemen will no longer fight, and will instead stand hand in hand, fighting towards a larger cause. Towards our freedom, and return to our home planets.” The crowd cheered happily but quieted down as soon as the Fire King raised his hand to speak.
“I am so happy to say that we no longer are at odds with the Icemen. I have seen too many causalities, too much distress; too much wasted time spent attacking one another when we should have been attacking the ones who put us down here in the first place. Now, together, we will take back what is ours!”
The crowd erupted in celebration, and at last, the space between the Firemen and Icemen closed. Firemen and Icemen shook hands, high-fived, and hugged. It was quite the scene watching fire and ice mesh. Patrick stood, watching the small fireworks display in front of him, wondering how long this celebration would last, and how many more sparks of joy he would see before the end of this journey.
It was time to leave, but Patrick could not get the Icemen and Firemen to calm down. Finally, the Kings stepped in and jointly assembled the crowd as a united front. Firemen stood next to Icemen, some even linked arms. The fear of one melting the other or dowsing the others flame seemed to have vanished. Whether those fears were always the thing of legend or there was some greater magic at play here, it appeared the Firemen and Icemen could not hurt one another. As if they had always been meant to live in harmony.
And so began the trek to the Unvisited Jaguar of Jupiter yet again. As they began to walk Patrick started to wonder, and worry, about how hard it was going to be getting everyone past the Jaguar. There were going to be an awful lot of riddles to answer.
◆◆◆
There was a ship at that moment traveling from Uranus to Pluto, returning the latest haul from a drilling operation. There were also three prisoners on board. The aliens had taken them captive when they foolishly attempted to rebel at one of the quarries. It had been a quick and futile rebellion. The aliens quickly transformed, overpowered the rebels and killed three in the process. They knew their Chief and King would not be happy, and had decided it was best to return wit
h the prisoners and give their side of the story.
The three prisoners put on brave faces and took a vow of silence, committed to preserving the safety of others who had been involved. But something had changed, and they knew it. They had seen one of their captors sitting there just talking with another alien about finally getting back home when he fell from his chair. There had been loud screams as swirls of purple fog exiting his body.
He had uttered only one thing before passing out, “The orb is gone.”
And now the prisoners knew that somewhere, someone had finally gotten the best of this ruthless alien king. There was hope after all.
◆◆◆
As the group arrived at the Jaguar’s tomb they entered slowly and cautiously. Patrick, ever the optimist, was hoping that this time he might be asleep. Unfortunately, he was not. The Jaguar sat posed in the center of the tomb the same as before. However, this time he sat there as if he had been waiting for them, watching as the crowd filed in. Soon, the entire cave was full. Firemen and Icemen were packed behind, in front of and around Patrick. It must have been quite a sight, but the Jaguar’s eyes did not waiver from Patrick and gave no hint of being surprised.
“I see you have returned,” the Jaguar said evenly when the crowd had all filed in, circling the Jaguar entirely.
“We were successful in obtaining the orb,” Patrick returned.
“And all your new friends?” The Jaguar raised a paw to address the crowd around him.
“The Icemen and Firemen that have been living beneath the Earth’s surface for quite a time now, trapped. They have joined forces with me.”
“I see. Well luckily for you I only ask riddles to those entering, not exiting. I fear that I do not have enough riddles for all of you anyways.”
“I truly appreciate that,” Patrick's sarcasm slipped through but apparently went undetected by the Jaguar.
“But,” the Jaguar said, “I must ask a favor of you.”
Knowing this could go either way, Patrick continued with great hesitation. “Anything you ask.”
“Take me with you. Take me to the Earth’s surface. I want to see more than just the inside of this tomb before I die. And I can be a very reliable friend in a time of need.”
Patrick stood, shocked. Just a short time ago the Jaguar was going to kill either Gin-us, himself, or both of them. Now that Patrick stood in front of the Jaguar with an army, he was asking to join the fight. It felt like a trap, or at the very least a feeble attempt at survival.
“Have you never been out of this cave before?”
“This particular cave, yes. The entirety of my recent memory, however, has been a series of caves and cages. Never seeing the light of day. As of late, I have only dreamt of it. So please, take me with you, and I will fight by your side faithfully.”
Patrick turned to Gin-us and Frize, his small council of advisors. “What do you both think?” He tried to whisper to them, but the Jaguar could hear it all.
“He seems trustworthy to me,” Frize said, “Gin-us?”
Gin-us rolled his eyes but remained serious. “I don’t trust him, but it’s not like we have much choice. If he is lying to us, we have more than enough power to put him in his place. If, however, he is telling the truth, he could be a huge ally in the battles to come.”
“If I may interject,” the Jaguar spoke above them, “I was tasked with protecting the orb. As far as I’m concerned, I am still holding true to that task. The orb has changed owners, and so should its guardians.”
And just like that, it was settled. The group walked out of the cave, the Jaguar now walking in stride with them. They were quite the odd-looking group. There was a tribe of Icemen, a tribe of Firemen, a Jaguar with a glowing light emitting from its head, a Martian from Mars, and Patrick, a human leading them all.
◆◆◆
XI: The Alien Princess
As the large group exited the Jaguar’s cave, Patrick could feel the massive cat repeatedly inhaling and exhaling as his body relaxed. He was on his own journey now, leaving behind years of darkness and days of loneliness. Patrick's heart swelled with pride that he was able to help provide this new lease on life for the Jaguar. He also felt a little bad that his initial intent was to kill him on the first visit if needed.
Knowing that the next stop on their journey was the Martian’s cave had left everyone with mixed feelings. Patrick was incredibly anxious to get back to Flupotia, with each step feeling lighter. He prayed the Martians had kept her safe and healthy, and was hopeful she would be happy to see him. Gin-us was left with feelings of anxiety. After all, his first act as king had been to abandon his people. He hadn’t told Patrick of his fears, but it was a very real possibility that things had fallen into chaos since they left. Each remaining member of the party was either scared, nervous, excited or some combination of the three.
These feelings settled over the group in silence, with the occasional bickering between the Firemen and Icemen filling the air. Patrick wondered if the treaty would hold and truly end the fighting between them. After all, this peace had happened so quickly. It amazed him that they believed in a prophecy, one their king had hidden away for years, to end their long-standing war with one another. Patrick shared the sentiment with Frize in hoping the treaty held and they did not disappoint as saviors.
Lost in his own thoughts, it seemed they had arrived at the entrance to the Martian’s cave in record time. As they approached, Patrick looked to Gin-us and could see the worry etched on his face. Without words, Patrick understood they could be walking into anything. He prayed a silent prayer and together they pushed open the doors. Gin-us entered first, with Patrick right behind.
Gin-us was absolutely blown away by what he saw as they walked through the corridors. The Martians were all working together in what seemed like perfect harmony. Some were even singing, literally in perfect harmony. There were Martians working hard in what seemed like a garden. Pairs of them were taking turns digging and planting, and a team of six workers was diligently working on an irrigation system. Patrick looked on in shock as well; blown away by the Martian’s abilities to self-govern so well while they had been absent. The Icemen and Firemen seemed to be in awe as well, as many looked back and forth from Gin-us to his people as if to say, ‘You did all this?’
One Martian, who had been digging a hole for a seedling, noticed Gin-us and his mouth fell open. “The King has returned!”
The other Martian’s heads snapped up at the exclamation. Their mouths, too, hung open for a brief moment, before erupting in cheers.
“Praise King Gin-us!”
“He has returned!”
“Bow down to our King, Gin-us!”
Gin-us stared on as his people bowed before him, remaining silent. After a long moment, Patrick nudged him from behind, pulling him back to reality.
He held his arms out over the crowd, silencing them. “Yes I’m back, but how did you manage all of this?”
“We had help from the Princess,” said the Martian who had seen Gin-us first. He could not keep the bright smile off his face.
“The Princess?” Gin-us seemed shocked once again.
“Yes, my King. The most beautiful princess.”
“Can I…meet this princess?”
“Of course, follow me!” The Martian marched off down the corridor, his shining smile seeming to light the way.
Gin-us and Patrick looked to each other in confusion as they walked behind the happy Martian. The Icemen and Firemen behind them all seemed to nod as if hearing that Gin-us had help governing all of this made what they saw more believable. Gin-us shrugged, clearly unfazed by this knowledge. Patrick, however, was worried if this princess would mean trouble for Gin-us’ reign as king. Although, she seemed to be doing a pretty damn good job running this place. With each step, the anxiety grew, neither sure of what they would find.
The Martian led Patrick and Gin-us towards the medical center, and it wasn’t until they entered a room labeled Dream Chamber tha
t Patrick's mind made the connection. Flupotia was their princess! How did that girl manage that?! Patrick yelled in his own mind, awestruck yet again by her. Somehow, despite this dream chamber, these Martians had looked to Flupotia as their princess and she was running Gin-us’ kingdom. Quite efficiently and effectively, if the truth was to be told. As they entered her room, Patrick was surprised to find her still in the same dream state that she had been left in. Once again, Patrick was left perplexed, Gin-us read his mind.
“I’m sorry, but how is she ruling you? She is clearly asleep…”
The chipper Martian chirped, “Well, when you left, we had someone checking in on her every few hours, as she is very important to you, yes?” the Martian paused here to look at Patrick, waiting for a nod until he continued. Patrick blushed, slightly embarrassed, but nodded his approval. “Well, we were in complete chaos when you took your leave, as I’m sure you had expected. One of the nurses that was checking in on Flupotia started to compl…” the Martian was stopped by a glare from a nurse in the dream chamber. “I mean, sharing her concerns, with Flupotia. One day while the nurse was talking, she responded!”
“The nurse, Do-lar,” he pointed to the nurse in the room who blushed as Gin-us made eye contact, “came to me telling me that Flupotia had given her answers to solve our problems. In her dream state, she led us to what you see now. She gave us instructions, which we followed to the T, and it worked. A Plutonian princess, ruling a group of Martians living under the Earths ground.” The Martian paused once more, shaking his head and laughing. “A true wonder.”
Gin-us stared on at the Martian once he finished speaking, clearly agreeing that the situation was quite a wonder. It took him a moment to snap out of it and come to grips with this new reality. When he did, he stood up straight and addressed all in the room.
“Well, now that we’re back, I think we should wake her up. She clearly has a perfect, functioning brain. We’ll leave Patrick in here to wake her. Patrick, are you okay with that?”
The Birth of a Rebellion Page 15