by Jim Eldridge
‘You look strong,’ said Milo, feeling the rock arm muscles of the Taco Twister.
‘It’s the tacos that do it,’ replied the Taco Twister.
‘Taco Twister join us!’ declared Big Rock.
‘Yes!’ Ava grinned. ‘We’re going to fight Lord Veto and his horrible orcs.’
‘I’ll … I’ll pay you in tacos,’ said Milo, cunningly.
‘Then, Lord Veto will feel the power of my tacos!’ shouted the Taco Twister, and everyone cheered.
‘Looks like we’ve got another member of our team,’ said Ava.
‘I think we have two,’ said Jack quietly, stepping to stand next to the phoenix. ‘We couldn’t have escaped without you.’
Blaze shed a single tear. ‘I will join you in your Quest, protect you and never leave your side, young Jack.’
There was a beating of wings, and the phoenix flew up and landed on the roof of the caravan, looking out for any danger that might come their way.
Milo climbed up into the driver’s seat of the caravan, took out his map and said, ‘Where to next?’
Chapter Four
As Big Rock and the Taco Twister circled their opponents in the ring, the chants for them rang out: ‘Taco Twister in a spin. Have some Tacos; you will win!’
And:
‘Big Rock, Big Rock, give us a pin. You’re so strong; you’re bound to win!’
Their opponents, two big local wrestlers called Lightning Rawr and Mr Belly, stood back-to-back in the centre of the ring, smug smirks on their faces, arms outstretched, waiting. This was a Devil Duo Match – two pairs of wrestlers in the ring at the same time. So far there had been one pinfall to each side. One more fall to decide the winner.
Mr Belly lived up to his name. He had a huge belly poking out in front, although the most noticeable thing about him was his enormously long moustache, the ends of which curled onto the ground.
‘I don’t get why they’re smiling,’ whispered Jack to Milo. ‘They don’t look at all worried.’
Suddenly, Rawr pointed a finger towards the Taco Twister and a burst of lightning flashed out from his finger and hit the big troll, burning a hole in his costume.
At the same time, Mr Belly swung the long ends of his moustache like a lasso, wrapping them around Big Rock, tying his arms to his sides.
It was a tactic that would have worked on any other wrestler, but not on two large trolls made of rock.
Big Rock spun round and round, unwinding the ends of Mr Belly’s moustache. Then he grabbed the ends of the moustache and swung them, and Mr Belly, high into the air.
Rawr’s mouth dropped open in astonishment as he looked up at his wrestling partner, sent flying high above the ring. Suddenly the heavy figure of Mr Belly crashed down, right on top of Rawr.
‘One,’ counted the referee, ‘two, three … ’
The crowd went wild, and as the referee called out ‘Ten!’ they began their chants again:
‘Trolls, trolls, here they come! Trolls, trolls, yay they’ve won!’
Rawr and Mr Belly struggled to their feet in the centre of the ring and glared at the two trolls.
‘You haven’t heard the last of us,’ raged Mr Belly.
‘We’ll get you for this!’ snarled Rawr. And he let off another flash of lightning from his fingers, but Big Rock just held up his big hand and the lightning bounced off it, back towards Rawr, and hit the canvas by his and Mr Belly’s feet.
Rawr and Mr Belly gave a last scowl, and then marched up the aisle towards the exit, while Big Rock and Taco Twister climbed out of the ring.
‘Great stuff!’ Milo congratulated them.
‘What do you think of that pair as wrestlers?’ asked Taco.
Big Rock made a fart noise.
‘Right,’ nodded Milo in firm agreement. ‘Not for our team!’
‘Ava’s next,’ said Jack.
Princess Ava, in her cloak and costume and full head-mask as the Masked Avenger, was already in the ring, parading around as the audience cheered.
‘Oh Princess Ava, do us a favour. Show those baddies who is braver!’ shouted the crowd.
‘The next contest,’ called the referee, ‘is between the Masked Avenger, and our very own … Spiderella!’
‘Spiderella,’ scoffed Milo. ‘What sort of name is that?’
‘A woman wrestler with spiders?’ suggested Jack. And he pointed. ‘Look.’
Milo, Meenu and the two trolls followed Jack’s gaze, and saw a young woman in a black costume slide under the ropes and get to her feet in the ring. As she did they realised that spiders were falling from her costume to the ring, running around her feet, and then climbing up onto her again.
‘Wow!’ breathed Milo, awed.
‘How does she train those spiders to do that?’ wondered Jack.
‘Spiders not good for Ava,’ muttered Big Rock, worried.
‘I wonder how they’d taste in a taco?’ asked Taco Twister.
‘It’s not a fair contest,’ said Jack. ‘It’s Ava against another wrestler and loads of spiders. You ought to make an objection to the referee, Milo.’
‘Maybe she’ll leave the spiders in her corner when the match starts,’ said Milo hopefully.
They never found out. There was a shout of, ‘Stop this!’ from the back of the hall, and the next moment a whole army of soldiers armed with spears and bows and arrows had crashed into the hall and marched down the aisles to the ring. A tall man with lots of medals on his uniform pulled himself up into the ring and addressed the referee, and the crowd.
‘I am Major Mustard and, by order of King Nugget, this wrestling tournament is cancelled! And the wrestlers are to be arrested and thrown in jail.’
‘What!’ shouted Milo, angry. ‘On what charge?’
‘Being rebels,’ said Major Mustard. ‘Take them away!’
Milo, Meenu and Princess Ava sat in a large cage inside a gloomy prison cell, while Big Rock and Taco Twister did their best to try and bend the bars of the cage open.
‘It was lucky Jack managed to get away,’ said Meenu.
‘Yes. He’ll get us out of this, I’m sure,’ said Milo. He looked towards Big Rock. ‘Any luck with those bars, Big Rock?’
Big Rock gave an unhappy sigh. ‘No, they really strong.’
Taco Twister kicked the bars, but they didn’t bend at all, even with his troll kick. He stamped his foot hard with frustration.
‘Be careful where you’re putting your feet,’ said a little voice.
They all looked down, and saw that a teeny, tiny green frog had jumped, really fast, through the bars to join them in the cage.
‘Hello, little frog,’ said Ava. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’m here with a message from Jack,’ said the frog. And the next second the frog had turned into Blaze, the phoenix.
‘I can’t get over how you do that!’ exclaimed Meenu. ‘That is so cool!’
‘And useful,’ said Blaze. ‘This place is difficult to get into. I could only do it as a frog.
’
‘What’s the message from Jack?’ asked Milo.
‘He wants you to know he and Robin are trying to get help. He promises he’ll get you out of this.’ Then he changed back into the tiny frog. ‘And I’m off to help them.’ And with that, the frog hopped out through the bars of the cage and disappeared.
‘I still don’t understand why we got arrested,’ grumbled Milo.
‘Because you beat us,’ said a nasty voice.
The gang turned, and saw that Lightning Rawr and Mr Belly had entered the cell and were smirking at them through the bars of the cage.
‘You see, we’re the sons of King Nugget, and we expect to win when we wrestle,’ smiled Rawr. ‘If we don’t, then anyone who beats us is obviously disloyal to the King.’
‘So that makes you rebels,’ added Mr Belly.
‘And rebels get locked up here for a very long time,’ said Rawr.
‘A very long time,’ nodded Mr Belly. ‘You’re going to
be inside this cage for years and years and years.’
‘So long!’ laughed Rawr. And he let fly with a burst of lightning from his fingertips that just missed Meenu. Then the pair left, slamming the heavy cell door behind them.
‘Years and years!’ Princess Ava gasped, horrified.
‘We haven’t got years and years,’ burst out Milo. ‘We’ve got a Giant Rumble to get to and win in ten days, or else we’re out of business!’
‘Jack will get us out,’ said Big Rock confidently.
‘I hope so,’ said Taco Twister. ‘I don’t reckon they give prisoners tacos in here.’
Jack hated watching the soldiers take away his friends, but he knew he had to escape if he was going to save them. He snuck out of the wrestling ring with Robin the horse behind a group of Mr Belly supporters, all trailing pretend moustaches behind them.
‘If we can’t watch wrestling in the ring,’ said one of the kids, who had stuffed a big pillow down his shirt to create a bigger belly, ‘then let’s go to the fair and see that Bendy Wendy!’
His friends all cheered, and Jack decided to follow them. ‘We can hide in the crowd at the fair,’ he whispered to Robin.
‘As long as no one makes me give pony rides,’ muttered the horse.
At the edge of town, the fair was busy. There were stalls with different sorts of games, and tents with fortune tellers and sideshow performers. Outside one large red-and-white striped tent was a board with a picture of a girl with very long arms and the words: BENDY WENDY. You’ll be amazed at what she can do!
Jack realised that Bendy Wendy, with her long arms, might be just the person to help.
He nudged Robin. ‘Maybe she can help us?’
Robin whinnied. ‘Maybe she could, but why would she?’
Inside the tent, Jack took his seat on straw bales, along with the rest of the small audience. Robin and Blaze joined him. They had only just sat down, when there was a blast of music from the loudspeakers, and a tall, thin girl appeared, dressed in a bright pink leotard with the letter W on the front. What was amazing about her was her arms; they weren’t just long – they were … long, long, long, long, long and completely bendy, like two very long, thin hosepipes with her hands at the end.
They watched as she did her act: first twisting her long arms together, then untwisting them and forming all sorts of shapes with them – houses; then animals, including the shape of a horse and a large bird which seemed to fly up into the air and then vanish as she unwound her arms.
Finally she made two characters with her arms, and added some voices. She did a little skit where an evil king chased a little girl, laughing horribly, then had her thrown in jail. But the little girl squeezed through the bars and escaped.
Amazed by her act, at the end Jack clapped his hands, while Robin banged his front hooves together and Blaze beat his wings and set off puffs of fire and smoke.
‘I know she’ll help us,’ declared Jack. ‘That skit at the end – I bet that king was supposed to be King Nugget.’
The trio followed Bendy Wendy as she left the stage and found her in a small room at the back of the tent.
‘Hello,’ said Jack. ‘I’m Jack.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ said Bendy Wendy, smiling. ‘Do you want my autograph?’
‘Uh, yes,’ said Jack, fumbling for a piece of paper.
‘But really,’ interrupted Robin, ‘we want your help.’
Jack quickly told Bendy Wendy what had happened at the wrestling tournament.
Bendy Wendy’s nice smile turned to a frown. She looked at her long arms and said, ‘It was the King’s two sons who made me like this, and I’ve vowed vengeance ever since.’
‘Rawr and Mr Belly did this to you?’ said Robin.
‘They were as horrible when they were children as they are now. One day, for a joke, they grabbed me and pulled my arms, and kept pulling and pulling. Luckily for me, I had the kind of bones that don’t break, but I ended up like this, with my arms stretched. When the King found out, instead of telling his sons off, he tried to have me locked up. But I managed to get away. I’ve spent the last few years living beyond the mountains, perfecting how to use these long arms of mine so I could come back and get rid of King Nugget and his two dreadful sons. And now that’s what I’m going to do!’
‘Oh no you’re not!’ came a shout.
They turned and were shocked to see Major Mustard burst into the small room, with lots of armed soldiers.
‘You have just admitted treason,’ shouted Major Mustard. ‘You are all under arrest! Soldiers, seize them!’
Chapter Five
Milo paced around the cage.
‘Can you stop doing that?’ asked Princess Ava. ‘You’re making me jumpy.’
‘It’s because he’s frightened that we’re never going to get out,’ said Meenu.
‘No it’s not!’ said Milo. ‘Jack and Robin and Blaze will come up with a plan to get us out of here. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if any moment now that door opens and Jack comes in and – ’
At that moment, the cell door did open and Jack stumbled in, followed by a young woman with incredibly long arms and Robin the horse.
‘Sorry,’ said Jack apologetically. ‘We got caught. Although Blaze got away.’
‘Get in!’ snapped Major Mustard, shoving them all inside the cage and clanging the door shut. ‘And be quiet!’ he commanded as he left the room.
‘This is Bendy Wendy,’ Jack whispered, to introduce the young woman.
‘Great arms,’ said Big Rock, impressed.
‘Thank you,’ said Bendy Wendy, stretching them out.
‘Do you have any food?’ asked Taco Twister hopefully. ‘Something hot and spicy?’
‘Sorry,’ said Jack.
‘He told you to be quiet,’ sneered a new voice. Spiderella, still wearing her costume from the wrestling tournament, burst in the door. Her spiders ran up and down and in and out of her hair. She glared at Princess Ava – still wearing her Masked Avenger costume – through the bars.
‘If we’d wrestled,’ said Spiderella, ‘I’d have beaten you easily.’
‘Let me out of this cage and we can settle it now,’ challenged Ava.
Spiderella gave a mocking laugh. ‘Let you out of the cage? What sort of idiot do you think I am?’
‘A spidery one,’ snapped back Ava.
Spiderella shook her head. ‘One day we’ll wrestle and, when we do, I shall beat you! But right now, you can entertain my little friends.’
She made a low whistling sound, and the spiders scuttled across the floor towards the gang. They climbed up Big Rock first, biting him all over. Then they scattered and began to climb up everyone else.
‘Help!’ yelled Milo, trying to slap them off. ‘This isn’t fair!’
Spiderella laughed as her spiders attacked the gang. She didn’t see the tiny frog hop past her and through the bars into the cage. He opened up his tiny mouth and an enormous tongue snapped out and grabbed two spiders at once.
‘Blaze!’ said Jack. ‘Is that you?’
The frog gobbled up two more spiders and Spiderella shrieked.
The spiders dashed back to their creepy mistress. ‘You harmed my spiders,’ she raged at them. ‘I’ll have my revenge for that!’
She stormed out of the cell. Inside the cage, the tiny frog turned into Blaze, the phoenix.
‘Thanks, Blaze,’ said Meenu gratefully. ‘I thought those spiders were going to eat us alive.’
‘Bites hurt,’ said Big Rock, frowning.
‘That was horrible,’ said Milo. ‘I don’t like spiders!’
‘Really? I love ’em!’ said Taco, munching on a mouthful of spiders. ‘Great peppery taste. They’d be fantastic in a taco.’
‘Yuk!’ said Milo.
‘Much too much commotion down here for my liking,’ declared Major Mustard, as he marched in and banged a cane against the bars of the cage. Behind him followed a short man dressed in royal robes and wearing a big golden crown
.
‘Stand to attention for His Royal Highness, King Nugget!’ boomed Major Mustard.
Immediately, Milo rushed to the bars of the cage and appealed to the short man. ‘We’re not rebels, Your Majesty. We promise if you let us go, we will leave your country and never come back. We’ve got a very important wrestling tournament we must get to!’
‘Really?’ said a silky, evil voice, and they turned, shocked. Their old enemy, Lord Veto, slid into the prison. He chuckled. ‘That is the point, you idiot. King Nugget is an old friend of mine, and when I heard you were going to his kingdom to find more Wrestling Trolls for your pathetic troop, I asked him if he would lock you up until after the Giant Rumble. When you and your so-called Wrestling Trolls don’t turn up, victory will be mine. And that will be the end of you! Remember our agreement, Milo: the loser quits wrestling forever.’
‘But this is a cheat!’ protested Jack.
‘We never said that we’d be fighting fair.’ Lord Veto smiled like a snake. He bowed to King Nugget. ‘Thank you for your help, Your Majesty, in keeping these dangerous rebels safely under lock and key.’
‘Have you seen the coverage I’ve gotten because of this?’ King Nugget said, shaking a newspaper at them and grinning. The headline read NUGGET NABS TERRIBLE TROLLS! ‘And this one?’ THE LEGENDARY MASKED AVENGER IS TAKEN CAPTIVE! ‘It’s fantastic! There has even been a news report by Melissa Hart and John Brown on News Flash Television,’ he boasted. ‘The only one who didn’t cover us was the Daily Wrestle. How long do you want them kept locked up, my dear friend?’
‘I think a month will do,’ smiled Lord Veto. ‘That will see the end of Waldo’s Wrestling Trolls.’
With that, Lord Veto and King Nugget strode out, and the door of the cell clanged shut behind them.
‘This is so unfair!’ shouted Meenu.
‘If I could just get my hands on that man.’ Princess Ava scowled.
Milo looked at Jack. ‘That was so unfair! It must have made you really angry,’ he said, hopefully. ‘Angry enough to turn into Thud?’
Jack shook his head and sighed. ‘I’m afraid not.’