by Henrik Tamm
“So far, so good!” he cried over the whir of the engine as the plane rose. A few bricks from a chimney got knocked down, but he managed to get the thing off the ground, and they were airborne. As the cold night air rushed around him, he breathed a sigh of relief. He made a mental note to pay the people in that building a visit when all this was over and offer to repair what he had damaged.
Luckily there was no lightning storm to deal with, and soon they were circling over the main square, waiting for the air balloon to sail up.
The sky was clear as they soared over the city. The moon lit up a few billowy clouds, and a hundred thousand stars twinkled brilliantly above. Below them sprawled the vast city, sparkling with warm, familiar light. Timmy looked down and thought it looked beautiful, and felt lucky to live there. He dug his paw into his innermost pocket and felt the smooth, cold surface of the Ziliosphere Alfred had made for him. It comforted him. Somehow, at this moment, sitting high above the earth in a tiny machine made from wood, cloth, and steel, and held together with string, this small object gave him strength. He didn’t know how things were going to turn out, but that was okay.
They now saw the hot-air balloon emerging through the clouds, streaming toward them. It was enormous.
It had three decks, hanging below several heavily ornamented balloons that had been strapped together with chain and rope. Multicolored flags and banners fluttered at the top. It actually looked more like a floating ship than an air balloon.
On the foredeck they saw Casper, Jasper, and the Gribbles. There was also a very old man among them, with an impressive white beard and a tall hat covered with medallions. Undoubtedly the captain. Timmy waved, and they waved back.
The balloon-ship was a bit slower than they were, so Timmy had to keep circling it while it slowly floated toward the old factory.
They reached it about twenty minutes later. It looked dark and abandoned, but by now they all knew better. Timmy suddenly remembered that he hadn’t thought of where to land. There wasn’t exactly a plane runway among the old structures.
There was only one option: to glide the plane onto the rickety roofs. The balloon-ship could pretty much tie on to anything, so he wasn’t worried about them. He looked back at Simon and gave a thumbs-up. He wasn’t sure why he did that, but it seemed like an appropriate thing to do before landing on rooftops. Simon smiled back uncertainly and returned the gesture.
Timmy made a wide turn and lined up the flying machine. Then he pointed its nose down at the factory. The steep dive gave the plane unwanted speed, and Timmy realized they were coming in too hot. No matter. Too late now.
He yanked at the controls. The wheels made contact with the first roof and immediately bounced off again. He jerked the controls forward, and the plane dipped down again at the very end of the roof. It hit hard and rebounded wildly up. Then there was a brief touchdown, almost sideways, on a tiny slanted piece of roof on the next structure, before the plane dropped again. It slammed down hard on a shingled roof on the following building. The wheels caught on a shingle and were ripped clean off. For a moment the craft floated, shingles flying in all directions, before it slammed violently into the next roof, caught on the edge, and stopped. They had landed.
However, the small piece of roof that was holding them up immediately decided to cave in. There was a loud groan of metal bending and wood cracking, and the plane slid helplessly down into a dark hole. They fell and crashed hard onto the stone floor below with a loud bang.
At that moment, standing on a balcony at the very far side of the factory complex, Jasper and Casper had just secured the balloon-ship with ropes. They anxiously listened to the loud echo from the crash that boomed through the darkness. A foreboding start.
Dazed, Timmy looked back to make sure Simon was okay. He sat with his paws over his face. Then, as he realized they had finally come to a full stop, he peered out from between his paws and gave another nervous thumbs-up.
They were surrounded by giant iron factory equipment. Shafts of moonlight came down from the broken roof far above.
Timmy suddenly remembered something and reached into his pocket again. He sighed with relief; the Ziliosphere was still there.
“I think we may have lost the element of surprise,” Simon said with a quiet chirp.
“I would have to agree. Terribly sorry about that.” Timmy crawled out of the cockpit. “C’mon. Not a moment to lose.”
Simon also hopped out, and they rushed down a dark corridor some distance away from the crash site.
“Did you see where the others landed?” Simon whispered.
“Nope. But they can’t be too far away.”
Timmy and Simon carefully crept forward. They passed several large rooms with high ceilings held up by ornate pillars. Old, abandoned machinery loomed over the boys, like dinosaurs frozen in time. The building smelled of rust and wet stone. They had to tread carefully. In the darkness, Timmy stumbled loudly over pipes jutting out from old equipment. Simon, who was wearing his goggles, fared better.
They were looking for a staircase that led up, since Dobie had mentioned that was probably where the Blue Rabbit kept the children—and Flores, Timmy hoped.
There was also the question of the Rabbit’s machine and how they were going to find it and then put a stop to it. Finally, there was the inevitable confrontation with the Blue Rabbit himself…a thought that filled Timmy with dread. When the time came to face him, all Timmy could hope to do was his best.
It was then that they heard the familiar noise, but this time it sounded much scarier. Amplified by the stone hallways, the staccato revving of steam-powered motorcycles echoed loudly through the vast complex. Timmy tried to sense what direction the noise was coming from, but it sounded like he and Simon were being surrounded. Luckily, they had Simon’s magical goggles. Simon looked and pointed suddenly to a large door to their left.
“They will come from there,” Simon whispered.
Timmy looked around to see if there was a spot that would offer them some kind of advantage, but it was dark and there was no time to think. Instead he withdrew his magic stick and handed it to Simon. Simon nodded in thanks. Timmy then took out the Ziliosphere and held it in his paw. The metal felt cool.
At that moment, the first Iguana rounded the corner. He slid the bike as he came around, kicking up debris through the exhaust steam. He headed straight for them. There was a fixed light on his helmet, like that of a miner’s. A second later, seven more Iguana bikers came blasting around the same corner. The high-pitched noise was deafening.
Timmy and Simon stood their ground, both of them in impressive ninja poses. The motorcycles roared. The moonlight gleamed on the iron helmets. Timmy took a breath as he pressed the blue button on the Ziliosphere.
A bright blue light pulsed outward in every direction.
As the light washed over the bikers, it was as if time itself began to crawl. The Iguanas suddenly moved very, very slowly. Their surprised expressions seemed to be happening in slow motion.
It was then a simple thing to walk around and knock them right off their motorbikes one after the other. Timmy and Simon gave them each a gentle shove.
“Do you think they’re hurt?” Simon asked.
“They don’t look it,” said Timmy. “Now let’s get a real move on.”
They left the Iguanas squirming on the floor in hazy confusion.
Timmy and Simon each grabbed an iron helmet. Simon tightened his chin strap, making sure the helmet sat just right.
Then they each hopped onto one of the motorcycles, and off they went. Time suddenly returned to normal, and the remaining six bikes, now without riders, regained their normal speed and crashed into the machinery in front of them. The Iguanas, naturally slow animals, could do nothing but sluggishly get up and wave their little arms about.
“Whoa!” Simon exclaimed. “That was amazing!”
“I know! It was like…and then they all…Just wow!” Timmy was excited beyond words.
“Now let’s try to find the others!” Simon yelled.
They sped on, zooming down the hallway until they reached a large winding staircase. Simon shouted over the noise of the engines:
“I think this could be a good look for me. The helmet, I mean. Manly, you know. What do you think? Honestly.”
Timmy looked at him in disbelief. “Honestly? Not really,” he said back.
“No?”
“No.”
“Okay, okay, fine. You have no sense of fashion anyway.” Simon looked hurt.
“Okay, I changed my mind. It looks great on you.”
“Really?” Simon perked up.
“I mean, I guess so.”
“Whatever. Let’s go.”
Simon revved his engine spitefully and raced up the stairs. Timmy smiled, shook his head, and followed.
The ride up the steps was more than a bit bumpy. Two stories up, they stopped and listened. They could hear the sounds of running.
“Might be Jasper and Casper,” Timmy said.
They continued up in the direction of the sounds. When they reached the next story, they came to a stop and looked around.
In front of them, they saw the balloon-ship moored at a large balcony, but there was no one in the room. The doors stood wide open, and the curtains swayed eerily in the wind, but there was no sign of their friends. The only sound was that of their idling motorcycles. They turned them off and listened. It was quiet. Deadly quiet.
Then:
There was a swooshing sound, and Timmy felt the fur on his nape stand up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure—no, two figures—come lunging at them from above. With a loud clang to his helmet, Timmy was knocked from his bike, though not nearly as gently as the Iguanas had been. He was tossed through the air, landed in a failed somersault, and slid across the floor. He saw Simon tumbling the other way. Regaining his footing, although a bit dazed, Timmy sprang up in an intimidating ninja stance.
“Hiyah!” He tried to make his voice sound scary.
Two familiar silhouettes rose from the floor twenty feet away.
“Whoops, sorry!” Jasper exclaimed.
“Thought you were the Iguanas!” Casper said.
The piglet brothers looked embarrassed.
“Hope I didn’t hurt you,” Casper whispered as he came up to Timmy.
“We’re okay; no harm done. How about you guys?”
“According to our calculations, we’re fine.”
Timmy grinned at them.
“Your moves were actually quite nice. Caught us completely by surprise, didn’t they, Simon?” Timmy said. “Anyway, it was our fault for coming up on the bikes like that.”
Dobie and the cousins now emerged from the shadows.
“Okay, let’s regroup,” Timmy said. “Has anybody seen the rest of the Iguanas? We just saw eight, but there must be more around here somewhere.”
“Nope,” Casper said. “Not a glimpse of them since we landed.”
“Well, they’re likely to come at us any moment now, so watch your backs. What about Rabbit? Or the machine?”
Nobody had seen them either.
“We need to find the kids and Flores first,” Simon pointed out.
They decided to split up again. There were three more floors above them, and Timmy, Simon, and Jasper would each take a different one. If anyone found the kids, they would return with them to the ship, and the captain would take them down to the city.
Casper and the Gribbles would stay in the room to guard the balloon-ship and fight off the Iguanas, who would almost certainly find them there soon. They would all reunite back at the ship in thirty minutes.
Timmy ran up to the floor just below the top floor and moved quickly among the rooms. He looked for any place that might be appropriate for storing children, although he had no real idea what that kind of room was supposed to look like. He pushed open doors and darted down dark corridors but found only empty rooms.
Finally he came to a long, narrow passageway with iron doors all along one side. He thought it looked very suspicious. He ran along the stone corridor, passing door after door, but none of them had handles or locks. They were just smooth iron doors.
He stopped and banged on one of them, then pressed his ear to the cold, rusty metal. Nothing, not a sound.
There was a brick wall at the far end. At the top, just a little out of his reach, was an iron lever. It must be for opening the doors, he thought excitedly. Desperately he looked around for something to stand on, but there was nothing. Sometimes it was a real drag being short. He walked back a few steps, and then ran at full speed and jumped. On the third try he managed to grab on to the cold metal lever, then just hung there, slowly swinging back and forth. Not weighing very much could be a real drag too. He tried heaving himself up a few times, feeling very silly and hoping that nobody would see him. “This isn’t going to work,” he muttered.
He changed tactics. Lodging his back paws in the grooves between the bricks, he pulled the lever with all his might. His muscles trembled with the effort. At last, the lever made a metallic moaning sound and came down with a loud snap.
The doors behind him all swung open, groaning against their own weight. Timmy ran to the first door and peered inside.
As soft light from the hallway spilled in, Timmy thought he could see something move on the floor. Then there was more movement farther in. A moment later, a human child sat up and squinted at the light. Then a small elephant boy did the same. Soon, about twenty kids were getting up, as if waking from a deep sleep. They all looked at Timmy curiously. He hadn’t made a clear plan for what he was going to do next, but he knew he had to get them all out of there.
“I’m here to help you! Don’t be frightened!” he shouted. “We don’t have much time!”
Cautiously the kids rose. More of them appeared from the rest of the rooms, and a few minutes later, a hundred kids were crowded around him. A flurry of questions poured out.
“Who are you?”
“Where are we?”
“Why are you dressed like that?”
“Is it lunchtime?”
All Timmy could think of was to try to find Flores among them, but she was nowhere to be seen. He knew he had to get back to the ship.
“Everyone! Listen to me! Find someone to hold hands with and form a line. And follow me!”
There was some jostling and momentary confusion, but they all managed to do as he had instructed.
He led the long line of kids through the dark rooms and hallways and down the stairs. The balloon-ship was anchored at the next balcony. It wasn’t far.
He suddenly stopped. Below him, between the stairs and the ship, rolling in by the dozens, came the remaining biker Iguanas. They sat on their bikes, revving the engines, blocking the kids’ path. There was one at the front. Timmy figured it was Gack. The engine noise blared rowdily across the big room. Timmy signaled to the kids to stop.
Casper and the Gribble cousins stood at the far end, close to the ship. Just then, Simon and Jasper came down the stairs behind Timmy. They all looked at each other. Then they looked at the Iguanas. There were just so many.
Timmy turned to the kids.
“Walk back up one story and wait there. I promise I’ll be back for you all soon. And soon after that, you’ll be back with your families,” he said. He hoped it would be true.
Timmy pulled out the device, feeling its weight. He remembered that Alfred had told him that it needed time to recharge, so it would be too soon to use it again now. Reluctantly he slid it back into his pocket. It was probably best to save it for the inevitable encounter with the Blue Rabbit anyway.
This was going to have to be done the old-fashioned way. He withdrew his fighting stick.
Exchanging hand signals, they all spread out. Each of them struck a ninja pose and waited.
Within moments, Gack’s Iguana bikers revved their engines, spun their wheels, and sped toward the ninjas in a cloud of smoke that smelled like burnt rubbe
r.
The noise was deafening as it bounced all around the big room. Timmy threw himself to the side, avoiding the first motorcycle while swinging his cane. The Iguana toppled off his bike and crashed to the floor. One down. Through the thick smoke he could see his friends join the fight, like dark shadows moving among the bikes.
It was an epic battle, and although the ninja crime-fighting friends were outnumbered at least five to one, they fought with a passion and ferocity that the Iguanas simply couldn’t muster. They dashed quickly through the smoke, attacking like there was no tomorrow. Even Timmy was surprised by how effective they were when working as a team. There were Iguanas being tossed high up into the air, and empty motorcycles that crashed into walls, and iron helmets that rolled across the floor. The ninja gang was unstoppable. For the kids, Timmy thought as he attacked, and for Flores.
Timmy used all the tricks that his stick could perform, and he even found a few new ones. He learned that he could use it as a pole and swing around and over his opponents. Before the Iguanas had time to react, they had been knocked out by his stick. Jasper and Casper jumped, bounced, and floated in their magic clogs, surprising the Iguanas by suddenly striking from above or landing behind them. They worked in tandem with calculated kicks and chops, finding angles of attack only math-genius pigs could. Simon was fast and lithe, and had apparently practiced several new moves in front of the mirror, which he now used on the Iguanas. He could see through the smoke with his goggles and surprised several of them by springing on them out of nowhere. His paws moved like lightning, delivering fast and accurate punishment. Dobie and the Gribbles, now finally able to use their size to full advantage, proved to be fierce fighters. They would lift an entire motorcycle with an Iguana still on it and fling it across the room. While spinning and rolling, Timmy saw out of the corner of his eye how Dobie came face to face with Gack. There was a blur of movement.