CHAPTER FOURTY-ONE: BABIDI
Zarbon
looked toward Zangya. "Are you ready?" He asked. She quickly nodded
back.
Clamping
one hand on the other wrist, he threw a Fire Arrow just as Zangya fired a Spark
Laser, both of which meant to his near the ship but not on it.
The arrow
hit on the right side of the ship, the laser on the left side. The explosions
caused by both blasts upset the aliens milling around like ants. Both Zarbon
and Zangya started firing small, well-aimed ki blasts at the creatures, picking
them off one by one like flies. This much was easy- as long as the little
purple creatures didn't decide to come in en masse like a swarm of insects.
They
finished blasting the aliens and ran inside of the ship, hoping to all of the
Kamis and Kaious that had recharged enough to take off. This was getting too
weird.
Zangya took
out another alien who was wandering around the ship, and Zarbon ran immediately
to the controls.
POWER
CELLS: 45% POWER
Good...
that was enough... hopefully.
Zarbon
punched in the code to send the ship up, and breathed a sigh of relief as it
started flying.
He sat back
in his chair and started laughing while the ship took off. This was one of
those stories that you could tell your grandchildren. "How I ended up
Running From Purple Aliens Because They all Had Funny Tattoos!"
Some things
you just DIDN'T tell the grandchildren.
Zarbon's
thoughts were interrupted as something hit the ship with an extremely large
jolt, knocking some more power out of the already spent cells.
"Shit!"
he shouted as he punched in a few more buttons, stabilizing it again.
The ship
was hit a second time, by a second blast, this time with a jolt so slight that
it paled in comparison to the first one.
But the
power cells were empty again.
Now THERE
was something that made no sense! How could two ki blasts somehow drain a
spaceship's power cells, and yet somehow keep it in the air?
Zarbon
looked out of the window and saw why. The large purple alien that he had seen
earlier was telekinetically guiding the ship down to the planet's surface.
He looked
over to Zangya.
"Brace
yourself." Was all he said.
***
Zarbon woke
up some time later, chained to a wall. How the Hell he had managed to lose to a
bunch of wimpy purple aliens was something that he'd never understand.
Well,
technically, he hadn't lost to them. He had lost to Him. To that larger, more
powerful one. THAT guy was powerful.
Zarbon
looked around him, and saw that he was alone in his cell. Zangya was either
dead, escaped, or locked up somewhere else. It was probably the third option.
Zarbon
tugged slightly on the chain holding is right arm. The metal itself was durable
enough, but the cold, metallic wall to which it was attached was just a tiny
bit weaker.
He started
frantically tugging, pulling, and grinding, intentionally not charging up
and breaking down the wall for fear of
being noticed.
The wall
bent a bit, and the chain holding his right hand loosened. Just a little bit
more...
The door to
his cell opened, flooding the room with light. Zarbon immediately stopped
moving and hoped that whoever had just arrived wouldn't notice the stress marks
running up and down the wall.
A short,
bent over figure entered the room, not quite visible in the darkness.
It hit a
switch along the wall, turning on the lights.
Deep inside
himself, Zarbon wondered why the lights weren't turned on earlier, when they
put him there, and decided not to pursue the issue.
"Hello
there, my friend," the new character said in a semi-old, cracked voice.
Zarbon started when he saw it.
He had been
expecting another purple alien, but this thing was... different.
It was a
small, yellowish, rodent-thing with several wiry hairs sticking out of its
head. The thing's eyes were at a natural slant, and it's arms were so thin that
they looked ready to snap.
It wore a
blue robe with an orange cape, both of which were to large for the small
creature, making him look like a bundle of clothes with a head and arms. The
front of his robe was black, with a white emblem that had- big surprise!- a
Large, ornate, capital M.
"My
name is Babidi," The creature said, wringing his bony hands together,
"It's a pleasure to meet you! Now, may I ask, who are you?"
"None
of your damned business."
Babidi
raised his hands to the side of his head and feigned shock. "My my, such
manners! C'mon, tell me your name- it won't hurt!"
Something
in Babidi's voice compelled Zarbon to spill everything about himself. He
managed to hold back everything but his name.
"My
name is Zarbon. Now, who are you?"
"I
just told you my name, what else do you need?"
Ignoring
him, Zarbon went on. "What's going on? What are you people doing?"
Babidi put
one hand up, motioning for Zarbon to stop so he could answer. "This is the
planet Zun, Mr. Zarbon. Not much of a site, eh? I'm only staying here and
keeping these people working so I can find something. You just happened to get
in the way- and we can always use more hired hands!"
"What
are you talking about," Zarbon asked.
"If
you're not smart enough to figure it out, yet... ah, well. Tell me about your
partner."
"Who?"
Babidi
frowned. "The girl, you idiot! Who is she, and where is she?"
"I
won't answer the first, and I don't know the answer to the second."
Babidi
rolled his eyes at Zarbon.
"She
escaped after PuiPui captured you."
"PuiPui?"
"Our
purple friend."
"Oh,"
Zarbon replied, somewhat glad that he could attach a name to the big purple
alien that had trashed him earlier.
If you have any idea
where the girl went, I'll let you work voluntarily."
"Voluntarily?"
Zarbon said, finally giving up and deciding to make a break for it.
Charging up
his ki, Zarbon let his aura out in a minor explosion, decimating both the walls
and the chains, and sending Babidi flying into the outside wall.
Ignoring
the rodent-like alien, Zarbon took off out the door and rght into PuiPui,
knocking the breath out of both of them.
Puipui
recovered first, grabbed Zarbon by the shoulders, and smashed both of their
heads together.
A stunned
Zarbon tripped back into the cell and fell on his back, only to look up and see
Babidi standing over him, ringing his hands again.
"My
my, you are a feisty one. You're one of Cold's men, aren't you?"
Zarbon
nodded. What else could he do? he wanted to fry babidi, but he knew that if he
tried, PuiPui would stop him quite easily.
"Well,
then, there's definitely enough evil in your heart for what I'm planning. I
have a lot in store for you, my friend. A lot."
***